Mental Work

[Rerun] Bron takes us through the topic that therapists love to avoid: Money 💵. She highlights the negative attitudes embedded in the mental health profession and shares the experiences that have taught her that wanting a liveable salary is not only okay, but necessary. Mental Work is the podcast unpacking the challenges faced by early career psychologists, so they don’t have to go it alone. Host...

Thanks for listening, Mental Workers! Season 3 has wrapped up and shiny new episodes will be released in just a few weeks! ✨ SUPPORT THE POD THAT SUPPORTS YOU... Join the Patreon for $2 a month 😎 Leave a rating and review on Apple and Spotify ! It REALLY helps new listeners find the show! Support the show by buying me a virtual coffee ! ☕ Email Bron at mentalworkpodcast@gmail.com Facebook / Ins...

The National Psychology Exam (NPE) is a big ass exam that provisional psychologists doing the 4+2 and 5+1 pathways must pass to gain full registration. On today's episode, Bron is joined by Amanda Moses (Psychologist) to unpack 👉🏼 What does the NPE assess? 👉🏾 How to prepare step-to-step 👉🏿 Top tips for sitting the NPE on the day 👉 How much time to set aside for study. Mental Work is the pod...

Heck yes, it's a listener story! 🥳 Bron is joined by Jordan Turner (Psychologist & Ed/Dev Registrar) to share her lessons from the first 2 years of being fully registered. They unpack 👉🏽 Being pregnant while seeing clients and handling baby questions 👉🏻 Building rapport with clients 👉 Setting boundaries with clients 👉🏿 Setting boundaries with yourself on the kinds of clients you see 👉...

Bron is joined by Annie Slater (Psychologist and Director at Annie Slater Psychology) to unpack getting the most out of supervision. They chat about 👉🏽 Making supervision work when you don't have a choice in your supervisor 👉🏻 How to manage a not-so-great supervisory relationship 👉 What an 'ideal' supervisory relationship looks like 👉🏿 How to give feedback to a supervisor who relays too man...

Bron is joined by Julie Waller (Counselling Psychologist) to unpack what it's like working rurally. They unpack 👉🏽 What led Julie to working rurally 👉🏻 Managing tricky ethical dilemmas including multiple relationships and professional boundaries 👉🏾Why errybody should work rurally at least once in their career 👉 What you need to know if you're thinking about rural work. Mental Work is the po...

WE'RE GOING RURAL, BABY! Bron is joined by Lauren Vines (early-career psychologist) to tell us what it's really like to work rurally, where you are sometimes hundreds of kilometres from your nearest colleague. They unpack 👉🏽 What led Lauren to working rurally 👉 Best things, most challenging things, and most ~surprising~ things about working rurally. Mental Work is the podcast unpacking the chal...

Bron is joined by Neeraja Shankar (Clin Psych registrar/PhD Candidate) to unpack getting comfortable with making mistakes as an early-career psych. They chat about 👉🏽 How being human means you're gonna make mistakes, and - take a deep breath - that's ooooook 👉🏿 What counts as a mistake in therapy? 👉 How to see mistakes as growth opportunities 👉🏻 The mistakes we've made and how we've survive...

Bron is joined by Rebecca Black (Clin Psych at Nourish, Heal, Grow & sustainable career coach) to unpack how to build a sustainable psychology career. Yes, it IS possible to have a profitable career, friends/family, and even hobbies without burning out 😮! They chat 👉🏽 Over-preparing for sessions 👉🏻 How many clients per day is too many? 👉 Tips if you struggle with unrelenting standards an...

Today on Mental Work, by popular request Bron returns to the topic of emotional labour with guests Anthony Joffe (Psychologist/PhD Candidate) and James Clarke (Clinical Psychologist/PhD Candidate). They chat about 👉🏽 Surface acting vs deep acting vs natural expression 👉🏻 Surface acting and burnout 👉 Why authenticity is key 👉🏿 How emotional labour shows up in James' and Anthony's therapy wor...

If you cry a little inside every time you think about treatment planning, then this episode is for you. Bron is joined by Amanda Moses (Psychologist) to unpack treatment planning in an easy-to-understand, bite-sized way. They chat about: 👉🏻 How to formulate using the 5 P's 👉 How to treatment plan for depression 👉🏿 Ways to deliver CBT for depression 👉🏾 Getting the right balance between over-...

Today on Mental Work, Bron is joined by Carly Dober (Psychologist and Director of AAPi ) to unpack the question, 'Can I be a good therapist if I have lived experience?' They chat about 👉🏽 How having lived experience can inform your work as a psych 👉🏻 Myths about therapists with mental illness 👉 Changes in attitudes among psychs towards lived experience practitioners 👉🏿 Why peer-led work is...

