Programme Director
Dr Olivia Ong
Dr Olivia Ong, known as the Heart-Centred Doctor, is a pain physician with 15 years of clinical experience and an expert in resilience and burnout.
After a severe car accident in 2008 left her a paraplegic, Dr Ong was told she would never walk or practice medicine again. After an intensive three-year recovery process, she walked again. Today, she shares her experience with others.
Among other things, coming out the other side of such a dark period in her life inspired Dr Ong to start a business to address the unspoken toll doctors bear when they don’t find the support they need. As a high-performance leadership coach & mentor for doctors over the past ten years, she has run programs helping doctors transform their lives, moving from burnout to balance.
Her main interest is in neuropathic pain in neurological disorders, in particular central pain disorders. Dr Ong is also fluent in Mandarin and Indonesian and along with her excellent communication skills, she values greatly an emphatic approach to the sociopsychobiomedical management of her patients.
Expertise
Being able to speak from her own unique life experiences gives her presentations a deeply authentic feel, and her warm approach has made her a sought-after speaker and online educator. Dr Ong is the author of The Heart-Centred Doctor, which features a foreword from one of her mentors Jack Canfield. Her vision is for her company “The Heart-Centred Method Institute Pty Ltd” to be the leading global personal growth and professional development company for physicians and clinicians in healthcare so that they can be well rounded, heart-centred healthcare workers. Dr Ong has regular appeared in media such as Sky News, Studio 10 and Ticker TV, as well as speaking at industry leading events including Australasian New Zealand College of Anaesthesia and Faculty of Pain Medicine, where she talks about physician burnout and how mindfulness and self-compassion can transform chronic pain.
Worked with
TAC, AMA Victoria, Australasian New Zealand College of Anaesthetists and Faculty of Pain Medicine, Royal Australasian College of Physician, Seqirus, Mundipharma.
Qualifications
- Dual trained Rehabilitation and Pain Specialist
- Graduated from the University of Melbourne in 2004 and completed her Rehabilitation Specialist training in 2016
- Completed Faculty of Pain Medicine training in 2018.
- Supervisor in Focusing Therapy developed by Eugene Gendlin.