Signposts for Living with Dr Kirsten Hunter

Podcast - Do people with Narcissistic Personality Disorder believe their own lies? Co-Presenter Kristen Coggan

You should have seen Kristen's face when I bought this topic into the room. Truth is fairly irrelevant to people with Narcissistic Personality Disorder, they tell a version of the story that suits their agenda, so many lies. But do they know they are doing it? Do they realise their pattern of mistruths? This is a complex and compelling topic. 

Share your thoughts, I'm sure you have many...

Podcast - Singer Sue Ray; neurodivergence  in the creative world

Sue Ray is known as an Australian Indigenous multi-award-winning singer/songwriter. She's has roots in the Australian and American music scene. Her authentic and fresh approach to country/blues and roots music is matched by her enchanting voice (have a listen - you won't forget her voice once you've heard it). Today however, we are spoilt to have Sue talk about her neurodivergent experience in her creative world. Sue's story is very touching, inspiring and highly relatable. What she also has is charisma, the sort you wish your could bottle. I so enjoyed Sue sharing her world through her neurodivergent lens. 

Sue Ray, we are all so fortunate and grateful for your time to come and share your story. Warmest thankyou. And listeners... yes! Sue Ray is working on fresh music coming out soon! Keep your ear to out. 

Weaponising incompetence. Someone may never have paid the bills, cleaned the bathroom, learnt how to communicate effectively, learnt how to calm their anger, learnt how to do the washing... you name it... But do they try to learn or simply say 'I'm not good at that'. There's a difference between knowing our weaknesses and stepping away from trying to improve ourselves. Let's chat...

Podcast: The difference between hyperfixation in ASD and ADHD. Co-presenter Kristen Coggan

This is an interesting dissection in the world of psychology. Hyperfixation is a common characteristic of both ASD and ADHD, but yet there is a difference in the expression of this symptom across these two diagnoses. Let's see if we can clear this up?

Podcast: My challenges living in Antarctica. Special Guest David Wardle

It's not very often that you get to have a sit down chat with someone who has lived in Antarctica, so I was beyond eager to dive into David's lived experience on this one. I have always thought it would be like living on another planet to live in Antarctica, and hearing David's stories... I was not wrong. I also appreciated him sharing his personal struggles with living in such close quarters with fellow humans and away from his young family. 

Thankyou so much David for taking this time to share your story. So many of the themes that pulse through your experience in Antarctica are relatable. 

Enjoy everyone!

Quick Chat: Do you really have a bad memory?

A lot of clients say to me 'I have a bad memory', when it truth memory is a complex thing and their reported experience of their memory is very much in the realm of normal / typical... This may be an interesting quick chat for you to reflect on your memory (strengths and weaknesses) and for you to learn to work with your beautiful brain.

I'm reposting a podcast with Suzie Holt, as I feel that you really get to hear her voice and get to know her as we talk about this important issue of the justice response to sexual violence. The 3rd of May is our federal election and I'm incredibly excited that Suzie Holt is running. I've known Suzie for perhaps 18 years, and I can tell you she's got brains, a strong community conscience, brilliant communication skills and the warrior heart of a pioneer. Suzie came second place on two-party preference last election when she was just a new comer. Darling Downs has now had more time to get to know her and what she represents so I'm confident she's got a good chance of getting over the line this election. To my knowledge, Toowoomba has always... I mean always been a Liberal seat. Time for a change maybe?

Now onto our podcast...  'The Justice Response to Sexual Violence.' This topic was chosen as Suzie excitedly informed me that there is currently a review happening  into how our Justice channels respond to sexual violence. What is working for sexual abuse survivors, and what is not? Unfortunately the report card is not a good one, and Suzie is grabbing the opportunity to look to international justice practices (Spain!) to see alternative models we can embrace. 

I thoroughly enjoyed talking with Suzie about how she came to politics, and what has fuelled the incredible fire in her belly to advocate for the community's needs. We circled through some great topics, with sexual violence reform being our punchline. 

Thanks Suzie for your time, your thoughts and your passion. 

Everyone... jump on Suzie's website (attached in comments) and check her out. You can't get a more determined, practical and relatable Federal candidate for our region of Groom. Grab her for a chat. She'd love that!

Podcast: Do you have to be psychologically minded to be happy? Co-Presenter Kristen Coggan

With our increasing focus on our mental health, our level of self awareness, and our psychological skillset, I ask the question of whether this is all essential to be happy? The question may appear obvious, but perhaps there are those that are smiling through life without much psychological intelligence. 

Thankyou Kristen for fleshing this odd question out with me.

What do you all think?

Choices - the end of life. Bringing Voluntary Assisted Dying Legislation to QLD. Dr Harry Jacobs and Fiona Jacobs.

I was incredibly fortunate to have the opportunity to chat with Harry and Fiona Jacobs. Through their medical background and their personal story of loss, they have taken action where action was urgent and overdue. Harry and Fiona explain with such clarity and sensitivity the various avenues involved with Voluntary Assisted Dying, they discuss when and how these choices need to be available to us, and the political terrain that they (and their colleagues) had to overcome to bring this end of life choice to QLD. 

This podcast was such a valuable learning curve for me, I'm excited to share it. Harry and Fiona, my warmest heartfelt thankyou for sharing your personal story and challenging journey through this complex area. We Queenslanders now benefit from you providing us with choice at a time when we are our most vulnerable. 

Those in the know come along to Couples Therapy to tweak and further strengthen their relationship. But most couples come along at absolute breaking point, where their long held patterns of behaviour have created a huge chasm between them that is difficult, but often not impossible to recover from. 

We can learn from this. There is so much to learn about ourselves and our partners. There is so much misunderstanding and hurt to be resolved. I thought I'd overview the advantages of Couples Therapy for those who are curious. It definitely can be a life changing choice.