Our Vision is to Inspire and Be Inspired
Mark and Amanda established Be Inspired Group in 2011, because they wanted to make a difference and provide innovative services that are flexible and meet people’s needs. Having previously worked in the public sector and for bigger organisations Amanda had found it frustrating to see such a constant focus on episodic and reactive care, rather than primary and preventativ care. Their preference is to help people before they reach crisis point. To help them to learn the skills and develop the capacity and resilience to improve their lives.
Be inspired Group offers occupational therapy services for people with chronic pain and mental health issues. In addition to coaching, supervision and mentoring services to occupational therapists and other allied health clinicians.
Amanda Shields
Amanda has been working as an Occupational Therapist for over 25 years across diverse settings including hospitals, community and the private sector. Amanda’s experience is predominantly in the areas of chronic condition management and adult mental health. However her passion is in the area of pain management. She finds it rewarding to help people to understand more about their pain, to facilitate hope and work collaboratively in guiding them on their recovery journey.
- Director / Occupational Therapist
- Bachelor of Applied Science (Occupational Therapy)
- Diploma Business Management
- Cert IV Training & Assessment
Professional Memberships
- Registered with the Australian Occupational Therapy Board (AHPRA)
- Member of Occupational Therapy Australia (OTA)
- Accredited Mental Health Occupational Therapist with OTA
- Member of the International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP)
- Member of the Australian Pain Society (APS)
- Co-Convenor of the National OT Australia Pain Management Interest Group
- Founder and Facilitator of the National Occupational Therapy Virtual Reality Community of Practice Interest Group
- Member of the OTA Pain Expert Advisory Group that developed the Capability Framework for Occupational Therapists working with people with Pain (2024)
Areas of training and experience :
- Pain Management
- Modern Pain Science education and rehabilitation
- NDIS – 6 years experience with providing therapy, capacity building and comprehensive functional capacity assessments for psychosocial disability.
- Mental Health – Focused psychological and behavioural interventions, including:
- ACT (Acceptance & commitment Therapy)
- Trauma informed care and therapeutic approaches
- CBT (Cognitive behavioural Therapy)
- Motivational Interviewing
- Health and wellness coaching
- Sensory and somatic therapy
- Virtual Reality Therapy
- Clinical Pilates, functional movement and posture
- Case management and care coordination
- Chronic condition management – from prevention through to complex multi-morbidity
- Developing and implementing models of care and systems to enhance clinical care services
- Project management
- Developing and delivering training for health professionals
- Leadership
- Supervision and mentoring
Mark Marston
Occupational Therapist, Educator, Business Manager & Director
- Masters of Occupational Therapy
- Masters of Teaching (Primary & Middle)
- Post Graduate Certificate in Mental Health
- Bachelor of Information Technology
- Registered with the Australian Occupational Therapy Board (AHPRA)
- Member of Occupational Therapy Australia (OTA)
Mark is an Occupational Therapist and Business Manager at Be Inspired Group. He undertakes a diverse range of work across occupational therapy, education, support work and business-related roles. He has a strong interest in mental health, pain education and facilitating behaviour change. Mark recognises that life can feel hard for many people, and that change is often difficult, takes time, and requires being in the right head space. He finds it deeply rewarding to see people change their circumstances, view life through a different lens, build new skills, better manage their challenges and make meaningful progress towards their goals.
Mark commenced his professional life in the Information Technology field, developing and supporting business systems for companies across retail, manufacturing, banking, automotive and healthcare. He later transitioned into the education and health sectors. He worked with primary school children, including one year as a primary school teacher and ten years in the Out of School Hours Care (OSHC) sector as both a worker and director. He delivered workshops in schools on personal values, gratitude, perseverance, goal setting and vision boarding, and ran workshops for health professionals, educators and consumers focused on life skills and wellbeing. Over the past five years, he has undertaken community disability support work and completed a Master of Occupational Therapy.
Mark loves table tennis and previously played in the Victorian State League. He is an Honorary Member of the Rotary Club of Norwood and was awarded the Paul Harris Fellowship for leadership in fundraising. Mark strongly believes in “paying it forward” and has organised numerous community fundraising initiatives supporting a range of local and international causes. He has a passion for teaching and role modelling life and wellbeing skills to help people reach their full potential, and believes that almost anything is possible once the barriers to change are overcome.
