While all people may experience the detrimental impacts of loneliness, there are unique health and social impacts of loneliness and social isolation for people with mental health conditions and their families/whānau/carers. They are at higher risk of experiencing loneliness and social isolation and its associated stigma can be a key factor in impeding recovery for people with mental illness. The RANZCP’s Community Collaboration Committee (CCC) with Lived Experience Australia has created this podcast in the aims of having high educational value and raising public awareness of the interrelationship between loneliness and mental health.
Links: Understanding Loneliness and Mental Health

Prof. Sharon Lawn is the Chair and Executive Director for Lived Experience Australia Ltd, a nationally awarded mental health consumer and carer advocacy organisation. A member of the College’s CCC, she also sits on the Board of Mental Health Australia and the Australian Self-Care Alliance. She continues mental health lived experience research as a Professor at Flinders University in SA and has lived experience as both a consumer and family carer.

Cat Drew has a lived experience of mental health challenges dating back to early childhood. She graduated from Monash University and worked as a teacher, before sustaining a head injury (car Vs tree) that altered her career path. She worked as a Consumer Consultant in Victoria’s public mental health system prior to qualifying as a Registered Veterinary Nurse. 

Paul Milne is a lived experience Mental Health Advocate for Police and emergency services. Having spent many years as a policeman in the Northern Territory he has experienced PTSD. As a father of four children, he knows the importance of physical and mental exercise. Paul is currently enrolled in a Master of Counselling at the University of Canberra and is also a lead organiser for the Heart2Heart Walk.

A/Prof Simon Stafrace is the Program Director of Mental & Addiction Health at Alfred Health in Melbourne, Clinical Adjunct Associate Professor of Psychiatry at Monash University, and Co-Chair of the Community Collaboration Committee of the RANZCP.Simon was a board member of Tandem Carers from 2016-20 and Mental Health Victoria from 2018-20.  From 2020-22, he undertook a two-year secondment in the Victorian Department of Health as Chief Adviser. 

Topic suggestion:
If you have a topic suggestion or would like to participate in a future episode of Psych Matters, we’d love to hear from you.
Please contact us by email at: [email protected]

Disclaimer:
This podcast is provided to you for information purposes only and to provide a broad public understanding of various mental health topics. The podcast may represent the views of the author and not necessarily the views of The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists ('RANZCP'). The podcast is not to be relied upon as medical advice, or as a substitute for medical advice, does not establish a doctor-patient relationship and should not be a substitute for individual clinical judgement. By accessing The RANZCP's podcasts you also agree to the full terms and conditions of the RANZCP's Website. Expert mental health information and finding a psychiatrist in Australia or New Zealand is available on the RANZCP’s Your Health In Mind Website.