Pebble in the Pond: Recent Episodes
Sam Stewart
Pebble in the Pond is a podcast that hopes to create a ripple of change for mental health.
Listen in as we interview the most fascinating and accomplished people in mental health, from lived experience speakers through to researchers, academics and influential industry leaders.
Hosted by the Australian & New Zealand Mental Health Association, we are committed to progressing the understanding of mental health for the benefit for all.
After moving with her family to Australia at age 11, Shivani completed her engineering degree then her MBS to pursue a career in leadership. Shivani then experienced a life changing trek to Nepal, came home and quit her corporate job and quit her relationship.
Now, over the last 21 years of running her own business', Shivani has presented to over a quarter of a million people across 18 countries, coached over 1500 leaders globally and authored 8 books. In today’s episode we chat about Shivani’s travels, her experiences running multiple businesses and the mental health challenges that come along with that as well as her current work, passion projects with education and plans for the future.
Welcome Shivani.
Today we chat with Fiona McCallum, General Manager, MacKillop Seasons and Keeva Mostyn, Seasons for Life Lead.
MacKillop Seasons evidence-based programs build knowledge and capacity of professionals to provide safe space for children, young people and adults to learn knowledge, skills and attitudes to understand and respond to experience of change, loss and grief. Today we chat with Keeva and Fiona about the impacts of grief, loss and change with our young people and some of the training programs available at MacKillop Seasons.
Thank you and welcome Keeva and Fiona.
A former Young Australian of the Year, Sarah’s twenty years as a nurse and humanitarian have taken her around the globe.
This has given her a uniquely human perspective to the way we think, work and behave. She has seen the power of human connection to literally save lives. By cultivating a culture of courage, we all have the power to make an impact.
Tune in as we talk with Sarah about her humanitarian travels, her coping mechanisms for mental wellbeing in challenging situations and tackling burnout in the workplace and cultivating a culture of COURAGE.
Welcome Sarah.
A Northern Territorian, proud Woolwonga and Kukatj woman, raised on Larrakia and Yolngu Land. Lateesha is a passionate advocate for education – particularly for young women – and the role empowering young women plays in healing intergenerational trauma and strengthening communities.
Today we chat with Lateesha about her background and her passion for lateral empowerment. In 2022, Lateesha was successful in a Grant Application through Northern Land Council's Stimulus Grant Package, to develop and deliver a program in relation to Lateral Violence for Aboriginal and/ or Torres Strait Islander Women across the Northern Territory. We talk about the implementation of this program and what it means for young people across the territory.
Welcome Lateesha.
From brain surgery on sharks to the highlands of Papua New Guinea, to living in a cave and writing a book, Dr Kaushik Ram has many stories to tell. Abandoning a career in Australia and writing a book in a Thailand jungle in over just two months, Dr Ram experienced a transformative experience.
In this episode we talk about the fight or flight response with people experiencing anxiety or depression, we also discuss the research behind it, and our trust in our own bodies. We talk about AI and the innovation in AI within mental health, in which Dr Ram has experience.
Thank you for this incredible episode, and welcome Dr Ram.
Georgeina was not prepared for the inequality found in the Defence Force in the mid eighties when she enrolled in the armed forces. However she persevered, finished basic training and was allocated to the army psychology core. After officer training she was selected for a officer exchange in New Zealand, and applied to the Australian Army Medical Core as a health administrator. Thirty years later, ended up the Director of Army Health.
Through her long and varied career, Georgeina was awarded a Conspicuous Service Cross (CSC) in 2004 and was made a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in 2006 and awarded a Bar to her Conspicuous Service Cross in the 2016.
She was named ACT Telstra Businesswoman of the year in 2015 and awarded the ACT Public Service Award for Leadership in 2019.
In this episode we discuss Georgeina’s career, including her important pivot points, observations and challenges she’s found and her super power. “My super power is making the best use of everything that is available to me and I work very hard to collaborate.”
Leanne is a psychologist, author, presenter and advocate. In this episode we talk about the digital service delivery of mental health support during the pandemic as well as the advances in AI as well as the role technology will play in the future of mental health.
Leanne’s also the author of Head First Health Fast, the Smart Approach to Outwitting Body Issues and Sustaining Achievable Health and we touch on the importance of health body image in today’s society.
Welcome Leanne.
Distinguished Professor Susan Danby is recognised internationally as one of Australia’s leading experts in early years language and social interaction, childhood studies, and young children’s engagement with digital technologies.
As Director of the ARC Centre of Excellence for the Digital Child, Susan leads a collective of national and international researchers and partners across government, business and the community to work towards the Centre’s vision – ensuring young children are healthy, connected and educated in a rapidly changing digital age.
In today’s episode we discuss the mission for The Centre of Excellence for Digital Child, what the latest research says and the role of parents, teachers and educators in the space.
Welcome Susan.
Growing up with family violence, Jacqui says it was in the stars that she ended up leading the largest peak body in Australia for organisations and individuals who work with men to end family violence. Over her eight years as CEO of No to Violence, Jacqui saw the organisation grow from a team of 20 in Melbourne to more than 90 staff across five states. No to Violence offer a Men’s Referral Service and is the central point of contact for men taking responsibility for their violent behaviour. They also work with the family violence sector and governments to develop and advocate for best practice policy in stopping men’s use of family violence, as well as providing training and workforce development for sector workers.
(Since this episode was recorded, Jacqui has stepped down as CEO from No to Violence).
Thank you Jacqui for an interesting and insightful chat.
Educator, truth-talker and natural disruptor, Peta has a strong background in training and consulting and a profile in mental health and suicide prevention. In today’s episode we speak about Peta’s presentation at the 2023 Australian and New Zealand Addiction Conference on the impact of the current rise of vaping and e-cigarettes use in Australia. Every state has different rules and regulations about vaping use and it’s the lack of education and information that are seeing consumers ingesting quite dangerous toxins as well as children and young people having easy access to vapes. Thank you Peta for an interesting yarn today.
After witnessing a suicide, losing another friend to suicide and working through his own mental health challenges, Matthew Steans established a New Zealand charity: Hope Upstream Charitable Trust. The charity aims to work towards zero suicide communities in Aotearoa. The charity researches, evaluates and develops suicide prevention initiatives. We chat today about Matthew’s start in the sector, the challenges he’s faced so far and what he sees for the future in the mental health space.
Thank you Matthew for your time and energy.
Today’s episode features Megan Kingham. From Nursing to OH&S to starting the first national corporate health and wellbeing program at AGL, Megan Kingham is now the Director Staff Health, People & Culture at NSW Ambulance. In this episode we talk about mental health and wellbeing strategies at a corporate level and how starting a big new role at NSW Ambulance just before COVID struck saw Megan learn fast adaptability. An insightful and interesting episode - welcome Megan.
Nicole Gibson is a Award-Winning Social Entrepreneur, Systems Architect, Author & Philosopher.
From supporting communities with emotional infrastructure with a not-for-profit foundation; Love Out Loud, to working on meaningful and complex system change within the tech field, Nic Gibson is a powerhouse.
In today’s episode, we cover a lot of ground. From Nic’s personal story with anorexia, and how her introspection bought her to a new path and journey to what the future of mental health could mean for individuals.
We talk about our natural disposition to want to heal, and how a lot of us struggle with that. We touch on our cultural changes over the last century has allowed for less time for self and introspection as our addiction and reliance on technology takes hold.
Welcome Nic.
Neavin descends from the Taranaki region and many of the Taranaki iwi.
Work wise, he provides Māori cultural support and advice to a range of organisations ranging from government to private through to community groups.
With a background in education, health promotion and the Treaty of Waitangi he works on projects that are designed to inspire passion in peoples’ culture. Neavin is currently a board member of New Zealand’s Problem Gambling Foundation.
In today’s episode we talk about revitalisation of language and culture, the value of culturally appropriate services and what Neavin is excited about for the future of the social and emotional wellbeing of Māori people.
Welcome Neavin.
Dr Nicole Milburn is a Clinical Psychologist with two-and-a-half decades of experience working with infants, children, adults and families in private practice, public mental health and therapeutic services.
Nicole’s vision is for a community that respects and values the perspective of all its members, where problems are identified early in life as well as early in the problem. Nicole’s work is trauma-informed with a particular focus on the experience of infants, whose voices are often overlooked or otherwise not heard.
Dr Nicole Milburn, thank you for an incredibly insightful chat and thank you for sharing your story.
Karen knew she wanted to be a social worker from a young age and has spent a career focusing on children and adolescents. Now as, Director of Operations – Clinical Transformation at Oxygen, Karen supports and enables the integration and efficiency of clinical services, programs and projects to deliver successful outcomes, in both an operational and strategic capacity.
In this episode, Karen touches on life as a social worker, and why it’s important to employ self-resilience and self-care whilst taking care of other people in times of need. We also speak about the challenges facing the sector right now, where the current areas of improvement lie and why collaboration is so important.
Dr Brian McKenny is the Clinical Director, Rural and Remote Mental Health Service, Barossa Hills Fleurieu Local Health Network - SA Health
After having an interest in mental health whilst studying Medicine, Dr McKenny has extensive experience in psychiatry and became an early adopter of tele-psychiatry and traveling to rural and remote areas as a travelling mental health professional.
Today we speak about the differences in service delivery between rural and remote areas vs the metro areas, as well as the demand and supply of services, attracting the workforce of the future, and the reasons why he thinks the work is incredibly rewarding.
Welcome Dr Brian McKenny.
Pip is an author, investigative journalist, radio presenter, podcast producer/host and content architect of ‘creative ideas all-rounder’.
After spending eighteen years in the Police Force, Pip left the force in 2011 to raise her children and work on new projects. She has spent years in recovery from PSTD, in which she continued her research in treatments for mental illness, advocacy for stigmas in society and in particular a focus on – the impact of insurance investigations on those with an invisible illness.
With her trademark activism and calm enthusiasm, Pip strategically unpacks the themes, topics and life changing stories of women and men who are looking to share life lessons and empower others using the power of their own voice.
On today’s episode, Pip talks about overwhelm and overload, the mental health of victims of family and sexual violence and how her own experiences help to shape her work, her writing and now her future.
Welcome Pip.
In 1991, the honourable Margaret McMurdo was the first woman to be appointed a judge of the District Court of Queensland and the Childrens Court of Queensland.
Justice McMurdo was appointed President of the Court of Appeal, Supreme Court of Queensland in 1998. Her Honour was the second president and first woman appointed as a presiding judge of an appellate court in Australia.
In 2001 Justice McMurdo was awarded the Centenary Medal and later appointed a Companion of the Order of Australia (2007) for service to the law and judicial administration in Queensland, particularly in the areas of legal education and women's issues. In 2006 her Honour was presented the Agnes McWhinney Award for outstanding professional contribution by a woman lawyer.
Her Honour retired as President of the Court of Appeal on 26 March 2017. On 5 May 2017 Justice McMurdo was appointed Chair of the Legal Aid Board of Queensland.
In today’s episode we talk with Justice McMurdo about her start in law, her incredible experience in championing change for women’s safety and justice and her more recent appointment as the Chair of the Queensland Women’s Safety Justice Taskforce.
Clifford Lewis, PhD (he/him/his) is a Marketing academic at Charles Sturt University. His research focuses on Place Marketing; exploring LGBTQIA+ inclusion both within one’s community or a recreational context. Within this field, he has drawn on socio-psychological theories to explore how places and experiences can be made more inclusive for LGBTQIA+ people.
Through his work he has called for a more nuanced and sensitive approach to research which considers the diversity encapsulated under the LGBTQIA+ acronym. He is passionate about using research to make the world more inclusive.
Thank you to Cliff for joining us and speaking about the lack of visibility of mental health services in rural and regional communities for LGBTQIA+ people and the massive changes in education and awareness that could bring about big changes in the sector.
Steph is a Research Fellow at The Matilda Centre for Research in Mental Health and Substance Use. Steph leads an innovative program of research and translation to reduce the impact of substance use.
Her research aims to improve the health outcomes for individuals, families and communities especially among vulnerable and disadvantaged groups.
In today’s episode we chat with Steph about: Cracks in the Ice, which is a National Online Portal funded by the Australian Government Department of Health to develop and disseminate evidence-based resources about crystal methamphetamine (‘ice’) for the Australian Community. Steph is currently the Project Lead at Cracks In the Ice – welcome Steph.
Dr Eli Kotler is a Psychiatrist and Medical Director of Malvern Private Hospital, an addiction and trauma hospital in Melbourne. As an adjunct lecturer at Monash University, he oversees medical students on their addiction medicine rotation. Eli has an interest in psychedelic-assisted therapies, and is the Australian Director of the Certificate in Psychedelic Assisted Therapies course (Mind Medicine Australia).
In today’s episode we chat with Eli around the psychedelic treatment changes which are emerging in the addiction sector, his excitement for a more holistic and humanistic approach to mental disorders and the process he works through with his clients.
Welcome, Eli.
Gus Worland is a Radio presenter and TV personality. During an episode on his breakfast radio show, Gus shared a story about a close friend and mentor who took his own life. This opened up the calls from listeners who called in to share their own stories. The journey which Gus started led to him hosting a three-part mental health documentary series, Man Up and now Gotcha4Life, a charity working to prevent suicide and break the stigma around mental health issues.
In today’s episode we talk about Gus’s personal experience, how he’s passionate about encouraging mental fitness and the fundraising efforts which drive him.
Welcome Gus.
Michele identifies as an Gumbaynggirr/Yaegl Nyami (Woman in Gumbaynggirr)-accepted on Bundjalung Country. Michele champions social justice and seeks to work hard to increase equality & equity for First Peoples. As a Targeted Early Intervention Worker with Bugil Wernbe TEI Program-Tabulam District, Michele leads with an Indigenous Feministic practice, authentic Aboriginal Leadership & Aboriginal Governance which self-empowers to show up with and for community.
Today we talk about the challenges of the work Michele has been a part of, the power of Aboriginal people working with Aboriginal people and her passion for early intervention with children to help build strong families within the community.
Welcome Michele.
Belinda Connell has been a registered Social Worker for 25 years and has over 10 years’ experience in suicide prevention, delivering LivingWorks’ suicide intervention training in Australia and overseas. Belinda also served as a sworn Police Officer with the NSW Police Service and is very proud of her first responder family background.
In today’s episode we chat with Belinda about the stigma around having conversations about suicide. We also discuss the LivingWorks programs which can empower people to learn the skills which could help someone stay safe, and the improvements which can be made to first responders and frontline worker mental health support systems.
Thank you Belinda.
With a Masters in International Development, a Bachelor of Social Work and a Bachelor of Social Science (Psychology) Louise is an inclusion engagement specialist with a background in facilitation, training and youth community development. Today we chat around empowered youth work, and what meaningful inclusive engagement with young people looks like. Louise shares five tips around truly engaging and working with young people with honesty and sincerity.
Welcome Louise.
Ashley is the Executive Director at NSW Aboriginal Safe Gambling Services.
An Aboriginal Australian from the western-New South Wales community of Brewarrina and a descendent of the Gamilaroi and Ngemba people, Ashley has dedicated much of his life and career to not only addressing the fundamental gap in services available to Aboriginal communities but also to dismantling the stigma associated with seeking help.
Today we talk with Ashley around his belief that disadvantage in Aboriginal communities and the issues associated with it, including drug, alcohol and gambling addiction, can only be tackled through authentic engagement and collaboration with Aboriginal people.
Welcome, Ashley.
On today’s episode we speak with Commissioner Dominic Morgan. With over 30 years of ambulance experience across a broad range of roles in the areas of operations, clinical practice and leadership within Ambulance Services and the Financial Sector, Commissioner Morgan has an incredible amount of experience and insight. We chat about the recent ramifications of the pandemic on paramedics and what the future holds for the sector.
Thank you Commissioner, and welcome.
Abi Cooper is a Youth Mental Health Consultant and Lived Experience Coordinator at batyr.
Only 22, Abi has been working in the mental health sector for the last five years. By sharing her experience in help seeking and having a few missteps along the way, Abi is passionate about advocating for young people within the community who are looking for services. Today we chat around Abi’s personal story, the changes she’d like to see in the lived experience workforce and some of the power shifts she’d like to see within the greater sector.
Thank you Abi, and welcome.
Content warning. This episode does talk about child sexual abuse and child sexual abuse material.
Dr Michael Salter is the Scientia Associate Professor of Criminology at the School of Social Sciences at UNSW and an expert in child sexual exploitation and gendered violence.
Michael applies critical and feminist theory to the study of complex trauma, with a focus on intersections with technology. Michael sits on the Board of Directors of the International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation, and he is an advisor to the Australian Office of the eSafety Commissioner, the Canadian Centre for Child Protection and White Ribbon Australia. He is Associate Editor of Child Abuse Review and sits on the editorial board of the Journal of Trauma and Dissociation.
In today’s episode we talk about policy failure, the lack of preparedness to recognise and respond to the impact of child sexual abuse and exploitation and a whole range of sector updates.
Welcome Michael.
Rod Jeffries is Wakenyahten (Turtle Clan) of the Kanyen’keha:ka Niwakitaro:ten (Mohawk) residing at home on the Kenhte:ke Nitewake:non (Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory, Ontario, Canada.)
For the past 36 years, he has worked in the fields of substance abuse, healing, wellness and treatment as manager, workshop trainer/facilitator, program developer and evaluator.
In the past three decades, his efforts have focused on the development & delivery of programs and staff for working with survivors of trauma, cultural oppression, sexual abuse and residential/boarding schools. In recent years, Rod has become well known for his work on trauma, shame and lateral violence across Canada and in New Zealand.
He is the chairperson of the International Indigenous Council for Healing Our Spirit Worldwide. Rod’s involvement with HOSW began in 1991 prior to the First Gathering in Edmonton, Alberta in 1992.
Thank you for joining us Rod.
From starting in the sector as a psychiatric nurse, Ed is now Senior Vice President and Chief Program Officer at the Mental Health Commission of Canada. Ed helps to guide and advise on best and emerging practices.
We talk about the changes he’s seen over a long career in mental health, how stigma manifests within the sector, within mental health policy and within in the community. We chat around how the pandemic has shifted conversations and the new national standard in Canada, and what that means for the future of mental health in Canada.
An episode full of incredible insight and thank you Ed!
Dr Julie Rowse is the Owner of Healthy Mind And Soul & a Mental Health Occupational Therapist.
Growing up in Ballarat with a very strong work ethic which didn’t cover mental health, Dr Julie Rowse came to her current practice after a burn out moment saw her questioning her career path and searching for answers when she had some unexplained health issues.
A passionate advocate for a holistic approach to mental health with occupational therapy, treatment and flexible approaches, Dr Rowse joins us for today’s episode.
Welcome, Dr Julie Rowse.
Michelle is the Partnerships and Engagement Partner at Ngunya Jarjum Aboriginal Child And Family Network.
Ngunya Jarjum was established in 1995 by Bundjalung Elders and community members to address the crisis and need for more Aboriginal kinship and foster carers. Based on the idea to keep the children on Country, within family and immersed in culture.
We talk all things from cultural identity, working with families with addiction, inviting children to be a part of the conversation with change and how some of the exciting shifts coming from the future.
Welcome Michelle for this incredibly insightful episode.
Reverend Dr Rex Rigby is an Indigenous Australian – from the Bigambul clan in central southwest Queensland. Rex is the first Indigenous national head of a denomination in Australia. He has served for eleven years as the National Superintendent of the Wesleyan Methodist Church of Australia, fourteen years as a District Superintendent, and over 17 years as a local church pastor.
