Life Cafe

Join the Club and take the road out of rat race www.lifecafe.club   

Workshops | Peer Mentor Training | Counselling | Online Resources

Can’t Get No Satisfaction?


You’re not alone! Life satisfaction for Australians is the lowest in 2 decades. Purpose in life and community connectedness are at all time lows.

Stuck In Rat Race?

The pursuit of happiness can cause a lack of purpose and connection in life, leaving many of us feeling lonely. 

This, in part, is due to clever marketing (e.g. you need to buy stuff to be happy) and social media (e.g. you need to like or be liked to be happy). 

Sadly, the rat race mindset takes a huge toll on our emotional and social wellbeing and, needless to say, it's extremely hard to change.... enter Life Cafe!

1. Life Cafe Workshops

A rat race is for rats. We're not rats. We're human beings. - Jimmy Reid

Move Your Mindset

Life's too short to waste time on things that don’t really matter. 

Our two free introductory workshops (5 x 1-hour weekly sessions each) are designed to move your mindset: 


Welcome to the Club

When you complete our two free introductory workshops you become a Life Cafe Club Member and are eligible for 15-hours of free peer mentor training AND 50% of all our self-directed online resources.

Get Your Life Back on Track

Life Cafe Workshops 3, 4 & 5 are designed to get your life back on track: 

3. Let Your Life Speak
Before you tell yourself what to do with your life, it’s a good idea to listen to it first. Discover the story that runs, and often ruins, your life. This workshop is a life stocktake where you use a structured method to reflect on your life and summarise it with others.

4. Take Your Life Back
In our busy world, it’s easy to get distracted and lose sight of the important things in life. This workshop uses a step-by-step approach to walk you through our 4 life quadrants: Self-awareness, Self management, Social awareness and Soul Talk (note, psychology means study of the soul).

5. Healthy Minds
Although 95% of people THINK they're self-aware, only 10-15% actually are. We invite you to step outside your comfort zone to discover more about yourself. In this workshop you’ll examine neuroscience and the 3 minds; how we can switch off our brain and how to switch it back on again. We'll also discover why stress is good for you IF you’re living a meaningful life. 

2. Peer Mentor Training for Club Members

Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life? - Mary Oliver

Tired of Small Talk? Try Soul Talk! 

A peer mentor is not a professional helper who gives advice. Instead, they are simply a skilled friend who can move the conversation from small talk to soul talk.

Life Cafe Club Members (people who have completed our 2 free introductory workshops) can receive three free peer mentor workshops (5 x 1-hour weekly sessions each): 

3. Life Cafe Counselling

Life is not a problem to be solved, but a reality to be experienced - Soren Kierkegaard

New Directions in Mental Health

Life Cafe Counselling is not your typical counselling service. 

The old mental health model focused on individual problems (e.g. mental health assessment, diagnosis and treatment). 

The new wellness model focuses more on holistic health, life skills and supportive communities. A new direction we fully embrace @ Life Cafe.

See our Healthy Minds Reading in the link below for more information. 

Challenges for Healthy Minds

Our counselling service focuses on adult and adolescent clients with the following issues:

Counselling Principles

Dr Paul Whetham has a background in community welfare and clinical psychology. He has over 30 years' experience in mental health and is passionate about neuroplasticity and creating novel enriched environments where we thrive through dialogue and discovery. Paul did his PhD research on loneliness and has co-edited Psychology textbooks for South Australian and International secondary schools. He was previously the Director of the Masters in Counselling program at the University of South Australia and is a Fellow of the Australian Psychological Society’s Clinical College.

4. Self-Directed Online Resources


Nothing in life is to be feared; it is only to be understood. Now is the time to understand more, so that we may fear less. - Marie Curie 

The 10 Core Life Skills

Life Cafe also has numerous self-directed online resources available @ Soul Food Cafe. Find out more https://training.soulfood.cafe/ 

All our online resources aim to develop the 10 core life skills identified by WHO, UNESCO and UNICEF:  

Note, Life Cafe Club Members (people who have completed our 2 free introductory workshops) receive 50% of all our self-directed online resources @ Soul Food Cafe including our popular Mind & Soul Toolbox. 


Mind & Soul Toolbox

The Toolbox is the perfect companion for personal work. The only qualifications you need are the willingness to look at your own life. The aim of the Toolbox is not to finish all levels but to enjoy the journey and go as far as you can: 

Tool 1. Sink OR Swim Online Course (0.5 hour)
Monitor how you’re doing in four primary areas of your life (Relationships, Recreation, Workspace, Headspace). This snapshot tool will increase your self-awareness and identify personal needs.

