Embracing the Mind

Don’t listen to this episode on an empty stomach! Today, we’re joined by award-winning chef Blaze Young. We wanted to learn about the creativity of cooking – from choosing the produce, formulating a palette of tastes in your mind, to plating the meal in an appealing way – and Blazepractices this across her work every day. Blaze outlines her journey as a chef and shares the mental health challenges...

Humour is all around us – some prefer to watch a comedy show, listen to a funny podcast, or joke with friends. Some even make it their career, such as today’s guest Simone Springer. But where does it fall as a form of creativity? We explore this and more with Simone, who takes us on her journey – examining the trials and tribulations of the laughter circuit, and inspires us to take the plunge and...

So far, we’ve explored different avenues of art and mental health, but today Bek Morrison explores art as a way to connect with culture and family.   Bek shares her experiences as a young Noongar woman learning to embrace her culture and ways of painting, and the time it took to develop the confidence to pass this onto younger mob.  TW: Today’s episode contains themes that may be triggering or ups...

Exploring art beyond the canvas has been central to the research of today’s two guests, Leanne Fried and Sarah Falconer, who both work with us at The Kids Research Institute Australia.  As a part of the Social Emotional Wellbeing & the Arts project, they have developed resources to build the capacity of arts organisations and teaching artists to promote the wellbeing of young people. Leanne an...

James Foley exudes humour and playfulness, and his back-catalogue of children’s books reflect this.   Fans of his beloved works such as Stellarphant or Goldfish-Finger can tune into today’s episode to hear James discuss his career as a writer, cartoonist and creative workshop provider. We'll also learn why we should all try to harness our playfulside, even as adults, in this insightful convers...

Today’s guest Bobby Zheng reconnected with his passion for illustration while completing an internship with us at Embrace, where he assisted in the creation of a resource for young people experiencing dissociation. A recent bachelor of psychology graduate, Bobby tells us what it takes to study fashion in Florence, examines the distinctions between fine art and free art, and explores the importance...

Keep an eye out next time you’re wandering the streets, and you may see a piece by today’s guest, Stormie Mills. His incredible art adorns blocks worldwide, using emotionally charged and monochromatic imagery to capture the attention of viewers. Stormie shares the power of journaling using sketches instead of words, and takes us on a journey that took his art career beyond the streets. TW: This ep...

Madeleine Griffith has years of experience as a multidisciplinary artist, and is Creative Director at Satellite Foundation, which uses creativity to build connection for young people who have family mental health challenges.   From building a gingerbread car for a Porsche ad campaign to making prop bird poo for Hamish and Andy, Madeleine has tried her hand at many wacky and wonderful projects. But...

Today’s guest is Julie Fearns-Pheasant, an artist and educator with decades of experience teaching art to kids and adults. Julie shares how her experience as a person with a disability, and a breast cancer survivor, have shaped her own creative journey and artistic narrative. Join us as Julie explores how art can help when language is a barrier, how it can help us process trauma, and how clay isn’...

Recognised as one of just 100 National Living Treasures, celebrated Australian television identity and doyen ofcinema Ernie Dingo is our gest today. But Ernie’s influence extends well beyond the great outdoors and rests in the heartland. Ernie shares his spiritual and familial connection to his Yamatji homeland and tells usabout his camps that aim to reconnect young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Is...

Shaun Tan is widely recognised for his captivating books and illustrations, which are often studied for their imaginative and intricately detailed subject matter. Join Shaun as he takes us on a journey from his humble beginnings as a young budding artist through to his life as a parent and career as an artist and illustrator.  TW: This episode contains discussion of mental health issues. Embrace i...

Today we welcome Chris Nixon, a Perth local and visual artist, who has countless art installations and has worked with clients such as Tame Impala, Nurofen, and Adobe.  Chris shares his experience with finding a balance between creativity and everyday life, encouraging creativity in kids, and how art has helped him through life’s highs and lows. TW: This episode contains discussion of mental healt...

