Psych Matters

This is a 2 part episode of podcasts  with leading Australian and New Zealand psychiatrists developed by the RANZCP Section of Leadership and Management. The following discussions hosted by Associate Professor Robert Parker (Chair of SLAM)  aims to encourage and inform Early Career and other psychiatrists in pursuit of a career in Leadership and Management.
 
Dr. Peggy Brown AO is currently one of three Commissioners appointed to the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide. She formerly held roles including Senior Clinical Advisor at the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care; Chief Executive Officer of the National Mental Health Commission; Director-General, ACT Health; Chief Psychiatrist/Director of Mental Health in Queensland, the Australian Capital Territory, and the Northern Territory; and an NHS International Fellow in the United Kingdom. She has also served on several Boards (including the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA), Health Workforce Australia, the National eHealth Transition Authority, Healthscope (Advisory Board). 

In January 2018, she was admitted as an Officer in the General Division of the Order of Australia for distinguished service to medical administration in the area of mental health through leadership roles at the state and national level, to the discipline of psychiatry, to education and to health care standards. 

Prof Brett Emerson AM is a psychiatrist and currently a medical member of the Qld Mental Health Review Tribunal, Chair, Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (Queensland Branch) and a Member of the Qld Mental Health Commission Council. He is a Board Director and medical assessor of the Australian Council on Healthcare Standards (ACHS). He is the former Executive Director of Metro North Mental Health, covering the mental health services at RBWH,TPCH, Caboolture and Redcliffe Hospital catchments in North Brisbane. He was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia in 2017 for significant service to psychiatry and medical administration.

Professor Brett Emmerson - UQ Researchers

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If you have a topic suggestion or would like to participate in a future episode of Psych Matters, we’d love to hear from you.
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Disclaimer:
This podcast is provided to you for information purposes only and to provide a broad public understanding of various mental health topics.  The podcast may represent the views of the author and not necessarily the views of The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists ('RANZCP'). The podcast is not to be relied upon as medical advice, or as a substitute for medical advice, does not establish a doctor-patient relationship and should not be a substitute for individual clinical judgement.  By accessing The RANZCP's podcasts you also agree to the full terms and conditions of the RANZCP's Website. Expert mental health information and finding a psychiatrist in Australia or New Zealand is available on the RANZCP’s Your Health In Mind Website.

Life throws up a lot of options, challenges and choices and death comes to us all.  Voluntary assisted dying is an end of life option for  a small number of people in Australia but has brought about a lot of conversation and debate.  In this podcast Associate Professor Melanie Turner who is a psychiatrist and also the presiding in member of the Voluntary assisted dying Review Board of South Australia speaks to Dr Ava Carter about assisted dying.  VAD started on January 31 2023 in South Australia and it has been an interesting journey to see the evolution of VAD in that time. The podcast covers what voluntary assisted dying is; how it is offered and the aspects of grief, loss and death when a death is planned.

Prof Melanie Turner is an Associate Professor at the University of Adelaide and works as a child and adolescent psychiatrist in private practice in South Australia.  Mel is also an elected board director on the RANZCP Board, is the presiding member of the voluntary assisted dying review board in South Australia as well as a Member of the Medical Board of South Australia and a director on the board of Mental Health Australia.

Dr Ava Carter is dual qualified in Dentistry and Medicine and is the Senior Psychiatric Registrar in the ACT. She has been a vocal advocate for accreditation and governance since her time at Griffith University as an academic supervisor and lecturer as a dentist and currently works with the Canberra Regional Accreditation Committee and was appointed to the Council in 2021. She is keenly engaged in JMO teaching and academic supervision of ANU medical students, and an enthusiastic promoter of clinical psychiatry, research, and clinical teaching, both within mental health services and across the general hospital. Her interests include consultation liaison psychiatry, the interface of dentistry and psychiatry, and medical education. 

Topic suggestion:
If you have a topic suggestion or would like to participate in a future episode of Psych Matters, we’d love to hear from you.
Please contact us by email at: [email protected]

Disclaimer:
This podcast is provided to you for information purposes only and to provide a broad public understanding of various mental health topics.  The podcast may represent the views of the author and not necessarily the views of The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists ('RANZCP'). The podcast is not to be relied upon as medical advice, or as a substitute for medical advice, does not establish a doctor-patient relationship and should not be a substitute for individual clinical judgement.  By accessing The RANZCP's podcasts you also agree to the full terms and conditions of the RANZCP's Website. Expert mental health information and finding a psychiatrist in Australia or New Zealand is available on the RANZCP’s Your Health In Mind Website.