Tool 2. Wellbeing Dashboard Online Course (1 hour)
Take a look at how you’re doing across eight different areas. This Wellness Dashboard is a more detailed wellbeing tool to help identify specific  areas of your life that need attention and change.

Tool 3. Resilience Dashboard Online Course (1 hour)
Learn how to sail through storms using the eight resilience elements of our lifeboat metaphor. By developing these elements and learning how to read your resilience dashboard, you’ll become more self-aware and make better life choices.

Tool 4. Soul Journey Online Course (1 hour)
Believe it or not, psychology means ‘study of the soul’. Find out where you are on your soul journey and adjust your direction to reach your destiny. This is a challenging soul-searching tool that can help give your life direction.

Tool 5. Mood Journal Online Course (1 hour)
Once you’ve reflected on your journey, it’s important to identify what thoughts trigger your stress response. The journal will help you become more aware of your changing moods and help you manage them before they manage you.

Tool 6. Life Story Online Course (6-8 hours)
Get a deeper understanding of yourself and be amazed by what you discover through a series of self-reflection exercises. We know many stories, but our own story often gets overlooked. 

Tool 7. My Authentic Self Online Course (2 hours)
Make the most of your choices and open yourself up to a world of possibilities. In this course, you will explore internal and external awareness, identify your values and strengths, and discover ways to live an authentic life.

Cost of Mind & Soul Toolbox (immediate online access): $60 (Club Members $30)

For more self-directed online resources visit https://training.soulfood.cafe/ 

Fees & Bookings

Introductory Workshops 1 & 2* - Free

Bookings are essential for our two free introductory workshops (5 x 1-hour weekly sessions each): 

Life Cafe Online (Wed 6.30-7.30pm)

Life Cafe Face-to-Face @ the following South Adelaide Community Centres during school terms: 

*Note, when you complete our free introductory workshops 1 & 2 you become a Life Cafe Club Member and are eligible for 15-hours of free peer mentor training AND 50% of all our self-directed online resources.


Life Cafe Workshops 3, 4 or 5* - Fee

Bookings are essential and the cost for each workshop (5 x 1-hour weekly sessions) includes all pre-workshop online materials.

These workshops are run regularly in 2-hour blocks over 5 weeks. So you can do either Workshops 3 & 4 together (Let Your Life Speak & Take Your Life Back) OR Workshops 4 & 5 (Take Your Life Back & Healthy Minds).

Workshops are available online at night (Wed 7.30-9.30pm - Full Fee/Medicare) OR face-to-face in community centres during the day (Mon @ Hackham West & Tue @ Christies Downs 1.15-3.15pm - Medicare only). 

*Note: Medicare clients are allowed 10hrs of individual AND 10hrs of group sessions per calendar year. Therefore, you can enrol in 2 x 5-hour Life Cafe Workshops (3, 4 or 5) which run in 2-hour blocks over 5 weeks. However, you’ll first need to have a current Mental Health Care Plan from your GP and a valid Medicare card. All the Medicare paperwork will need to be completed before you attend workshops.


Peer Mentor Training* - Free 

Bookings are essential for our 15-hours of Free Peer Mentor Training which contains 3 workshops (5 x 1-hour weekly sessions each):

Peer Mentor Training Online (Wed 6.30-7.30pm)

Peer Mentor Training Face-to-Face @ the following South Adelaide Community Centres during school terms: 

*Note, you need to be a Life Cafe Club Member (completed our 2 free introductory workshops) before attending our peer mentor training.


Life Cafe Counselling* - Fee

Medicare clients who have a Mental Health Care Plan from their GP receive up to 10 x 50-minute consults per calendar year. There will be an additional gap to pay in addition to the rebate.

Counselling is available via online Telehealth (Mon afternoons) OR face-to-face in community centres (Wed 1.15-5.00pm @ Aberfoyle & Thurs 11.30am-5.00pm @ Seaford). Bookings are essential. 

Payment is payable on the day and the rebate will be deposited into your nominated savings account within 24 hours.

We can also see clients funded by private health cover, Return To Work SA, NDIS, DVA and self-funded.

If claiming under private health cover, you will need to contact your specific provider about the rebate payable*.

*Note: It is not usually possible to claim under Medicare and then claim on private health for the gap.


Self-Directed Online Resources* - Fee

The Mind & Soul Tool Box is is the perfect companion for personal work. Visit https://training.soulfood.cafe/  to get immediate access to all 7 of our online tools and get started on your self-directed adventure. 

*Note, Life Cafe also has numerous other self-directed resources available at our Soul Food Cafe website https://training.soulfood.cafe/