Jules Allen is a dynamic motivational speaker, award-winning advocate, counsellor and consultant. She tackles the multitude of issues affecting young people, parents and adults in this current, challenging climate.
Jules has won a plethora of awards in her profession as a Social Scientist and Counsellor, spanning over 20 years. She is acknowledged as an expert in Working with Young People in crisis, Mental Health, Drug and Alcohol Disorders, Relationships and Families in Crisis. In her career she has worked in Child Protection, Youth Support, Mental Health, School counselling, Consulting and Private practice. Jules has graced the stage as a speaker at a TEDX Melbourne and received a standing ovation. Qualifications and training aside, Jules still believes that her greatest asset is her own troubled beginnings. Jules is a staunch advocate for equity and the acceptance of diversity. During the past 20 years, Jules’s quest to empower people in crisis to turn their lives around has taken some memorable turns. So impressive is the impact she has had on the lives of others that she featured on Australian Story in 2014. Professionally, Jules has an admirable list of charitable ‘babies’ to her name. Along with celebrity couple Hugh Jackman and Deborra-Lee Furness, Jules crusades for adoption and Foster Care reform within Australia. She’s also worked on a global scale with women and children who are victims of gross human rights violations.
Engaging her audience Jules does not shy away from the challenges she now perceives as her greatest asset. Having experienced a troubled and challenging childhood, Jules went on to become a youth at risk. As a consequence, her late teens and early 20’s were marred by drug and alcohol addiction and mental health challenges such as anxiety and depression. Furthermore Jules made decisions that further complicated her world; such as landing in a domestic violence situation. So when she speaks to Gen Y on how to survive trauma and adversity, talking about how they can turn their lives around, they listen. Furthermore, Jules went on to care for 32 Foster children. She is the proud Mother of 4 adult children, a blend of her own, fostered and adopted.
More recently, in early 2021, after experiencing sexual harassment and discrimination in the workplace for several years, Jules finally decided to take a stand. Since going through this process and the untimely coincidence of the issue gaining large scale media attention in Australia, Jules is now talking about her experience in the hope it inspires others to do the same.
She is privy to the many tactics used to silence victims within the workplace but firmly believes that change begins with having the courage to talk openly and share experiences. She believes that “a collective is always far more powerful than the voice of one individual.”
Since the onset of Covid-19 Jules has, along with her colleagues, witnessed the startling increase in Anxiety and Depression; an issue that she has worked tirelessly on over the years. Several years ago, whilst being faced with some serious personal issues, Jules found herself, once again, suffering severe Anxiety and Depression. After further research and investigation in to the ground breaking impact that Neuroscience practices were having on people suffering these debilitating conditions, Jules completely changed her approach. The outcome, she believes, speaks for itself. She spent months adapting her research and combining it with her plethora of knowledge of working with young people and adults and came up with a model that is an absolute game changer. She has titled this practice ‘Mind Magic’, as those who have experienced it believe it to be just that; magic. She, herself, has not suffered anxiety since developing this incredibly simple practice, nor have many of her clients. All you need is the commitment to change and Jules will provide you with the toolkit. It is simple, affordable and can be taught in a very short amount of time.
I’ve come to know Jules through our shared passion for kids. I love her. She is a free spirit and joyous. She takes on kids and nurtures them back to health.
Founder | Adopt Change
Jules Allen is that rare breed who speaks from the heart with absolute candour and authenticity. Listening to her, is like someone opening the door to a breeze in a stuffy room, like sweet relief. She’s funny and real but also heartfelt. It’s an irresistible combination.
ABC Producer | Australian Story