In this five-part series, hear about the mental health service system through the respective - and at times contrasting – lenses of clinician and lived experience experts; psychiatrist and Deputy Chief Medical Officer for Mental Health, Dr Ruth Vine; and Victoria’s inaugural Executive Director of Lived Experience, Mary O’Hagan.

In the previous three episodes Ruth took the conversational lead. In episodes four and five, Mary takes the lead as they explore Ruth’s views and experiences of psychiatry as a profession. The challenges they both experience in finding a balance between the biological, psychological and social approaches to treatment – and how the balance has progressed and changed over the years – is the consistent thread throughout their conversation.

Liked this episode? Listen to previous episodes featuring Mary and Ruth on MHPN Presents. And stay tuned for future episodes of In Conversation With… 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 Conversation With…, or any of MHPN’s podcast series here:  https://mhpn.org.au/podcast-feedback/.

“Every time my pager went off, I felt like vomiting.”

In this episode, clinical psychologist Professor Mark Creamer sits down with former client and volunteer firefighter, Alex, and his partner Lyn, to reflect on Alex’s experience and clinical treatment for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

Tune in to hear the couple’s journey through and beyond the cumulative impacts of Alex’s role as a Country Fire Authority (CFA) volunteer firefighter, attending bushfires - including the Victorian Black Saturday Bushfires - car accidents, house and factory fires over his 20 years of service.

In sharing their powerful and personal story, Alex and Lyn highlight what helped and hindered their progress before, during and after seeking treatment, while Mark reflects on the challenges and opportunities that presented while treating Alex’s PTSD. 

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/.

“The book talks about things that society would rather not talk about.”- Dr Nivanka De Silva

Ignite your ‘personal fire’ in this episode of Book Club, featuring clinical psychologist, Dr Radhika Santhanam-Martin and psychiatric registrar Dr Nivanka De Silva - two migrant women of colour based in Melbourne - as they explore Judith Herman’s ‘Trauma and Recovery: The Aftermath of Violence - From Domestic Abuse to Political Terror’ (1992).

Tune in to hear Radhika and Nivanka’s ‘aha moments’ as they reflect on the book’s powerful themes of witnessing and remembering trauma; how it has inspired a ‘new way of seeing and knowing’ in their practice; and why the ideas presented are more relevant than ever for Australian society and mental health practice.

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/.

Does mental health legislation help or hinder outcomes for people seeking help?

In this five-part series, learn about the mental health service system through the respective - and at times contrasting – lenses of clinician and lived experience experts; psychiatrist and Deputy Chief Medical Officer for Mental Health, Dr Ruth Vine; and Victoria’s inaugural Executive Director of Lived Experience, Mary O’Hagan.

In episode three, Ruth and Mary discuss the ‘dominant clinical world view’ that Mary argues underpins the mental health service landscape, and the challenges this poses for reform. Tune in to hear how our host and guest, from their respective clinical and lived experience leadership positions, direct a critical lens on current practices for managing risk in care settings; how the presence of the Mental Health Act works for and against clinical management of risk; and discuss the impacts for both service providers and service users.

Liked this episode? Stay tuned for more featuring Dr Ruth Vine and Mary O’Hagan continuing their conversation, by following the MHPN Presents podcast show.

Visit the MHPN website for this episode's host and guest bios, recommended resources and a self-directed CPD form.

Share your comments, questions and feedback about In Conversation With…, or any of MHPN’s podcast series here: https://mhpn.org.au/podcast-feedback/.

Why are peer led services central to the current reforms aimed at improving consumers’ experience of mental health services?

In this five-part series, learn about the mental health service system through the respective - and at times contrasting – lenses of clinician and lived experience experts; psychiatrist and Deputy Chief Medical Officer for Mental Health, Dr Ruth Vine; and Victoria’s inaugural Executive Director of Lived Experience, Mary O’Hagan.

At a pivotal time of reform - underpinned by a heightened awareness of the need to include the lived experience perspective into mental health service provision - Ruth and Mary sit down to discuss peer led services; including how, while staying true to their intent and values, they can be incorporated within current clinical models. Their conversation explores the challenges facing both clinical and peer workers to work effectively - independently and together; and identifies where their respective clinical and lived experience point of views differ.

Liked this episode? Stay tuned for more featuring Dr Ruth Vine and Mary O’Hagan continuing their conversation, by following the MHPN Presents podcast show.

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

What does the first Executive Director of Lived Experience think of the current support provided to people in mental health crisis? There’s no holding back in this passionate conversation!

In the first installment of this five-part series, learn about the mental health service system through the respective - and at times contrasting – lenses of clinician and lived experience experts; psychiatrist and Deputy Chief Medical Officer for Mental Health, Dr Ruth Vine; and Victoria’s inaugural Executive Director of Lived Experience, Mary O’Hagan.

Tune in as Ruth and Mary debate the strengths and limitations of the current mental health system from the perspective of their leadership positions. In this episode they consider how lived experience is taking a lead role in the provision of mental health care; what’s in the practitioner risk management ‘toolkit’ – and ask the vital question: is this enough to provide effective support to people in need within a system under pressure?