In this episode, a group of women psychiatrists working across rural and remote Australia and New Zealand talk about their experiences.  The main points covered were: what attracted them to the work, the benefits and what have they gained from their experience, how their careers have developed, their family’s experience, the motivations to continue working rurally or moving back to urban settings, and finally their advice for other women interested in rural psychiatry.

Dr Selamawit Mulholland is a psychiatrist with a passion for remote and transcultural psychiatry.  She has lived and worked in regional, rural and remote settings across Australia.  Sela feels privileged to have worked with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people while learning about their experiences of wellbeing and culture, and is excited to continue her career in remote psychiatry.
 
Dr Katharine McAlpine is a fellow completing advanced training in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry in regional Victoria. She has trained and worked in regional and rural communities from internship onwards and has been an advocate for improving training opportunities in these settings. She is passionate about addressing inequalities within regional training and access to mental health services within regional and rural Australia. Her interests include legal frameworks around mental health and disability rights and improving the assessment and research of neurodevelopmental disorders.

Dr Emma Crampin is Deputy Chief Psychiatrist of Western Australia. Having trained in London and Melbourne, she moved with her young family to rural WA in 2012, and worked for WA’s Country Health Service for 10 years. She has set up and worked in a wide range of services, from home treatment and early intervention teams in inner city London, to emergency telehealth across the vast expanse of rural and remote WA. She is interested in access, equity, social justice, innovation and good governance.

Dr Nicola Lauterwein is a regional psychiatrist who has been living and working in the Kimberley for most part of the last 10 years. She is passionate about her work, especially working alongside Aboriginal colleagues and communities and she is grateful for the opportunity to share two-way knowledge. She maintains close connections to the Kimberley and is a strong advocate for training opportunities in rural and remote settings.

Dr Sue Mackersey is a graduate of the University of Otago Medical School and completed Fellowship training in Australia in 1994. Dr Mackersey’s work experience has been in Aotearoa New Zealand and Australia, public and private practice, metropolitan and rural settings and across a range of sub specialities. In the last 12 years she has been based in Tauranga and has been Clinical Director and Director of Area Mental Health Services for the Bay of Plenty and Hauora Tairawhiti. 

Topic suggestion:
If you have a topic suggestion or would like to participate in a future episode of Psych Matters, we’d love to hear from you.
Please contact us by email at: [email protected]

Disclaimer:
This podcast is provided to you for information purposes only and to provide a broad public understanding of various mental health topics.  The podcast may represent the views of the author and not necessarily the views of The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists ('RANZCP'). The podcast is not to be relied upon as medical advice, or as a substitute for medical advice, does not establish a doctor-patient relationship and should not be a substitute for individual clinical judgement.  By accessing The RANZCP's podcasts you also agree to the full terms and conditions of the RANZCP's Website. Expert mental health information and finding a psychiatrist in Australia or New Zealand is available on the RANZCP’s Your Health In Mind Website.

This Podcast recorded live at the Perth RANZCP Congress discusses research in Old Age Psychiatry presented in a free paper session. A/Prof Gary Cheung (Dementia prevalence and treatment in Maori and non-Maori), Dr Alok Rana and Dr Sandeep Reelh (Assessing dementia underdiagnosis: screening, diagnosis, and management of cognitive impairment/dementia at the Mackay Base Hospital) discuss their respective research projects, findings, clinical and policy implications with the host, A/Prof Jeffrey Looi.

A/ Prof Gary Cheung (PhD FRANZCP MBChB BSc) is an academic old age psychiatrist at The University of Auckland, New Zealand. He is the current Chair of RANZCP’s Subcommittee of Advanced Training in Psychiatry of Old Age.  He was awarded the 2021 Alzheimers New Zealand Fellowship to recognise his contribution to psychosocial dementia research. He is an interRAI fellow and the Chair of New Zealand interRAI Research Network.

Dr Alok Rana MBBS, FRCPsych, FRANZCP, MBA is a Consultant Psychiatrist (Consultation Liaison) and Psychogeriatrician based in Mackay Queensland. He has special interest in Clinical Research, Neuropsychiatry and Neurostimulation. He finished his training in General Psychiatry with Membership of Royal College of Psychiatrists (MRCPsych) before completing the specialist training in Old Age Psychiatry in UK. Dr Rana moved to Australia in 2016 to set up specialists services in Mackay including Consultation Liaison and Old Age Psychiatry services. He holds a Fellowship of the RANZCP with Advanced Certificate in Old Age Psychiatry and Consultation Liaison Psychiatry. He was awarded Fellowship of Royal College of Psychiatrists, UK (FRCPsych) in 2019.