Today we talk about Rex’s story, how he got started in the church and his passionate mission for change, leadership and the challenges that come along with that. A truly powerful story and a hopeful one. Thank you Dr Rex.
Our guest host today is Nat Heath.
Dr Mark Deady is a UNSW Senior Research Fellow at the Black Dog Institute and the research lead within the Workplace Mental Health Research Program. He has over twelve years research experience in the field of mental health and substance use disorders. In this time he has worked on a range of projects at a coronial, epidemiological, and clinical level, completing his PhD at UNSW in 2015.
With extensive expertise in the development of digital interventions, online service delivery, clinical trial evaluation, and workplace mental health. Dr Deady joins us today to speak about how the workplace is changing, what the research is saying and what are some effective approaches to support mental health in the workplace. Welcome Dr Deady.
From being raised on a farm to living overseas and back to Australia to working in corporate - “growing” has always been a part of Simon’s life. When he partnered with friends Matt and Paul, the innovative and now, award winning raised garden bed company: Vegepod was born.
Simon is passionate about therapeutic horticulture and through his own story with mental ill-health, he is a big believer in the power of growing to help people overcome challenging times.
The benefits from getting your hands in the soil, nurturing nature and growing your own edible garden are only now being better understood. Here to discuss it all..
Welcome Simon.
Heather is a Mental Health Commissioner in South Australia and over a dedicated career, has participated in the development of the National Qualification for Peer workers.
She’s also assisted in co-designing the resources for the Certificate IV Mental Health Peer Work and worked with the SA Mental Health Coalition to bring the qualification to SA.
Heather is a strong advocate for consumers living with mental health issues at a local, state and National level. She was an inaugural member of the National Consumer and Carer Register, and now a member of the National Consumer & Carer Forum.
On today’s episode, Heather discusses the role or peer work, the development of peer work training and her a-ha moments that have led to huge process and structure changes for the sector.
It's wonderful to see Heather on the podcast – welcome Heather.
Cameron is the Founder and Managing Director of Hemisphere East, a strategic counsel and government relations consultancy that helps clients in the tech and cyber fields engage with government and industry.
After serving fourteen years in the Australian Federal Police, most of this time in leadership roles, and as an AFP advisor to the federal government.
Sharna runs pre and post-natal yoga classes and together they are proud Fortem Australia Ambassadors.
We talk about the challenges faced by first responders on the job, mental health within the sector Cameron’s journey with the AFP and PTSD and their journey together as a family. Welcome to you both.
Dean is a proud Kamilaroi man and is the CEO of Healing Works Australia which is an Indigenous led and operating as a private social enterprise corporation that provides an array of suicide prevention services.
Through his own journey of emotional wellbeing, Dean’s personal and professional experiences have placed him in a unique position to provide culturally competent, sensitive, and safe environments for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples who are at risk of suicide, or who would like to learn how to support someone who is at risk of suicide.
Today we talk about Dean’s journey, community engagement, and the social and emotional wellbeing framework. Welcome Dean.
Lucas Finch is the Global Head of Wellbeing at Xero - a cloud-based accounting software platform. He has won the Australian Psychological Societies Workplace Excellence Award for the development of an evidence-based Workplace Wellbeing Program.
In this episode we talk through Lucas’s life changing silent meditation retreat, our modern obsession with busy-ness and achievement, and how Lucas jumped on board with Xero to develop a wellbeing strategy for their global team.
Welcome Lucas.
As a Griefologist, Rosemary is a specialist. She is a qualified educator & assessor, program designer and facilitator, loss & grief counselor, public speaker and a published author.
The foundation to these abilities derives from her lived experiences of grieving through her personal loss and grief from 1987-1992. During her personal grieving journey she set up the Sacred Site Within Healing Centre in 1993.
Rosemary is a proud South Australian Aboriginal woman with ancestry and ancestral links to Kaurna of the Adelaide Plains and Wirringu from the West Coast. After the death of their beloved mother, Rosemary and six of her eight siblings became part of the Stolen Generation. It’s a traumatic story, but by reconnecting with her Spiritual Ancestors, Rosemary managed to survive the many years of loss, grief and fear.
This episode talks about everything from Plato, to grief, to Rosemary’s personal experiences, what inter-generational grief looks like today and how we start to help Indigenous people thrive through griefology.
Welcome Rosemary.
Currently a Manager at Success Works, Eleni helps transform the lives of women effected by the criminal justice system. With a history of undiagnosed anxiety and depression, and an intense people pleasing personality, Eleni lived with anorexia in her late teens. After the breakdown of her twenty-one year marriage, a return of depression and some bad decisions, Eleni was incarcerated for 11 months. Eleni shares her story around eating disorder, depression, mental health within the prison system and what happens to women after incarceration.
A truly insightful, raw and honest conversation and I thank Eleni for sharing her story.
Dom Barry is a proud Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara man from the remote community of Kaltjiti (Fregon) in the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands, and a former professional AFL player, playing for the Melbourne Football Club and the Port Adelaide Football Club. Dom shares his story about moving from Alice Springs to Melbourne as a teenager, boarding at Ballarat and starting his professional career.
On today’s episode we discuss Dom’s journey, his ideas about continuing education and wellbeing for Indigenous children and Dom shares some insights on how First Nations people approach, treat and heal mental ill health and what being on country means to Indigenous people. Thank you to Dom for sharing so much in this episode.
On today’s episode we talk with Dr Ben Hamer, one of the leading voices on the future of work. Ben is Doctor of Public Administration, which included time spent as a Visiting Scholar at Yale University, and is an Adjunct Fellow for Swinburne University’s Centre for the New Workforce. Ben leads the future of work market for PwC Australia and is on the Board of the Australian HR Institute (AHRI).
We discuss how the pandemic is still creating waves in workplaces across Australia, how current trends and future predictions may affect workplaces, employees and employers. I thoroughly enjoyed this fascinating conversation and hope you enjoy.
Welcome Ben.
Geraldine is a professional consultant and victim-survivor of family violence.
Geraldine was appointed as the Deputy Chair of the Victim Survivors Advisory Council in May 2020 and she sits across a number of consulting and advisory boards including the Mornington Peninsula Primary Prevention Collaboration and White Ribbon National Advisory Council.
On today’s episode Geraldine shares details on her upbringing, her personal story and Wisdom in Practice - a reverse mentoring program. Geraldine talks about how lived experience and professionalism partner together and work along side each other to create systemic responses that meet the needs of the people who use them.
Thank you for sharing your story so honestly Geraldine and welcome to the podcast.
Taimi is the Tumu Whakarae (Director) at Ember Innovations and is a board member of Te Hiringa Mahara Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission of Aotearoa New Zealand. Starting her career as an air hostess with Ansett and Qantas, Taimi has become one of the leading minds in the mental health sector. With over 17 years experience in mental health and addiction services, e-Health, Suicide prevention, Leadership service and programme design and implementation Taimi is uniquely qualified to share her thoughts on the landscape of mental health services now and the value people with lived experience bring to the table.
Taimi is a firm believer that if you have a great idea the world should know about it and that experiences enable (not disable) people to innovate. It was a great pleasure to sit down for this discussion with Taimi and I hope you enjoy the episode.
Welcome Taimi Allan.
On today’s episode we talk with Jack Buckskin, a proud Kaurna and Narrunga man.
Jack tells the story of his family’s background and how after grasping the Kaurna language, he’s continued to become a teacher and leading authority on this traditional South Australian language. During our episode, we talk about Jack’s passion for the language and how dedicated he is to lifting the profile of cultural language in South Australia.
Welcome Jack.
Karen is a seasoned director in transformation, stakeholder engagement, human centred design, communications, and business strategy. She’s also the Partnerships Director at Today, which is a strategic design agency focused on purpose-based, problem solving projects.
In this episode, Karen talks about the process and facilitation of Co-Design, the resources needed and the roles and responsibilities of a Co-Design project and how the organizational support to help the planning stage move forward is so important. We learn the skills behind the design of a co-design project, how structure and process go hand in hand with the organizational support and each are equally essential to move teams and ideas forward.
Enjoy listening to this interesting episode with Karen now.
Dr Angela Martin is the founder and Principal Consultant of Pracademia.
Angela holds current part-time and honorary Professorial appointments with the Menzies Institute for Medical Research and the College of Business and Economics, University of Tasmania.
On today’s episode we look back at the last 20 years Angela has spent working in the workplace mental health sector, how employers and employees awareness around workplace mental health has grown and developed and the changes around stigma and conversations in the workplace around mental health.
We chat about the now and the future and touch on National Workplace Initiative, which is an exciting workplace mental health initiative.
Welcome Angela.
With 20 years' experience in the community, health, justice and corporate sectors principally in the areas of sexual, domestic and family violence policy, practice and law reform Hayley Foster is a passionate leader in the family and domestic violence sector.
CEO of Full Stop Australia, Hayley chats with us today about how her wide scope of experience has solidified her commitment to making systemic changes, her hopes for the future of the sector and the cultural shifts which are taking place. Hayley discusses her current role with Full Stop, and passionately explains what the National Plan means for the sector.
On today’s episode of Pebble in the Pond we chat with Lyndon Reilly. Lyndon is a Badtjala (But-chulla) Mununjali man. Lyndon has lived a majority of his life in the North Central Coast of Queensland Township Mackay.
Since 2012, Lyndon had been working full time for the Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS) Queensland Section as a Mental Health Promotion Officers. Currently, Lyndon is employed fulltime at the University of New South Wales (UNSW), Discipline of Psychiatry, working on a MRFF funded Research Project titled ‘Enabling Dad’s, Improving First Nations Adolescents Mental Health, across five Far North Queensland First Nations communities; Doomadgee, Kowanyama, Aurukun, Hopevale and Wujal Wujal.
Today we dive into the research Lyndon’s currently involved in as well as the main challenges adolescent and First Nations men are facing today including role models, the education system and goal setting. We talk about the men’s empowerment programs Lyndon’s been a part of since 1994 and the impact seen in the community over the years. We also discuss about what needs to be done now to create real change for generations to come.
On today’s episode of Pebble in the Pond we chat with Dr Joel Davies, Psychologist and Senior People Scientist at Culture Amp. Joel works tirelessly to help people reach their full potential and his career to date has spanned across academia, organisational development, learning and development, and tech product development.
Joel works with Culture Amp's APAC customers to design employee feedback strategies and derive actionable insights from the comprehensive data collected through the Culture Amp Platform. Today we discuss how the pandemic has affected employee wellbeing at both work (and home) and the current staff shortages.
We also discuss the role that both organisations and employees play in supporting wellbeing, global wellbeing trends, the impact of wellbeing on organisational success, and the most common psychological hazards in the workplace.
If you run a team, are in the workplace mental health sector or generally want to know how to best support your employees, then tune in and listen up!
Today we chat with Professor Bronwen Dalton. Bronwen is the Head of the Department of Management and the Director of the Masters of Not-for-Profit and Social Enterprise Program at the University of Technology, Sydney. She is also a North Korea expert. In 2012-14 Bronwen was the National Manager, Research at Mission Australia.
Bronwen was an expert adviser on the evaluation of the Commonwealth Department of Family and Community Services’ Stronger Families and Communities Strategy. Bronwen has also worked closely on anti-corruption as part of her role as policy officers at the Independent Commission Against Corruption and at the NSW Attorney General’s Department.
Today we talk about Bronwen’s varied background growing up in rural NSW then traveling to Korea and her formative career. We discuss how COVID rapidly accelerated the flexibility of work in our society, Bronwen’s current research into the viability of the four day work week and the employee and business outcomes of a four day work week. Bronwen shares the culture shifts which need to happen around a new way of working and what that looks like for the future of work in Australia.
Today we have the trail blazing Pat Dudgeon on the podcast.
We discuss with Pat how she started out in her studies, her motivations and the projects she’s been a part of. We discuss the big events of the last few years, the progressive ideas which have led to different models and programs as well as considerable change for the Indigenous community.
Pat talks about the importance of connection to kinship, community and country. She shares how globally, Indigenous psychology is shifting for the better and how exciting that is for her. She shares how strongly she feels about the obligation to leave an easier path for the Indigenous generations to come and why doing things that make your heart happy is just as important.
Pat talks about her desire for what future care models look like, for both Indigenous and non-indigenous people.
Key take away message: “Treasure your difference and your local connectedness. Serve your community in a way that makes your heart happy.”
Chris May – Founding Director of Mayden, the company behind iaptus, the world's most popular EHR for psychological therapies, is our guest on the podcast today. Having worked in healthcare analytics for over 30 years, Chris is passionate about using the power of data to improve service provision and patient outcomes.
Today we chat about how the latest technology developments in the UK aim to positively transform the therapist and client experience, how mental healthcare can lead the way for healthcare as a whole, and why the Australian and New Zealand mental health services are in danger of falling behind.
Welcome Chris.
In today’s podcast episode we chat with Associate Professor Chris Wilkins from SHORE & Whariki Research Centre, the College of Health at Massey University in New Zealand about the preferences for different cannabis law reform options among the general population and key national stakeholders in New Zealand.
To provide some background, several countries including Australia and New Zealand are debating the future of cannabis policy. In 2020 a national referendum to legalise recreational cannabis use and supply (via the Cannabis Legalisation and Control Bill (CLCB)) was held in New Zealand, and was narrowly defeated.
We chat with Chris around the key factors in the defeat of the CLCB.
Alistair is an Associate Partner at McKinsey & Company and a leader of the People and Organisational Performance Practice. Alistair works with clients to transform culture, orchestrate and lead change, develop leadership and talent and reimagine operating models and organisational design. Alistair is a leader of the McKinsey Health Institute and one of the drivers of McKinsey’s thinking on creating mentally healthy and safe workplaces.
In this episode, Alistair chats with us about turning the post pandemic tide of employee burnout and the critical role and time for leaders. Alistair shares insights from what McKinsey is seeing in Australia and around the world, how work is and will change into the future, and what this all means for workplace mental health. He will share why and how, if we are to turn back the tide on employee mental ill health, leaders must act - starting today.
Welcome Alistair.
Mary O’Hagan was a key initiator of the psychiatric survivor movement in New Zealand in the late 1980s and was the first chairperson of the World Network of Users and Survivors of Psychiatry between 1991 and 1995.
She has been an advisor to the United Nations and the World Health Organization. Mary was a full-time Mental Health Commissioner in New Zealand between 2000 and 2007. Mary is currently Executive Director Lived Experience in the Mental Health and Wellbeing Division at the Department of Health in Victoria.
All Mary’s work has been driven by her quest for social justice for one of the most marginalised groups in our communities and today she chats with us about the unresolved challenges in the sector.
Welcome, Mary.
For the past 10 years headspace Schools have been working across the country, supporting Australian schools across the spectrum of mental health literacy, suicide prevention, risk management, and recovery.
Kristen Douglas is the National Manager and Head of headspace Schools. Kristen joins us as today’s podcast guest to chat about the importance of a whole school approach in promoting student wellbeing. We also discuss the role of educators and administrators in preparing for and responding to suicide risk, attempts and suicide impacting schools.
As well as this, we chat about understanding the key components of suicide prevention and postvention work as well as how to mitigate against the risk of suicide clusters forming. Welcome to the podcast, Kristen.
Sam Frost is an Australian actress, media personality and author. First winning hearts after appearing on The Bachelor Australia in 2014, then starring in the very first Bachelorette Australia in 2015, Sam has been described as the Aussie girl next door.
In 2015 she became a national radio host working alongside comedian and TV personality Rove McManus before joining the cast of Australian TV drama; Home and Away as Jasmine Delaney in 2017.
After more than a year in the making, Sam published her first book “Believe” with Hachette in 2022. With an undeniable presence and popularity Sam joins us as today’s podcast guest to speak about “Believe”; a mental health initiative for women focusing on depression, anxiety and the sometimes toxic world of social media.
In recent years, there has been increasing public, political and media attention around the world to the question of drug law reform. Jurisdictions across the Americas, Europe and the United Kingdom are debating and enacting reforms relating to cannabis and other illicit drugs. In Australia, too, the debate around drug law reform continues. But while some states and territories have decriminalised low-level cannabis offences, there appears to be little political appetite for adopting other models of reform or applying this approach to other illicit drugs.
But is decriminalisation an evidence-based approach? Should we decriminalise other drugs beyond cannabis? Here to explore answers is this week’s guest John Ryan.
John is a leader in public health whose expertise is widely recognised in Victoria and overseas. He is currently a member of the North Richmond Medically Supervised Injecting Room Review Panel and, in 2012, won a Churchill Fellowship to travel to the United States and study ways of improving public health approaches to drug policy.
As a former Needle and Syringe Program worker, university researcher and policymaker, John is deeply committed to promoting better approaches to substance use and leading Penington Institute’s work to create change for the better.
Stay tuned as John explores the challenges and opportunities surrounding the decriminalisation of drugs in Australia, and delves into the question; is decriminalisation an effective way to address problematic drug use?
Systems of violence are complex, and solutions require more than just physical techniques.
One holistic approach to personal safety is Empowerment Self Defence (ESD), an evidence-based primary violence prevention system that teaches individuals how to recognise and interrupt violence by listening to the intuition assessing their options, asserting boundaries, using de-escalation strategies and provides tools for a range of psychological, verbal and physical responses.
Survivors who have been previously trained in ESD recover faster, are more likely to report perpetrators and reach out for support. So far ESD instructors have taught over 7000 people including victims of trafficking, girls at risk, rural women, social workers, refugees, students, mothers, and daughters and more from all around the world.
This week’s guest Antonella Spatola is the Regional Manager for the Asia Pacific region with ESD Global, a non-for-profit organisation based in the US, dedicated to making the evidence-based system of empowerment self-defence (or ESD) training accessible around the globe.
She trains individuals and organisations in the violence prevention space to promote the principles of ESD within their communities, delivering training to the global community as a first-hand preventative method against violence.
Antonella has a B.A.in Psychology, is a mediator in conflict resolution, a behavioural therapist for NDIS, facilitates workshops and schools, and is a coach for women with a history of trauma.
Stay tuned as Antonella informs me on the principles of ESD, it’s importance in the violence prevention education space, and how it can be used as a powerful tool for change.
Leadership is no longer about individual strength, but group strength. So what does leadership look like today when we’re facing complexity and challenges in every direction?
By activating a distributed leadership model with the methods to help people operate out of their comfort zone, model inclusive culture, and sharpen their critical curiosity for the unknown you’ll be taking steps to secure a strong future for your team and company.
Holly Ransom is our guest today, talking about THE LEADING EDGE - Methods for thriving in uncertainty. Holly shares tips on energy vs time, getting comfortable being uncomfortable, critical curiosity and design for inclusion.
Holly is Founder and CEO of consulting firm Emergent, has been named one of Australia’s 100 Most Influential Women by the Australian Financial Review, she has delivered a Peace Charter to the Dalai Lama, was Sir Richard Branson’s nominee for Wired Magazine’s ‘Smart List’ of Future Game Changers to watch and was awarded the US Embassy’s Eleanor Roosevelt Award for Leadership Excellence in 2019.
Prior to COVID-19 the AOD sector struggled to attract, recruit, and retain the workforce required to deliver quality care. The situation is now critical. However, it’s not all doom and gloom.
The AOD workforce are caring, professional, and passionate people, who advocate for those who access services. Despite the challenges we face as a sector, the workforce demonstrates a resilience and commitment to delivering positive outcomes and experiences for people in their care.
Here to explore challenges and opportunities faced in the AOD sector is this week’s guest, Robert Stirling.
Robert is CEO for the Network of Alcohol and other Drugs Agencies (NADA) and is responsible for representing the interests of the NSW non-government AOD sector across policy, sector and workforce development, and research.
