In this episode of Beyond the Bleep, Dr Feyisara Mendes speaks with Dr Kieran Allen, an Australian doctor completing specialist training in psychiatry. Drawing on his own lived experience, Kieran advocates for greater openness, compassion, and structural change around doctors’ mental health and challenges the stigma that still shapes medical culture.

Dr. Kieran shares what it’s like to navigate medicine while managing mental illness: the private cost, the question of disclosure and how certain struggles are still seen as more “acceptable” than others. We explore why clinicians may be particularly vulnerable to mental health problems, how training and workplace pressures can amplify risk, and why “burnout” can become a convenient label that overlooks deeper distress.

Ultimately, this is a conversation about survival and growth by seeking support earlier, building a more sustainable way of working and using lived experience to improve care for patients and for colleagues within the profession.

UK Support

• NHS Practitioner Health (England) — free, confidential mental health and addiction support for doctors and dentists.

• BMA Counselling & Peer Support — free, confidential 24/7 counselling line + peer support for all doctors and medical students (UK). 

• Samaritans — urgent emotional support (UK, 24/7) via 116 123.

Australian Support

• Drs4Drs — 24/7, free, confidential telephone counselling and support for doctors and medical students (Australia), call 1300 374 377.
  
• Lifeline — 24/7 crisis support in Australia, call 13 11 14.