PsyPOD

Welcome to our latest episode of PsyPOD, the where we chat all things Psychiatry with experts in the mental health field. In today's episode we are joined by Prof. Shalini Arunogiri, a prominent academic psychiatrist who specialises in the area of addiction! Tune in as we discuss her journey in medicine, what careers in academic psychiatric looks like and her thoughts on developments in the drug and alcohol addiction management space!

Associate Prof. Shalini Arunogiri is an addiction psychiatrist and Clinical Director of the Hamilton Centre and Turning Point Statewide Services, a national addiction and mental health treatment provider. Shalini is a clinician-researcher whose work focuses on innovation in treatments for addiction and mental health comorbidity, including PTSD and trauma-related mental health disorders. Shalini is a NHMRC Emerging Leader Research Fellow, an Associate Professor at Monash University,  and has over 60 publications and attracted over $18M in grant funding. She is a passionate advocate for women in medicine and STEM fields and supervises and mentors several clinician-researchers.

Timestamps:

0:33 - Meet our guest, Prof Shalini Arunogiri!

01:52 - Journey to psychiatry

03:32 - Professor Arunogiri's work at Turning Point

05:32 - Advancements in the Addiction space

09:06 - Challenges in the area of addiction

17:59 - Discussing Professor Arunogiri's research work

21:36 - Implications of safe-injecting sites

25:38 - Advice for budding psychiatrist!

29:53 - The future of psychiatry

Welcome to the 10th episode of PsyPOD, the podcast that explores the extraordinary lives of influential individuals who have dedicated their lives to the field of mental health. Today, we bring you a special episode featuring Dr Dan Mirmilstein, a child, adolescent and family psychiatrist who just so happens to be a father himself - he provides valuable insights into a typical week in his life, how he tries to strike the perfect work-life balance, how being a parent has shaped his approach to his job, advice for medical students, and so much more.

Dr Mirmilstein travelled and lived all around the world after moving to Australia as a young child. An accomplished doctor, he was even awarded the faculty of child and adolescent Psychiatry Connell-Werry prize during his advanced training in the field, and has worked in multiple health services in Victoria and interstate, with an interest in co-design, developmental and systems thinking, relational-based therapy and health promotion. 

Timestamps:

1:21 Why child and adolescent psych

5:50 How being a father has shaped your approach to patients

9:44 Separating work and family life

16:00 Typical week in the life

20:41 Interesting research in the field

25:13 Discussing stigma particularly in child and adolescent psychiatry

31:09 Advice for medical students!

Welcome to the 9th episode of PsyPOD, the podcast that explores the extraordinary lives of influential individuals in the field of mental health. So today, we bring you a slightly different episode, but an extremely eye-opening one featuring Caroline Gurvich - an Associate Professor and clinical neuropsychologist. 

Caroline Gurvich is an accomplished Associate Professor and clinical neuropsychologist, currently serving as the Deputy Director of the HER Centre Australia at Monash University. As the Head of the "Cognition and Hormones Group," she specializes in the neuropsychology of women's mental health, focusing on how hormones influence cognitive functioning. With a distinguished career, Caroline has received numerous awards, prizes, and competitive grant funding, including NHMRC project grants and an NHMRC early career fellowship. She's also known for her dedication to supervising and mentoring PhD candidates, honors students, and neuropsychology registrars. Through her work, Caroline has established vital biodatabanks to deepen our understanding of biological mechanisms underlying neuropsychiatric disorders. With over 120 publications to her name, she has significantly advanced our knowledge of how biological factors impact symptoms and cognition in mental health and mental illness.

Key time stamps: 

Anddd we're back with part 2!

An outstanding doctor, a caring father, a loving husband, and a patient - Today, we're incredibly fortunate to have Dr Kieran Allen, who is a psychiatry registrar at Monash health!

A Monash University medical graduate, he has been working at Monash health since the start of his medical career, earning the title “Registrar of the year” in 2019. He is also the co-founder of the “hand-n-hand peer support service”  which is a bi-national peer support network for healthcare workers in Australia and New Zealand. Furthermore, he is a very passionate advocate for health professionals' mental health and health policy.

In the second half of this two-part podcast, Dr Kieran Allen shares about his work in policy and advocacy in the field of mental health, as well as his views on stigma. He even gives valuable pieces of advice for healthcare workers or anyone struggling with mental health conditions.

Be sure to listen to part one of this podcast if you haven't! It's truly so incredibly inspiring and touching - we're sure you won't regret it!

Part 1 - Key time stamps:

(01:50) Policy and advocacy roles, "hand-n-hand peer support", etc.

(10:29) Discussing stigma, internal and external stigma

(19:08) Advice for healthcare workers and anyone struggling with mental health conditions

An outstanding doctor, a caring father, a loving husband, and a patient - Today, we're incredibly fortunate to have Dr Kieran Allen, who is a psychiatry registrar at Monash health!

