Founder's Welcome

Newosis Mental Health Foundation 

Welcome to Newosis! I'm Rob Kavanagh, and I'm the Founder and inaugural CEO. Our new logo is on the top left home button, and the full-size logo is direct to the right. It represents the light seen through the keyhole, and Newosis' job is finding the keys to the mental health mysteries by way of collaboration, thus opening the door to the light.

Everything about this Foundation and website is a 'collaboration' for the improvement of the lives of people who are living with a mental health or neurological issue, from the individual perspective to looking at global solutions. The home page is for you to meet me and see our Purposes.

Please also 'meet the team' in the 'About Newosis' link above. We are a very diverse and dedicated team committed to genuinely making a difference in the brain health sphere. Our Board of Directors and Subcommittees will be finally determined by the end of November 2022.

Like many in our community, I struggle with mental health and neurological issues. Previously I was a lawyer, university academic, and professional musician, but I could no longer sustain those careers due to prolonged complications with my illnesses.

After those careers ended, I volunteered as a mentor and counsellor to disadvantaged and abused adolescents. To date, it had been the most rewarding work of my life. I felt like I had found my tribe, and I had!

I had an epiphany and knew exactly what I would do with the rest of my life. I decided to learn more about the lives of those I was helping, as well as my own issues, so I enrolled in the Master of Counselling and Psychotherapy at the University of Adelaide.

My goal was to combine clinical and academic knowledge with my 'lived experience' in order to make a positive difference in the lives of others.

Since then I have undertaken further postgraduate study, mental health research, and continued working with adolescents, but now my number one job is to lead Newosis by its purposes, goals and aspirations with our incredible team of outstanding professionals and supporters.

The Foundation has the functions of researching, educating, and providing direct support in the spaces of mental health and neurology (which is described further below). 

It is the intention of Newosis to go beyond the status quo in these spaces as the statistics do not warrant any form of complacency.

We are excited to be partnering with substantial professional organisations for research and support programs in 2023.

We are currently in the process of waiting for charity and tax law clearances, as all charities do when they start-up, then it will be full steam ahead! You will notice!

The Purposes of the Foundation are:

(There are some references to the Constitution, which are to be further amended at an upcoming SGM, but updates will be posted onto this site)

The Foundation's principal purpose is to promote the prevention or control of mental illness and/or neurological illness.

The Foundation is a 'collaboration' for the improvement of the lives of the disadvantaged from a mental health and/or neurological perspective, for example, those who have suffered trauma/s (mental, physical, and/or sexual) with resulting (and varying intensities) of post-traumatic stress disorder; or children who have endured fearful and avoidant attachments with their caregivers, who end up suffering adult mental illnesses such as bipolar disorder.

The Foundation exists solely for the benefit of the public, and its members must only perform duties and/or activities that are strictly aligned with these purposes, and in any event, entirely within the remit of this Constitution.

Any financial gain or benefit made by the Foundation (or by a member pursuant to their relationship to the Foundation (by way of surplus, income, assets, or otherwise), must only be applied according to these purposes, and in any event, entirely within the remit of this Constitution.

The Foundation seeks to raise public awareness regarding mental illness and/or neurological illness, their causes, as well as the measures that can be taken to address the susceptibility of such illnesses.

The Foundation seeks to commission, promote, and fund the undertaking of medical, psychological and/or psychotherapeutic research into the causes, preventions, and treatment of mental illness and/or neurological illness.

The Foundation seeks to create and explore new therapeutic methodologies for people suffering from mental health illness and/or neurological illness, utilising a broad academic approach including (but not limited to) psychiatry, psychology, psychotherapy, social anthropology, theology, philosophy, neurobiology, neuroscience, neurology, attachment theory and evolutionary theory.

The Foundation seeks to develop and provide the means to help people suffering from mental illness and/or neurological illness.

The Foundation seeks to educate healthcare professionals treating people with mental health illness and/or neurological illness.

The Foundation seeks to underlie all of these purposes with the 'lived experience perspective'; by understanding mental illness and/or neurological illness from patients' viewpoints, by utilizing a compassionate, empathetic, and benevolent framework.

Some common questions

Emergency contacts for a mental health crisis and/or suicide prevention

Get in touch with me for discussion

Click here to communicate with me directly
(non-emergency only).

Mental health or medical emergencies

See guidance on what to do if you are in a Mental Health Crisis.

My warmest welcome to our site. Please feel free to contact the team and me directly with any questions.

Newosis people