In this episode, we discuss some of the psychosocial hazards and other challenges affecting teachers and principals in Australian schools, along with what can be done to address them.

My guest is Melinda Phillips, an organisational psychologist, researcher, and teacher who is committed to supporting the mental health and wellbeing of principals, school leaders, and school staff. Melinda has supported schools in a range of roles in the last twenty years including as a teaching educator, consultant, and now organisational psychologist. Her recently published research explored the secondary traumatic stress experiences of school staff following student suicidal behaviour. She is currently completing a PhD exploring the social contexts of work that buffer or boost staff wellbeing in trauma aware schools.

More information about Melinda's work can be found via her consultancy, Compassionate Schools. You can also check out her 2025 research paper,

Phillips, M., & Anderson, D. L. (2025). Protective factors for secondary traumatic stress of school staff following student suicide or suicidal behaviour. Journal of Psychologists and Counsellors in Schools, 35(3), 266-277.

Mind on the Job is created, presented, and produced by Dr Ben Searle. Check out my website MindOnTheJob.com for more resources.

The music is Cypher by Kevin Macleod (incompetech.com), Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

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