Áine Ní Tighearnaigh In Conversation - Professor Jayashri Kulkarni,  Director of Women's Health Research at Monash University - New data on  the mental health impacts of COVID-19, and why suicide modelling is  problematic on suicide modelling. Jayashri commenced her appointment as  Professor of Psychiatry, The Alfred and Monash University in 2002. She  founded and directs a large psychiatric research group, the Monash  Alfred Psychiatry Research Centre (MAPrc), which expanded from 25  personnel in 2002 to 185 staff and students in 2015, covering seven  different research streams, and conducting over 110 clinical trials. The  aim of the research centre, encapsulated in its catchphrase “We Mend  Minds”, is to develop new treatments, new understanding and new service  deliveries for people with mental illness. MAPrc is a clinical  psychiatry research centre that translates cutting edge neuroscience  discoveries into innovative treatments for severe mental illnesses.  Women’s Mental Health is a major area of Jayashri’s research and she  successfully ran the 3rd International Congress on Women’s Mental Health  held in Melbourne in March 2008. She has worked in this area for 25  years to improve the quality of care for women with mental illnesses by  developing specific treatments that are tailored to suit women’s needs  biologically, socially and psychologically. In 2015, Professor Kulkarni  founded the Australian Consortium for Women’s Mental Health. She is also  the President of the International Association for Women’s Mental  Health, a role she commenced at the 2017 IAWMH Congress in Dublin,  Ireland.

Many people are being impacted adversely during the Covid-19 Pandemic and lock down restrictions. With Tourette's Syndrome Awareness Week from 4th - 10th May 2020, Áine Ní Tighearnaigh speaks with Conor Maysey about his lived experience of Tourette's Syndrome.

Conor is a 25-year-old living in the Gold Coast. He had an official diagnosis around three years ago that answered a lot of questions from his childhood. Conor has physical tics including; nodding, chest hitting, finger tapping and fake sign language. He also has vocal tics that include; snorting, clicking, yelping and swearing. He works about 15 hours a week for an online fashion company in their distribution warehouse and in his spare time likes to make art, spend time with his dog, cook and trying to help others be the best they can be. Conor is super passionate about people with TS getting the respect, acceptance and understanding that every human being deserves.

Many people are being impacted adversely during the Covid-19 Pandemic and lock down restrictions. With Mother's Day tomorrow and Tourette's Syndrome Awareness Week from 4th - 10th May 2020, Áine Ní Tighearnaigh speaks with Melinda Cruz of Miracle Babies about the issues being faced by Mum's and Dad's with premature babies during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Miracle Babies Foundation was initiated and co-founded by Melinda Cruz in 2005. Melinda's drive and passion comes from a very personal position. As the mother of three boys all born premature, Melinda knows firsthand the long term challenges and trauma having a baby in specialised care can bring. Her first son, Elijah, was born at 34 weeks, spending 21/2 weeks in the Newborn Intensive Care Unit (NICU). Her second son Dillon was born at 27 weeks and resuscitated at birth. He spent nine weeks in hospital before being allowed to go home. Her third son, Jasper, born at 37 weeks also spent time in NICU. Having had her three babies cared for by the NICU, Melinda wanted to remain linked to other mothers of premature babies. She also wanted to give back to the NICU and thank the wonderful staff she credits for saving her babies’ lives. It was from those experiences that the Miracle Babies Foundation was born, and has since helped and supported thousands of families.Melinda is now a trusted expert and educator to medical professionals and a sought-after public speaker. She is the first parent in Australia to be invited as an Associate Investigator on Neonatal Studies and Trials and presented at the Vermont Oxford Network Annual Meeting and Quality Congress, Chicago in October 2012.

Áine speaks with Kati Gapaillard, CEO of The Fathering Project about their new initiative - The Fathering Channel launched this week.  The Fathering Channel as a virtual community to support dads, kids and families with all of the challenges of daily life.

The channel releases new content daily, featuring podcasts, videos, chat forums, research–based articles and light-hearted celebrity conversations.

Gerry speaks at great length and depth about the issues affecting the homeless and those at risk of homelessness and suicide in Perth, Northern Territory, Australia, New Zealand, Europe and America.  He shares his insights from his role as National Coordinator, National Suicide Prevention and Trauma Recovery Project and his wealth of experience of working with homeless populations which encompass first nations peoples, those of who are migrant and Australian born.  There are approximately 100,000 people with complex needs living on the streets who may have mental health, drug and alcohol issues, trauma experience, domestic and family violence, or socio-economic issues that have led to homelessness.  Many people during the Covid-19 crisis are at risk of becoming homeless through job loss and lack of financial support as visa holders or as international students.  Gerry shares the steps that he and his organisation and other organisations are taking in Perth and Darwin to address and help homeless people who are at risk of contracting Covid-19 to find shelter off the streets; and the urgent action that desperately needs to be taken in what is an humanitarian crisis.