A/Prof Jeffrey Looi, MBBS Syd, MD ANU, DMedSc Melb, FRANZCP, AFRACMA, is a clinical academic neuropsychiatrist, in private and public practice, and Head of the Academic Unit of Psychiatry and Addiction Medicine at the Australian National University Medical School. Jeffrey leads the Australian, United States, Scandinavian-Spanish Imaging Exchange (AUSSIE) and the Consortium of Australian-Academic Psychiatrists for Independent Policy and Research Analysis (CAPIPRA). He has received multiple research and leadership awards including: a Fulbright Scholarship and Australian-Davos-Connection Future Summit Leadership Award. 

Dr Sandeep Reelh, MD, MRCPsych (UK), Advance Trainee in Consultation Liaison Psychiatry (Australia), currently working in Addiction medicine and Older Person’s Mental Health at Mental Health Alcohol and Other Drugs Services, Mackay Hospital and Health Services, Queensland Health. He is also an Adjunct Senior Lecturer in the College of Medicine and Dentistry at James Cook University. He has been a former Psychiatry Teaching Fellow of the Northumberland Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust and was awarded the best Undergraduate Formal Teacher of the year at Newcastle University (UK).

Topic suggestion:
If you have a topic suggestion or would like to participate in a future episode of Psych Matters, we’d love to hear from you.
Please contact us by email at: [email protected]

Disclaimer:
This podcast is provided to you for information purposes only and to provide a broad public understanding of various mental health topics.  The podcast may represent the views of the author and not necessarily the views of The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists ('RANZCP'). The podcast is not to be relied upon as medical advice, or as a substitute for medical advice, does not establish a doctor-patient relationship and should not be a substitute for individual clinical judgement.  By accessing The RANZCP's podcasts you also agree to the full terms and conditions of the RANZCP's Website. Expert mental health information and finding a psychiatrist in Australia or New Zealand is available on the RANZCP’s Your Health In Mind Website.

As 2023 draws to a close, the Psych Matters team: David and Nishta, would like to thank you for your support during the year.

We hope that you’ve enjoyed the many topics presented during 2023, and we look forward to bringing many more to you in 2024.

We would especially like to thank College members and others who have generously given their time to develop and present Psych Matters.

We’ll be back on the 5th of January with the next episode of Psych Matters.

Topic suggestion:
If you have a topic suggestion or would like to participate in a future episode of Psych Matters, we’d love to hear from you.
Please contact us by email at: [email protected]

Disclaimer:
This podcast is provided to you for information purposes only and to provide a broad public understanding of various mental health topics.  The podcast may represent the views of the author and not necessarily the views of The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists ('RANZCP'). The podcast is not to be relied upon as medical advice, or as a substitute for medical advice, does not establish a doctor-patient relationship and should not be a substitute for individual clinical judgement.  By accessing The RANZCP's podcasts you also agree to the full terms and conditions of the RANZCP's Website. Expert mental health information and finding a psychiatrist in Australia or New Zealand is available on the RANZCP’s Your Health In Mind Website.

In this episode of Psych Matters, doctors Maura Kenny and Linda Kader engage in conversation about the need for staff wellbeing to be a priority for healthcare settings.
They also touch upon a number of issues in the healthcare industry which are crucial to explore systematically and understand ways to address to create a sustainable transformative work culture, whereby excellent care provision is there for patients, and at the same time a thriving team of staff delivering such care.


Dr Maura Kenny is a consultant psychiatrist in SA Health with a longstanding specialist interest in mindfulness and self-compassion in both clinical settings and in the wellbeing of healthcare staff. In 2013 she developed a mindful self-care course, which has now been taken up around the world in a range of healthcare settings. In October 2022, Maura was appointed as the inaugural Director of Staff Wellbeing in the largest Local Health Network in SA, comprising 16,000 employees. This role is responsible for coordinating the content, promotion, implementation and evaluation of the CALHN Wellbeing Pathway, and developing a strategic plan that ensures a staff wellbeing perspective on all CALHN activities and initiatives.