He sits on several national and NSW boards and committees representing the NGO AOD sector. Robert has worked in the AOD sector for 15 years across the government and NGO sectors and holds qualifications in public health and community management. He is currently undertaking a doctorate exploring performance measurement of AOD treatment.
In this week’s episode, Robert delves into what the AOD workforce looks like at present, and what an ideal workforce would look like in the future. He also discusses strategies for attracting and retaining the workforce, and ways to develop future managers and leaders that will ensure the sustainability of the sector.
For mental health to progress, we must continually strive for greater visibility, and have all voices heard, recognised, and encompassed within practice.
This week’s guest Emily Unity is a mental health professional, software developer, and multidisciplinary creative. They are also a queer, culturally diverse, and neurodiverse young person.
With a diverse portfolio in the mental health and human rights sector, focusing on marginalised and minority communities, Emily has worked across the sector including with organisations including headspace, Orygen, Beyond Blue, the Royal Children's Hospital, and the National Mental Health Commission.
Emily has lived experience of mental health challenges, homelessness, suicide, and self-harm, being a young carer, neurodiversity, LGBTIQA+, having a disability, and being from a refugee and migrant background. They were recently inducted into the Victorian Multicultural Honor Roll, a finalist in the Disability Leadership Awards, and appointed the Mental Health Advocate of the Year.
Emily endeavours to use both their professional and lived experience to help advocate for a world for all people, regardless of background, identity, or neurodiversity. They join me today to explore elements of personal experience, self-identity, and their work highlighting the lived and living experiences of multicultural people with Multicultural Minds.
Recognition of gambling addiction and the harm it causes has come a long way. Gone are the days when public and even clinical perceptions of gambling addiction focused on the personal responsibility paradigm.
But in terms of treatment, support, prevention and even stigma we still have a long way to go to.
This week’s guest Tony Clarkson is the Vice-President of the Psychotherapy & Counselling Federation of Australia and a board member with the South Eastern Melbourne Primary Health Network, where he also chairs the Clinical & Community Council.
He currently works as the Principal Clinical Advisor at the Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation, where he provides clinical advice for a state-wide gambling addiction service system. He also continues to work in private practice as a psychotherapist with long term patients who present with trauma, addiction, and relationship issues.
Stay tuned as Tony joins me to explore where we are in terms of screening, treating, preventing, and understanding gambling harm; where it sits within the AOD and mental health systems and if is this the right place for it.
It is recognised that the Northern Territory has one of the highest rates of suicide in Australia, if not the world.
But why?
Joining us to explore factors behind these shocking statistics is this week’s guest Robert Parker.
Initially completed a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Archaeology before working on the Tiwi Islands in the NT for three years as an art and craft advisor, Robert began his career in mental health by training in medicine and psychiatry. He is currently an Associate Professor in Psychiatry at Flinders University SA and the Director of Psychiatry with Top End Mental Health Services in the NT.
Robert is a past Chair of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Mental Health Committee for the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists. He has also been President of the NT Branch of the Australian Medical Association for the last 8 years. Throughout this time, he has published several articles on Indigenous mental health and suicide.
Stay tuned as Robert joins me to reflect on the potential reasons and influences for suicide rates being so high in the Northern Territory, in the context of 20 years working as a psychiatrist in the region.
Help seeking trends among children and young people are rapidly changing. Generations Z and Alpha, have their own unique preferences and expectations for help seeking, particularly in relation to their mental health and emotional wellbeing.
In recent years, Australia’s national helpline for children and young people, Kids Helpline, has seen seismic shifts in trends and patterns of help seeking by children and young people unlike any seen before in its 30 year history.
Joining me this week to take a dive into this shifting trend is Kathryn Mandla, Head of Advocacy and Research at yourtown.
In her role, Kathryn leads advocacy, data analytics, innovation, performance, evaluation, and research functions. She was previously the inaugural Head of the National Office for Child Safety in the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet and the Chair of the OECD Working Party on Social Policy from 2016-2019. Kathryn has also worked for the Queensland Government as a senior executive in child protection and headed up the Office for Women.
Stay tuned as Kathryn delves into what young people are telling us about their help seeking preferences, and to what extent traditional models of mental health service delivery remain relevant to today’s children and young people.
The journey to sobriety is paved with many challenges. For many people with a substance use disorder, stigma may stem from the inaccurate beliefs that addiction is a moral failing, instead of what we know it to be—a chronic, treatable disease from which you can continue to lead a healthy, happy life.
Holding a master’s degree in communications and media studies, this week’s guest Lotta Dann worked for 25 years as a TV journalist and producer, while also developing a dependency to alcohol.
With the help of penning an anonymous blog called 'Mrs. D Is Going Without' which became a best-selling memoir of the same name, Lotta got sober in 2011. She has since published 'Mrs D is Going Within' and 'The Wine O’Clock Myth: The Truth You Need to Know About Women and Alcohol'.
Lotta now manages the large online peer support community Living Sober, funded by the New Zealand Drug Foundation and Health Promotion Agency, and works as a Lived Experience Facilitator of Addiction 101 workshops through Blueprint for Learning.
Stay tuned as Lotta joins me to share her personal experiences on the journey to sobriety, the role of judgement and stigma, and how you can support someone in need.
Schools offer a unique opportunity to both identify young people with mental health difficulties and work with them in the preventative, intervention, and support space.
There is so much that can be done in schools so that we can stop watching students fall through the crack and start making a difference and changing the mental health statistics.
Joining me this week to discuss how we can better implement mental health and wellbeing in our schools is this week’s guest Renee Knapp, who is also an Ambassador for the Australian & New Zealand Mental Health Association.
Renee Knapp is an independent consultant & educator who is heavily engaged in implementing mental health strategies at a school and community level. She is a founding member and current Chairperson of a local Community Mental Health Action Team and is also currently the Deputy Principal at a District High School in the south-west of WA.
Renee is widely recognised as a leader in mental health & wellbeing initiatives and was recognised for her work as a finalist in the WA Teacher of the Year Awards.
Stay tuned as Renee delves into the role schools have to play in youth mental health, why the role of educators is so important, and shares insight into what schools and educators can do to improve student mental health and wellbeing.
This week’s guest Lieutenant Colonel Jacqueline Costello was commissioned into the Australian Army in 2002 and has undertaken a diverse range of clinical, organisational, operational, command and staff appointments during her service.
Jacqueline holds a Masters in Organisational Psychology and currently leads the Human Performance Optimisation team at Headquarters Forces Command. She has served as the Officer-in-Charge of the Australian Defence Force Centre for Mental Health, as the Senior Psychologist in the Commander’s Advisory Group at Headquarters Forces Command and prior to her current appointment, as the Commanding Officer of the 1st Psychology Unit.
Jacqueline has dedicated her career to best practice, innovation, and leadership in military psychology; she is passionate about ensuring that those who serve on the frontline, in garrison and deployed on operations, are supported to do so with purpose and dignity.
Stay tuned as Jacqueline delves into her personal experience in the Australian Army integrating general health and wellbeing plans into the frontline workforce.
In 2018 as part of the National Suicide Prevention Trial, it was identified that the national approach to promoting help-seeking, mental health, and suicide prevention in schools needed to be strengthened to include place-based approaches relevant to and appropriate for First Nations young people living in the Darwin region.
headspace Schools were commissioned to co-design a resource which supported young people to build the skills required to help seek using a development process that facilitated local ownership, knowledge, and experience. This resulted in the creation of the Our Way Our Say program.
Playing an integral part in the development of this program, this week’s guest Michele Oliphant has worked in the Northern Territory for over 20 years in the youth, wellbeing, and education sectors. Since joining headspace Schools in 2017, she has worked with many schools and communities to achieve their vision for improving the social and emotional wellbeing outcomes of their students, staff, and community members in an inclusive and culturally responsive way.
Michele joins us to share her passion for the development of place-based approaches, achieving the best outcomes for all young people, and supporting an equitable, community driven approach to delivering wellbeing and suicide prevention services to all schools.
To encourage people to successfully engage in alcohol and other drug (AOD) treatment, services need to be safe, welcoming, and non-judgmental.
One strategy used by many AOD service providers is to empower and utilise the voices of individuals with lived experience. Growing in popularity and prevalence within the sector, lived-experience workers (or peer support workers) play an important role in creating services that successfully engage people in AOD treatment.
This week’s guest Jack Nagle is an everyday Aussie passionate about finding and creating solutions for service consumers in the Alcohol and Other Drugs sector. His passion comes from his own experience of substance addiction and consuming services in some of his most vulnerable moments.
After sharing his story extensively in all forms of national media, Jack created Real Drug Talk. In his role as founder and director, he sits on several national government, non-government, and research advisory committees, advocating for the importance of developing the lived and living experience workforce.
Surf lifesavers and paid lifeguards are an under-researched, yet vital, part of the first responder workforce. Having patrolled beaches to keep the public safe for over 113 years, surf lifesavers and lifeguards often risk their own lives, placing the duty of care to others above themselves.
Continued exposure to traumatic or catastrophic rescue and first aid incidents during their time as members and first responders, has the potential to negatively affect their mental health. Additionally, with volunteers commencing their patrolling career as young as the age of 13, understanding their exposure levels to trauma and their mental health understanding and awareness is important.
This week’s guest Shane Daw is the General Manager Coastal Safety at Surf Life Saving Australia, a long-standing volunteer member of the organisation, with extensive experience in rescue helicopter operations.
Shane manages and oversees coastal safety, lifesaving, research, and emergency service functions, in addition to the operations of Southern Helicopters. Shane has more than 30 years’ experience with drowning research and development of programs to care for members involved in emergency situations. He is a member of the International Life Saving Federation Drowning Prevention Commission and was awarded an Emergency Services Medal (ESM) in the Australian Honours.
Stay tuned as Shane brings to the table a strategy to address the gaps in the under-reporting of surf lifesaver and lifeguard mental health, and how this plan can better provide for members, create evidence-based training programs and resources, and improve productivity, retention, and attraction to the surf lifesaving movement.
Working in the emergency medical service places a huge toll on the mental and emotional wellbeing of our paramedics – so what can we do to help prevent mental ill health on the front line?
Joining us this week is Todd Wehr, Director of the Queensland Ambulance Service Staff Support Services, known as “Priority One” in which he leads a multidisciplinary team. Todd has spent more than 25 years in the First Responder sector, initially as a fire fighter, and later becoming a paramedic.
Having already completed a degree in psychology and later a master’s degree in counselling he was able to focus his study on emergency services and combine this with his lived experience. During his time in ambulance, he has also had the privilege to speak and provide training with other agencies nationally and internationally. In 2016, Todd was recognised on the Queen’s Birthday Honours List and received the National Ambulance Service Medal (ASM) for his work in supporting ambulance personnel and their families.
Stay tuned as Todd speaks about his lived experience as a first responder and frontline worker and explores practical strategies to prevent mental ill-health in the workforce.
It is our responsibility to genuinely and actively involve First Nations Australian, Maori and Pasifika peoples and their representative bodies in all aspects of addressing health and wellbeing needs.
This week’s guest Indi Clarke is the Executive Officer of the Koorie Youth Council and takes great pride contributing to work that gives back to his communities.
Born in Melbourne and raised in Mildura on Latji Latji Country, Indi Clarke is a proud Mutti Mutti, Wemba Wemba, Boon Wurrung, Trawlwoolway and Lardil man. He is a passionate advocate for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and the power of strength-based approaches and Aboriginal knowledge systems.
Indi believes that the path to positive change starts with empowered families and communities as well as a holistic approach to healing and wellbeing.
Indi joins me to share his knowledge and insights from his last 5 years as the Executive Officer of Koorie Youth Council, and their framework for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander youth participation, the first resource of its kind in the country.
The relationship between substance abuse and trauma works in close tandem. While trauma increases the risk of developing substance abuse, substance abuse in turn increases the likelihood of being re-traumatised by engaging in high-risk behaviours.
Traditionally, substance abuse treatment programs have held the belief that addressing trauma could trigger traumatic responses, leading clients to relapse. However by integrating trauma treatment into the substance abuse treatment process, simultaneous treatment has proven to be effective.
This week’s guest Simon Ruth is CEO at Thorne Harbour Health, formerly known as the Victorian AIDS Council. Simon has spent most of his career working in, or managing, alcohol and drug programs with organisations including the Salvation Army, YSAS, Monash Health and Peninsula Health. He was the recipient of a Victorian Traveling Fellowship to investigate older adult alcohol and other drugs treatment in the USA and Canada.
Stay tuned as Simon chats with me about the role trauma can play in preventing and treating addictive behaviours.
When identifying new best-practice interventions, many mental health organisations are faced with the challenge of implementing them within existing systems and service delivery protocols. This is further complicated by interdependencies with other complex service systems.
This week’s guest Suzie Lewis is responsible for leading the design, development and implementation of new services and programs, as the General Manager for Strategy, Innovation and Research at Accoras. She holds a Master of Clinical Psychology and a Master of Perinatal and Infant Mental Health.
Tune in as Suzie joins this week’s podcast to explain the challenges many organisations face in putting theory into practice, and the elements to successful practice integration.
While Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (or PTSD) is a personal struggle, the effects do not stop at the victim. When a parent has PTSD, their words and actions can affect the mental health and development of children.
This week’s guest Karen May is the Associate Director of Military and Emergency Services Health Australia (MESHA) and is also currently working on her PhD at University of Adelaide focusing on developing a group program for service children living with parental post-traumatic stress.
Karen has worked with different trauma populations across her 28-year career, from developing countries, refugees, homelessness, youth at-risk, indigenous young people, veterans and emergency service personnel, and their families. Karen’s background is social science, community development, psychotherapy, advocacy, and research.
Stay tuned as Karen delves into her lived experience of PTSD, and her experience co-parenting with a veteran partner with PTSD.
While praised for their resilience, frontline workers are faced with amassing circumstances placing them at high risk of mental health issues.
A national survey of COVID-19 frontline healthcare workers found more than half reported mental health symptoms during last year’s pandemic second wave – yet less than one in 10 accessed formal support programs
Joining us this week to shine a light on the importance of first responder mental health is Graham Ashton, Former Chief Commissioner of Victoria Police & Deputy Commissioner of Australian Federal Police.
Graham has led several significant international investigations and counter-terrorism operations, including the Australian investigation into the 2002 Bali bombings for the joint Australian/Indonesian Taskforce.
He was also at the helm of setting up the Jakarta Centre for Law Enforcement Co-operation in Semarang, Java, a $50 million facility and first of its type. An Australian first, Graham also led the establishment of the Victoria Police Family Violence Training Centre.
Graham has an international reputation as an advisor on matters of sports integrity, addressing national and international audiences about sports integrity and corruption. As Commissioner, he established the world’s first ‘Sports Integrity Police Intelligence Unit’ in Victoria, Australia.
Keynote speaker at the 2022 Frontline Mental Health Conference and now here to join us today, Graham will discuss the importance of integrating mental health plans into the workforce, relaying his knowledge of first responder needs, as well as his lived experience of mental health challenges.
Co-design goes beyond traditional methods of consultation and instead forms authentic partnerships with stakeholders, including lived experience. This approach utilises knowledge and experience to develop, design and deliver a more successful program, product, or service.
This week’s guest Katherine Ellis is CEO of Youth Affairs Council Victoria (YACVic), the peak body and leading advocate for young people and the youth sector in Victoria.
Katherine’s previous roles include Director of Youth Affairs at the Commonwealth of Nations, working on youth policy and programs across 53 countries: and CEO of youth development organisation the Reach Foundation. Earlier, she spent over a decade in the private sector, working both in Australia and internationally in a variety of analysis, strategy, and corporate social responsibility roles.
Katherine believes that it is vitally important to recognise young people as experts in their own lives, and make sure their unique needs and perspectives are at the heart of the policies, decisions and programs that affect them.
Stay tuned as Katherine joins me to discuss the vital elements of co-design, and how working with young people can vastly improve the way we approach and improve mental health care for future generations.
Involving people with lived experience in the journey to greater mental health treatment and support helps us to build understanding, reduce stigma and discrimination, and improve the quality, relevance, and mental health research.
This week’s guest Tash Anderson is a passionate advocate for children and young people who have experienced family violence and who have been through the out-of-home care system.
Tash was the Inaugural Youth and Young Person representative on the Victim Survivors’ Advisory Council (VSAC) in Victoria for three and half years. She is currently the co-chair of Victoria’s first Child Protection Ministerial Youth Advisory Group (MYAG) and a member of the Roadmap Implementation Ministerial Advisory Group (RIMAG). Tash is also a Lived Experience Consultant with Berry Street’s Y-Change initiative and studying a Bachelor of Animation at Deakin University.
Perhaps Tash’s most well know piece of advocacy is ‘TASH’– a short film that she wrote, illustrated, directed, and narrated sharing her personal experience of family violence, living in out-of-home care and how it affected her. The film has been shown at film festivals in Sydney and San Francisco and nominated for awards at CinefestOZ and Sydney Film Festival.
Tash is committed to telling her story about growing up in out-of-home care and working to understand the impacts of family violence so that the voices of children and young people are reflected in family violence reform.
Stay tuned as Tash shares her story with us.
Despite work playing a significant role in mental health and wellbeing, many military personnel with mental illness are being discharged rather than rehabilitated back into their roles or other occupational settings.
To enhance return to work rates, particular attention should be directed towards early intervention for PTSD symptomatology. It is imperative that military personnel receive gold-standard PTSD treatment prior to being diverted on a medical discharge route, as many personnel can be returned to work safely.
Helping our frontline workers access greater support services is this week’s guest Dr Andrew Khoo, Consultant Psychiatrist and Director of Day Programs and Medical Director at Toowong Private Hospital.
Andrew is the Chair of the RANZCP Committee for the Military, Veterans and Emergency Services Personnel Mental Health Network. He is also member of the Department of Veteran’s Affairs Expert Advisory Group.
Andrew is a member of the ACSQHC Expert Advisory Group informing the Australian Commissioner's Review into military and veteran suicide. He sits on the Queensland Police Service Injury Management Advisory Group and has externally reviewed policy for the Australian Federal Police and the QPS.
This week, Andrew sits down with me to discuss how tailored PTSD treatments can benefit our frontline workers and assist their transition back into the workplace.
When it comes to mental wellness in Australia, how do we know how well we are progressing as a whole?
With over 25 years of youth work experience under his belt, this week’s guest Bernie Shakeshaft believes young people are the most accurate barometer of how we are faring as a nation.
In the early days of his career, Bernie saw kids dropping out of school, getting into trouble and falling through the cracks of a system that couldn't meet their complex needs. Founding the organisation BackTrack was his solution, supporting youth at risk to stay alive, out of jail and chase their hopes and dreams.
In 2006, Bernie founded the organisation with just a shed, a passionate crew of volunteers and a desire to make a real difference for young people doing it tough. Since then, BackTrack has gained national recognition for its holistic, flexible and long-term model and set a gold standard for youth work across the country. After holding the position of CEO for 15 years, Bernie continues to play an active role in setting the organisation's strategic direction in his capacity as founder, board director and member of the Executive team.
Bernie has been named Australian of the Year Local Hero (2020) and National Rural Health Alliance Unsung Hero (2019) and received the Spera Australian Rural Education Award (2018), the Australian Crime and Violence Prevention Award (2017), the Churchill Fellowship (2014) and an Honorary Doctorate from the University of New England (2020). He and BackTrack have also been the subject of the award-winning documentary 'Backtrack Boys' and biography 'Back on Track'.
Stay tuned to find out more about BackTrack, and Bernie’s work advocating for marginalised youth.