Transforming Perceptions bringing you news, views, updates, in-depth discussion and diverse lived and living perspectives on social, emotional and mental well-being from the community, multicultural and mainstream mental health sectors; and music from round the world.

Áine Ní Tighearnaigh In Conversation with Professor Sotiris  Vardoularkis, Professor of Global Environmental Health at the ANU  National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health. – Climate  Change, the Canberra Air Quality Crisis and the Impact of Vulnerable  Communities. We discuss climate change, the impact on vulnerable  communities, the elderly, people with mental illness, the current  Canberra Air Quality Crisis and the short and long-term impacts of  bushfire smoke on health and mental well-being.  Professor Vardoulakis  also provides guidance on what measures we need to take individually, as  a community and as a nation to address climate change into the future.   "Sotiris is founding co-chair of the International Consortium for Urban  Environmental Health and Sustainability (Healthy-Polis) and Honorary  Professor at the European Centre for Environment and Human Health at  University of Exeter Medical School. Previously he was Head of the  Environmental Change Department at Public Health England and held  academic positions at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine  and the University of Birmingham. He was one of the lead authors of the  first UK Climate Change Risk Assessment and contributor to the National  Adaptation Programme. He served as a member of the NICE (National  Institute for Health and Care Excellence, UK) Public Health Advisory  Committee on Air Pollution. Over the last 20 years, he has advised  national and local governments and international organizations, such as  the World Health Organization and the European Parliament, on the health  effects of climate change and air pollution, and on environmental  sustainability and urban health. Sotiris has been involved in numerous  research projects, including field studies, environmental modelling,  risk assessment and policy analysis in Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia  and the Pacific".

Dan chats with Áine Ní Tighearnaigh and Rodney Stanton of Transforming Perceptions about E-CPR, humane and person-centred practice, love, the importance of community and building connection as central to life and recovery.  "Dan is a person who has recovered from schizophrenia. He was hospitalised several times prior to becoming a psychiatrist. He is one of the few psychiatrists in the world who publicly discusses his recovery from mental illness.  He is a role model for others who are struggling to recover, and his life dispels the myth that people do not recover from mental illness. His recovery and work in the field were recognised by his selection as a member of the White House Commission on Mental Health".  Transforming Perceptions, one show at a time and music from round the world. #TransformingPerceptions

Ãine and David chat with Mandy (pictured below) about the new Restrictive Practices Act 2018, the types of restrictive practices that are used and how her role supports improving best practice for staff while increasing well-being outcomes for people living with a diverse range of disabilities including psychosocial social disability. Mandy also discusses the importance of good behavioral management planning, data gathering and how reviewing data, debriefing, leadership, mentoring and training are fundamental in reducing seclusion and restraints which is one of her primary aims. Transforming Perceptions, bringing you news, views, updates and diverse perspectives on social, emotional and mental well-being from the lived and living experience, community, multicultural, mainstream mental health sectors; and music from round the world.

Ãine Ní Tighearnaigh chats with Jenny Smith, Chair of Homelessness Australia, the national peak for the homeless about the homelessness crisis in our country today. Jenny is also CEO of the Council of Homeless Persons, the Victorian peak body for homeless people. Our conversation is focused on the factors that contribute to the homelessness crisis, housing affordability and the solutions we have within our grasp. Transforming Perceptions bringing you news, views, updates and diverse perspectives on social, emotional and mental well-being from the lived and living experience, community, multicultural and mainstream mental health sectors, and music from round the world.

Áine Ní Tighearnaigh talks with Maurice Fitzpatrick, CEO and Creative Director of Creeney Films about his documentary - In the Name of Peace: John Hume in America and the whether we have lost our appetite for Peaceful processes. The documentary was screened in Canberra, Melbourne and Sydney in April - May 2018 and has been seen in America and Europe.

The Irish Film Festival 2018 stated that "John Hume saw that by harnessing the political influence of the Irish American diaspora in Washington it was possible address the legacy of colonial division in Ireland and to achieve peace. In the Name of Peace: John Hume in America is a compelling feature documentary, narrated by Liam Neeson, with dramatic footage from the conflict in Northern Ireland and stirring accounts by Presidents Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter as well as US Congressmen and Senators. This film shows how one man with courage and charisma, inspired by Martin Luther King, mobilized Irish Americans and America to bring an end to years of bloody violence in his homeland. With musical score by Bill Whelan (Riverdance), this beautiful film reminds us of the redemptive powers of politics to overcome hatred and division: in the words of Hume’s fellow Derryman, Seamus Heaney, when, ‘once in a lifetime, the longed-for tidal wave of justice can rise up, and hope and history rhyme’. At a time of great world instability, this is a timely film highlighting creative leadership and the need for steady international co-operation." (Irish Film Festival 2018)