A Monash University medical graduate, he has been working at Monash health since the start of his medical career, earning the title “Registrar of the year” in 2019. He is also the co-founder of the “hand-n-hand peer support service”  which is a bi-national peer support network for healthcare workers in Australia and New Zealand. Furthermore, he is a very passionate advocate for health professionals' mental health and health policy.

In the first half of this two-part podcast, Dr Kieran Allen shares some of his personal experiences coping with mental illness while persevering through the Psychiatry training programme. He sheds light on some of the fears fellow doctors with mental health conditions might face while practising medicine and the importance of having a supportive network of family and friends. He even shares some valuable advice on how health students and practitioners can take care of one another and their mental health in this rigorous line of work.

Don't forget to tune in to the 2nd half of this podcast where he shares more insights to his life has a psychiatrist - not to be missed!

Part 1 - Key time stamps:

(00:39) Introduction to Dr Kieran Allen!

(01:33) Why Psychiatry?

(03:36) Personal stories and experiences

(12:39) Personal challenges faced while seeking help

(17:46) Issues around AHPRA registration

(22:54) Importance of health students and practitioners seeking support where required!

Welcome to another episode of PsyPOD, the podcast that explores the extraordinary lives of influential individuals in the field of mental health. Today, we delve into the inspiring story of Dr. Ruwanthi De Alvis Seneviratne, a distinguished clinical academic psychiatrist whose unwavering commitment to mental health and research has left an indelible mark. Dr. Seneviratne is currently working as a part of the Crisis Assessment and Treatment Team in Monash Medical Centre Clayton, where she works with a multidisciplinary team to provide community based acute crisis management services and organise access to acute psychiatric treatment. She is working full-time, with her hours equally divided between practising and researching psychiatry!

Dr. Ruwanthi De Alvis Seneviratne has always possessed a profound dedication to understanding and addressing mental health challenges. Her research interests encompass a wide range of topics, including early onset psychosis, youth mental health and eating disorders. This episode discusses her path towards becoming a clinical academic psychiatrist, the challenges and rewards of this pathway, striking a balance between clinical and academic medicine, as well as insider advice for medical students seeking to navigate their interests and passions while deciding on a specialty.

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Join us as we chat with a genuinely inspiring and remarkable special guest, an individual who is forging change and revolutionising our approach to Youth Mental Health, Prof. Patrick McGorry!

So today, let's start the conversation, let's break down the misconceptions let's learn more about youth mental health!

Join us as we chat with an incredibly insightful, genuine and accomplished psychiatrist, Professor Malcolm Hopwood.

Join us as we chat with an incredibly inspiring, internationally acknowledged leader within psychiatry, an individual who is pioneering changes to improve the quality of care for women with mental illnesses, Prof. Jayashri Kulkarni!

Having founded the Australian Consortium for Women's Mental Health, taking on the role as President of the International Association for Women's Mental Health, spearheading groundbreaking research into reproductive hormones and mental illness and receiving an Order of Australia (AM) in 2019 for her services to psychiatry (and a whole whole lot more), Prof. Kulkarni has an immense amount of experience and passion to share!

This conversation takes an authentic dive into the field of Women's Mental Health, breaking down the barriers and misconceptions, and exploring the roles, challenges and insights within the area! Prof. Kulkarni shares some of her inspiring stories, experiences and life advice from a career built on passion, dedication and hard work.

TW: We will be discussing issues relating to mental health (particularly women's mental health) and also topics of self-harm and suicidal themes, which may be confronting or alarming. We really encourage you to please reach out for support if you feel you need it and to only listen in if you feel comfortable and able to do so (see timestamps for descriptions of specific sections!)

So today, let's start the conversation, let's break down the misconceptions and let's learn more about Women's Mental Health! Key time stamps below (as per question asked):

Join us as we unpack the world of forensic psychiatry, breaking down the misconceptions and learning more about the roles, challenges and insights seen within the field! Forensic psychiatry is a subspeciality that engages with the intersection between law and psychiatry and involves diagnosing and treating mental disorders in the context of the criminal justice system.

We're joined by Dr Danny Sullivan, a Melbourne and London-trained forensic psychiatrist who is currently the Executive Director of Clinical Services at Forensicare. Dr Sullivan provides us with an incredibly unique perspective into what a forensic psychiatrist does and how they support patients, and shares some of his extraordinary stories, experiences and advice from a career that has seen so much. This conversation covers plenty of domains and we really hope that you gain something to take away into your own life :)))

TW: We will be discussing issues relating to mental health and forensic psychiatry, touching on mental health disorders such as schizophrenia, which may be confronting or alarming. We really encourage you to please reach out for support if you feel you need it and to only listen in if you feel comfortable and able to do so (see timestamps for descriptions of specific sections!)

So today, let's start the conversation, let's break down the misconceptions and let's learn more about forensic psychiatry!

Key time stamps below (as per question asked):

Links provided by Dr Sullivan;