According to the He Ara Oranga: Report of the Government Inquiry into Mental Health and Addiction, while the prevalence of mental distress among Māori is almost 50% higher than among non-Māori, Māori are 30% more likely than other ethnic groups to have their mental illness undiagnosed.
Dedicated to changing these staggering statistics is this week’s guest Jean Te Huia - a mother, grandmother, wife, sister, and woman extremely proud of her Māori heritage.
As one of 9 children, Jean left school at age 16 with minimal education in 1973 and went into nursing, boarding at a nursing home in Hastings with other nursing students. She was 1 of only 5 Māori nursing students in a class of 30 students.
Over the years, Jean completed a Bachelor of Nursing and midwifery training. She has been a midwife and registered nurse for over 30 years. After completing midwifery training, Jean became the founder of CHOICES, a Māori Service Provider, in 1995.
CHOICES services today include Kaupapa Māori birthing, pre-school early childcare, sexual and reproductive health care, school-based nursing, health promotion and screening, counselling and prisoner re-integration and rehabilitation. They have over 80 staff and contract to the government and provide free nursing services to our Māori communities.
Jean believes the real cause of Indigenous problems is colonisation, and that as a result, Indigenous peoples of Aotearoa continue to suffer with higher statistics proof in an over-representation in prisons, mental health institutes, dead and dying, homelessness and poverty. This, Jean believes, is a direct result of the failure of the New Zealand Government to respond positively and appropriately to Indigenous needs.
Join me this week as Jean and I discuss the impact of colonisation and how it changed the way of life for Māori people in Aotearoa.
The power of lived-experience stories not only enable us to feel emotional and inspired, but can also be the pillars we need for change, particularly as it relates to our systems and processes for health and wellbeing
This week’s guest Tara J Lal has a mission to use the voice of lived experience to effect meaningful change for our frontline workers at all individual, organisational and community levels.
Tara is a professional firefighter and peer support officer with Fire and Rescue NSW. She is also a PhD candidate at the University of New England and was awarded the inaugural Australian Rotary Health scholarship for research into the mental health of emergency service workers in 2018. Her research focusses on understanding the impact of suicide on firefighters.
Tara is a Mental Health First Aid instructor and has managed the psychological wellbeing program in Fire and Rescue NSW, working with researchers at the Black Dog Institute to implement programs aimed at building resilience and improving mental health outcomes in firefighters. She was a finalist in the Rotary Inspirational Woman of the Year awards in 2017.
Stay tuned as Tara tells us her story and lived experience as both an active firefighter and survivor of a traumatic childhood. She will highlight how growth can emerge after trauma and what we, as individuals, organisations and communities can do to effect that transformation through working together, shared responsibility and a compassion-first approach.
Crisis support for survivors of domestic violence has long been a priority for governments and organisations in the sector.
What has not been recognised as widely however, is the importance of providing ongoing support to women and children after they have left crisis accommodation.
Women reported that having to rebuild their lives without support, often in a new location, had a profound impact on their mental health and their capacity to move forward and heal.
Helping to support women and children as they rebuild their lives is this week’s guest Carolyn Robinson. Carolyn is an experienced Educator and the Founder of Beyond DV, a Brisbane-based charity, established in 2017 after her daughter's domestic violence experience.
Through her close work with DV survivors, Carolyn identifies gaps in existing services and creates innovative recovery programs to meet the needs of families across Brisbane. In 2020, Beyond DV opened their first Centre - a place that survivors call their "second home".
Beyond DV and Carolyn were inducted into the Queensland Government Domestic and Family Violence Prevention Honour Roll in 2020.
Stay tuned as I chat with Carolyn about her experience in establishing Beyond DV and providing a space where DV survivors could build support networks with each other, while accessing a range of support programs and services.
With over almost 30 years’ experience in the domestic violence and child welfare fields, this week’s guest David Mandel is focused on improving the way we identify and respond to domestic violence, particularly relating to children.
David has written or co-written numerous journal articles, book chapters and white papers including his most recent ones on how perpetrator intervention program completion certificates can be dangerous for survivors, and on worker safety in the context of domestic violence.
David and the Safe & Together Institute have worked with governments and NGOs in Canada, the US, Australia, Asia, and United Kingdom. David hopes that his work ends the use of a “failure to protect” mentality in domestic violence cases and helps systems better work with complex cases involving mental health issues, substance misuse and domestic violence.
In today’s podcast, David joins us to discuss the Safe & Together Institute's Model for change, widely used across the globe and by diverse government and NGO agencies across Australia. The perpetrator pattern-based approach helps identify harm to child, partner, and family functioning, supports partnering with survivors, and delves into intervention strategies with perpetrators.
Cultural, spiritual, and social wellbeing are integral components to Indigenous people, who take a holistic approach to mental health. Tailored, community-led approaches have seen huge advances in Indigenous social and emotional wellbeing, and this week, we are proud to have with us a leader in the field, Australia’s first registered Aboriginal Pharmacist, Associate Professor Dr Faye McMillan.
Faye is a Wiradjuri yinaa (woman) originally from Trangie, NSW. Faye has received numerous accolades for her leadership and contribution to population health, education, equity and the community. In 2019 she was named as the NSW Aboriginal Woman of the year; in 2017 she was recognised in the Who's Who of Australian Women; and in 2014 she was included in the Australian Financial Review and Westpac 100 women of influence.
Faye holds a Doctor of Health Science, Master of Indigenous Health Bachelor of Pharmacy, Graduate Certificate Wiradjuri Language, Culture and Heritage, Graduate Certificate Indigenous Governance, and Graduate Certificate in Education. She is a Senior Atlantic Fellow for Social Equity and founding member of Indigenous Allied Health Australia.
Every Australian should have access to the opportunities and choices they need to lead full and healthy lives.
Committed to playing a key role in Indigenous justice is this week’s guest, Thelma Schwartz.
This week’s guest Thelma Schwartz is the Principal Legal Officer of QIFVLS, an Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Community Controlled Organisation providing legal and non-legal support services to Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander survivors of family violence and/or sexual assault. Thelma identifies as of Torres Strait Islander heritage alongside her German, Samoan and Papua New Guinean heritage.
Thelma has extensive practice experiences working with and for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, in the provision of legal services in regional, rural, and remote Queensland in her representation of adults and youths from both a victim and defendant legal practice perspective across multiple courts.
In 2018, Thelma was awarded the Regional Woman Lawyer of the Year by the Women Lawyers Association of Queensland. She was also an award finalist in the Lawyers Weekly Women in Law Awards in 2019 and 2020 in the categories of Indigenous Lawyer of the Year, Not-for-Profit Lawyer of the Year and the Women in Law Excellence Award in 2019.
Stay tuned as Thelma takes us through her experience working in the justice system as an Indigenous woman, and what she believes are the services and support needed for our Aboriginal and Indigenous communities.
A long history of trauma, grief, loss and cultural disconnection means mental health issues for Indigenous people can be complex. Culturally appropriate support that recognises the connection between physical health, mental health, spiritual needs and social and emotional wellbeing is crucial.
This week’s guest Chelsea Watego is a Munanjahli and South Sea Islander woman with over 20 years of experience working within Indigenous health as a health worker and researcher.
Her work has drawn attention to the role of race in the production of health inequalities.
She is a prolific writer and public intellectual, having written for IndigenousX, NITV, The Guardian, and The Conversation. She is a founding board member of Inala Wangarra, an Indigenous community organisation within her own community, and a Director of the Institute for Collaborative Race Research.
Chelsea believes that by sharing lived experiences to create change, power can be restored to victims in foregrounding Indigenous sovereignty over settler sensibilities.
Stay tuned as Chelsea joins me to share her experiences as an Indigenous woman, reflects on her upbringing, and delves into the importance of story telling in our approach to Indigenous wellbeing.
The death of Hannah Clarke and her three young children on in February 2020 on a footpath in Camp Hill in Brisbane opened our collective eyes to the devastating failures of authorities to protect victims of domestic abuse from being murdered.
Over the past 20 years coercive control has been defined, documented, and legislated against in Britain. In Australia, calls for coercive control to be criminalised are being addressed by every state and territory legislature.
This week’s guest Dr Amanda Gearing has been at the frontline for changing how our nation addresses and responds to coercive control.
With a PhD in global investigative journalism, Amanda’s reporting over 30 years has led to legislative changes, Senate Inquiries, Commissions of Inquiry, and other reforms. Her work has also been recognised by many industry awards, including a Walkley Award in 2012.
Amanda’s reporting on the murder of Hannah Clarke and her children in February 2021 raised public awareness that there is a very strong correlation between perpetrators exerting high levels of coercive control over a partner and subsequently killing their intimate partner and/or children.
Stay tuned as I speak with Amanda about her journalistic experiences, and what actions she has taken to change the way we approach coercive control.
On Friday 9 August 2019, the Council of Australian Governments endorsed the Fourth Action Plan of the National Plan to Reduce Violence against Women and their Children 2010-2022, agreeing on five national priorities to reduce family, domestic and sexual violence.
One woman committed to seeing out this plan is this week’s guest, Jacqui Watt.
Since 2015, Jacqui has led No to Violence through transformational change, growing and building further credibility as Australia’s leading best practice organisation in men’s family violence interventions.
This is Jacqui’s third CEO role, with previous peak roles spent advocating for community housing. She has worked at senior levels in various fields, including alcohol and drugs, mental health, disability, social housing, and social enterprise.
Jacqui holds an Honours degree in Social Policy from University of Edinburgh, and a Masters in Management and Social Responsibility from Bristol University. She is also a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
Tune in as Jacqui joins me this week to discuss outcomes from the National Plan to Reduce Violence against Women and their Children, and what’s to come.
In late 2019, early 2020, Australia received international attention due to devastating bushfire conditions and events that unfolded. This traumatic event was then compounded with the first confirmed case of COVID-19 in Australia on 25 January 2020.
Since then, Australia’s mental health sector has adapted to the conditions, whilst displaying the best qualities of humanity - selflessness, compassion, stamina, and courage. We transitioned and explored opportunities overnight – ensuring that help was still available. However, the compounded impacts of COVID-19 and the 2019/20 bushfires on infants, children and youth cohorts was inevitable.
This week’s guest Rebecca Harris coordinates student wellbeing at Carlton Primary School, in inner-city Melbourne. She directs the school’s trauma informed practice, with a focus on promoting the wellbeing of students, as well as families, and staff.
She has a postgraduate qualification in Developmental Trauma, has produced a practice manual detailing the early days of the work at Carlton Primary, and is currently writing a book entitled ‘Safe to Learn: Embedding Whole School Wellbeing Practices to Create Trauma Responsive Education’.
Stay tuned as I speak with Rebecca about the lessons learnt from 2020, including the impacts on children, the education system, and carers alike, as well as the opportunities available moving forward for the child and adolescent mental health sector.
When escaping domestic violence, survivors can be faced with many challenges, including needing to establish financial independence and find safe housing.
Two women committed to empowering survivors are this week’s guests, Kate Crowley Smith and Linda Sawrey.
Kate is the Founding Director of Broken to Brilliant, a charity helping survivors who have safely left the abusive relationship and are out of the crisis, by providing services and programs to empower, support, assist and give hope in their journey to create a new chapter in their lives.
Kate is a mother of two, a domestic violence survivor, with a professional background in nursing and health promotion. Her work portfolios are patient safety and quality and injury prevention. Kate is currently studying a postgraduate certificate in domestic and family violence and believes in life-long learning.
Linda is the Co-Director of Broken to Brilliant and has been working within the healthcare sector providing support for patients, family, and staff with a particular focus on safety and quality for over 30 years. She is also a qualified Psychotherapist, Equine Assisted Psychotherapist.
Her psychotherapy practice 'Rein Changer' runs a range of individual and group equine assisted programs including specifically for children, adolescence, adults, support programs for abuse survivors and staff working within healthcare and support services.
Tune in this week as Kate and Linda discuss how Broken to Brilliant was formed, its success, and future plans.
Familial illicit drug misuse is a rapidly growing issue for Australian children. Reports suggest that 1 in 7 Australian children may be living in a household where one or more family members are misusing illicit drugs.
As schools are generally a consistent presence in the lives of most Australian children, teachers are typically key people in provisioning for their education, safety, care, and wellbeing. This week’s guest Dr. Wendy Goff believes educators play a crucial role in the development of health prevention strategies that target the support of children who are impacted on by familial illicit drug misuse.
Wendy's experience and qualifications span Education and Psychology and provide a good basis for understanding the complexities of adult behaviour and how adults come together; including how these behaviours and actions shape the experiences, health and development of children. Her research is situated in schools and is focused on engaging teachers in the collaborative sense-making of health and education-based issues.
Wendy's research explores adult relationships/partnerships and their impact on children's learning, wellbeing, and development. She holds membership to NAADAC, the Association for Addiction Professionals, the Victorian Early Childhood Research Consortium, and the Australian Research Alliance for Children and Youth (ARACY).
Stay tuned as Wendy takes us through how teachers can be better prepared and supported to assist with intervention and prevention, as well as a number of sustainable school-based secondary health prevention strategies.
Sources:
Australian Institute of Health & Welfare (AIHW), 2020
For First Nations people, the hope and promise of healing from addiction can be rooted in cultural interventions. However, there remains few published studies specifically examining the type and impact of these interventions.
With 20 years’ experience in recovery in the Christian community, Mark Hammersley has had extensive experience working as an educator for the Advanced Diploma in Counselling in Therapeutic Arts at Chisholm Institute over 5 years. He has also been the Manager of Galiamble Men’s Recovery Centre in St Kilda for over 11 years.
At Galiamble, Mark draws on his experience as an artist to develop an art therapy program and became actively engaged in narrative therapy. He has worked with other therapists to develop new practice models, including publications and conference presentations.
Mark joins us as this week’s guest to discuss the importance of a cultural setting free from judgement and stigma for Koori men needing support for addiction. This includes the relationships with staff and each other, that makes ‘cultural healing’ possible. Mark will also take us through the formation of Galiamble, including advice they provide, service offerings, and what is important in ‘life after rehab’ to keep change going.
Whether it’s decreasing the amount consumed or quitting completely, changing alcohol habits can be a lonely journey. Having a supportive community is vital for long term success – but, is being part of an online community as effective as in-person support?
Dominique Robert-Hendren is the Head of Clinical Innovation and Chief Clinical Psychologist at Hello Sunday Morning and is also our special guest for this week. She is a community educator and national speaker on person-centred and recovery-focussed programs and strategies.
Hello Sunday Morning (HSM) is an Australian not-for-profit organisation whose mission is to help people who want to change their relationship with alcohol.
Five years ago, Hello Sunday Morning developed and launched the prototype of what is now the Daybreak app - a behaviour-change program which taps into the power of anonymous community support to help people who want to change their drinking habits. Today, more than 65,000 Australians have now downloaded and registered with the app.
Dominique Robert-Hendren joins us today to delve into the Daybreak app: how it works, what is known about its efficacy, and the process of transforming it from a lifestyle app to a clinically-useful adjunct for supporting people to reduce their dependence on alcohol.
School refusal can result in significant functional impairment, chronic mental health issues, social isolation, family conflict and ultimately a poor trajectory into adulthood.
In a bid to combat this issue, the Children’s Health Queensland (CHQ) Day Program North and Day Program South provide integrated mental health and education services to children and young people experiencing significant functional impairment due to mental health issues, which have usually resulted in refusal to engage in school.
The Department of Education has also appointed this week’s guest Ben Orford as Head of Campus for the centre’s education and vocational program, ensuring young people can access an integrated education and mental health treatment service.
Ben Orford has worked in the education and health field for more than 10 years and is passionate about improving education delivery and outcomes for students with chronic health and complex mental health conditions.
Stay tuned as Ben highlights how Child and Youth Mental Health Services, and the Department of Education work together to improve mental health, social, educational, and vocational outcomes for young people in the program.
Once a child or young person discloses their thoughts, plans or acts related to self-harm and suicide, mental health professionals rapidly enter a space which requires both clinical and ethical decision-making. This can include sharing this information with parents, sensitively but clearly.
Parents are likely to respond to this news with a range of experiences and emotions, commonly shock, denial, anger, powerlessness, guilt, shame, or embarrassment.
This can often be challenging for mental health professionals who then need to listen to parents' concerns as well as work with them to appreciate the potential risks associated with their child's suicidality.
This week’s guest Lyn O’Grady is a Community Psychologist with an interest in the mental health of children, young people, and families. She has previously worked with parents in the community sector, as a school psychologist and a manager of the KidsMatter Project for the Australian Psychological Society.
Lyn currently works in private practice with children, young people and families and is a registered supervisor of psychology interns. She is also the author of a book titled “Keeping Our Kids Alive: Parenting a Suicidal Young Person”.
Stay tuned as Lyn joins us to highlight the ethical challenges facing mental health practitioners when working with children and young people in relation to suicide risk. Lyn will also provide examples of ways to help parents come to terms with their child’s distress and empower them to be able to provide support. This includes ways to understanding their child’s needs, facts about suicidality, and how they can keep their child safe during times of distress.
Working in a frontline environment routinely exposes an individual to trauma. When combined with pre-existing psychological experiences, this can be a trigger for traumatic injuries including PTSD.
It doesn’t matter what type of injury was sustained in the line of duty - direct physical trauma or observed trauma – the impact is synonymous. The experience of trauma has a neurobiological impact on the brain, and ‘multiple’ impacts will place a person into a state in which they may no longer cope.
By routinely providing psychoeducation for immediate intervention, teach self-help techniques that are neurobiologically effective, and provide more structured support from leaders and other health professionals, then we have a much greater opportunity to prevent traumatic injuries developing.
Today’s guest Kerry Howard is a best-selling author and psychologist specialising in trauma prevention and treatment. Kerry has won two international awards for her commitment to treating PTSD and improving mental health in Australia.
Since 2010, Kerry has presented at a variety of international conferences including the USA, Europe, and Australia. She developed professional development training in the promotion, prevention, and early intervention of traumatic injury. Her book, ‘The Trouble with Trauma’ provides clear guidance about how to resolve traumatic experience.
Stay tuned as Kerry delves into the facts of PTSD formation, and what we need to implement in the early stages for greater prevention and treatment.
When you or someone you know is having a hard time mentally dealing with things, the simple realisation that you’re “not alone” make a huge difference to how you deal with it. This is the foundation of lived-experience – to share stories, extend empathy, and help shape the outcome for others in similar situations.
Our guest for this week is Vanessa Kite, a Maori woman of Te Aupouri, Ngai Takoto decent, and one of the 2021 recipients of the Australian & New Zealand Mental Health Association study grants. As a registered nurse, Vanessa is passionate about helping to improve the quality of life for others, with plans in place to become a credentialled Mental Health Nurse with her studies.
From incidents of physical and sexual abuse to substance dependency, Vanessa has overcome a wealth of hardship to get to where she is today and joins me to tell her story.
When it comes to addressing addiction in Australia, issues of underfunding, under resourcing and continued stigma prevents us from progressing further. To move forward, we must consider a system reboot.
This week, we welcome Dr Nicole Lee, Adjunct Professor at the National Drug Research Institute and Director at 360Edge, a consultancy specialising in the alcohol and other drugs sector. With 30 years’ experience in policy and practice implementation, Nicole’s vast sector knowledge has made her an invaluable asset as a member of the Australian National Council on Alcohol and other Drugs (ANACAD) - Australia’s key expert advisory council to the Australian Government on drugs. Nicole has a unique combination of experience and skills in clinical practice and management, research, teaching, and policy development.
Tune in as Nicole delves into the many facets of addiction, and how changes to the system can completely transform the way we approach prevention, treatment, and recovery.
