Advertise on podcast: Harden Up (And Other Unhelpful Advice)

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A review of self help books and products from two completely different angles: the psychologist and the ex-infantry soldier. Melissa Harries is a masters qualified registered psychologist with over 20 years experience working with people under stress including the military, emergency services and the NRL. She has a practice in Newcastle NSW where she helps both individuals and workplaces to build resilience. Tommy Pulleine is a mental health trainer who served as an Infantry soldier for 17 years including deployments to Iraq, East Timor and the Solomon Islands. Tommy has experience as a mental health instructor for TAFE NSW, Open Arms and Mindset Training. He is passionate about peer led interventions for workplaces and community groups that de-institutionalise mental health support. Book smart meets street smart. They dont always agree on what is helpful, but then thats what makes the discussion interesting.

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Check latest episodes from Harden Up (And Other Unhelpful Advice) podcast

Season 1 Episode 10: Reviewing Resilience First Aid

2026/08/20

Send us Fan Mail Tommy and Melissa review the 2 day course Resilience First Aid (RFA). This is a course Tommy delivers for Mindset Training that covers 6 core areas of resilience, the neuropsychological processes that underpin resilience and how to foster it in others. Keen to learn more? Jump on an RFA course here: https://mindsettraining.com.au/resilience-first-aid/

Season 1 Ep 9: Reviewing the The Resilience Shield by Dan Pronk, Ben Pronk and Tim Curtis

2026/06/22

Send us Fan Mail Tommy and Mel step through the Resilience Shield and its usefulness with both the veteran and civilian community. This book is not for those who want an easy read but its also nice to find a book that trusts the reader enough to not dumb things down. Access the Resilience Shield assessment here.

Season 1 Ep 8: Reviewing Mental Health First Aid

2026/05/04

Send us Fan Mail Tommy and Mel review Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) a certified course that Tommy delivers for Mindset Training. This 2 day workshop is often ran by workplaces who want to improve mental health but does it do that? Pros and cons of the course, and how to make the most of it from a workplace perspective are discussed. Check out more information at https://mindsettraining.com.au/

Season 1 Ep 7: Reviewing The Resilience Project by Hugh Van Cuylenburg

2026/03/30

Send us Fan Mail This is the first in our Reviewing Resilience series and coming in hot with Hugh Van Cuylenburg's The Resilience Project which has been a popular program for schools in NSW as well as the NRL. The dual factor model of mental health that explains the difference between mental illness and wellbeing/resilience/positive mental health can be found here: https://mindsettraining.com.au/resources/ Have you participated in the Resilience Project at your school or workplace? What did you think?

Season 1 Episode 6: Reviewing Atomic Habits by James Clear

2026/02/17

Send us Fan Mail Tommy and Mel review the book Atomic Habits by James Clear, a digestible collection of evidence informed strategies to make small changes to your daily habits. To access the free resources like Habit Tracking and Habit Stacking use this link: https://jamesclear.com/atomic-habits/resources Check out more information at https://mindsettraining.com.au/

Season 1 Ep 4: Reviewing Timor Awakening (veteran wellbeing course)

2026/01/20

Send us Fan Mail In this episode Tommy talks about his experience on the veteran wellbeing intensive he attended called Timor Awakening, a peer led residential education program that teaches veterans how to improve a range of wellbeing skills.

Season 1 Episode 2: Reviewing the Tech Diet For Your Child and Teen by Mark Marshal

2026/01/20

Send us Fan Mail In this episode Tommy and Mel discuss educational book by Australian Psychologist Brad Marshal The Tech Diet for Your Child and Teen. This book was super helpful for parents to "reclaim your kid's childhood and your family's sanity" Check out more information at https://mindsettraining.com.au/

Season 1 Ep 3: Reviewing Neurodiversity and the Myth of Normal (Audible Original lecture series)

2026/01/20

Send us Fan Mail This episode reviews the 6 part Audible Original lecture series Neurodiversity and the Myth of Normal by Dr Kyler Shumway and Dr Daniel Wendler. This is a bite sized piece of education at only two and a half hours long which provides quite a few nuggets of gold.

Season 1 Episode 1: Reviewing Everything is F****d: A Book About Hope by Mark Manson

2026/01/20

Send us Fan Mail In the first recorded episode of Harden Up (and Other Unhelpful Advice) Mel and Tommy discuss the merits (and otherwise) of the popular self help book Everything is F****d: A Book About Hope by Mark Manson. Check out more information at https://mindsettraining.com.au/

Season 1 Ep 5: Reviewing The Let Them Theory by Mel Robbins

2026/01/20

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of Harden Up (and other unhelpful advice) Mel and Tommy discuss the hugely popular Let Them Theory by Mel Robbins. Does it tell you to harden up? Yep, a little. Does it tell you how to harden up? Not so much. Look, its not all bad but there are gaping wide holes that arent very helpful. Check out more information at https://mindsettraining.com.au/