Mental Health In Focus

Welcome to Mental Health In Focus, where each series will take you on a deep dive into specific mental health topics to broaden your knowledge. Listen to thought-provoking discussions by experts in the field to give you a holistic understanding of contemporary areas of mental health in Australia. Follow us to stay up-to-date with our latest episodes, and visit us at www.mhpn.org.au/podcasts for further resources and information.

  1. Emergency Workers: Responder Assist – Episode 4 – Experts by Lived Experience

    01/24/2023

    Emergency Workers: Responder Assist – Episode 4 – Experts by Lived Experience

    Listen in as host, clinical psychologist Mark Creamer and co-host Tim Peck, who brings 21 years' experience working with Victoria Police to his current role as Deputy Director of the Centre of Excellence for Emergency Worker Mental Health, talk with three ‘experts by experience’ in the final episode in this series on supporting the mental health of emergency workers. You’ll hear first-hand experiences about emergency work in different contexts and roles – from a salaried emergency worker, former Victorian Police Member, and a partner of a volunteer.  Don’t miss this rare opportunity to hear reflections from these perspectives - from realising something wasn’t quite right, to experiencing early warning signs, and identifying what helped and what hindered their efforts to seek help. You’ll pick up on similarities and differences in their experiences, due largely to the context of their unique roles in emergency work.  Emergency Workers: Responder Assist is a podcast series produced in partnership between Phoenix Australia’s Responder Assist, Centre for Excellence in Emergency Worker Mental Health and The Mental Health Professionals’ Network (MHPN). Visit the MHPN website for episode host and guest bios, recommended resources and a self-directed CPD form. Share your comments, questions and feedback about Emergency Workers: Responder Assist, or any of MHPN’s podcast series here: https://mhpn.org.au/podcast-feedback/.

    35 min
  2. Emergency Workers: Responder Assist – Episode 3 – Treatment options

    01/17/2023

    Emergency Workers: Responder Assist – Episode 3 – Treatment options

    Listen in to this third episode as your host, clinical psychologist Mark Creamer and co-host Jane Nursey, a clinical neuropsychologist with 30 years' experience, discuss the importance of considering a range of diagnoses, including PTSD, and the common challenges practitioners may face when treating the mental health of emergency workers. Hear Professor Andrea Phelps’ insights on treatment approaches; the value behavioral therapies provide alongside evidence-based treatments, and how and why nuanced recovery plans are more likely to achieve better outcomes for recovery. Andrea also chats about moral injury: what is it and how does it impact emergency workers?  Dr. Tony McHugh, clinical psychologist, joins the conversation to share the health benefits of work, and the negative impact and risks associated with psychological injury in the workplace.  Liked this episode? Tune into the series final where a panel of experts by experience share their personal recovery journeys, through early warning signs, barriers to treatment, and identifying what they found most helpful.  Emergency Workers: Responder Assist is a podcast series produced in partnership between Phoenix Australia’s Responder Assist, Centre for Excellence in Emergency Worker Mental Health and The Mental Health Professionals’ Network (MHPN). Visit the MHPN website for episode host and guest bios, recommended resources and a self-directed CPD form. Share your comments, questions and feedback about Emergency Workers: Responder Assist, or any of MHPN’s podcast series here: https://mhpn.org.au/podcast-feedback/.

    29 min
  3. Emergency Workers: Responder Assist - Episode 2 - Models of care

    12/06/2022

    Emergency Workers: Responder Assist - Episode 2 - Models of care

    In this episode, your series host Mark Creamer and episode co-host Patricia Watson, Phoenix Australia’s Responder Assist consultant and psychologist for the U.S. National Center for PTSD, unpack the importance of supportive leadership and organisational structures that support emergency workers' mental health. Listen in to be reminded of the value and power of peer support with Neville Goddard, a volunteer firefighter for more than 35 years. He shares how the Victorian Country Fire Authority peer support program works, what training is involved and the program’s positive impacts for emergency workers and their families. Hear expert insight from general practitioner Maya Edgerton Bachmann, as she shares practical tips to destigmatize help seeking behaviour, the barriers emergency workers often face, and the key role GPs play in advocating for and supporting emergency workers and their families. Liked this episode? Stay tuned for the third which will be released in early 2023 when Mark Creamer is joined by Andrea Phelps, Deputy Director of Phoenix Australia and Dr Tony McHugh to discuss some of the challenges clinicians might face in supporting emergency workers’ mental health. Emergency Workers: Responder Assist is a podcast series produced in partnership between Phoenix Australia’s Responder Assist, Centre for Excellence in Emergency Worker Mental Health and The Mental Health Professionals’ Network (MHPN). Visit the MHPN website for episode host and guest bios, recommended resources and a self-directed CPD form. Share your comments, questions and feedback about Emergency Workers: Responder Assist or any of MHPN’s podcast series here: https://mhpn.org.au/podcast-feedback/.

    32 min

Trailers

About

Welcome to Mental Health In Focus, where each series will take you on a deep dive into specific mental health topics to broaden your knowledge. Listen to thought-provoking discussions by experts in the field to give you a holistic understanding of contemporary areas of mental health in Australia. Follow us to stay up-to-date with our latest episodes, and visit us at www.mhpn.org.au/podcasts for further resources and information.

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