Addicts, especially those leaving the prison system, need intensive support at this critical point of vulnerability. A stable job and income are important elements to provide structure, consistency, and purpose.
This week’s guest Simon Fenech is Operations Manager of Fruit2Work, an enterprise creating meaningful employment opportunities for those impacted by the justice system.
His transformation from an addict thrown deep into Australia's criminal underworld, to an inspirational figure changing the lives of others, is one you won’t want to miss tuning into today.
Simon is a former Australian and Asia-Pacific kickboxing champion and was a finalist in the Social Enterprise Champion of the Year award in 2019. In 2020, he was named by QANTAS Travel Insider magazine as one of the 100 most inspiring Australians.
Listen in as Simon takes us through his journey, from working as a delivery driver in 2008 when he suffered a workplace injury and subsequently made life-changing decisions that took him down paths of addiction, rehabilitation, self-discovery, and finally, to his purpose today.
Suicide and mental health matters are global problems. To break the stigma, we need to speak out. Sharing personal mental health experiences has proven to be an effective means to provide valuable insight into suicide prevention initiatives, as well as contribute to improved care and enhanced safety.
One man committed to making a global difference in suicide prevention is this week’s guest, Stuart O’Neill.
Raised in Melbourne Australia, Stuart’s mostly self-employed life has provided its fair share of highs and lows. Stuart first became an Australian Surf Lifesaver in the 1980’s - a passion that he still fulfills to this day. His desire to save lives now includes his book, ‘Just One Reason’, a practical toolkit to avoid the taking of a life.
Stuart’s book takes readers on a journey of his experienced mental illness and distressed thoughts about his life. He wrote this book about how he was able to overcome his struggles and wanted to give the tools he used to others who may be experiencing similar experiences. Highly praised by readers from around the world, ‘Just One Reason’ incorporates practical solutions for those struggling with thoughts of suicide.
Tune in as Stuart tells us about his battle with suicidal thoughts and depression, and how ‘Just One Reason’ has made a difference to those battling with their mental health.
Despite the best efforts of governments over the years, providing timely, appropriate, and equitable access to services supporting child mental health has been problematic. Both parents and professionals have difficulty navigating a fragmented service system, and there are long waiting lists for assessment and treatment.
At the same time there is increasing recognition of the importance of considered investment in child mental health, given the opportunities for prevention and early intervention before problems become more challenging to manage.
To combat this, the National Children’s Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy was developed. This provides a framework to guide critical investment in the mental health and wellbeing of children and families.
One man dedicated to driving this strategy is today’s guest, Professor Frank Oberklaid.
Frank is an internationally recognised researcher, author, lecturer, and consultant, and has written two books and over 200 scientific publications on various aspects of children’s health and development. He is Co-Group Leader of Child Health Policy, Equity and Translation at the Murdoch Children's Research Institute and a Professor of Paediatrics at the University of Melbourne.
Frank has longstanding clinical, research and policy interests in children’s health. He is Chair of the Victorian Children’s Council, which provides expert advice to the Victorian government on children’s health, and Co-Chair of the National Children’s Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy.
Continue listening as Frank delves into the into perceived strengths and weaknesses of the current system, along with advice as to how to improve it.
Developing and implementing a framework for mental health training and support in a large organisation is essential. It also requires a significant amount of hard work, research, testing, and feedback.
This week’s guest Tania Raghavan is a Senior Psychologist with the Queensland Police Service. She has played an integral role in developing the QPS Mental Health and Wellbeing Literacy Framework and is currently working to embed training throughout a number of existing operational programs.
Amongst 18 years of extensive experience in providing psychological services, Tania also has extensive experience providing critical incident response services with organisations nation-wide.
This includes the ‘Queensland Police Service (QPS) Mental Health and Wellbeing Training Framework’, which was developed to provide a structured approach to training to support the mental health and wellbeing of QPS members as they progress through their career lifecycle.
Tune in as Tania delves into valuable insights into the framework process, including the challenges faced in developing and implementing a framework within a large, geographically dispersed organisation.
As we all know, adolescents are highly influenced by their peers - and healthy peer relationships are important predictors of good mental health.
However, the importance of peer relationships is not catered for in many mental health programs for young people, instead focusing on clinical intervention or online support materials.
This week’s guest David Butt has played an integral role in shining a spotlight on youth peer support, helping to bring together the needs of young people, with practical tools for problem solving and positive mental health.
David is the National CEO of GROW Australia – an intentional peer to peer support organisation Established in 1957, GROW was founded (and continues to be run) by people with lived experience and delivered by people with lived experience. GROW has drawn on its critically researched program and 60 years of experience to develop the ‘Get Growing Program’ for young people at risk of mental ill-health.
With vast experience in health care, David’s previous roles have included CEO and Commissioner, National Mental Health Commission, Deputy Secretary for the Australian Department of Health, and CEO of Australian General Practice Network, amongst many others.
Tune in as David informs us of his experience in mental health, GROW Australia, and their future plans.
Over recent years in Australia, overall rates of methamphetamine use have declined, however of those who use methamphetamine, ice is the most popular drug of choice.
This week’s guest Professor Dan Howard was the Commissioner of the Special Commission of Inquiry into the Drug Ice and delivered his final Report to the Governor and Premier of NSW in January 2020.
A former President of the NSW Mental Health Review Tribunal and a former Acting Judge of the District Court of NSW, Dan is a Senior Counsel at the NSW Bar, a Visiting Professorial Fellow with the School of Law at the University of Wollongong, and a Conjoint Associate Professor in the School of Psychiatry at the University of NSW.
Dan is a former NSW Deputy Senior Crown Prosecutor. He is the co-author of textbook ‘Crime and Mental Health Law’ in New South Wales, as well as the author of R v Milat – a case study in cross-examination.
Tune in as Dan explains the range of health, social and criminal justice issues and responses made in the enquiry findings, and the impacts it has made on individuals and communities in New South Wales.
Ever wonder why addiction works in a cycle? The answer could be all in your head.
This week’s guest Judith Grisel took her first drink of alcohol at 13, and soon began using other addictive drugs. In less than a decade, her life completely transformed, ending up in a drug treatment centre. After learning about the disease model of addiction, and getting clean and sober, she went on to earn a Ph.D. in behavioural neuroscience.
Now a professor at Bucknell University, Judith’s expertise lies in pharmacology, genetics and understanding the neural liability for substance use disorders.
Listen in as Judy delves into her personal experience with drug addiction, and how it led to a career in neuroscience. She will also inform us on how drugs co-opt the brain circuits critical for normal development.
For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, cultural connection, positive self-identity, and a sense of belonging within family and community are the bedrock of health and wellbeing.
If we are to improve outcomes, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and perspectives must be at the heart of systems that impact children.
This week’s guest Catherine Liddle is an Arrernte/Luritja woman from Central Australia, with a strong background in senior management positions with First Nations organisations. Catherine has also held senior roles within the Northern Territory Education Department, the ABC, and NITV (or SBS).
As a journalist by trade, Catherine’s motivation has always been to drive change that leads to positive outcomes and options for First Nations people. Over the past 10 years she has led multidisciplinary teams, overseen workplace transformations, and advocated for policy reform.
Listen in as Catherine takes us on a journey of her experience as a First Nations’ woman striving for better care for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children who have experienced trauma.
There is a subtle but dangerous belief that the pressures and challenges of events in the workplace cause stress. This form of thinking could be seen as an ‘outside-in view’, where an external event is the cause of an internal response.
In many cases there is a strong correlation between workplace risk factors and reported states of stress, however, this relationship is not causative. In other words, if there is a relationship between the workplace and stress, it is more likely an upside-down one, where resilient people make productive workplaces.
This week’s guest Dr Ian Snape, CEO of Frontline Mind, presents a different way of thinking about stress in the workplace, and the value of building a resilient workforce.
Ian has over 30 years of experience leading and managing teams in strategy, innovation, and adventure. He is the co-founder of two related companies, The Coaching Space Pty Ltd, a niche coaching company, and Frontline Mind, a global training company.
Discover Ian’s approach to workplace stress, and what he believes is the key to a happy and productive workplace.
In Australia, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have significantly higher mental health needs than other Australians and experience psychological distress at around 3 times the rate of the non-Indigenous population.
To close the gap in inequality and provide the right treatment and support, we need a collaborative solution.
This week’s guest Tom Brideson is a Kamilaroi/Gomeroi man born in Gunnedah, located in north-west NSW. He is the Chief Executive Officer of Gayaa Dhuwi (Proud Spirit) Australia, a part time Deputy Commissioner at the Mental Health Commission of NSW and co-chairs the National Mental Health Workforce Strategy Taskforce.
Since the early 1990’s Tom has worked in Indigenous mental health and health policy; social and emotional wellbeing; clinical mental health care; suicide prevention; education and mental health leadership.
His current workplace, Proud Spirit, is focused on Indigenous leadership, excellence, and presence across all parts of the Australian mental health system. Their vision is to achieve the highest attainable standard of social and emotional wellbeing, mental health, and suicide prevention outcomes for Indigenous peoples.
Tune in as Tom outlines his experience with Indigenous mental health, and how we can be working collectively to improve mental health and wellbeing outcomes Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples’ across Australia.
In Australia, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women are the most at-risk group of experiencing domestic and family violence.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, domestic and family violence workers warned there would be increased violence as a result. It is now indisputably evident that violence caused by COVID-19 has had a devastating impact, particularly on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women and children across New South Wales.
Here to tell us more is this week’s guest, Ash Johnstone.
Ash is an Aboriginal Dunghutti woman who grew up on Dharawal country, and is currently completing a PhD on Indigenous Education and research. She works as an Aboriginal Specialist Worker for the Illawarra Women's Domestic Violence Court Advocacy Service and is on the Board of Womens' Safety NSW. This is a state-wide peak body for women's specialist services advocating for women’s safety in the context of domestic and family violence through systemic reform and cultural change.
During this week’s podcast, Ash brings to light the key issues emerging as a result of the pandemic, with a focus on the effects being felt by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women. Specifically, Ash delves into how Indigenous women have experienced domestic violence during this time and the unique challenges they have faced.
Alcohol and other drug use are the leading cause of disability in young people.
Comorbidity between alcohol and drug use and mental health problems is common - and can quickly and easily have grave outcomes. Very few young people with substance abuse problems seek help, with a staggering average of 18-years between identifying they have a problem, and receiving treatment. While evidence-based treatments for youth substance abuse exist, it can take up to 25 years for this evidence to be implemented in clinical practice.
In this week’s show, we welcome Professor Leanne Hides, a clinical psychologist with over 20 years of experience in the development and testing of treatments for primary substance use and comorbid mental disorders in young people. Leanne Hides holds a National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Senior Research Fellowship and the industry-supported Lives Lived Well Chair in Alcohol, Drugs and Mental Health at the University of Queensland, Australia. She co-leads the Federal Government funded grant for the Centre for Youth Substance Abuse Research (CYSAR), the only youth focused substance use research centre in Australia.
Throughout our discussion, Leanne delves into evidence-based approaches for the prevention and early intervention of youth alcohol and substance use; and recent research being undertaken trying to bridge the gap between this evidence and what gets used in clinical practice.
After a traumatic event, there is the responsibility to tend to the wellbeing of attending staff and individual personnel leading a command. This includes preparing for, giving evidence in and supporting staff post-inquest. Building a response capability and a workplace where relationships are positive, respectful and supportive are the cornerstone of good outcomes.
Dedicated to building resilience in workplaces and communities is this week’s guest, Allan Sicard, trained at a National level as a Police Forward Commander in Counter Terrorism.
Allan was the Police Commander for the Mosman Collar Bomb incident August 2011, the first real test of Australia's response to a potential terrorist incident. Working with emergency partners, Allan assisted in forming a Trauma Plan should the worst have happened, allowing the rest of the non-incident community to function, while providing authorisation for the device to be removed.
4 years later and Allan was Forward Police Commander for the first 2 hours of Sydney’s Lindt Café siege. Allan was responsible for setting up a staging area for emergency agencies to work in, whilst creating a traffic plan that allowed the rest of the city to function. These first 2 hours saw the coordination of mass evacuations in the inner perimeter, all the while managing the evolving risk and briefing of relevant stakeholders.
Today, Allan prepares workplaces and communities for the next high risk event by leading large high risk event desktop exercises with 100+ stakeholders in an auditorium for a 3 hour immersion exercises, where key objectives are to learn capabilities and build trust and preparedness.
Tune in as Allan talks with me about his personal experiences in emergency response, and how we can build greater resilience and support across our different emergency service sectors.
In 2020, the health care landscape was significantly impacted by the COVID 19 pandemic. With restrictions and border closures in place, access and costs of illicit substances have impacted on the patterns of use for those with substance use disorders.
Offering insight into how COVID 19 has changed the alcohol and other drugs landscape from the perspective of a busy metropolitan emergency department worker is this week’s podcast guest Todd Sellwood.
Todd is a Registered Nurse with over 25 years’ experience in emergency, oncology, surgery and medicine in various roles. He has worked in the addiction field for a number of years and has been employed as the Alcohol and Other Drug Nurse Navigator at the Princess Alexandra Hospital for the last 18 months. Todd is a passionate advocate for the collaborative management for those presenting for care, and supports empathetic and holistic management of those seeking guidance and support for drug and alcohol use disorders. He is also a fervent supporter of dispelling myths and quashing stigmatisation of patients accessing healthcare services.
Tune in as Todd delves into the challenges of addiction in the emergency department, and how an alternate framework can better manage those needing effective, holistic, client-focussed and timely care.
Essential services, including frontline workers, carry a high stress load, resulting in more prevalent mental health conditions and an increased risk of suicide.
So, how have our frontline workers been faring over a tumultuous few years – and what can we do to help?
Here to answer these questions are this week’s guest Dr Alex West, Senior Psychologist for Victoria Police, and clinical lead in Wellbeing Services. She has a background in clinical, forensic and organisational psychology, with her current role involving overseeing psychology and mental health within the organisation, as well as the provision of psychological services.
Alex was the internal lead of the Victoria Police Mental Health Review 2016, and the clinical lead on the implementation of its recommendations. She was also the primary author of the first Victoria Police Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy.
Tune in this week as Alex joins me to reflect upon the events of 2020 and 2021, the impacts it has had on frontline workers' mental health, and what we can do to support the wellbeing of those who prioritise caring for the safety and wellbeing of others.
What does it mean to be a bloke today? And what do we want it to look like tomorrow?
The tide is changing for men young and old, and the outdated stereotype is leaving some of our mates, dads, sons, uncles, teammates, workmates and brothers stranded without the tools for a healthy life.
This week’s guest Tom Harkin is one of Australia’s pre-eminent advanced facilitators dedicated to reinventing masculinity by challenging traditional stereotypes and training our emotional muscles.
As Founder of Tomorrow Architects, a pioneering consultancy breaking ground in behavioural change, leadership development and organisational transformation, Tom has had a direct impact on over 150,000 executives across the globe, including celebrities, professional athletes in elite sport, and teenagers.
Tom joins us to share what boys and men across Australia have taught him about gaining cut-through with mainstream males, on topics that are usually taboo in our sporting clubs, schools, workplaces and communities. Tom also delves into the importance of 'no holds barred' conversations about the state of man; facing the stats and creating room to break the stereotype.
On average, Australians living in rural and remote areas have shorter lives, higher levels of disease and injury, and poorer access to and use of health services compared to those in metropolitan areas.
So, how can we improve mental health accessibility to people living in rural and remote areas?
This podcast guest, Dr Joseph Dunn, qualified Psychiatrist and medical superintendent has a solution – to get on the road.
Joseph is the author of three books, one of which sold 40,000 copies in seven languages. In 2011, he founded a national mental health charity, Psychs on Bikes, involving motorcycle-riding mental health professionals devoted to reducing the burden of psychiatric illness in rural and remote Australia. He has since ridden his Kawasaki more than 50,000 km around Australia, including three rides from Perth to Sydney.
Since its inception, Psychs on Bikes has delivered more than one thousand one-on-one free health checks in rural and remote Australia, as well as mental health support, advice, and awareness seminars.
Tune in to this week’s episode to hear Joseph tell his story of success, how Psychs on Bikes is transforming rural and remote mental health, and their latest adventure on the road.
We’re all guilty of a little too much screen time. But when we’re raising a new generation of tech-savvy users consistently glued to their devices, how can we make sure they don’t get consumed by the virtual world?
Whether its Facebook, Instagram, gaming or entertainment such as Netflix or YouTube, the common issue is a lack of ability to turn it off, or use it at the appropriate time and place.
The question to be asked is how can we empower students to take back control of the screen?
Dedicating his work to breaking the addiction of screen time in teenagers is this week’s guest Gary Bruce. Gary is an educator, writer and speaker with over 30 years of teaching and leadership experience across state and independent schools, co-educational and single sex schools, and the private sector.
He is an accredited coach with ICF, and a certified Master Practitioner with the American Board of Hypnotherapists. Gary is also the founder of Going Beyond Results providing coaching to empower students to gain control over their technology use and achieve positive outcomes. His programs focus on executive function challenges (self-organisation / time management), assessment stress and screen time addiction. Programs are run one on one and focus on the needs of the individual student.
This week, Gary joins us to discuss technology addiction in teenagers, its impacts, and how by moving teens into the driver’s seat, we can embrace empowerment for them to create their own changes.
Despite all the money the Federal and State governments have invested into domestic violence, DV homicide numbers remain at a stable rate. Why?
According to this week’s podcast guest Amy Mouafi, it comes down to a handful of factors. Amy believes a fundamental reason is the innovation of the status quo. Services are funded to deliver the same thing and there is no real 'early intervention'. Another issue, she believes, is the contradiction between rhetoric, legislation and practice.
To give you a little more background information on Amy, she is the Owner and Director of A.M Consultants & Associates, with 20 year's specialist experience within the field of violence, crime and public policy. Amy developed and implemented a diversity round table approach for complex police investigations, resulting in consulting for USA law enforcement. She has played a major role in implementing changes in how investigations and prosecutions of domestic violence in Aboriginal communities are dealt with, as well as implementing the first specialised police prosecution training and curriculum.
Join us as Amy highlights her experience in DV homicide prevention, and what she believes is needed in order for numbers to decrease.
It comes as no surprise that children who are exposed to traumatic events such as homelessness often develop social, emotional, health and behavioural problems. So, how can we prevent this from happening?
With a particular interest in child protection and meaningful support for families, this week’s podcast guest Jessica Braat believes early intervention and providing appropriate services after traumatic events is crucial for recovery.
Jessica is Team Leader of the Family Support and Advocacy Team at Micah Projects Limited. She oversees two programs funded to support families in the Brisbane area who are experiencing homelessness or at risk of homelessness. Micah Projects believes that every adult and child has the right to a home, an income, healthcare, education, safety, dignity and connection with their community of choice. The team works from a two generational approach, recognising the importance of assessing needs of children, as well as adults, to ensure the right supports can be offered to achieve positive outcomes.
Listen in as Jessica takes us through how family homelessness impacts children and young people, and what services and support should be provided in order for children to properly process and recover from traumatic situations like this.
During times of disaster and crisis, there is one necessity that drives a team to focus, persist, and achieve set goals. That necessity is effective leadership.
Joining us this week to talk about leadership during times of crisis is Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons of Resilience NSW.
After a distinguished career with the NSW Rural Fire Service over 35 years, Shane was appointed as the inaugural Commissioner for Resilience NSW and Deputy Secretary, Emergency Management with the Department of Premier and Cabinet in 1 May 2020.
Throughout his career, Shane has taken on a wealth of operational and board member roles, from Assistant Commissioner with the RFS in 1998, through to Commissioner of the NSW Rural Fire Service and Chair of the NSW RFS Bushfire Coordinating Committee in 2007.
