The Peregrine Rural Mental Health Podcast

People in the LGBTQIA+ community experience higher rates of mental distress than the general community and face greater barriers to accessing care, which can have a lifelong impact. This is particularly relevant to those living rurally where gender and sexuality affirming services may be limited, or non-existent.

Many NSW practitioners identified the importance of understanding and a desire to appropriately work with LGBTQIA+ people but reported low confidence in doing so. 

On this episode, The Peregrine Centre Research Associate, Dayle Raftery, talks to Dr Jared Hannam (Child and adolescent psychiatrist), Dr Tash McLellan (General Practitioner), and Kerry Power (Gender Service Care Coordinator) from Albury-Wodonga’s Gateway Health about the ABCs of LGBT, working well with trans and gender diverse people, making your practice affirming and safe, and the importance of just listening.

 

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 One of the most requested topics we get at the Peregrine Rural Mental Health Podcast is how we should respond to natural disasters and large-scale stressors, like the global pandemic.

In this episode, Peregrine Director, Dr Rebecca Sng chats with clinical psychologist, Dr Rob Gordon. Over more than 30 years, Dr Gordon has worked extensively with governments and NGOs in responding to bushfires, floods and other natural disasters. Well known for his useful insights and practical teaching, this is a wonderful introduction to Dr Gordon's work.

Tune in as he talks with Dr Sng about the Stress Cycle, "when is too soon", and the power of a good sausage sizzle. 

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This month, Peregrine Director, Dr Rebecca Sng chats with Dr Suzie Hudson, Clinical Advisor to the NSW Health Centre for AOD.

The treatment of individuals with both mental health concerns and coping strategies that involve substance misuse is one of our most requested topics.

This episode Suzie describes, in an easy-to-understand format, the considerations for practitioners when they are attempting to help in these circumstances, with particular focus on rural practitioners who may not have a specialist AOD service to refer to. Suzie shares a number of practical tips, as well as chatting about her particular area of interest, methamphetamine use. 

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The comorbidity rates of mental health conditions and neurodivergence are high. However, not all clinicians have experience working with neurodivergent clients, particularly in rural areas.  Communication difficulties and anxieties around social interaction can further isolate neurodivergent clients who are in need of mental health support.

In this episode Peregrine Local Project Officer, Charley Mason interviews clinical psychologist Monique Mitchelson and clinical neuropsychologist Dr Michelle Livock, clinicians who specialise in working with neurodivergent individuals.

Michelle and Monique discuss how to best communicate with neurodivergent individuals in your practice, including how to refer clients who you believe may be neurodivergent for diagnosis and further assistance.

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Most mental health practitioners are familiar with the diagnosis of Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) – but if you’re not trained in specialist treatments for BPD, can you still be helpful to this group of people?

In this episode, Peregrine Research Associate Dr Caitlin Miller interviews Psychologist and Research Fellow at Project Air Strategy for Personality Disorders, Dr Nick Day, and Staff Specialist Psychiatrist at the Centre for Psychotherapy, Dr Nick Bendit. Nick Day and Nick Bendit speak about what drives emotional storms and crises for people with a diagnosis of BPD, how our typical approaches as mental health practitioners can actually be unhelpful for people with BPD – and what to do instead.

They discuss the common elements of treatment approaches, how to manage risk concerns and what they mean when they tell practitioners to “follow the love”.

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Are you a generalist practitioner who is sometimes called upon to see children? In today's episode, Peregrine Director, Rebecca Sng, speaks with eminent Family Therapist, Jenny Brown, and former Clinic Director at University of Wollongong, Mark Donovan, about parent training.

Each of the three discuss their own parent training manuals and the different applications of each while noting some common principles that practitioners can take into their practice. The guests then go on to answer some listener questions and to talk about the importance of "Stepping Back and Stepping Up".  

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Some experience of trauma is incredibly common in those who seek mental health services. However, few practitioners, particularly in rural areas, would call themselves Trauma Specialists.

As a result, many people find it hard to find treatment and continue to suffer with the effects of their traumatic experiences. On this episode, Peregrine Research Associate, Dr Dayle Raftery interviews Peregrine Director, Dr Rebecca Sng, a clinical psychologist who has been working in trauma treatment for nearly 20 years.

Rebecca discusses the difference between PTSD and Complex Trauma, how to be helpful – even in a small number of sessions, and why she’s always talking about black boxes.  

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