Dr Linda Kader is a consultant psychiatrist, psychotherapist & mindfulness teacher with a strong interest and commitment to raise and facilitate necessary conversations in healthcare leadership and management. She works at The Royal Melbourne and The Royal Children's Hospitals offering leadership & clinical care, supervision & teaching of registrars, and supporting various aspects of service development  & implementation. She is a Mentor for registrars with RANZCP, holds passion for refugee healthcare and engages in Human Rights Advocacy through her local Council committees. She brings to her daily work extensive practice and knowledge of mindfulness and compassion to nurture professional, safe and engaging working atmosphere for  her teams and all staff. 

Topic suggestion:
If you have a topic suggestion or would like to participate in a future episode of Psych Matters, we’d love to hear from you.
Please contact us by email at: [email protected]

Disclaimer:
This podcast is provided to you for information purposes only and to provide a broad public understanding of various mental health topics.  The podcast may represent the views of the author and not necessarily the views of The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists ('RANZCP'). The podcast is not to be relied upon as medical advice, or as a substitute for medical advice, does not establish a doctor-patient relationship and should not be a substitute for individual clinical judgement.  By accessing The RANZCP's podcasts you also agree to the full terms and conditions of the RANZCP's Website. Expert mental health information and finding a psychiatrist in Australia or New Zealand is available on the RANZCP’s Your Health In Mind Website.

This podcast covers the content of a workshop held at the RANZCP Perth Congress 2023. There is a discussion about the nosological status of OCD; a review of controversies and advances in psychological and pharmacological treatments;  a discussion of neuromodulation (including TMS and DBS); and finally the potential role of psychedelic assisted therapy for OCD.

Prof David Castle is a Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at The University of Tasmania; and Co-Director, Tasmanian Centre for Mental Health Service Innovation. He has wide clinical and research interests, encompassing schizophrenia and related disorders, bipolar disorder, OCD spectrum disorders and disorders of body image. He has a longstanding interest in the impact of licit and illicit substances on the brain and body, and is actively engaged in programmes addressing the physical health of the mentally ill and the mental health of the physically ill. He has published widely in the scientific literature and is a frequent speaker at scientific meetings.

Topic suggestion:
If you have a topic suggestion or would like to participate in a future episode of Psych Matters, we’d love to hear from you.
Please contact us by email at: [email protected]

Disclaimer:
This podcast is provided to you for information purposes only and to provide a broad public understanding of various mental health topics.  The podcast may represent the views of the author and not necessarily the views of The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists ('RANZCP'). The podcast is not to be relied upon as medical advice, or as a substitute for medical advice, does not establish a doctor-patient relationship and should not be a substitute for individual clinical judgement.  By accessing The RANZCP's podcasts you also agree to the full terms and conditions of the RANZCP's Website. Expert mental health information and finding a psychiatrist in Australia or New Zealand is available on the RANZCP’s Your Health In Mind Website.

Professor Vlasios Brakoulias is stepping down after a decade as the Editor of Australasian Psychiatry, during which the journal’s impact factor has doubled, the editorial board has greatly and inclusively expanded, and there have been a host of broad-ranging and high-quality papers on the science and art of psychiatry. In this podcast, Professor Brakoulias is interviewed by Associate Professor Jeffrey Looi about his reflections and experiences as Editor of the journal.

Professor Vlasios Brakoulias, MBBS Syd, PhD Syd, FRANZCP is a psychiatrist who specialises in the treatment of obsessive-compulsive and related disorders, he is the Editor in Chief of Australasian Psychiatry, the Executive Director of the Western Sydney Local Health District and the Head of the Obsessive-Compulsive and Related Disorders Service which aims to deliver early intervention for these disorders. He is a Conjoint Professor with the School of Medicine of Western Sydney University, a Clinical Associate Professor with The University of Sydney and a member of the Translational Health Research Institute (THRI). He is known internationally as an expert in obsessive-compulsive and related disorders having presented at numerous international conferences and being a co-author on more than 100 peer-reviewed papers.

Associate Professor Jeffrey Looi is a clinical academic neuropsychiatrist, in private and public practice, and Head of the Academic Unit of Psychiatry and Addiction Medicine at the Australian National University Medical School. Jeffrey leads the Australian, United States, Scandinavian-Spanish Imaging Exchange (AUSSIE) and the Consortium of Australian-Academic Psychiatrists for Independent Policy and Research Analysis (CAPIPRA). He has received multiple research and leadership awards including: a Fulbright Scholarship and Australian-Davos-Connection Future Summit Leadership Award. He is an co-author on more than 255 peer-reviewed papers, involving UCLA, Karolinska Institute and University of Melbourne.e.

