MHPN Presents

Content warning: This episode discusses suicidality.

Join Professor Nicholas Procter (Professor and Chair, Mental Health Nursing) and Dr Conrad Newman (psychiatrist and PhD candidate) for this episode of Book Club, where they discuss the ways in which Konrad Michel’s book ‘The Suicidal Person: A New Look at a Human Phenomenon’ (2023) has influenced their work. 

Together they explore how treatment and interventions have changed in this space over the decades, and the importance of compassion when working side-by-side with clients, keeping their experience of feeling suicidal at the forefront of the conversation. 

Liked this episode? Stay tuned for future episodes of Book Club by following MHPN Presents. 

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 Book Club or any of MHPN’s podcast series here: https://mhpn.org.au/podcast-feedback/.

We’ve just released the first episode of our new partnership podcast series: Creative Arts Therapies, on Mental Health In Focus.

This four-part series is 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 | LISTEN NOW

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 on Spotify, and Apple Podcasts, or your preferred podcasting platform to stay up to date.

In this episode of In The First Person, Trent McWhinney: a creative arts therapist, shares his personal story of anxiety and depression.

In conversation with Professor Mark Creamer, Trent talks about the various interventions he’s tried and what impact they’ve had on his symptoms as well as how his art practice has helped him both personally and professionally.

Trent takes listeners on his journey – how it led him to be involved with radio, leading an LGBTIQA+ mental health network of practitioners and becoming a creative arts therapist.

Liked this episode? Stay tuned for future episodes of In The First Person by following MHPN Presents.

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 In The First Person or any of MHPN’s podcast series here: https://mhpn.org.au/podcast-feedback/

You’ve likely heard of Creative Arts Therapy, but how much do you really know about it as a mental health profession?

Join clinical psychologist, Professor Mark Creamer, as he sits down with Dr Kate Dempsey, CEO of ANZACATA: the peak professional association for creative arts therapists in Australia, New Zealand and Asia.

Together they explore the practice and breadth of Creative Arts Therapy and debunk common misconceptions about the profession. They explain why the practice emphasises the importance of the creative process rather than the result, and touch on specific populations who may especially benefit from creative therapy to support their mental health.

Kate describes the training, regulation and requirements for ongoing accreditation of Creative Arts Therapists, the role they play in an interdisciplinary mental health care team, and shares some advice for anyone thinking about entering the field. 

Liked this episode? Stay tuned for MHPN’s four-part partnership series with ANZACATA, releasing throughout September and October 2024 on our show: 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 A Conversation About… or any of MHPN’s podcast series here: https://mhpn.org.au/podcast-feedback/.

Tune in as Professor Mark Creamer (clinical psychologist) and Neil Cole (consumer consultant, mental health advocate, writer and playwright) talk about supporting people living with schizophrenia and psychosis.

Their wide-ranging conversation touches on diagnosis, symptoms and treatment – both pharmacological and psychosocial, exploring the positive and negative impacts on quality of life.

Neil also highlights the benefits and challenges of creative outlets for people living with serious mental illnesses, sharing his experiences working alongside people with schizophrenia in various performing arts and psychosocial programs.  

Liked this episode? Stay tuned for future episodes of A Conversation About… by following MHPN Presents.

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 A Conversation About… or any of MHPN’s podcast series here: https://mhpn.org.au/podcast-feedback/.

Content warning: This episode discusses both hypothetical and real-life traumatic events, including the NSW Bondi Junction shopping centre attack in April 2024.

If your client came to you and said, “I've been asked to tell my story to a journalist,” would you encourage them to do it?

Join psychologist, Dr Cait McMahon, and journalist, Ashlynne McGhee, as they discuss the intersection of journalism and mental health. Bringing their own professional perspectives, they share what it’s like to work as a practitioner supporting journalists seeking mental health support, as well as the experience of being a journalist reporting on traumatic events.

Together they explore the unique challenges journalists face working in the field, their responsibilities when interviewing people in duress and the benefits of collaboration between journalists and mental health professionals.

Liked this episode? Stay tuned for future episodes of A Conversation About… by following MHPN Presents.

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 A Conversation About… or any of MHPN’s podcast series here: https://mhpn.org.au/podcast-feedback/.

Content warning: This episode discusses themes of suicidal ideation and thoughts of harm to others.

Many people may have preconceived ideas about the ‘highs and lows’ of bipolar disorder, but what is it really like to live with it?

In this episode we hear from Neil Cole who has previously been a practicing lawyer, a Melbourne City Councilor, and a Member of the Victorian Parliament. He currently wears a number of hats including consumer consultant, mental health advocate, writer and playwriter. Tune in to hear Neil share his experiences of bipolar disorder over several decades of his life.

In conversation with Clinical Psychologist, Mark Creamer, Neil shares his experiences pre and post diagnosis. He describes his relief at receiving the diagnosis, the changes medication had on his symptoms and provides insight into the impacts of living with bipolar disorder on his life, work and creativity. He also shares valuable advice for mental health practitioners who support individuals like him, who live with bipolar disorder.

Liked this episode? Stay tuned for future episodes of In The First Person by following MHPN Presents.

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 In The First Person or any of MHPN’s podcast series here: https://mhpn.org.au/podcast-feedback/.

How can practitioners support individuals to reduce the impact of problematic anger?

In the final episode of this three-part series, Clinical Psychologists Mark Creamer and Dr Tony McHugh are joined by Mental Health Social Worker, Michelle Birkic, to discuss current approaches to treatment for clients struggling with anger. 

During their conversation they emphasise the importance of practitioners being agile and curious when working collaboratively with clients, and share the range of strategies they use in treatment. Drawing on research and their clinical practice, they discuss predictors of treatment success and what the future of anger treatment should look like in order to improve care. 

Liked this episode? Listen to the first two in the series if you missed them and stay tuned for future episodes of A Conversation About… by following MHPN Presents. 

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 A Conversation About… or any of MHPN’s podcast series here: https://mhpn.org.au/podcast-feedback/.

Tune in as Clinical Psychologists Mark Creamer and Dr Tony McHugh are joined by Professor of Clinical Psychology, Glen Bates, to investigate the breadth of reasons people experience anger.

Drawing on the literature, they explore the factors that contribute to anger and explain why some people are at greater risk of experiencing problematic anger. They touch on gender, socioeconomic status, occupation, environment, genetics and more to examine the elaborate network of factors that play into how and why humans get angry.

Stay tuned for the final episode in this three-part series featuring Mark Creamer and Tony McHugh where they discuss treatment options for anger.

Liked this episode? Be the first to hear about future episodes of A Conversation About… by following MHPN Presents.

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 A Conversation About… or any of MHPN’s podcast series here: https://mhpn.org.au/podcast-feedback/.

Anger can affect many aspects of life, even as mundane as waiting in line at the grocery store. But what is anger, really?

In this episode, Clinical Psychologists Mark Creamer and Dr Tony McHugh are joined by Senior Scientist at the Center for Military Psychiatry and Neuroscience at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research (WRAIR), Dr Amy Adler, as they consider the definition of anger. During their conversation they explore its cognitive and behavioural components; its normality as a human emotion, and at what point it can be considered ‘problematic.’

They share research findings about the relationship between anger and various mental and physical health issues; the enduring impacts it has on individuals in military service, and how anger plays into current diagnostic criteria.

Stay tuned for two more episodes in this series featuring Mark Creamer and Tony McHugh discussing mental health and anger.

Follow MHPN Presents to be alerted when they drop.

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 A Conversation About… or any of MHPN’s podcast series here: https://mhpn.org.au/podcast-feedback/.