Shane was awarded the National Medal in 1999, and the Australian Fire Service Medal (AFSM) in 2001. His industry reputation and highly praised work ethic has made him a well-known and inspiring industry leader.
Tune in this week as Shane joins us to reflect on the disaster season across 2019 and 2020, and what he believes are the necessary skills and traits for leaders to utilise during times of crisis.
When a DV survivor decides it’s time to speak out about their situation and get help, the last thing they need is someone else telling them what to do.
As a result, many DV advocates believe the most effective approach to provide necessary services to victims - is empowerment.
Having been a victim of domestic violence for more than 16 years, this week’s guest Shirley Smith’s personal experiences cover the entire spectrum. She left her volatile situation 2 and a half years ago, struggling for support, and even had to beg for assistance as she had come to QLD from another state.
Shirley wants to educate the sector on what it is really like to live in a DV relationship. Her book ‘Becoming a Queen Again’ is about what domestic violence looks like and how get out and survive. it is also about empowerment, worth, and love. Shirley wrote this book, not only for her own healing, but as a voice for those who are unable to speak, who may be still living in violence and are unable to leave or choose to stay; or those that have left and now don't know what to do.
Now, listen in as Shirley tells her story, and how she’s actively working to empower and inspire every survivor, whatever their situation.
Since 2013, the darknet has increasingly been used for the buying and selling of illicit drugs. The rise of darknet marketplaces, also known as cryptomarkets, means that drug users are now able to access an unprecedented variety and volume of drugs sourced from dealers located all over the world. Australians are amongst the most enthusiastic participants in the darknet drugs trade, with numbers of both drug sellers and consumers using cryptomarkets steadily increasing each year across the nation.
So, what does the development of the darknet drugs trade mean for users and other participants in the illicit drugs trade, and what implications do their rise have for public health as a whole?
Specialising in cryptomarkets and the darknet trade in illicit drugs is this week’s guest, Dr James Martin. His first book helped define this emerging area of research and was cited in the trial of Ross Ulbricht, administrator of the infamous cryptomarket Silk Road. Dr Martin is a founding member of the Cryptomarkets Research Hub, an international and multidisciplinary research network focused on the online illicit drugs trade.
Listen in as Dr Martin explores how cryptomarkets function, how they alter the relationships between online dealers and their customers, and the impacts they have on addiction formation. He also tackles some of the widespread myths regarding the darknet drugs trade.
Did you know that 75% of Australians are predicted to be overweight or obese by 2025?
Neuroimaging studies have shown that high-sugar containing foods and beverages activate reward areas within the brain – that ‘reward’ appears to be more robust than those of cocaine. Brain function is significantly impacted from sugar and food over consumption.
This week’s podcast guest Professor Selena Bartlett believes the solution to solving our addiction troubles lies in our head – more specifically, how we train our brains.
Professor Selena Bartlett is a Group Leader in Neuroscience and Obesity at the Translational Research Institute. She was awarded the Lawrie Austin Award for her contributions to Neuroscience by the Australian Neuroscience Society in 2019, recipient of the Biotech Research Award and was an Ambassador for the Women in Technology organisation. The overarching objectives of her research program is to apply a neuroscientific translational research and development approach to improve sugar addiction.
Listen in as Selena delves into how sugar activates our addiction centres and changes the physical structure of the brain. Selena also discusses how she is using a neuroscience approach to combat addiction that focuses on retraining the brain.
For many Australians, White Ribbon was synonymous with the movement to end domestic violence. For others, it was a symbol of ignoring the voices of victim survivors, tokenism and taking much-needed money from women’s safety services. Now in a new chapter, under the custodianship of Communicare, White Ribbon Australia is taking a different approach – moving from awareness raising to advocacy and action; collaboration and amplifying other voices and organisations.
New Executive Director, Brad Chilcott founded and convened the Family and Domestic Violence Advocacy Network in South Australia, created the annual Adelaide White Ribbon March, is on the Board of Reconciliation SA, and was named in South Australia’s 100 Most Influential People in 2018. He has also worked as the Interim CEO of Australians for Mental Health, and as advisor to Tim Costello and the Campaign for Australian Aid, leading the “Elite Influencers” strategy.
In this week’s episode, Brad will delve into his personal journey into becoming White Ribbon Australia’s Executive Director, and share some of the changes he is focused on making in the broader movement to advance gender equality and end gendered violence.
Over the last three decades, problem gambling in Australia has been recognised as a serious and complex issue by clinicians, researchers and policy makers. Committed to actively making a change in this field is this week’s podcast guest, Dr. Gabriele Byrne, a Senior Advisor at the Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation.
Often referred to as an effective ‘Change Agent’, Gabriele has spent the last 20 years assisting individuals, organisations and communities to modify their perception and attitude about gambling related harm.
Between 2009 and 2016, Gabriele designed, structured and trialled a group program to prevent gambling relapse. All programs were designed to provide participants with regular, structured activities; as well as educational sessions aimed at improving their understanding about addiction.
Results revealed significant improvement for participants in the areas of social connectedness, self-efficacy, and mental health. Importantly, results also indicated that the program supported the goals of either abstinence from, or control over, gambling behaviour for participants who completed the program. It is now hoped that the program principles will inform and improve the development of further relapse prevention programs across the addiction help sector.
Tune in this week as our ANMZH ambassador and board member, Libby Trickett has an in-depth discussion with Gabriele regarding the details of her project, the outcomes, and how we can use the results to better understand how we see, treat and recover from addiction.
When someone you love is affected by addiction, it’s hard to know how to help. However with the right knowledge, family members can play a vital role in the journey of recovery.
This week’s podcast guest Chrissie Kelly is a highly experienced Community Services Professional specialising in the alcohol and other drugs and mental health sectors. As the Queensland State Manager for Family Drug Support, Chrissie leads the Queensland team in providing support and education to families impacted by someone’s alcohol and/or drug use.
For over 22 years, Family Drug Support (FDS) has developed a highly successful model for supporting families and friends impacted by someone’s alcohol and/or drug use. This model has been effective in supporting more than 60,000 families.
This week, Chrissie and I delve into the details of the Family Drug Support model, and discuss situations that families face when supporting someone with addiction issues. This includes factors of shame and stigma, how to communicate effectively with fellow family members, and steps to actively show support.
Children are one of the most vulnerable groups during and after disastrous events.
Clinicians and educators that work with children during or after community trauma events are key to offering support and reducing the chances that children will have ongoing difficulties, however many are not sure how or what to do or say. Often, they too have been personally impacted by the events.
One woman committed to supporting these kids is this week’s podcast guest, Nicola Palfrey.
Nicola is a Clinical Psychologist and researcher who works clinically with children and families who have experienced significant adversity and trauma.
She is Director of the Australian Child & Adolescent Trauma, Grief & Loss Network at the ANU and a Project Lead for Emerging Minds: The National Workforce Centre for Child Mental Health, an initiative to support workforces identify, assess and support children under 12 years who are at risk of experiencing mental illness.
Before we begin, I am also proud to announce that taking the reins for this week’s podcast is former Olympian, radio host, and our very own association ambassador, Libby Trickett.
Tune in as Libby and Nicola discuss how to effectively acknowledge and support children during and after community trauma events, the role of clinicians and educators in as well as the development of the National Workforce Centre for Child Mental Health’s Community Trauma Toolkit.
In the world of violence prevention, strategies focused on bystander intervention have received growing attention. One woman committed to being an active bystander is this week's podcast guest, Vanessa Fowler.
Vanessa was a keynote speaker at our annual STOP Domestic Violence Conference a few weeks ago, and the sister of the late Allison Baden-Clay. She is also a wife, mother of two boys and aunt to three beautiful young girls who have tragically lost their mother. Vanessa is a primary school teacher and enjoys educating and shaping young minds.
As many of you listeners will be aware, Vanessa and her family were thrust into public attention following the death of Allison, who was murdered at the hands of her husband on 19th April 2012.
Vanessa and her parents turned their anger and sadness into something positive by starting a conversation around family and domestic violence. She has been a guiding force in the formation of the Allison Baden-Clay Foundation, taking on the role of a Director and Chairman of the Board.
Vanessa is on a journey to educate the community around the signs of domestic violence and teach tactics to become an active and effective bystander. As an educator, it is important to Vanessa to address the underlying attitudes and cultural beliefs that perpetuate gender inequality and socialisation that leads to violence against women and children.
Employing people with lived experience in peer worker roles to support others offer a range of benefits. They know what it is like to experience mental ill health, and can share experiences of personal recovery.
This week's podcast guest Fay Jackson is the General Manager of Inclusion at Flourish Australia, a large specialist care management organisation supporting people with mental health issues. She was the Inaugural Deputy Commissioner with the NSW Mental Health Commission and founder of independent consultancy and training body, Vision In Mind.
Fay is a leader in the Lived Experience and Peer Workforces in Australia. She sits on a multitude of national committees and collaborative working groups including the National Mental Health Commission, Vision 2030, Working Group and subcommittees.
She is a member of the National Consumer and Carer Register. She was a member of the NSW Agency for Clinical Innovation and Clinical Excellence Commission Council.
Tune in this week to find out more about Fay's background with mental ill-health, and gain insight into the peer workforce, including roles, changes, challenges, and future developments. Fay also delves into the importance of culture in supporting lived experience, as well as what Flourish Australia is currently working on, and planning for the future.
Despite being less likely to seek help, men are at the greatest risk of suicide. Blokes make up an average six out of every eight suicides every single day in Australia. One man committed to supporting men's mental health is this week's podcast guest, Dr. Zac Seidler.
Zac is a clinical psychologist, the Director of Health Professional Training at Movember and a Research Fellow with Orygen at The University of Melbourne. He has devoted the past 5 years to the goal of reducing the staggering male suicide rate, treating and researching men's mental health with over 25 published peer-reviewed articles.
Tune in to find out more about Zac's experience in men's mental health, how he defines masculinity and how he is creating the world's first online program to train mental health practitioners to engage men who are undertaking treatment.
The issue of substance use among youth is one that we see in the media almost every day. The topic is often difficult to discuss - but one man committed to spreading the word is this week’s guest, Rodney Bridge.
Rodney’s son Preston died at the age of 16, after taking a synthetic form of LSD in February 2013 during his school ball after party. Following his family tragedy, Rodney discovered the LSD substance Preston ingested was made up of a powerful synthetic hallucinogen, as well as a shopping list of other synthetic drugs. Preston lost his life that night based on one choice - and had he known what he was taking, he would have made an entirely different decision.
As a result of this tragedy, Rodney founded Sideffect, a non for profit organisation designed to educate youth on substance awareness. Sideffect aims to bring early intervention and harm minimisation strategies to schools and communities all across Australia, empowering, challenging, and educating youths to make informed decisions based on knowledge and awareness.
Tune in this week to listen to Rodney’s experience, the founding of Sideeffect, and how he is using this platform to engage youths and spark life-changing conversations.
It's that time of year again – razors are banished, Movember is in full swing, and the discussion of men's health is in the spotlight.
This week's podcast guest Brendan Maher is responsible for overseeing Movember's global suite of mental health and suicide prevention programs and investments. His key focus is on ensuring the charity's work in prevention and early intervention is able to reach and engage more men in priority populations - including fathers, young men, Indigenous men and men experiencing social isolation.
Joining the organisation in May 2019, he leads a passionate program team located across Melbourne, Toronto, London and Los Angeles.
Brendan is also a Board Member and former CEO of R U OK? – an Australian organisation most well-known for R U OK? Day, a national day of action committed to encouraging and equipping everyone to regularly and meaningfully ask "are you ok?", of anyone who might be struggling with life.
With almost 12 years' experience across Lifeline Australia, R U OK? and Movember, Brendan is a passionate advocate for suicide prevention. His contribution to the sector was recognised in 2019 with Suicide Prevention Australia's LIFE Award for Excellence in the Leadership category.
On this week's podcast, Brendan joins me to talk about how he became involved with mental health and suicide prevention, his transition from the corporate sector to non for profit, and insight into his many roles, including Movember and the challenges arising from COVID.
Recent research has indicated that early intervention and treatment in child and adolescence dramatically impact the course of mental illness.
Working extensively in acute child and adolescent mental health, this week's podcast guest Dr. Stephen Spencer (PhD) knows the importance of early intervention – and dedicates his career to educating others on how to spot the warning signs.
Stephen Spencer is Equi Energy Youth's Co-Founder and Clinical Director. His passion for young people to have optimum health and wellbeing has become his life's work, resulting in recognition as a leader amongst his peers in the Mental Health sector.
Alongside a wealth of clinical experience, Stephen regularly hosts information and training sessions for educators, clinicians, and parents and carers. The sessions provide the appropriate tools and techniques to assess the earlier warning signs of psychological distress in young people and how to effectively respond to their emotional state.
Most recently, Stephen created the Coach 2 Cope program, an evidence-based framework for psychological first aid that can be applied to any child, in any situation. This course is designed to equip adults with skills and techniques to support children experiencing acute episodes of distress and prevent recurring episodes in the future.
Listen in as Stephen and I discuss his background as a mental health nurse and his transition into working specifically with youth, all while managing acute distress.
Within the mental health space, sharing experiences is a powerful way to showcase support, while inspiring others to know they are not alone in their struggles. Committed to creating greater connected communities is this week's podcast guests, The Blackbutterfly Group.
Janice Elia, Tapu & Joe Fuiava are a trio of Pasifika people from a Samoan and Tongan heritage, born and raised in New Zealand, and currently residing in Brisbane. Tapu and Janice are sisters and both work in specialised community mental health services, while Joe works with children in crisis.
Amongst themselves, many deep discussions were had about personal challenges, as well as what was happening to family and friends, from poor relationships, mental illness to suicide. Knowing others must feel the same, they felt there must be a way to connect to people – and thus, The Blackbutterfly Group was born.
Aiming to create hopeful & growth mindsets in people through the process of storytelling, Blackbutterfly is a regular 'talanoa' host. A 'talanoa' is a cultural process, enabling people to come together to connect, share wisdom, impart wisdom, grow empathy and find a way forward through the art of storytelling.
Throughout each 'talanoa', Blackbutterfly or community members will nominate a topic ranging from Hope to Suicide and as a group, will pose a few questions to help anchor the ensuing conversations.
Listen in as I meet with Tapu to talk about their experiences with mental health, the art of the 'talanoa', and what they hope to achieve in the mental health space.
This week, we are proud to announce our newest association ambassador, Libby Trickett.
A former Australian swimmer, Libby collected 24 gold medals on the international stage across Olympic, Commonwealth Games and World Championships events. This included eight long course and seven short course world titles, five Commonwealth Games and four Olympic gold medals which were won at three consecutive Olympic Games.
After her retirement and following the birth of her first-born child, Libby suffered from post-natal depression, which was further exacerbated by the loss of a rigid training support structure.
Since retiring Libby has dabbled in TV, a sales and marketing role for a technology company, and worked as a radio announcer for Triple M in Brisbane. She is also committed to pursuing her work in mental health, publishing her memoir Beneath the Surface, as well as taking care of her three young daughters, Poppy, Edwina and Bronte.
Listen in this week as Libby and I discuss her career highs, as well as the mental challenges around being a professional athlete, her transition into retirement, challenges with motherhood, her experience with post-natal depression, and the steps she has taken (and plans to take) to prioritise her mental health.
When advocating for mental health awareness, community involvement is vital.
This week's podcast guest Trent Chapman is passionate about using his lived experience of mental health challenges to create education and awareness to his community.
Now 35 years of age, Trent was diagnosed with depressive disorder at the age of 13 and has been managing his own mental Illness since. Trent's methods of delivering the Mental Health First Aid program are far from traditional. Being extremely open in the hope to inspire, Trent uses the power of story to deliver real and personal insight to help participants better understand mental illness.
Trent is also the founder of Movement Functional Fitness, an exercise culture supporting both physical and mental health. He delivers his program 'Movement Meerkids' into schools on the Northern Rivers of NSW, using specific techniques to break down bullying and isolation and create more resilient future leaders.
Tune in this week as Trent recounts his childhood experiences growing up in Bathurst, battling a drug addiction and depression at a young age, and his experience being incarcerated at 19. Trent also updates us on what he's doing now to champion mental health in different communities, his recent diagnosis of bipolar disorder, and his current work as a Mental Health First Aid facilitator.
The psychological impacts of bullying go far beyond hurt feelings – with persistent bullying leading to depression, anxiety and contributing to feelings of suicidal behavior. One man committed to speaking up and speaking out is this week's guest, Dacre Danes.
Dacre grew up in the beautiful surfing community of Cronulla in Sydney. His adult years have seen him live all around Australia and throughout Europe, where he has had a successful fashion photography career. Dacre helped with the creation of Brisbane Fashion Month in its early days, and has been writing since he was a young man.
An avid surfer, Dacre learned to surf before he could even spell. He went through years of intense and systematic bullying that slowly led to taboo medical issues.
In his debut novel, DANYON, Dacre blurs the lines between what happens in the mind of someone who has been bullied for a long period of time. He was able to survive suicide and make it through to tell this tale. DANYON touches on his own experiences, along with others carefully wound together to form a fictional tale based on true events. This read is not only confronting, but provides hope for anyone suffering the same issues.
Dacre's mission is to reach as many people as he can with his stories – as no matter where you grew up - bullying doesn't discriminate and so much is at stake when you use your words to another as you never know if that person is about to take their own life.
Tune in as Dacre joins us to talk about his personal experience with bullying, its psychological impacts, and how he is actively speaking out to others who may be faced with a similar situation.
Alcohol is the most commonly used drug in Australia, with consumption per capita and alcohol-related harm increasing with remoteness.
People living in regional and remote areas are more likely to drink frequently or at levels harmful to their health, with various contributing factors including culture and social acceptability.
Shanna Whan is a nationally recognised speaker, blogger, and a health advocate specialising in rural alcohol awareness.
Her initiative, Sober in the Country, began as a blog in 2015 and evolved into a national Australian charity and is today a raw and authentic conversation and connection point for peers that's changing and saving lives.
Shanna's two-decade descent into alcoholism began as a trauma, then hiding behind a 'party-girl persona,' and finally - it almost cost her, her life.
Today it is her life's work to advocate for others by speaking candidly about the truth of alcohol addiction in rural Australia; a demographic she believes is being wilfully overlooked by our national health leaders.
She's a nominee in this year's Australian of the Year (Local Hero) awards, a finalist from the Rex Airlines 2020 Regional Woman of the Year, and also a 2017 finalist in the NSW ACT Agrifutures Rural Woman of the Year awards.
Shanna is passionate about sustainable people in the regional space. She is speaking up on behalf of a vast number of hard working rural men and women constantly dismissed by society, health professionals, and friends as needing support because they appear, superficially, to be ''okay''.
Join us for this week's episode as Shanna delves into her experience hitting her personal 'rock bottom', life after PTSD, and how she is actively working to inform others about the true face of what she calls ''casual alcoholism'' in rural Australia.
There are 2.1 million Australians of working age with a disability. Of these, just under half are employed. In order to boost these statistics, programs that educate and empower both employees and employers are essential.
To help people with a disability to cultivate a positive mindset and to improve their outlook on life, atWork Australia has partnered with Monash University to develop Positivum, an evidence-based assessment and health coaching program. By helping to understand thoughts, beliefs and behaviours, the Positivum Program aims to empower individuals with a disability to take charge of their mindset to increase their chances of getting employment. Heading up this project is Dorothy Frost, Manager of Research and Innovation at MedHealth Group.
