Articles

This page lists all practical and feature articles available on RTWMatters. From top ten tips, how to guides and case studies, through to webinar recordings and video interviews with industry experts.

Click the ‘Topics’ button below to drill down into all articles and research updates on your topic of interest.

Click the ‘Quick Guides’ button for practical bit sized guides that give you a sound basic knowledge base.

How to talk about work and recovery companion piece — The first conversation about getting better

contributorDr Mary Wyatt

This is the companion piece to the article, 'How to talk about work and recovery'. It's a guide...

How to talk about work and recovery

contributorDr Mary Wyatt

We’ve looked at how to notice when a recovery is heading the wrong way. This article is about...

Companion piece: Recognising psychosocial barriers early — Noticing on a busy day

contributorDr Mary Wyatt

Noticing the worker whose recovery is drifting is rarely on the file or in the question they...

Recognising psychosocial barriers early

contributorDr Mary Wyatt

The difference between a smooth recovery and return to work and one that stalls usually comes...

The everyday of psychosocial

contributorDr Mary Wyatt

'Psychosocial' is just the everyday forces you already know — expectations, fairness, fear,...

Psychosocial, Psycho WHAAT? — a series about the how

contributorDr Mary Wyatt

An introduction to 'Psychosocial, Psycho WHAAT?', a fortnightly 'how-to' series that turns the...

Why communicating with HEART matters more than we think

contributorLauren Finestone

In healthcare and injury management outcomes are shaped as much by how we communicate as by what...

Communication, pain and recovery — Part 1: Still waiting to be heard

contributorLauren Finestone

This is the first of a 3-part article based on a conversation between Professor Tamar Pincus and...

Why return to work often stalls for people with chronic pain

contributorNiru Tyagi

For people living with chronic pain, getting back to work is rarely dictated by the state of...

From fear to healing — Part 2: A practical framework for moving people from fear to self-efficacy

contributorLauren Finestone

Healing happens in a state of safety and care, not fear. We need to create the conditions for that.

From fear to healing — Part 1: The fear state driving failed RTW

contributorLauren Finestone

Healing happens in a state of safety and care, not fear. We need to create the conditions for that.

The 3 P’s grid — A quick and practical framework for using the biopsychosocial model

contributorLauren Finestone

A 5-minute method for bringing the biopsychosocial model to life in busy clinics.

Hands-off — the future of physiotherapy is here

contributorLauren Finestone

The traditional model of passive treatments — where patients lie on tables while therapists do...

Webinar recording — Why does return to work matter?

contributorDr David Beaumont

Consultant Occupational Physician Dr David Beaumont unpacks the hidden complexities behind RTW...

Healing the whole worker — Why holistic care is the future of workers' comp

contributorLauren Finestone

Traditional injury-focused approaches are proving inadequate for modern recovery needs, driving...

Better days by design — MoreGoodDays' approach to persistent musculoskeletal pain

contributorLauren Finestone

A digital health platform is bringing evidence-based persistent pain to people's homes, with...

How RediMed's Redi Go early intervention program is tackling psychosocial barriers

contributorLauren Finestone

RediMed's Redi Go program uses evidence-based practice that integrates psychosocial screening...

Bringing ‘It Pays to Care’ to life — How biopsychosocial care can prevent long-term disability

contributorLauren Finestone

When a truck driver develops chronic back pain, the approach to managing his physical condition...

Silenced voices — How workplace culture affects mental health and recovery

contributorLauren Finestone

A journalist's experience with harassment illustrates how toxic work environments create...

For mental health’s sake, don’t get hurt on the job

contributorLauren Finestone

Getting hurt on the job leads to worse mental health outcomes than if you were injured somewhere...

When a step becomes a stumble — How missed psychosocial opportunities affect injury recovery

contributorLauren Finestone

A case study of a worker's plantar fasciitis reveals how addressing the full spectrum of an...

Tipping points — addressing the challenges in a single parent’s RTW journey

contributorLauren Finestone

An injury from lifting a heavy box lift in a warehouse illustrates the pivotal moments when...

A story of hope for people living with persistent pain — Part 1: The mind-body connection in back pain

contributorLauren Finestone

A podcast conversation between Dr. Rangan Chatterjee and Professor Peter O'Sullivan is an...

Webinar recording — Chronic pain in claims

contributorKathy Hubble

Kathy Hubble of Amelio Health explores the nature of chronic pain and approaches to managing it...

Webinar recording: Manufacturing Healthy Minds

contributorMegan Kelly

Hear about the Manufacturing Healthy Minds Program implemented at BOC Gases, a mental health...

It’s time to bring a wide-angle lens to understanding pain

contributorLauren Finestone

Taking a wide-angle view of pain — one that looks beyond the physical to encompass the...

The current state of psychological health and safety in the workplace

contributorLauren Finestone

A Safe Work Australia report paints the most up-to-date picture of workers’ experiences of...

The feel-good factor — why your thoughts and emotions matter to recovery

contributorLauren Finestone

Injured workers will benefit from the message that their thoughts and emotions can affect how...

Nine to thrive — the health benefits of work

contributorLauren Finestone

An important message for healthcare providers to give injured workers is that working is good...

It pays to share (evidence-based messages)

contributorRTWMatters team

Ten reasons to share the key messages from It Pays To Care with everyone who works with workers’...

When inactivity hurts and movement heals

contributorLauren Finestone

An important message for healthcare providers to give injured workers is that inactivity is more...

Millions of Australians have a chronic illness. So why aren’t employers accommodating them?

contributorPeter Ghin & Susan Ainsworth

More than 20 million Australians have at least one long-term health condition, 63% of whom are...

Steering Healthy Minds — a peer support program to prevent mental illness in the transport sector

contributorSharon Stratford

An industry peer support program to prevent mental injury is driving change in the transport...

Where are we at? — psychosocial risk and regulation in Oz, the UK and the US

contributorLauren Finestone

How do Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States compare when it comes to regulating...

How do Work Health and Safety psychosocial regulations line up with RTW laws? And how do employers comply with both?

contributorRTWMatters team

What should employers do to make sure they're complying with both Work Health and Safety...

Webinar recording — The Uncomfortable Truths About Psychosocial Safety

contributorDr Michelle McQuaid

Best-selling author and workplace wellbeing teacher, Dr. Michelle McQuaid, talks us through how...