Who better to provide evidence for the connection between creativity and mental health than Professor Katherine Boydell, director of the arts-based knowledge translation lab at the Black Dog Institute. She explores the research behind creativity as a tool for keeping us mentally healthy, her time on ABC documentary Space22, and the therapeutic process behind creative tasks.  TW: This episode conta...

This season, we're painting a picture of the link between creativity and mental health. As always, we're telling stories that are profoundly human, and across season four you will hear from celebrated artists across comedy, street art, acting, and painting. Join hosts Dr Karen Lombardi and Jack Boronovskis as they interview guests including Ernie Dingo, Shaun Tan, Simone Springer and James...

In this special episode from The Kids Research Institute Australia, join parenting educator and author Maggie Dent and Associate Professor Yael Perry, Head of Youth Mental Health at The Kids, as they take a deep dive into the challenges facing today's teens in a digital world, and how parents and caregivers can better support them.  Embrace is supported by principal partner Rio Tinto and Chann...

In our final episode of this season, we discuss the Australian Government's #EndGenderBias survey with MP Ged Kearney, before getting the final thoughts of our amazing list of guests. We talk about some of the improvements that have been made in research, before hearing stories of self-empowerment, finding purpose through adversity, and the power of self-worth. Thank you for listening to this...

We've made it to the two-part finale of this season of Embracing the Mind! In this episode, we will be discussing the changing face of women's healthcare in Australia since the 1970s, before we hear from MP Ged Kearney about her role as convenor of the National Women's Health Summit. We'll then hear from our guests on what it's like to feel unsupported accessing healthcare, the...

We've got a special bonus episode today! Karen was recently joined by Rio Tinto operational contracts supervisor Klara van den Burg, a mental health champion in her workplace. Klara talks about learning to embrace her neurodiversity at work, and overcoming challenges of working on a FIFO roster with kids. Embrace is supported by its principal partner, Rio Tinto, and Channel 7 Telethon Trust. TW: T...

In today's episode, we discuss the ongoing oestrogen patch shortage, the rapid rise of Ozempic, and the health outcomes of grandparents who are forced to take guardianship over their grandkids. CW: This episode contains references to mental health issues and medical trauma. Embrace is supported by principal partner Rio Tinto and Channel 7 Telethon Trust.

It was only in 1980 that the term 'hysteria', so often applied as a catch-all for emotional women, was removed from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. These oversimplifications created a context where women became experts at masking - hiding symptoms for fear of dismissal or worse, lobotomy. Today, we'll be talking about the impact of masking on the diagnosis pathway for ne...

Today, we're talking to MP Ged Kearney about the Australian government's #EndGenderBias survey, before we hear more from our brave guests about their experiences with endometriosis and fibroids. TW: This episode contains references to graphic medical content, mental health issues and infertility. Embrace is supported by its principal partner Rio Tinto and Channel 7 Telethon Trust.

Strap in, because we have a lot to get through in today's episode. From cosmetic surgery to early onset menopause as a result of a hysterectomy, and the gendered roles of grandparenting, join us for our latest look at women's health. TW: This episodes contains references to medical trauma.

TW: This episode contains references to eating disorders. Today we're talking about how incidents like the thalidomide tragedy caused women to largely be removed from health research, leading to incomplete and underrepresentative data on aspects of health including symptoms for neurological conditions. ADHD resources: The Year I Met My Brain, by Matilda Boseley ADHD Girls to Women , by Lotta B...

In episode three, we're starting to discuss women's health in earnest. We'll discuss the rise of the morning sickness medicine thalidomide despite there being zero research done on its health outcomes, before hearing from guests about fibroids, premature births, the menstrual cycle, and the gender bias in healthcare.

In the second episode of our series on Women's Wellbeing, we will hear from more of our interviewees about their experiences around societal expectations and stigma. We'll also discuss the pervasive role Reference Man has come to play in all our lives.