Liked this episode? Stay tuned for more featuring Dr Ruth Vine and Mary O’Hagan continuing their conversation, by following the MHPN Presents podcast show.

Visit the MHPN website for this episode's host and guest bios, recommended resources and a self-directed CPD form.

Share your comments, questions and feedback about In Conversation With…, or any of MHPN’s podcast series here: https://mhpn.org.au/podcast-feedback/.

What inspires and sustains the work of accomplished psychiatrist Sid Block, in his ‘lifelong endeavour’ to navigate the complexities of psychiatric practice, and how it has changed over the decades?

This episode of In Conversation With… features early-career psychiatrist Shuichi Suetani ‘picking the brain’ of late-career psychiatrist Sid Bloch - to discover what has supported and inspired Sid in his long, esteemed psychiatry career, and what advice he has for practitioners entering the field.

Learn how Sid’s three pronged ‘triangle’ framework of science, art and ethics helps him to better understand mental health and wellbeing.

From Aristotle to Spike Milligan to Franz Schubert, tune in to find out how and why Sid’s ‘triangle’ might inspire you in your mental health practice.

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

Visit the MHPN website to access this episode’s host and guest bios, recommended resources and a self-directed CPD form.

Share your comments, questions and feedback about In Conversation With…, or any of MHPN’s podcast series here: https://mhpn.org.au/podcast-feedback/.

This episode looks at the value of curiosity in providing mental health support; and how it has helped Deputy Chief Medical Officer for Mental Health and psychiatrist, Dr Ruth Vine, Priseena Radha a recent graduate of mental health nursing from medical nursing, and psychologist and policy specialist Dr Sarah Cavanagh chart their careers.

Ruth, Priseena and Sarah describe how they have applied their curiosity across a range of sectors and roles – private, public, acute, community-based, and policy making – to contribute their part in “holding” hope for patients; and how working as part of a team has reaped benefits for both their practice and patients. Tune in to hear from the real people who have worked on the frontline of Australian mental health.

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

Visit the MHPN website to access this episode’s host and guest bios, recommended resources and a self-directed CPD form.

Share your comments, questions and feedback about In Conversation With…, or any of MHPN’s podcast series here: https://mhpn.org.au/podcast-feedback/.

In this episode of Book Club, join returning host Dr Rick Yeatman and guest Dr Paul Cammell – two Melbourne based psychiatrists – as they discuss Rick’s chosen book, ‘Handbook of Good Psychiatric Management for Borderline Personality Disorder’ (2014) by John Gunderson and Paul Links.

Paul says, [On diagnosis of Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD)]
“a lot of practitioners will wonder ‘do I name it’ or ‘do I make the diagnosis,’ and we know in lots of contexts BPD is underdiagnosed…” “he [the author] really demonstrates an approach to making the diagnosis and educating a person in a way that’s demystifying and not, in any way about stigma.”

Drawing on their extensive clinical experience in the field, Rick and Paul explore the book’s key themes, presenting an empowered and empowering perspective on working in the field of BPD.

Tune in to hear why Paul describes Gunderson as a ‘titan of the field’ whose goal was to simplify and make more mainstream the diagnosis and treatment of BPD; how Rick and Paul summarise the key messages and principles chapter by chapter, ultimately celebrating the book’s practical usefulness.

Be inspired by the positive messages about working in the field of, or living with BPD that Rick and Paul channel through this book.

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

Visit the MHPN website to access this episode’s host and guest bios, recommended resources and a self-directed CPD form for this episode.

Share your comments, questions and feedback about Book Club, or any of MHPN’s podcast series here: https://mhpn.org.au/podcast-feedback/.

In this episode of Book Club, join our host Dr Rick Yeatman and his invited guest, Dr Paul Cammel - both psychiatrists, as they discuss ‘Persuasion and Healing’ (1961) by Jerome D. Frank. This seminal and highly acclaimed book is currently in its third edition - Rick and Paul share their initial responses to the book as new graduates; and their responses now, as colleagues who work together in emergency and post-emergency mental health.

Listeners will hear Rick and Paul as they unpack the meaning and rhetoric behind the key ideas, imagery, and approaches described in ‘Persuasion and Healing’ and how these have shaped broader understandings about the role of religious and secular systems of thought, the placebo effect, the importance of the qualities of the therapist, and the efficacy of different approaches to practicing psychotherapy.

Rick and Paul also share their opinions, reactions, and responses to Frank’s central arguments on the evolving place and value of psychotherapy on mental wellbeing and human behaviour in the 21st century. They identify the book’s resonating key messages and why they continue to find it a compelling introductory text to psychotherapy which has resonance and relevance to their current clinical work.

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

Visit the MHPN website to access this episode’s host and guest bios, recommended resources and a self-directed CPD form for this episode.

Share your comments, questions and feedback about Book Club or any of MHPN’s podcast series here: https://mhpn.org.au/podcast-feedback/.

Note: This episode of Book Club was originally released in July 2021 to the Book Club podcast show, and has since been re-released on MHPN Presents.