Well regarded as a visionary, practical and engaging leader, Dorothy works across varied sectors including workers compensation, disability employment, and life insurance to continually refine and improve how vulnerable individuals can be supported to sustain work.
Tune in this week as Dorothy discusses the Positivum Program, what she is doing differently the second time around in isolation, and the impacts it is having on an increasing unemployment rate and the mindsets of those with a disability.
One in six New Zealand adults have been diagnosed with a common mental disorder at some time in their lives. This includes depression, bipolar disorders and anxiety disorders. One man committed to supporting those in need is Sir John Kirwan, a former New Zealand All Black rugby union player and professional rugby coach.
The former All Black and 1987 Rugby World Cup winner became a "Sir" in 2012, joining a list that includes other well-known former All Blacks. However, unlike many of his fellow All Blacks, John was recognised as much (if not more) for his contribution outside of rugby, having been for several years at the forefront of campaigns to heighten public awareness of depression, an illness he has personally suffered from at the peak of his rugby playing days.
John's services to mental health include the introduction of the Sir John Kirwan Foundation, created to deliver mental health awareness for kids, teachers, parents and the wider community, as well as the creation of a new app called Mentemia, full of evidence-based ideas and tools to help users learn how to be well, stay well and cope with the stressors of everyday life.
Tune in this week as I speak with JK about his life experiences with depression and anxiety and suicidal ideation, the stigma surrounding mental health, and learning how to thrive as an "all-black" of mental health and wellbeing.
Each year, more than 3000 Australians end their lives— this is about 8 people a day. To prevent suicide and reduce these numbers, it's important to make sure all Australians get the support they need. One professional passionate about making a change is Mr Alan Woodward.
Alan has worked in the fields of mental health, crisis support and suicide prevention for 20 years as an executive leader, service and program developer, evaluator, researcher and expert advisor to governments and peak bodies. As a Board Director for nine years and more recently as a strategic advisor on quality and innovation with Suicide Prevention Australia, Alan has significantly contributed to the national suicide prevention policy.
Alan worked for Lifeline Australia in various executive roles for 14 years until 2018, including the Lifeline Research Foundation. He is a Fellow of the Australian Evaluation Society and holds a Master's Degree in Social Science and Policy, a Business Degree in Public Administration and a Diploma in Arts/Communication.
Tune in this week as Alan discusses his professional journey and key achievements, including the progress being made in suicide prevention, and the proactive steps we can take to support both patients and carers.
As COVID continues to envelop 2020, the future of mental health has hit the spotlight – specifically, what the implications will be on individuals, society, and the industry at large.
Dr Grant Blashki has been a practising GP for 25 years and is the Lead Clinical Advisor for Beyond Blue. With almost 30 years of clinical experience, Grant has a strong understanding of mental ill-health conditions, and the important role that primary care plays in helping identify, refer and help patients get the help they need.
Grant is an author of 5 books and has co-authored over 125 peer-reviewed publications. He has also been active in helping to train GP's in China to prioritise screening for mental health.
This week, Grant discusses COVID-19 and its impact on the mental health sector, as well as the challenges faced during the pandemic, including managing workplace mental health. Grant also highlights what he believes will be the 3 main challenges that will continue to face the mental health sector in the near future: prevention, equity and the integration of digital technology.
Raising children is no easy feat – so, where can you turn when you need tried and trusted advice?
Dr Justin Coulson is one of Australia's most respected and popular parenting authors and speakers. He is sought after for his expertise in family life, relationships, and wellbeing and resilience; and the founder of 'Happy Families', in which Justin provides happiness, relationship, and parenting training to parents, teachers, and the corporate sector.
Justin and his wife Kylie have been married for 20 years and are the parents of six daughters. He is the author of the bestselling books '9 Ways to a Resilient Child', and '21 Days to a Happier Family'.
Whilst working in radio and raising his eldest daughter, Justin realised he wasn't being the dad or husband he wanted to be. He went to uni and studied psychology, completing his PhD in psychology, before spending a few years working as a researcher.
Tune in to hear Dr Coulson's insight into the key of parenting - what kids really want to be happy, some tips for parents to be better parents, challenges of parenting in today's fast paced environment, and what excites and drives him to continue to evolve as a father, husband and thought-leader on parenting and happy families
Women in rural Australia experience workplace sexual harassment at alarming rates, with a study from this week's podcast guest Dr Skye Saunders revealing 73% of rural women had experienced sexual harassment at work.
Skye is an Associate Professor in Law at the University of New England, an Employment-Discrimination Solicitor and is the Vice President of the YWCA Canberra. Skye pioneered the first research in Australia on sexual harassment in rural workplaces, contained in her book 'Whispers from the Bush- The Workplace Sexual Harassment of Australian Rural Women.'
In 2017 the Victorian Women's Trust produced a short documentary film called 'Grace Under Fire', which is based on Skye's research on workplace sexual harassment in rural Australia. In her work, Skye strives to ignite the inherent empathy and perception in both men and women as a central part of her mission to disrupt sex discrimination in the workplace.
Skye was a delegate to the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women in New York with the YWCA Australia, and was also awarded the Chancellor's Distinguished Young Alumni Award at the University of Canberra.
Listen in this week as I chat with Skye about her pioneering research into gender dynamics and sexual harassment in rural workplaces, and her framework for change.
In today's world, connection is only a click away. Meeting new people and maintaining old relationships has never been easier. But, where does our sense of belonging lie in a society that's increasingly reliant on instant gratification?
One woman who can help provide insight is Jocelyn Brewer, a Sydney-based psychologist with 16 years' experience in public schools as both a teacher and counsellor. Jocelyn is trained in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, as well as Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, and uses a range of creative, practical and dynamic techniques to inspire positive change.
In 2013, Jocelyn founded the business Digital Nutrition to address digital wellbeing issues and our love-hate relationship with technology. Via a selection of presentations, consultations and therapy sessions, Digital Nutrition aims to help individuals to better understand the cognitive, social and emotional impacts of the digital content we consume, and the way that digital devices impact our overall physical and mental health.
Digital Nutrition was awarded the NSW Premier's Teacher Scholarship for Health Education in 2014 and Jocelyn toured the USA in 2015 to investigate work happening in this emerging intersection of digital health and wellbeing.
Tune in to hear more about Jocelyn's tips and techniques to use digital content wisely, and discover how the underlying desire of belonging is being met through technology compared to other means used in the pre-internet era.
When working with others in need, self-care is essential. To prevent burnout, you need to be able to prioritise yourself and your own needs before effectively assisting others. Helen Gray is an experienced social worker who has experienced the impact of burnout firsthand.
Born in the UK, Helen completed her social work training in Belfast, Northern Ireland, before later moving to Sydney. Helen commenced her career as an unqualified worker doing community relations work with at risk youth and as a support worker, supporting a mix of young people at risk of homelessness and students.
Helen moved to Australia in 2003, commencing work in Sydney with homeless and at-risk youth.
After several years, necessity brought Helen back into full time work in the child and family support arena, resulting in collaborative work with the Australian Family and Community Services. Whilst loving elements of the management role, Helen experienced professional breakdown and burnout in 2015, and in June 2016 was signed off as unable to work in her social work role due to mental health concerns. This was the start of an ongoing journey of recovery and learning.
Committed to empowering other social workers to be able to support their wellbeing and professional future, Helen is leading the way with specialised social worker self-care training in moral distress, vicarious trauma, and burnout prevention.
Listen in to this week's episode as Helen talks about her personal experience with burnout, gain insight into the importance of self-care as a professional practice tool and learn simple strategies for integrating self-care into your working day.
When training the body, the power of the mind is what drives you to continue, make you stronger and gives you the push you need to take your physical fitness to the next level.
One person who knows this all too well is trainer, coach and Chinese medical practitioner Chris Miller.
Just after his 20th birthday, Chris endured his third knee reconstruction, leaving him without any ligaments in his right knee. He was told he would never walk properly or run again. At 29, Chris had a tumour cut out of his sinuses, leaving him with severe neurological issues, and again was told it would be permanent. For 6 months, he could not train, read, watch TV, or even carry his baby daughter around.
Throughout both instances, Chris followed traditional rehab methods, before beginning to experiment with unorthodox methods of reclaiming mental and physical wellness. Instead of relying on physical therapies, Chris chose to improve his body's physical and mental state via movement and mobility drills, while challenging the traditional paradigms of thinking.
After a period of continued experimentation, Chris developed PrimalThenics, a style of training created to combine clinical musculoskeletal rehab skills and coaching experience. It uniquely involves the combination of mobility drills, neurological techniques, muscle activation, crawling and high intensity calisthenics.
Since its creation, Chris has worked with a number of high profile athletes, from teams including the Wallabies, NRL and Olympic Games.
Tune in this week to find out more about Chris' journey through injury and the unorthodox training methods he has used for everyday people, kids and professional athletes to perform at the peak of their fitness.
When it comes to performing at your peak, physical and mental health play an equally important role. Professional athletes are under constant pressure to maintain a high level of focus and fitness – and here to share his secrets to success is this week's podcast guest Fijian-born Australian rugby union player Samu Kerevi.
Growing up in Fiji, at the age of 6 Samu found himself living in the Soloman islands until we was evacuated during a coup and was then put on a plane to where he thought he was going back to Fiji. Instead, they landed in Australia and were helped out by the Salvation Army. Throughout his schooling, Samu played in the Queensland Schools side and had his first taste of senior rugby when he debuted for Queensland against the Highlanders in Brisbane in 2014. In 2016, he made his Test debut for the Wallabies against England in Brisbane.
A strong grounding in faith and religion has been one of Samu's driving forces to keep him on his path, where he has seized the opportunity to visit different cultures, enjoy a highly successful career and now play professional rugby in Japan
Tune into episode 21 to hear about Samu's upbringing in Fiji, his childhood, the pressures of being a professional athlete and what drives him in his ambitions to become the best centre in world rugby.
With Pasifika and Maori youths statistically more susceptible to suicide and incarceration, the need for greater education, acknowledgement and support is essential.
As an individual of Maori and Samoan descent, Kimaea Kirifi-Aliifaalogo is on a mission to acknowledge, celebrate and uplift Maori and Samoan youths to be the best versions of themselves. She wants to educate youths to be aware of the successful Pasifika and Maori people in our communities, to hear their stories of struggle and success and to be inspired to set and achieve life goals.
In October 2019, Kimaea became a radio personality on Brisbane’s Pacific Island & Maori Youth radio show, Pacific Wave on 4EB Radio. Through highlighting Pasifika and Maori artists, Kimaea is working towards her goal which is to uplift as many Pasifika people as possible, while inspire youths to dream big.
Alongside a team of dedicated volunteers, Kimaea also started the Brisbane measles donation drive in December 2019, raising $3500 in monetary donations and sending a 40ft container filled with donations to Samoa. These donations not only helped the people of Samoa with the Measles epidemic but also the COVID-19 Pandemic.
To further her work, Kimaea has also founded Brown & Busy; a platform for like-minded Pasifika and Maori people doing it for themselves, their families, and their communities.
Tune in as Kimaea takes us through her multi-cultural upbringing and background, the challenges of now living in another country (Australia), and the importance of youths connecting to their culture.
In today’s digital world, we are now more connected than ever. Being constantly accessible brings with it a great deal of positives – but when it comes to bullying, this also means being inescapable.
As a public speaker and educator, Kirra Pendergast has presented to more than 400,000 students, teachers, and parents at schools across Australia and New Zealand, educating people and consulting organisations on the safe use of social media. She has presented at countless legal seminars, government and business events, conferences and business staff professional learning and wellbeing sessions.
In 2009, Kirra founded Australia's first consulting company, focused solely on social media security, privacy, and risk management, completing social media risk reviews for organisations ranging from 5 to over 12,000 employees.
In 2014 after experiencing serious and relentless cyberbullying and trolling, Kirra was inspired to create Safe on Social Media, a training and development business that now helps thousands of users to stay safe on social media. Her experience helped her understand in detail what victims of cyberbullying are exposed to.
Tune in to hear Kirra speak about her online experience, and the measures of cyber safety that need to be considered to reduce risk and secure safety and privacy when online.
This May 28th, 2020 has been declared the inaugural ‘LGBTI Domestic Violence Awareness Day’.
Intimate partner violence is reported at similar rates in same gender relationships to heterosexual relationships. While some studies have found even higher rates, particularly for bisexual women and trans and gender diverse people. However, given that the LGBTIQ community has struggled to gain equal legal and social recognition of their relationships, acknowledging that Domestic Violence can also occur within these requires nuanced community and service sector education.
Joining the podcast to talk about this are two people very engaged in this area in Victoria, Matthew Parsons & Russell Vickery.
Matthew Parsons is the Manager, Education and Strategic Development at Rainbow Health Victoria within The Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health & Society (ARCSHS), at La Trobe University. Matthew is one of Australia’s leading specialists in LGBTQ experiences of intimate partner and family of origin violence. Matthew leads the delivery of LGBTQ domestic violence and inclusive practice training to mainstream domestic violence services across Victoria, and has driven LGBTQ domestic violence public educational projects and media campaigns through producing and directing the innovative educational theatre piece “My Other Closet the Cabaret”.
Russell Vickery is a banker by day and a musical performer and community advocate and educator by night. Russ is passionate about dispelling the myths surrounding Domestic Violence and advocating for survivors. He is the LGBTIQ representative on the Victorian government’s Victim Survivor Advisory Council and star of “My Other Closet the Cabaret”, turning his lived-experience of surviving a violent and abusive gay relationship in to a vehicle for change. Regularly appearing on stage and in media interviews telling (& singing) his story, Russ was notably the first queer survivor of DV to share their story on national Australian television when he appeared on ABC TV’s “You Can’t Ask That” last year.
Women who have experienced domestic and family violence use health services more frequently than women who have not. By combining early identification and intervention within our health system, one woman has a concept that can revolutionise our approach to support.
As a former nurse and current social worker, Debbie McCarthy has been exposed to a number of situations pertaining to domestic and family violence. Employed as a counsellor for Human Services Taskforce in tissue retention, she has worked in various inpatient wards, and also as a Social Work Team Coordinator in the Flinders Medical Centre Emergency Department since 2004. In 2015, she was awarded the Excellence in Allied Health Award in the Southern Adelaide Local Health Network for her work in domestic violence.
In order to assist individuals impacted by domestic and family violence, Debbie established a training program and resources for staff in the ED and post-graduate nursing program surrounding screening for DV. By training workers to see the signs and inform patients of support and care, this method of early intervention can contribute to the systemic change needed to combat domestic and family violence.
Tune in to hear Debbie discuss her experiences, and how her program is being implemented to better support thousands of Australians at risk.
Rural and remote emergency aeromedical retrievals are often associated with physical accidents and incidents – but how many call outs are in relation to mental health?
To find out, the Royal Flying Doctor Service conducted an Australia-wide study on the types of mental and behavioural disorders experienced by people that received a retrieval by the Royal Flying Doctor Service. The leading reasons were found to be schizophrenia, bipolar affective disorder and depression.
As the lead author on research projects including emergency and military medicine, rural and remote healthcare and pathology, Dr Fergus Gardiner has accumulated a wealth of knowledge in clinical practice. Fergus served in the Australian Defence Force before employment in large teaching hospitals and the Department of Health. Fergus is a visiting academic at the Australian National University, were he conducts epidemiology and clinical research, and is also Manager of Research and Policy at the Royal Flying Doctor Service.
Tune in as Fergus describes the study conducted, and why people suffering poor mental health in rural and remote areas are more prone to seeking help only once they've hit the point of crisis.
Mental health issues are alarmingly high within emergency services. Research conducted by Beyond Blue identifies self-stigma as being of significant concern. Survey results of over 21,000 emergency services personnel reported staggering statistics around participants diagnosed with mental health issues feeling shame about their mental wellbeing, with two-thirds of diagnosed participants admitting they have avoided telling anyone about their mental health issues.
Despite indicative testing suggesting the presence of a mental health issue, many respondents were also unable to identify this within themselves.
Matt Newlands is a husband and father with 10 years-service with South Australia Police. Having been diagnosed with PTSD and depression in 2015, he fought a personal battle with suicidal thoughts. The personal refusal of his diagnosis resulted in the destruction of his personal life and the end of a policing career in very dramatic circumstances.
Enveloped in an identity crisis, Matt found his way through the darkness with the support of his family and close friends. He now lives a positive and hopeful life after 'the job' as a counsellor, peer support group facilitator with The Road Home Wellbeing Program and Community Ambassador for RUOK?
Tune in with Matt as he takes us through his personal experience, and discover how the element of self-awareness is crucial in the journey of treatment and recovery.
Seeing a loved one in distress is heartbreaking – but what happens when you feel like the professional support you reach out for isn’t enough?
Beth McEwan is a high school teacher, a mother and a widow. Her husband, Grant died after a long struggle with mental illness in October 2018. During the battle, they experienced the cracks that many fall through when trying to get support in both the public and private mental health systems.
Determined to see change, Beth started discussions with Queensland politicians in April 2019. She hopes for new specialised services specifically for mental health patients and changes to the way patients and families are supported when they leave hospital.
Tune in as Beth tells her story, and how she believes these changes can contribute to a health system designed to support families in distress.
In times of great crisis, the need for a strong and supportive community is essential. Few know this as well as Yasser El Shall.
Born in Cairo, Egypt, and immigrated to New Zealand 22 years ago, Yasser is the Service Manager for the Muslim Wellbeing Service at Kahu Tu Kaha, a Ngati Whatua organization, a not-for-profit provider of housing and mental Health Services.
With a desire to give back to the community, Yasser has volunteered for many organizations in New Zealand including Victim Support where he worked for 10 years as a support worker supporting victims of Suicide, Homicide, Family and Domestic Violence, and Sexual Violence.
As a care giver for high risk and complex needs kids in care, Yasser received ‘The Excellence In Foster Care Award’ in 2017. In 2019, Yasser received the “Pegasus Health Champion Award” in acknowledgment of his outstanding work in supporting the victims of the Mosques shooting.
I had the pleasure of speaking with Yasser at the 2020 New Zealand Mental Health Conference, where he discussed the importance of unity, strength and resilience in times of trauma and recovery. Tune in and take a listen.
By the very nature of their roles, emergency services first responders are routinely exposed to critical incidents and traumatic events. Collectively, these experiences can take a significant toll, placing first responders at high risk of developing mental health issues.
From 1986 to 2016, Peter Bellion worked with Victoria Police, spending 26 years with the Major Collision Investigation Unit attending 2000 road fatalities and 20 police deaths.
In 2007 after the Kerang Rail Disaster where 11 people were killed in a truck and train crash, he was diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder/Injury. After having 3 months leave he returned and eventually worked back in frontline policing and crash investigation.
After another 9 years, Peter’s PTSD had progressed to the chronic stage and he also was diagnosed with major depressive disorder. 20% of his skin was covered with psoriasis and he had 35% psychological trauma injury to the brain.
Peter attended the Post Trauma Recovery Course at the Coral Balmoral Centre at the Austin Repatriation Hospital where he learnt how to manage his serious injury. He has since gone on to develop his management strategies for his injury utilising more natural therapies, such as exercise, stretching, tapping and floating. He now presents as a guest speaker at the Austin Repatriation Hospital, Men's Shed nights and the Exercise Physiology Course at RMIT.
Peter was awarded the Australian Police Medal, National Service Medal, National Police Service Medal, Victoria Police Medal and Victoria Police Star for his service.
Join me for this week’s episode as Peter discusses his valuable life experiences in frontline emergency services, his serious injury and treatment and how he has moved on in life.
Acts of violence can affect anyone. But some people, such as those with disability, may be especially vulnerable to experiencing violence, with 1 in 2 adults with a disability experiencing violence after the age of 15.
