Get Real: Talking mental health & disability

Send us Fan Mail NOTE: This episode contains discussion of trauma, suicide and sexual assault. Listener discretion is advised. Dave Morgan a Vietnam Veteran who has written a book called The Invisible Trauma: Coping with PTSD . We know from some of the conversations we’ve had on this podcast that serving and veteran military members are particularly vulnerable to trauma. The Invisible Trauma is Da...

Send us Fan Mail Our guest for this episode is a dynamo! Heidi Anderson’s got influence and as she’s on her personal journey of confidence and being her authentic self, she’s bringing others along on the ride. Heidi’s had a successful career in radio, including the breakfast show in Perth on HIT 92.9, was a contestent in Big Brother and is a podcaster. When she spoke vulnerably on air to listeners...

Send us Fan Mail LISTENER NOTE: this episode contains some content that may be confronting and distressing to people – listener discretion is advised. In this episode of GET REAL we meet DAVID MCGOWAN, a veteran Police officer who is the CEO of POLICE VETERANS VICTORIA , a not-for-profit organisation that supports Victoria Police Veterans and their families. Police Veterans Victoria has Veteran Pe...

Send us Fan Mail The Victorian Mental Illness Awareness Council, known as VMIAC is running a pilot project giving consumers of mental health services the opportunity to get education, training and practical learning experience to participate in leadership and governance arrangements across Victoria's transforming mental health system. Our guests for this episode are Erandathie Jayakody and Jo...

Send us Fan Mail We’ve been talking about foster carers in the last few episodes, to share the important role they have in the community. Foster care is the temporary care of children, with the goal to reunify them with their birth family. These conversations will give you an insight into what it takes to be a Foster Carer – the ups and downs and how people who do this vital role can change the li...

Send us Fan Mail We’ve been talking about foster carers in the last few episodes, to share the important role they have in the community. Foster care is the temporary care of children, with the goal to reunify them with their birth family. These conversations will give you an insight into what it takes to be a Foster Carer – the ups and downs and how people who do this vital role can change the li...

Send us Fan Mail We’re focusing on Foster Carers over the coming month to share the important role they have in the community. Foster care is the temporary care of children, with the goal to reunify them with their birth family.   In this episode we meet Jackson , a teacher in Northern Victoria. Jackson became a foster carer in 2021 when he was in his mid-20s. Jackson’s situation is unique and he...

Send us Fan Mail   Foster Care Week happens in September and celebrates and recognises foster carers and their dedication to the children and young people in their care.  Foster Carers provide safe, nurturing homes for children and young people who cannot live with their families.   What is foster care and what is involved in becoming a foster carer? Thanks to Fostering Connections , a joint initi...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode we will be talking about the topic of non-suicidal self-injury, also known as self-harm and also mention suicide and suicide ideation.  So, please do keep this in mind and take care of yourselves when deciding to listen to this content.      Educator, author and parent champion Michelle Mitchell joins us on GET REAL to talk about how families can support their teen...

Send us Fan Mail I n this episode we will have some discussion about childhood sexual abuse and trauma. So, please do keep this in mind and take care of yourselves when deciding to listen to this content.    Anders Villani is a Melbourne-based poet, writer, teacher and PhD candidate in Creative Writing. Anders is also a survivor of childhood sexual abuse and lives with post traumatic stress disord...

Send us Fan Mail Laurie Leigh is the CEO of National Disability Services , also known as NDS. NDS is Australia's peak body for non-government disability service organisations, representing over 1200 non-government service providers, of which ermha365 is one. We caught up with Laurie to talk about a number of things, including  the NDS-led national campaign Teamwork Works that ran in the lead-...

Send us Fan Mail Michelle Macpherson, a pediatric psychologist in Victoria, Australia with more than 20 years in the field of educational and developmental psychology.  Michelle is passionate about supporting children to adapt to change and one of the ways she does this is through her initiative Dragonfly Global , to produce positive children's books.  Michelle founded this positive change mo...

Send us Fan Mail Content Note: We will be discussing childhood trauma, sexual assault and family violence during this conversation.  If you have been affected by anything discussed in this episode please contact: Lifeline on 13 11 14 13 YARN on 13 92 76 ( 24/7 crisis support for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people)   1800 RESPECT on 1800 737 732 (the national domestic, family and sexual v...

