Mental Health

We’ll be taking a break over December and Jan and will post our next podcast in Feb.

Thank you for your support and for tuning into conversations about mental health. We hope these conversations have sparked your curiosity and have given you new insights into your own lives and of those close to you.

We wish you a safe festive season, take care of yourself and we’ll see you in 2022.

Dr. Gery Karantzas, is an Associate Professor and Director of the Science of Adult Relationships (SoAR) Laboratory at Deakin University and is one of Australia’s leading relationships experts. Prof Gery has edited and authored over 100 publications including a handbook and co-authored text on relationships. Gery writes for the Conversation and Psychology Today, and is regularly contacted by the media to discuss all matters on relationships. He is also the founder of Relationship Science Online, a website that curates and delivers the science of relationships to target the needs of relationship counsellors and the general public.

In this conversation we explore the impact of COVID and lockdowns on couples and the Vulnerability, Stress Adaptation Model of relationships. We also discuss some of the most common types of conflict patterns experienced couples and how to improve the ways in which couples fight so that they deal with conflict in more constructive ways. Prof Gery offers lots of roleplay style scenarios and gives great insights into some things to say, different ways to approach difficult conversations as well as pointing listeners to some great resources.

You can find Dr. Gery as well as much of his writing for the Conversation, Psychology Today and helpful insights on relationships at www.relationshipscienceonline.com

To find out more about the Science of Adult Relationships (SoAR) Laboratory at Deakin University, go to: www.scienceofadultrelationships.org

The article that Ruan and Dr. Gery refer to:

https://theconversation.com/love-lockdown-the-pandemic-has-put-pressure-on-many-relationships-but-heres-how-to-tell-if-yours-will-survive-135824

Dr. Gery referred to the work by Professor Andrew Christensen (UCLA), specifically Professor Christensen’s co-development of Integrative Behavioural Couples Therapy( IBCT). He and his former student Professor Brian Doss (University of Miami) have developed an online couple program based on IBCT, the “OURRelationship Program” – a program to help couples become unstuck from their core relationship issues.

To find out more about the OURRelationship Program go to: www.ourrelationship.com

Today we speak with Professor Paul Fitzgerald who has been involved in the development, evaluation and clinical implementation of new treatments for mental health disorders for 2 decades. He pioneered the use of TMS in Australia and is internationally renowned as a leader in the field of brain stimulation and device based treatments in psychiatry.

In our conversation we discuss what TMS is, the mechanisms of how we believe it works, we discuss how it’s administered, side effects, it’s efficacy and the costs and funding available in Australia.

This conversation was recorded in November of 2021, since this time the Australian government has added TMS to the rebate scheme as Prof. Fitzgerald mentioned.

Professor Paul Fitzgerald has been the Director of Epworth Centre for Innovation in Mental Health (ECIMH) but is currently in the process of transitioning to a role as Director of the School of Medicine and Psychology at ANU through which you can connect with him.

You can find a list of TMS relevant publications by Prof Fitzgerald on his website at paulbfitzgerald.com/

Today we’re speaking with Dr. Jarrod White, a Clinical Psychologist working in private practice at The Viewpoint clinic in Caulfield Melbourne. During Dr. White's research he had the opportunity to conduct face to face interviews with holocaust survivors and Sudanese genocide survivors. During our conversation, Dr. White shares some of his research and the key themes of how trauma is processed and expressed differently within different cultures.

Wendy Coombe is the founder of the Australian Peak Body and charitable organisation, Animal Therapies Ltd with the goal to advance the understanding, acceptance and accessibility of animal-assisted services for those suffering trauma, disability and adversity. In our conversation Wendy explores how animals from lamas to lizards and miniature ponies on airplanes can help people cope with different challenges. We discuss how we can now use dogs to detect seizures up to 45 mins before the event, help regulate insulin in patients suffering from diabetes (they can smell insulin levels in your blood) and detect ingredients in food that some may be dangerously allergic to.

Wendy shares her story of her own mental breakdown from a long career in senior management after which she turned to her faithful dog, Jack, for support. This started her on the journey of establishing Animal Therapies Limited as a charity to help connect people interested in using and receiving animal assisted services. It’s an ancient partnership, modernized into today’s sophisticated world.

Find Wendy at:

https://animaltherapies.org.au/

For emergency support contact:

000 for police, ambulance or fire services

13 11 14 for Lifeline, a crisis support and suicide prevention service for all Australians

1300 726 306 Perinatal Anxiety and Depression (PANDA) National Helpline

1800 642 066 Centre for Grief and Bereavement

1800 250 015 Alcohol and Drug Support Line

1800 858 858 National Gambling Help Line

1300 22 46 36 Beyond Blue