Topic suggestion:
If you have a topic suggestion or would like to participate in a future episode of Psych Matters, we’d love to hear from you.
Please contact us by email at: [email protected]

Disclaimer:
This podcast is provided to you for information purposes only and to provide a broad public understanding of various mental health topics.  The podcast may represent the views of the author and not necessarily the views of The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists ('RANZCP'). The podcast is not to be relied upon as medical advice, or as a substitute for medical advice, does not establish a doctor-patient relationship and should not be a substitute for individual clinical judgement.  By accessing The RANZCP's podcasts you also agree to the full terms and conditions of the RANZCP's Website. Expert mental health information and finding a psychiatrist in Australia or New Zealand is available on the RANZCP’s Your Health In Mind Website.

Young onset dementias, including frontal lobe dementias, are dementias that occur in people less than 65 years old.  This episode discusses the challenges in diagnosing dementia in younger people, investigations including neuroimaging and cognitive testing and potential red-flags that might lead the general psychiatrist to consider a dementia diagnosis when reviewing middle-aged adults with psychiatric symptoms and conditions.

A/Prof Samantha Loi is an old age psychiatrist and clinical researcher with expertise in the area of dementia.  She has worked in the area of young-onset dementia at Neuropsychiatry, Royal Melbourne Hospital since 2011 and has a track record of publications and invitations to speak on this topic, as well as being the current Chair of the Young-Onset Dementia Special Interest Group, current Vic Chair of the RANZCP Faculty of Psychiatry of Old Age and YOD representative for the Australian Dementia Network (ADNet).

A/Prof Steve Macfarlane became a psychiatrist in 2003, and was appointed Director of Aged Psychiatry at Peninsula Health in 2005. He moved to Alfred Health in 2008 as Associate Professor and Director of Aged Psychiatry, before becoming Head of Clinical Services for Dementia Support Australia in 2016.

Steve is a past Chair of the Faculty of Psychiatry of Old Age for the RANZCP, has been running Alzheimer’s disease clinical trials for over 20 years, and has clinical interests in frontal lobe disorders and in senile squalor.

Resources:

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.5694/mja2.51849

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36705011/

Topic suggestion:
If you have a topic suggestion or would like to participate in a future episode of Psych Matters, we’d love to hear from you.
Please contact us by email at: [email protected]

Disclaimer:
This podcast is provided to you for information purposes only and to provide a broad public understanding of various mental health topics.  The podcast may represent the views of the author and not necessarily the views of The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists ('RANZCP'). The podcast is not to be relied upon as medical advice, or as a substitute for medical advice, does not establish a doctor-patient relationship and should not be a substitute for individual clinical judgement.  By accessing The RANZCP's podcasts you also agree to the full terms and conditions of the RANZCP's Website. Expert mental health information and finding a psychiatrist in Australia or New Zealand is available on the RANZCP’s Your Health In Mind Website.

This series of two podcasts explores the effective communication strategies Psychiatrists could use with their patients, and the impacts of domestic violence on patients with intellectual disability. Episode 2 focuses more on Lachlan's experience with domestic violence and the added complexity in treatment, family, and communication.

Dr Dan Mirmilstein is a loving dad and husband, avid meditator, superhero fan and Lego enthusiast. He works as a psychiatry consultant in a major metropolitan health service helping people improve their mental health. He hopes to bring empathy, knowledge, skill and authenticity to his work as a child and adolescent psychiatrist, and offer integrated, whole-hearted treatment to young people and their families.

Lachlan Sayer is a second-year education student at RMIT. He has a leadership role at UoM in designing the curriculum for a new course that aims to teach medical students the social science and interaction strategies for patients with special cognitive or verbal difficulties.

Topic suggestion:
If you have a topic suggestion or would like to participate in a future episode of Psych Matters, we’d love to hear from you.
Please contact us by email at: [email protected]

Disclaimer:
This podcast is provided to you for information purposes only and to provide a broad public understanding of various mental health topics.  The podcast may represent the views of the author and not necessarily the views of The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists ('RANZCP'). The podcast is not to be relied upon as medical advice, or as a substitute for medical advice, does not establish a doctor-patient relationship and should not be a substitute for individual clinical judgement.  By accessing The RANZCP's podcasts you also agree to the full terms and conditions of the RANZCP's Website. Expert mental health information and finding a psychiatrist in Australia or New Zealand is available on the RANZCP’s Your Health In Mind Website.