Send us Fan Mail For this episode we  talk about occupational violence and aggression – what it is, who it affects and how people can be educated and supported to manage situations where clients, the public, even co-workers, may become verbally or physically aggressive.  According to Work Safe Victoria, occupational violence and aggression is when a person is abused, threatened or assaulted in a s...

Send us Fan Mail Will was a husband, dad and corporate employee living in outer eastern Melbourne when his life started to unravel. On the outside, his life looked like the suburban dream, but things were not well… and he ended up going to jail. Will wrote a memoir Mr Ordinary Goes to Jail about his experience and, as you’ll hear him share, his whole outlook on life has changed. Mr Ordinary Goes t...

Send us Fan Mail LISTENER NOTE:  c onversations on this podcast contain discussions of mental health including trauma, post-traumatic stress and suicide. Listener discretion is advised. Nyibil Amum, is one of ermha365’s awesome mental health support workers. Nyibil recently completed a 1000 kilometre walk to Canberra and Sydney to raise awareness of mental health, youth suicide prevention and the...

Send us Fan Mail 2022 sees complex mental health and disability services provider ermha365 turn 40! ermha365 produces this podcast. We wanted to reflect on and recognise how ermha365 has grown over these four decades in Victoria and beyond, supporting people with complex mental health and disability. Our special guests are two of ermha’s long-standing employees who’ve witnessed – and experienced -...

Send us Fan Mail For this episode we are talking to Dr Fred Moss, a psychiatrist of more than 30 years who is based in California. He’s consulted, not only with patients, but with other medical professionals, prisons, nursing homes, drug and alcohol rehabilitation centres, shelters and more. He also has extensive experience as an expert witness for court cases. Dr Fred calls himself an “un-diagnos...

Send us Fan Mail LISTENER NOTE: The conversations on this podcast contain discussions of trauma, post traumatic stress, mental health and suicide. Listener discretion is advised. For this episode we talk to Dr Kieran Allen. Kieran is a senior psychiatric registrar in Melbourne and he’s a passionate and prominent advocate for the mental health of healthcare professionals.  Kieran’s passion in this...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode we meet Heather Pickard. Heather is the Chief Executive Officer of SHARC - Self Help Addiction Resource Centre , based in Melbourne, which supports people with addiction to alcohol, other drugs and gambling.  SHARC has been around for 25 years, founded on the belief that people are experts in their own recovery, and the lived experience of those affected by addicti...

Send us Fan Mail This is the nineteenth episode in our Lived Experience series, where we are speaking with some remarkable people who have experienced and overcome adversity, and who are sharing their stories in a way that might help other people in need of support. It's also our 50th episode! In this episode of GET REAL we meet Zoe Simmons , a journalist and writer who lives with bipolar, an...

Send us Fan Mail Listener note: This episode discusses suicide. If you are affected by anything discussed in this episode contact:   Lifeline on  13 11 14  Suicide Call Back Service on 1300 659 467 National Suicide Prevention Lifeline   (USA listeners)   Samaritans (UK listeners) The Canada Suicide Prevention Service (Canadian listeners) In this episode of GET REAL we meet Emma Benoit, from Louisi...

Send us Fan Mail This is the seventeenth episode in our Lived Experience series, where we speak with some remarkable people who have experienced and overcome adversity, and who are sharing their stories in a way that might help other people in need of support.  In this episode we meet Dr Bob Marmion PhD - a retired police officer, secondary school teacher, historian and author. Bob was a police of...

Send us Fan Mail Over summer, we’re revisiting some of our favourite GET REAL episodes of 2021.  We know from speaking with people for this podcast that seeking help for mental health and finding support is not easy. Whether it’s overcoming personal feelings or negative stereotypes about mental health or actually finding services when and where you need them – it can be a confusing and overwhelmin...

Send us Fan Mail Over summer, we’re revisiting some of our favourite GET REAL episodes. Peer support and lived experience is going to be an important way to reform mental health services in Australia, and in Victoria, these changes are already underway. People like Jessie Aiton, who you’ll hear in this episode, have invaluable experience to share, especially about seeking help for mental health an...