For more than five years, MindLabs has been a key initiative of the Mindgardens Neuroscience Network, growing from a few targeted workshops to a multi-part education platform offering learning modules, events and advisory sessions. Intended for people currently working in the fields of mental health, drug and alcohol and neurological disorders, MindLabs programs are designed to increase the skills, confidence and overall capabilities of their participants.  

Drawing on expertise within Mindgardens and our member organisations, MindLabs enables collaboration between clinicians, researchers, consumers, carers and health system managers, accelerating concepts into practice. In 2022 a monthly series of webinars was launched as an educational adjunct to the Tertiary Referral Service for Psychosis (TRSP), a NSW statewide service delivered in partnership with Mindgardens, featuring experts working in target fields. In 2025 this series, focused on innovative ideas around understanding and treating psychosis, was incorporated under the MindLabs umbrella.  The webinars have routinely attracted more than 100 engaged audience members, representing Local Health Districts across NSW. The focus on knowledge development and learning outcomes has made the series accessible for established and newer professionals alike, building multidisciplinary capacity among clinicians, particularly those in rural settings with limited resources. 100% of attendees have reviewed the webinars positively, praising the speakers, variety of topics and opportunity to increase their skill levels, while MindLabs occasional live speaker events have been equally well received. 

The webinars have joined the long-running series of MindLabs interactive online workshops, which have maintained high attendance across all courses. Popular workshops include Keeping the Co in Co-Design and Ethics in Lived Experience Research, focusing on enabling and facilitating collaboration between practitioners and lived experience representatives to ensure improved outcomes, particularly in regional settings with more limited access to development opportunities.  

In addition to the group learning opportunities, up-and-coming researchers and clinicians have come to rely on the multi-level support of sector professionals through the MindLabs peer-led network, offering everything from advisory sessions to financial support through initiatives including the Mindgardens Peer-Led Research Program Grant. This support structure assists researchers to progress their work into clinical practice. 

Read more about how the Peer-Led Research Program Grant led to the establishment of the Perinatal & Infant Mental Health Service (PIMHS) within SESLHD here.

The MindLabs Impact Report captures the perspectives of thousands of attendees since the platform’s inception, chronicling its growth  and individual accounts of those involved. As Mindgardens Executive Director, Professor Jackie Curtis AM, says in her opening letter, this report demonstrates MindLabs’ work in action, detailing years of collaboration and positive contribution to research translation.  

Read the full Impact Report here.