Siusan MacKenzie’s Post

As I reflect on the Emergency Services Foundation 2025 Mental Health Showcase and see how people consistently described feeling inspired, energised and enriched at the end of the day I feel very proud of how we have taken this germ of an idea and grown it into something so exciting and valuable for people across the emergency services sector in Victoria. We love tackling topics that don't often get air time and this year was no exception. Lou Harms was joined by paramedic Jackson Sorati to set the scene speaking about the concept of post traumatic growth. Our Mental Health Advisory Group Chair Kate Connors led a discussion exploring just why participants in ESFs Residential Wellbeing Program consistently tell us it is a life changing intervention. Amy Salmon from presenting partner WorkSafe Victoria used a fabulous analogy of how psychological safety is just like taking a fish out of a dirty tank of water. Dr Sadhbh (Sive) Joyce had us thinking about how empathic distress fatigue can impact people in the emergency services who are likely to be doing what they do because they naturally 'care'. She led us into a moment of zen reflection. I did something I always enjoy, speaking with family members to delve into how the job permeates all aspects of family life. And that was all before lunch! In the afternoon ESF scholarship awardee Mark Welch discussed the Trauma Risk Management System with Tony Ward with a view to making debriefing after potentially traumatic events safer. It all got a bit heavier when Dr. Henry Bowen shared the findings of an Australian first study which looked at the experience of families, coworkers and service providers following the suicide of an emergency service worker. Their findings were confirmed by testing the responses of participants with Mentimeter. And in the hard last slot of the day Paul Liknaitzky, PhD from the The Clinical Psychedelic Lab at Monash University Lab managed to inject humour into the science and left us all better informed about reality of psychedelic treatment for PTSD. What was unique and so refreshing about this event was how we managed to so effectively weave lived experience into every session so it was more story telling than a day of lectures and that certainly hit the mark with participants. Thank you to my team of legends Naomi Watt Franziska Wohlfarth and Martine Gilliot and all the presenters, panelists, facilitators and participants for making it another fabulous ESF day of connection, learning and sharing. We are indeed 'better together'!