After suffering a decade of abuse at the hands of her former husband, Nicole Lee now uses her lived-experience of family violence to speak out for those who don’t yet have a voice. Nicole, who also uses a wheelchair, focuses on family violence perpetrated against those who have a disability, or who depend on carers or family members for support. In July 2016, Nicole was appointed to the Victim Survivors’ Advisory Council. Further to her work, Nicole uses her public profile to advocate and speak out for those who have, or are, experiencing family violence. Recent appearances on television, radio and print media shows Nicole’s drive and commitment to changing the lives of women and children throughout Victoria.
Listen in to this week’s episode as Nicole delves into how intimate partner carers can use coercive control as a form of domestic abuse, redefining our concepts of vulnerability and agency. This furthers our understanding of how intimate partner violence systematically breaks people down, while highlighting the added barriers people with disabilities face and the internal fears they hold when trying to leave a violent situation.
As part of the National Suicide Prevention Trial, the Australian Government is supporting the implementation and evaluation of twelve suicide prevention trial sites across Australia. One of the individual’s responsible for its implementation is Stuart Auckland.
Stuart is the Coordinator of the Community Health Development Program Area at the Centre for Rural Health (CRH) at the University of Tasmania. He has extensive experience in the design and implementation of community-based models of health service delivery. This experience includes Stuart’s current role as co-investigator of the Tasmanian component of the National Suicide Prevention Trial.
As part of the National Suicide Prevention Trial, strategies are being implemented by community structures at three Tasmanian sites to prevent suicide at a local-level, and for at-risk populations. The local evaluation is focusing on key process outcomes such as the effectiveness of local governance structures, the efficacy of frameworks and supporting capacity building.
Listen in as Stuart discusses the outcome of these strategies, and what has been learnt so far in our national approach to suicide prevention.
Warning: This week’s episode deals with potentially triggering issues relating to domestic violence.
If you feel at any time that you need help or support, please contact Lifeline on 13 11 14.
Simone O’Brien is a domestic violence survivor, speaker, strong advocate for women against violence.
Her journey started in 2012, when she suffered a horrific attack at the hands of a perpetrator who would not take “no” for an answer. It started with emotional and psychological abuse and ended up with her being beaten with a baseball bat to within inches of her life.
Somehow, with the support of family and friends, Simone got through that night and today, after 52 operations and 7 years of on going treatment, she travels around Australia to share her story of courage and strength, to raise awareness on the red flags related to domestic violence and prevent these incidences from happening again.
Tune in as Simone shares her personal story of determination, resilience, courage and strength, and how she is championing non-violence against women and children.
Adolescence represents a time of significant physical, psychological and cognitive change for young people. With this, is a time of potential vulnerability for the development of mental health issues in the context of young people's lives.
Unfortunately for Indigenous people they have higher rates of issues stemming from multiple rumours that impact on social and emotional well-being. One of these is developmental trauma, increasingly recognised as a significant issue for children but in particular for young Indigenous Australians. Developmental trauma itself can present in multiple different ways. With that it can also unfortunately the misdiagnosed and therefore mistreated.
Dr Marshall Watson is an Aboriginal man and descendant of the Noongar people of the South West of Western Australia. Working as a child and adolescent forensic psychiatrist in South Australia, he is the clinical lead of the Forensic Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service.
Tune in Dr Watson delves into the impact of indigenous and non-indigenous practitioners being clinically and culturally aware of issues relating to developmental trauma in indigenous adolescents, and how to manage them appropriately whilst preserving self-care.
In order for positive and successful culture changes to happen in any workplace, there needs to be a change of attitudes at all levels.
With a background in Psychology, Mark Molloy first joined West Midland Ambulance Service (UK) on a graduate entry Paramedic program. He has enjoyed a varied and decorated career spanning more than 16 years in both England and Australia.
As an experienced Intensive Care Paramedic and Operations Manager for the ACT Ambulance Service, Mark has a strong reputation in both clinical and managerial standards. His background spans most areas of Ambulance, including Hazardous Area Response Team, Emergency Management, Incident Response and Command and Control. Following his passion, Mark is currently a professional trainer in the Canadian ‘Road to Mental Readiness’(R2MR) Program, as well as a Lifeline Crisis Support Volunteer - this recently saw him slip seamlessly into a Business Development and Corporate Trainer role for Lifeline Canberra.
Mark is highly driven and personally motivated to reduce the stigma surrounding mental health. He enjoys actively promoting positive change within work cultures that encourage early access to care; especially within the world of Frontline Emergency Services.
Join me alongside Mark on this week's episode of Pebble in the Pond, as we delve into the positive impact that evidence-based educational programs have on encouraging a long term, mentally healthy workplace.
For nearly twenty years, Menslink has supported young men in Canberra affected by family violence. However the issue is getting worse. Patterns of violent behaviour are being entrenched without early intervention. Research and data show there are many root causes for violence and not one operates in isolation.
Martin Fisk has led Menslink's efforts to support young men through difficult times (like violence and mental health issues) for nearly ten years.
A strong advocate of strengths-based approaches, Martin designed the award-winning Silence is Deadly campaign in 2012 which now reaches over ten thousand male students each year, encouraging them to seek help rather than self-harm or harm against others.
Tune into episode 6 as Martin discusses the importance of working with young men and boys, and encouraging getting support rather than resorting to shaming approaches.
In a bid to become Australia’s most mentally healthy city, Townsville has embarked on the Mentally Healthy City (MHC) project, aiming to help citizens flourish and thrive as a community. This is achieved by heightening the focus on mental wellness and assisting individuals and organisations to better support those people who from time to time may be mentally unwell.
As a Project Manager, Brendon Marty is leading the Mentally Healthy City Project for the Tropical Brain and Mind Foundation. A passion for community, technology, and a family history in mental health awareness and support is the driving force behind his pursuit of the role.
Tune in this week as I speak with Brendon about the Mentally Healthy City (MHC) project, the elements of a ‘mentally healthy city’ and how it has transformed Townsville into building awareness and reducing stigma associated with mental health.
Just like cardiology, mental health is about much more than rushing to the Emergency Department for acute care after a catastrophic event. Mental ill-health is preventable and is not just about managing symptoms or distress; it’s about ensuring the fundamentals for good mental health and wellbeing are in place for all of us.
South Australia’s Mental Health Commissioner Chris Burns says this entrenched approach looks at mental health and wellbeing from an ‘ambulance at the bottom of the cliff’ perspective. It’s how we looked at heart attacks in the 1950s - we wait for the crisis and then treat the patient.
Tune in to this week’s episode as Chris delves into the importance of building resilient, compassionate and connected communities, as well as being pro-active in our approach to mental health, rather than waiting for the ‘mind attack’ to occur.
What causes people to suffer mental health conditions in their workplaces is not limited to their work and work environment. Recent evidence strongly suggests the erosion of traditional employment relationships and stressors at home are the major causes of mental health issues arising at work - and the modern employer is ill-equipped to deal with both.
Enter Workplace Law: eloquent, mindful, observant and with skilled intervention making people’s lives better. Law can be the Healer, the Educator and Mentor … or it can be a blunt instrument that damages everyone who participates.
On this week’s episode, I had the opportunity to speak with Andrew Douglas, an experienced legal practitioner, accomplished speaker and chair of masterclasses in workplace law. He has authored several books on health and safety law, and is a widely published legal practitioner on workplace wellbeing. Listen in as Andrew discusses the importance of workplace law and balancing the best interests of both employees and employers. When properly articulated and understood by employers, it offers clarity for both employees and employers when it comes to providing and maintaining a safe and healthy work environment.
As an experienced human rights, international relations and law academic and family violence and social change advocate, Liana Papoutsis’ lived experience of intimate partner family violence has led to a personal crusade for education and awareness.
Listen in as Liana discusses how it is time to go beyond awareness and talk about the resources and actions needed to change our community if we are to genuinely improve safety and support for women navigating family violence.
What is broken inside men that is causing the death of more than one woman a week in Australia?
Phil Barker is a Sydney-based columnist, public speaker and author. He is a former magazine editor and publisher of titles such as Vogue, GQ, Delicious, InsideOut, and Donna Hay.
When he's not working his day job, as a consultant creative director and communications specialist, Phil is writing and speaking, to start conversations on what has become a personal crusade - positive masculinity and being a better man. The Revolution of Man is his first book.
Tune into our first episode of season 2 as Phil delves into what he believes drives men to violence and abuse, why there's hope men can turn around, and how we can end family violence.
Rural mental health in Australia has progressed in leaps and bounds – but how does that compare on a global scale?
As the Member of Parliament for the large rural electorate of New Zealand’s Taranaki King Country, Barbara has a long career in the New Zealand Dairy Industry as a farmer and is a Board Member on a number of industry boards, including DairyNZ.
In 2012, Barbara was awarded the inaugural Dairy Women of the Year. Her reason for being in Parliament is to represent rural communities and ensure the needs of primary producers and their support industries.
This week, Barbara joins us to talk about the state of rural mental health in New Zealand, and how we can use lessons from other countries in improving our available support services.
When it comes to life on the front line, the risk for physical and mental health is significantly increased.
One person who knows a little about risk is Allan Sparkes. As a frontline Police Officer with 20 years’ service, he is the only Australian ever to receive Australia’s highest bravery decoration and a subsequent National bravery decoration.
The majority of Allan’s service was carried out with high levels of physical and mental health. However, things changed and changed rapidly. Eventually, he was diagnosed with PTSD and chronic depression after his life almost ended with an on-duty suicide attempt. His path to recovery is testament to his inner strength and unwavering determination.
Listen in as I chat to Allan about his progression from positive psychological health to chronic psychological ill health.
At approximately 1.30pm on the 15th March 2019, the Christchurch Mosques shootings bought the feared reality of horrific acts of terrorism to the door step of the otherwise typically passive citizenship of New Zealand.
The extreme nature of this incident echoed around the world triggering an outpouring of support and connection both nationally and internationally. First responders directly involved in the incident witnessed horrific scenes and had contact with victims suffering extreme injuries secondary to high velocity trauma. One of those responders was Wally Mitchell.
For more than 40 years, Wally has been involved with St John. From working in Northland, Wally moved into the Canterbury District Operations Manager position in late February 2019, and had been in his role only three weeks prior to the March 15th Mosque terrorist attacks. Based in Christchurch, he assumed command of the St John response to this incident.
Tune in as I speak with Wally about his personal experience as a first responder and the aftercare that was implemented for frontline workers post-attack.
When it comes to the mental health of our rural communities, tele-health and mobile van servicesare an excellent supplement to our health system. However, factors such as community trust can impact on the effectiveness of these innovative approaches to mental and physical health care.
Senator Rachel Siewert has been in Parliament for over fourteen years, building up a vast portfolio in Family and Community Services, Ageing, Mental Health and First Nations Issues. As Chair of the Senate Community Affairs References Committee from 2009, Rachel has brought to light landmark issues such as; suicide prevention, hearing health, income inequality, forced adoptions and out of home care.
In relation to rural mental health, Rachel is a strong advocate for communities driving change for long-term sustainable solutions.
Listen in to episode 17 as Rachel discusses the challenges and opportunities facing rural mental health, as well as the importance of putting basic tools in the hands of the community.
Over the last half-century, Indigenous Australia has been transformed by a number of political and social forces that have been accompanied by changing patterns of mental disorders. While the excess vulnerability of Indigenous Australians to adverse mental health outcomes is widespread, it is changing with time and is unevenly distributed.
One professional dedicated to finding out more about mental health amongst remote Indigenous Australians is this week’s podcast guest, Professor Ernest Hunter.
After completing medical school at the University of Western Australia, Professor Ernest Hunter trained in adult, child and cross cultural psychiatry and public health in the United States. Returning to Australia in the mid-1980s, he undertook doctoral research in the Kimberley, and worked as a clinician and academic in Cape York and the Torres Strait until 2016. Ernest has continued to lead a now decade-long initiative in developing leadership in mental health with participants from the western Pacific.
Tune in as I speak with Professor Ernest Hunter about his research and discoveries in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander mental health in remote Australia.
For people who live and work in rural and remote Australia, unspoken stigmas and a lack of available services can often lead to neglected mental health. Dr Jennifer Bowers is the inaugural CEO and MD of Rural & Remote Mental Health Ltd a not-for-profit organisation with charitable status. In recognition of the unique circumstances and challenges faced by Australians living and working in rural and remote areas, Jennifer has spearheaded the design and delivery of suicide prevention and early intervention programs. Designed to be culturally-tailored, evidence-based and awareness raising, these programs have been rolled out Australia-wide, receiving high praise for its collaborative learning environment and hands-on activities. Listen in as I speak with Jennifer about the state of rural and remote mental health, how she started in the industry and what drives her to make a difference.
If you’ve got a brain and a blood supply, you’re susceptible to mental illness; it doesn’t discriminate.
Kevin Humphreys was a military combat pilot and commander, who now as a civilian rescue helicopter pilot, flight instructor and examiner has a powerful message about mental illness to share.
Flying Blackhawk helicopters by age 21, Kevin would go on to complete several deployments in East Timor, Iraq and Afghanistan plus humanitarian operations in Papua New Guinea. Towards the peak of his military career he contemplated suicide and suffered a breakdown due to PTSD, depression, anxiety and bullying.
Whilst a drive in the backstreets of Baghdad bought on PTSD, it was the isolation of leadership and a workplace with a toxic bullying command environment that triggered Kevin’s depression, anxiety and ultimately his breakdown and suicidal ideation.
Tune in as Kevin takes us on the recovery rollercoaster that involved the power of visualisation and reuniting his head and heart, in what he describes as the longest journey one will ever take – but a journey well worth the effort.
If you’ve ever found yourself on the receiving end of a co-worker or employee’s problems, it can be difficult to know how to respond appropriately.
So, what if you knew there was a way to become an effective accidental counsellor?
In this week’s episode, psychologist Richard Thorpe joins us to discuss how a simple counselling model can be implemented into the workplace by both employers and employees, as well as the most effective strategies to foster self-care and prevent burnout.
What happens when the person responsible for managing mental health cases is the one who becomes unwell?
This was exactly the case for our very own association ambassador Camille Wilson, a lived experience advocate, founder of Grow Together Now, a social enterprise with the mission to change the way we see mental health in workplaces.
In this week’s episode, Camille takes us on a journey of her personal experience, exploring the differences between how we think we should manage mental health, compared to what it was like to be on the other end, and what we can be doing about making the shift that needs to happen.
More and more, we’re seeing workplaces take a driving seat in the health and wellbeing of its employees.
James Hill and Aaron McCann are prime examples of what happens when employers and employees come together in the name of mental health. As Energy Australia’s mental health ambassadors, both men have used their respective personal experiences to take awareness of workplace mental health to the next level.
Listen in as I chat with both men about their personal experience with mental health, as well as their decision to take the stand and speak out about the importance of everyone in the workplace playing their part in mental wellbeing.
When it comes to mental health services, are we really looking at the bigger picture?
As a former panel member for the Confidential Listening and Assistance Service, Barbara Disley has heard the stories of over 1,000 people who experienced abuse or neglect while in state care. She is currently the Chief Executive of Emerge Aotearoa, a large non government mental health, disability and social housing provider. In 2011, she was made an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for her services to mental health.
Join us on this week’s episode as Barbara discusses the importance of integrating new ways of providing mental health services that address not only the medical needs of people but also the wider range of social, housing, employment and financial needs and availabilities.
Episode nine and this week we’re shining a spotlight on the mental health of children, with a guest who’s committed to curbing the numbers of self harm and suicide among children.
Appointed in 2013, Megan Mitchell is Australia’s first National Children’s Commissioner at the Australian Human Rights Commission.
In her work to date, Megan has focused on the prevalence of suicide and intentional self-harm in children and young people, the impact of family and domestic violence on children and young people, the oversight of children and young people in correctional detention, and the experiences and of young parents and their children.
In the world of mental health, peer support workers are an integral part of our community.
With over 24 years’ experience, Gabrielle Vilic is a well-respected leader in the mental health sector, working across a range of government and government sectors. In advocating for peer support, she has developed the lived experience workforce to over 50 positions in the last 4 years.
Tune into episode eight as we chat with Gabrielle about what it means to be a support worker and her experience working peer to peer to help those in need.
With the increase in apps, technology and online self-help resources, mental wellbeing in the digital age is an area of fast-paced development.
Professor David Kavanagh is a clinical psychology researcher at Queensland University of Technology and chairs the Queensland Mental Health and Drug Advisory Council.
Over the last 12 years, David has been developing and testing e-mental health programs and apps, and since 2013 has been leading the Australian Department of Health’s e-Mental Health in Practice project, which helps health workers across Australia to use digital resources and services.
Take a listen as David joins us in episode seven to discuss the role technology plays in assisting with mental health, and how we can benefit from implementing these resources into the workplace.
Joining us for episode six is Shaun Robinson, Chief Executive of the Mental Health Foundation of New Zealand.
With degrees in business and community work, Shaun has held several CEO positions in not-for-profit organisations, addressing issues from child wellbeing to HIV and AIDS.
He has been a management consultant to public hospitals, as well as a policy advisor to former New Zealand prime minister Helen Clark.
As an integral member of New Zealand’s mental health sector, Shaun joins us to discuss the challenges, opportunities and developments being made in the country, as well as his own personal mental health journey.
Onto episode five and this week we are shining a spotlight on a leader who has shaped the strategic vision of organisations across the globe on diversity and inclusion.
Following a decade of guiding South African organisations on dismantling apartheid in the workplace, Heather Price has continued her mission for creating working environments that are psychologically safe. This is defined as a person’s willingness to bring their whole self to work – to speak up, propose new ideas, challenge traditional ways of doing things and take intelligent risks – all without fear of punishment, humiliation or career limitations.
Heather has presented at numerous international conferences on issues of inclusion, bias and psychological safety, paired with establishing consulting group Symmetra in Australia in 2003.
Listen in as I chat with Heather about her journey in breaking down barriers, creating a psychologically safe workplace and being aware of the unconscious bias that could be holding us back.
Craig Hamilton was a high-profile sports broadcaster for the ABC when, in September 2000, on the eve of his assignment for the Sydney Olympic Games, he experienced a major psychotic episode in public that led to him being diagnosed with bipolar disorder.
Craig spent 12 days in hospital and once he recovered, set out to spread the word on mental health awareness. Listen in as we chat with Craig about stigma, identity and the episode that led him to become a voice for change.
Commonly referred to as floating, floatation therapy or sensory deprivation has taken the world by storm, praised by celebrities and clinical professionals alike for its relaxing effects on both mind and body.
Dr. Justin Feinstein is a Clinical Neuropsychologist and Director of the Float Clinic and Research Centre at the Laureate Institute for Brain Research.
His laboratory investigates the effects of floatation therapy on both the body and the brain, while also exploring its potential as a treatment for promoting mental health and healing in patients who suffer from anxiety and stress-related disorders.
Justin’s research has been published in a number of top scientific journals and has been featured in press around the world, including the New York Times, TIME magazine, and Australia’s Sunday Night.
What looked like everything going great had a very different story behind the scenes. International speaker Matt Caruana is using his dark past and turning points as a catalyst to instruct, inspire, influence and impact people's frame of mind, for them to change their lives. Find out more about Matt's life-changing journey with mental health and how he has used his experience to reach others in need on a personal level.
Listen in to episode one of our podcast with one of the biggest names in mental health. Discover Lucy Brogden's journey into the mental health industry. Hear how she balances life as a wife and carer to husband John, how she found a calling for her passion and how she became a key driver for workplace mental health.