ABOUT
The Quest for Life Foundation
The Quest for Life Foundation acknowledges the traditional owners of country throughout Australia and their continuing connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to them, their culture and to elders past and present.
Assisting people living with trauma to find hope, healing and peace
Established in 1989 by Petrea King after a series of personal traumas, the Quest for Life Foundation provides educational self-help programs and community-based outreach workshops that encourage, educate and empower people to improve their resilience and peace of mind during times of illness, depression, grief and trauma. Quest encompasses an holistic approach to physical, mental, emotional and social wellbeing. We are committed to making a positive difference in our community and more than 150,000 people have utilised Quest's services since 1989.
Our vision is to enable people and communities to heal from trauma
Our programs recognise that unexpected and unthinkable things can happen to any of us. Quest takes a whole-person and recovery-oriented approach to wellbeing, utilising the latest scientific research into neuroscience and epigenetics, as well as research on evidence-based health and healing modalities.
In addition, our highly trained health professionals and facilitators offer training in resilience and healing principles in rural, regional and metropolitan areas throughout Australia.
Quest for Life is a registered NDIS Provider and the residential programs Healing Your Life and Moving Beyond Trauma are accredited with Suicide Prevention Australia.
Our values: Compassion | Humility | Respect | Empathy | Sustainability
The Quest for Life Centre
In 1998, generous benefactors made it possible for the Foundation to purchase the longest established guesthouse in Bundanoon and after undergoing major refurbishments the Quest for Life Centre opened in May 1999.
Set in 9 acres of landscaped gardens, the Centre is a tranquil site offering an ideal environment for reflection, healing and the learning of new and valuable life skills. People are immersed in a multidisciplinary program that encourages healthy lifestyle practices including improving nutrition and sleep, increasing exercise and improving communication skills through the use of emotional regulation strategies, meditation and mindfulness, narrative therapy and solution-focused brief therapy, amongst others. These evidence-based tools help participants boost recovery and improve their mental, physical and social wellbeing.
Ruth Cracknell was the Centre's first Patron and was an avid supporter of the Foundation's work. Ruth's garden is a tranquil garden centred around a water feature in memory of her loving support of Petrea and the work of the Foundation. A place for quiet reflection enjoyed by visitors to the Centre.
The Centre also provides an opportunity to intensively train facilitators, therapists, counsellors, nurses, doctors and other professionals from around Australia.
As a registered DGR1 charity, Quest relies on donations, sponsorship and fundraising to make our services available as widely as possible. We are committed to making our services available for everyone in need, no matter their financial circumstances. Oftentimes, people who can least afford our life-changing programs are the ones who need them the most.
Your tax-deductible donation or bequest enables the Quest for Life Foundation to continue and expand its many planned services. Please consider supporting Quest so that its valuable work can continue to make a positive difference in people's lives.
Our people
We are passionately committed to assisting people living with challenging life circumstances. This includes refugees, carers, veterans, emergency workers, survivors of childhood physical, emotional or sexual abuse, vehicle, sporting and other accidents, those with cancer or life-threatening and chronic illness, victims or witnesses of crime or domestic violence, people with work related injuries and any individual, organisation or community in grief or crisis.
Our professional teams are highly trained and qualified health professionals and include psychologists, counsellors, mental health social workers, psychotherapists as well as naturopaths, massage therapists, yoga and meditation teachers. Most of our professional staff have also experienced and recovered from traumatic experiences. This 'lived experience' adds an invaluable dimension to our programs.
The magic at Quest wouldn't be possible without the behind-the-scenes efforts from our small team of administration, marketing, finance, kitchen, grounds and housekeeping staff.
Diversity statement
The Quest for Life Foundation (Quest) is committed to safe, inclusive spaces and policies and services for every person.
Quest believes that every person has the right to:
- Access high-quality mental health care and support to assist with the challenges they face in their lives.
- Genuinely participate and contribute to the community and feel they are accepted, valued and belong.
- Seek the support to work towards recovery and quality of life improvement.
Quest believes that every person should be able to pursue these rights regardless of their background, identity or circumstances. Quest is committed to actively seeking information from our community about their customs, culture and beliefs where it may affect their engagement with our services. We observe and respect culturally appropriate diet preferences and religious rituals.
Where possible, Quest will attempt to meet specific requests from our community to demonstrate respect for the client and value their differences.
Quest does not tolerate harassment or discriminate in any form and our values, mission and policies are organised to prevent and address incidents of harassment and discrimination.