Mind and Soul Matters

We've been bringing you Mind and Soul Matters for almost a year now, and we are thrilled and grateful to be with you for another season, to continue in our quest to remove stigma surrounding mental illness, and to foster discussion around mental health and spirituality. Through monthly episodes, our team will bring you conversations with everyday people, who will share their inspiration, experiences and lessons. Our episodes will range from parenting, youth issues, suicide, to discussing mind and soul in the workplace.  And so much more. Remember to follow us on the various platforms so that you can keep up to date with new episodes. You can also access episodes via our website – mindandsoulmatters.podbean.com

Fiona McDonald, a relationship educator with decades of professional and personal experience in relationships, shares her insights on how we can create healthy relationships within the family. Healthy relationships can be the foundation of good mental health and resilience. Fiona outlines some of the ingredients of such relationships, highlighting what constitutes the foundation of good relationships, how we can strengthen our relationships within our busy lives, simultaneously respecting the rights of the individual and the family, and what we can do if we find our relationship has moved away from our ideal.

Rebecca's childhood dream was to be a mum, but the reality was not the fairytale she had envisioned. Bec courageously shares her story of raising 3 children with disabilities -  the devastation she has experienced along the way, her struggles with mental health and how she has reached a place of gratitude. Bec's story of struggle, challenges of motherhood and her battle with mental health will inspire you. A story about one person's journey through personal suffering towards empathy and ultimately, serving others who are walking a similar path.

Dr Deena Ashoorian, a pharmacist and senior lecturer at the University of Western Australia, explains the role of medication in treating mental illness. Her research has focused on finding better ways to care for mental health consumers, including looking at obstacles faced by patients in taking medication as prescribed and improving medication adherence. Dr Deena Ashoorian explains the concept of 'shared decision making' as a solution to improving medication adherence and we explore the role of trust, compassion, respect and hope. 

Malini Parker, a self-confessed scientist turned artist, shares with us how creativity helped her through her struggles, including her battle with chronic fatigue syndrome, her husband's journey with terminal cancer and her daughter's prolonged life-challenging disorder. She has written a short book titled '5 Ways Using Your Creativity Might Just Save Your Life'. Malini inspires us to tap into the magic and mystery of creativity present in our life.

More information about Malini's story, her art workshops and her free book is available at maliniparker.com

Maya shares her personal story of losing her mum at the age of 15, and how it led to years of feeling numb, followed by guilt and chaos. She takes us on a journey of how these emotions were softened by compassion, connection and hope. We explore the role of spirituality in her healing, and whether compassion can exist in the absence of suffering. 

Dr Kynan Feeney, an Associate Professor and Medical Oncologist, shares his insights and experiences of walking side by side with cancer patients and how his personal experience of loss and spiritual beliefs has impacted his work as an oncologist. We explore how facing death can enable us to focus on living our best life and share some tips on managing the anxiety that comes with a cancer diagnosis. 

Dr Duane Varan, a former professor and current CEO of a world-leading audience research firm, explains how as an educator he cultivated an environment to bring out the extraordinary potential of his students. We will explore how these concepts can be applied in our life to realise our potential, and to nurture the potential of those around us, whether that may be in our workplace, family, or community. 

Dr Jasmine Bell shares her observations on the impact of COVID19 on our mental health, at a local community level, and her views on how spirituality can ease the psychological burden of a global pandemic.

Welcome to the introductory episode of Mind and Soul Matters with Mahsa Anderson. In this episode we explore the definition of spirituality, look at what is mental health and touch on the concept of happiness.