Do you feel like you'll never be a 'good enough' therapist? Do you over-prepare for sessions, or procrastinate on reports? You might be a perfectionist. Today on Mental Work, Bron is joined by Kate Christie (Psychologist in schools and private practice) to unpack perfectionism among therapists. They touch on 👉🏽 The role that perfectionism plays in burnout 👉🏻 How perfectionism shows up in the t...

Today on Mental Work, Bron is joined by Nicole Young (Educational and Developmental Psychologist) to unpack everything diagnosis and assessment. They touch on 👉🏽 What are the benefits of diagnosis? 👉🏻 Getting comfortable with *not* taking on every assessment referral 👉 Managing client expectations with diagnosis 👉🏾 The importance of adequate training and practice in assessments. Mental Work...

Today on Mental Work, Bron is joined by Sahra O'Doherty (Psychologist and Director of AAPi ) to unpack the dilemma of 'What can I wear to work?' They touch on 👉🏽 What does it mean when a supervisor directs you to 'Dress Professionally'? 👉🏻 How our ideas of 'professionalism' may exclude psychs with diverse body shapes/sizes and cultural diversity 👉 All the taboos! Tattoos, coloured hair, pierc...

We've been taught that clients are supposed to enter therapy, get better, and then graciously leave therapy... but what about all those clients who *don't* get better? Today on Mental Work, Bron is joined by Brian Cheng (Psychologist) to unpack the dilemma of what to do when client's don't get better in therapy. They unpack 👉🏽 What accounts for change in therapy (the 'common factors' model) 👉🏻...

Today on Mental Work, Bron is joined by Betty Farrell (Provisional Psychologist) to unpack how to cope with confusing, ambiguous, and sometimes mean feedback from supervisors. We chat about 👉🏽 How to cope with feedback in the moment 👉🏻 How to not ruminate endlessly 👉 Growth vs fixed mindset 👉🏿 Tough feedback experiences we've had and how we've gracefully and not-so-gracefully dealt with the...

The journey to registration should be straight-forward, right... right? Today on Mental Work, Bron is joined by Rebecca Harris (early-career Psychologist) to share the ups and downs, twists and turns of her pathway to registration and provide handy tips that she learned along the way 😎. We touch on 👉🏽 Working rurally 👉🏻 Leaving unsupportive internships 👉 Transferable skills 👉🏿 Why lowering...

Bron is joined by Dr Catherine Hart (Clinical Psychologist, Board Approved Supervisor) to unpack five tricky supervision dilemmas we've received from listeners. We touch on 👉🏽 What is the purpose of supervision? 👉🏻 What if your supervisor doesn't seem interested in supervising you? 👉 What if your supervisor is jealous of you? 👉🏿 What if your supervisor is also your workplace manager? Mental...

Bron is joined by Carly Dober (Psychologist, Director of AAPi ) to unpack the taboo world of getting therapy as a therapist. We talk about 👉🏽 Does getting therapy mean you're not suited to the profession? 👉🏻 Does psych training get in the way of being helped by therapy 👉 How personal therapy informs us as professionals 👉🏿 Practical tips for getting therapy (finding a psych, getting a mental...

Did you know: Australia is one of the most culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) countries in the world. Yep! 3 in 10 were born overseas, and 1 in 5 speak a language other than English at home. People from CALD backgrounds are at risk of poorer health outcomes compared to other Aussies, so it's real important that us psychs know the ins and outs of working with this population. Today on Men...

Bron is joined by James Clarke (Clinical psychologist/PhD candidate) to unpack emotional labour. Get ready for a huge dose of validation as James confirms that delivering therapy is not just 'tea and biscuits' - it's REALLY hard work! They chat about 👉🏽 The unique emotional labour that psychologists undertake👉🏻 Strategies to manage emotional labour in session 👉 How to decompress outside of se...

When was the last time you had a decent break from clinical work? We all need breaks, but many of us struggle with the practicalities of doing so. In this ep, Bron unpacks 👉🏽 What a good break looks like vs a bad break 👉🏻 How many breaks to take each year 👉 How long to break for 👉🏿 Tips on how to prepare for a break. Mental Work is hosted by Dr Bronwyn Milkins, an Australian-based early car...

Bron is joined by experienced School Psychologist Brian Cheng to unpack how to fill in gaps in knowledge and skills following the undergrad psych degree. They unpack 👉🏽 How to relate to clients like a fellow human, not a textbook 👉🏻 The importance of reflecting on how you feel in client interactions 👉 the Medical Model vs Systemic Practice - what are they and why it's good to know about both....

Bron is joined by Dr Ines Pandzic (PhD, Clin Psych Registrar) to unpack how to manage being a parent alongside the intense training required to become a psychologist. They chat about 👉🏽 Ines' experience of having a baby during her Masters program 👉🏻 What worked for Ines in juggling study, placement, and parenting 👉 Recommendations for early career psychs considering a family in the future. Th...