Mental Health In Focus

This four-part series, produced in partnership with the Australian New Zealand and Asian Creative Arts Therapies Association (ANZACATA) and hosted by clinical psychologist, Professor Mark Creamer, explores the practice of creative arts therapy.

In the final episode, Mark is joined by Sarah Versitano, senior art therapist and researcher, and Sean O'Carroll, creative arts therapist and psychotherapist working with psychedelics.

Together they take stock of where the field is currently positioned and where it might be going in the future. Throughout their broad ranging discussion, they explore current innovations and future directions including ecotherapy, psychedelics, and the use of technology, AI and telehealth.

Liked this episode? Stay tuned for future episodes by following Mental Health In Focus.

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 Creative Arts Therapy or any of MHPN’s podcast series here: https://mhpn.org.au/podcast-feedback/

This four-part series, produced in partnership with the Australian New Zealand and Asian Creative Arts Therapies Association (ANZACATA) and hosted by clinical psychologist, Professor Mark Creamer, explores the practice of creative arts therapy.

In episode three, Mark is joined by Tilly Dawson, an art therapist working in oncology, and Kirsty Greene, an art therapist with a background in nursing and somatic movement facilitation.

Together they discuss the different populations and cohorts of people that creative arts therapists work with; working with clients over short and long periods of time and across the lifespan.

They cover the range of settings in which art therapists practice; how they collaborate and add value to interdisciplinary teams of mental health practitioners, as well as how the perception and understanding of the field has changed over time.

Liked this episode? Stay tuned for future episodes by following Mental Health In Focus.

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 Creative Arts Therapy or any of MHPN’s podcast series here: https://mhpn.org.au/podcast-feedback/

This four-part series, produced in partnership with the Australian New Zealand and Asian Creative Arts Therapies Association (ANZACATA) and hosted by clinical psychologist, Professor Mark Creamer, explores the practice of creative arts therapy.

In episode two, Mark is joined by Dr Henry Bowen, research and training lead for Military and Emergency Services Health Australia; Naomi Pears-Scown, creative arts therapist, clinical supervisor, and academic; and Associate Professor Drew Bird, Dramatherapist and Head of Creative Arts Therapies at the University of Melbourne. 

Together they explore the history and origins of creative arts therapies, drawing on examples from their own practices to delve into various modalities such as art, drama, dance and writing. They explain the core competencies and qualifications of becoming a creative arts therapist, including what’s required to become and stay registered.

Liked this episode? Stay tuned for future episodes by following Mental Health In Focus.

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 the Creative Arts Therapy series or any of MHPN’s other podcasts here: https://mhpn.org.au/podcast-feedback/

This four-part series, produced in partnership with the Australian New Zealand and Asian Creative Arts Therapies Association (ANZACATA) and hosted by clinical psychologist, Professor Mark Creamer, explores the practice of creative arts therapy.

In episode one, Mark, Dr Kate Dempsey, CEO of ANZACATA, and Deanne Gray, researcher and PHD candidate talk about the quality and the quantity of evidence underpinning Creative Arts Therapy.

Kate and Deanne share key findings from ANZACATA’s publication: The Proven Efficacy of Creative Arts Therapies (2022). Throughout their discussion, they explore the difference between art practice and art therapy, passive versus active engagement with art, and the growing body of evidence for the efficacy of creative arts therapy for a range of issues and concerns, both mental and physical.

Liked this episode? Stay tuned for future episodes by following Mental Health In Focus.

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 Creative Arts Therapy or any of MHPN’s podcast series here: https://mhpn.org.au/podcast-feedback/.

Creative Arts Therapies is a four-part podcast series produced in partnership with the Australian New Zealand and Asian Creative Arts Therapies Association (ANZACATA) and Mental Health Professionals’ Network (MHPN).

Hosted by clinical psychologist, Professor Mark Creamer, the series features practising therapists and academics who explore the diversity of creative arts therapies and their therapeutic value. 

Episode 1 – The Evidence

Episode 2 – Qualifications and Competencies

Episode 3 – Clients and Settings

Episode 4 – Future Directions

Episodes will be released fortnightly from Wednesday 11 September 2024. Follow Mental Health In Focus to be notified when each episode drops!

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/.

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/. 

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/.

Tune in as your host, clinical psychologist Mark Creamer and co-host Nicole Sadler, clinical psychologist and Director of Responder Assist, set the scene for this four-part series about the mental health of emergency service workers. 

Hear valuable insights from David Lawrence, lead researcher of Beyond Blue’s Answering the Call study - the first Australian national mental health and wellbeing study, that surveyed over 21,000 police and emergency services workers from across the country.

You’ll hear evidence to help understand - why are emergency workers more likely to be at risk of developing mental health concerns? What types of mental health issues can develop and the implications for providers? As well as, how common are these issues, and what are the risk and protective factors?

Liked this episode? Stay tuned for the next episode where Mark Creamer and co-host Patricia Watson, psychologist for the U.S. National Center for PTSD are joined by volunteer firefighter Neville Goddard to discuss the value of peer support, and by General Practitioner Maya Edgerton Bachmann who shares practical tips to destigmatize help seeking behavior. 

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/.

In this four-part series, host Professor Mark Creamer will be joined by expert clinicians, researchers, service providers, emergency workers and partners of emergency workers to discuss experiences and topics unique to this workforce, who provide a vital and valuable service to the community. 

The series will cover how and why the nature of their work can put emergency workers at greater risk of mental health problems, the kinds of problems they might develop, the best models of care, and the common challenges faced by clinicians when providing support.

Brought to you by a partnership between Phoenix Australia’s Responder Assist – the Centre for Excellence in Emergency Worker mental health and the Mental Health Professionals’ Network.  

Subscribe to Mental Health in Focus now on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, or your preferred podcasting platform to be notified when the first episode drops in November 2022.