Mind Medicine Australia

In this episode, Deb talks with Dr Suzy Green, founder of The Positivity Institute, about the profound links between mental health, personal growth, and positive psychology. They discuss nature’s role in mental well-being, the evolving use of psychedelics in therapy, and insights from adult development theory on wisdom and resilience. Dr. Green shares her journey into Positive Psychology, the impo...

Dr. Mario Alam and Deb explore the profound intersections of personal growth, mental health, and societal transformation. They discuss the healing potential of psychedelics, their integration into cultural shifts, and navigating somatic trauma. From leveraging AI-powered mental health tools to creating safe spaces and fostering perseverance, this conversation delves into the transformative power o...

TW: Suicide Dr Ian Gawler OAM joins Deb to discuss the profound impact of meditation on life’s challenges. They explore personal connections, silent retreats, and Ian’s health journey, including his battle with cancer and encounters with grief. Ian shares insights on death, dying, and the transformative potential of meditation. The conversation delves into the intersection of psychedelics, meditat...

TW: Suicide Professor Ian Brighthope joins Deb to discuss his journey in founding the Australasian College of Nutritional and Environmental Medicine and his concerns about the medical and pharmaceutical industries. They explore the benefits of whole foods, essential vitamins, and minerals, the role of nutrition in mental health, and the therapeutic use of cannabis and psychedelics. Prof Brighthope...

TW: Suicide This episode is a deep dive into the intersection of family, connection, and community within the context of psychedelic therapy. Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, Sara Reed, shares her personal journey with psychedelics and the role they’ve played in her therapeutic practice. The conversation explores the importance of language and communication in understanding client experienc...

TW: Suicide In today's episode we dive into the fascinating world of altered states of consciousness with Dr Kim Hutchison, a neurologist and sleep doctor whose personal journey has led to a deep exploration of plant medicine and its potential to heal and transform. Kim's curiosity about mental frameworks, universal energy, and the boundaries of the self has brought her to uncover how plant medici...

TW: Suicide Robert Falconer overcame an incredibly difficult childhood as a troubled young man who battled suicidal thoughts and addictions. Despite these challenges, he not only survived but also flourished. While he has undoubtedly achieved tremendous success in material terms, what truly matters to him is his development into a compassionate individual. He has found purpose in the pain he has e...

TW: Suicide Reid Robison, MD MBA, is a Psychiatrist, Researcher & Chief Medical Officer at Novamind. He has led over 100 clinical trials in neuropsychiatry and co-directed the molecular genetics laboratory at the University of Utah Department of Psychiatry. Reid is co-founder at Cedar Psychiatry, and serves as Medical Director of Center for Change, a top Eating Disorder treatment program. He w...

TW: Suicide David Heilpern was appointed as a Magistrate in 1998, and was at the time the youngest magistrate in Australia. He ‘retired’ in May 2020. He sat in the criminal, mining, family, industrial, coronial and children’s jurisdictions of the Local Court, and was the Senior Civil Magistrate for five years. During his time on the bench, David was the principal educator ...

TW: Suicide Sabrina Santa Clara In this episode, Sabrina Santa Clara speaks on mindfulness, connection and cultural identity, drawing on her own history of trauma and pathways of healing. She has worn many hats in the past, with a background spanning roles such as yoga instructor, massage therapist, and somatic psychedelic therapist, among others. Her focus has since shifted toward training a...

TW: Suicide Cathy Burke For 20 years Cathy Burke was the CEO for The Hunger Project Australia, and then Global Vice President, working to end hunger across South Asia and Africa. She was an integral member of a visionary team who developed leadership at scale in villages all over the world. Through her work, millions of the world’s poorest people stepped into their leadership and we...

TW: Suicide Steve Ball Steve is a New Zealander who lived in Sydney before relocating to Amsterdam. He’s a Chief Technology Officer working in software development. As someone with Complex-PTSD since the age of nineteen, he pursued all conventional options for treatment within the health system but found that talk therapy was re-traumatising and antidepressants exacerbated his dissociative symptom...

TW: Suicide Annie Mason Annie is an educator with a wide range of experiences including classroom teaching K-12, Special Education and Student Wellbeing. She was a Principal for over 15 years, worked as an Educational Consultant and lectured at a leading Australian university. Annie has travelled extensively, working in Hong Kong, the UK and Middle East and has a special interest in Gender Equity,...

TW: Suicide Dr Ruth Gawler Dr Gawler is a General Practitioner with a specialised interest in Mind-Body Medicine and Psychology. She is the President of the  Meditation Association of Australia (MAA) , a Medical Practitioner and Meditation Teacher at The Gawler Foundation Managing Director of Insight Health Services She worked at the Central Australian Aboriginal Congress and was Medical...

TW: Suicide Dr Eli Kotler Dr Eli Kotler is a Consultant Psychiatrist and Psychodynamic Psychotherapist. He is the Medical Director of Malvern Private Hospital, an addiction and trauma hospital in Melbourne. Eli completed the inaugural Mind Medicine Australia Certificate in Psychedelic-Assisted Therapies (CPAT)™ course, and has since been on its Faculty. He's currently the Australian course Directo...

-- Your Host Dr Deb Roberts, PhD is the Mind Medicine Australia Podcast host for Season 2 and has been a MMA volunteer, guides the weekly staff meditation, on the MMA  Lived Experience Panel  and has a life-long relationship with mental (ill) health yet been able to navigate a fulfilling existence through various means. She is deeply passionate about conversations related to wellbeing. S...

TW: Suicide Glen Boyes Glen was deployed to Afghanistan in 2010/2011 to Helmand province as part of the counter IED task force. He took part in the biggest counter IED op in Afghan history safely clearing and returning a large village back to locals. This tour did not come easy as his team suffered 2 casualties in an IED blast 15 days into our tour. As soldiers, they stop that emotion and carry on...

TW: Suicide Dr Gita Vaid Gita Vaid MD is a board certified psychiatrist and psychoanalyst, and co-founder of the Center for Natural Intelligence, a multidisciplinary laboratory dedicated to psychedelic psychotherapy's innovation and clinical practice. A lead instructor at The Ketamine Training Center and member of the Mount Sinai Psychedelic Psychotherapy Research and Trauma Center, she is a...

TW: Suicide Stephen Proud is a psychiatrist in private practice in regional WA with 45 years’ experience in medicine and 25 years as a psychiatrist. He has worked as a GP in rural WA, Perth and rural Zululand South Africa. He has taught GPs and psychiatric registrars for many years in Perth. He has built and run two psychiatric hospitals, one in Perth and the other an innovative rural retreat wher...

TW: Suicide Megan Smoak is a Clinical Psychologist, Board endorsed clinical supervisor and lecturer in Clinical Psychology. Megan works with clients at any stage across the lifespan including young children and adolescents. Megan has experience working with a wide variety of clinical challenges including management of ADHD in children & adults, anxiety & phobias and working with transgende...

Until his recent retirement from politics, Andrew Robb was Australia’s Minister for Trade, Investment and Tourism. In this role Mr Robb negotiated Free Trade Agreements with South Korea, Japan and China, as well as the 12 country Transpacific Partnership (TPP) free trade agreement. Mr Robb is currently Executive Chairman of The Robb Group (A corporate and investment advisory company), a Board...

Dr Ted Cassidy is a psychiatrist and co-founder of Monarch Mental Health Group which provides innovative next step treatments for people suffering from Depression, PTSD and anxiety.    Monarch Mental Health is Australia's first outpatient clinic offering psychedelic-assisted therapy and Australia's largest provider of outpatient magnetic stimulation therapy (TMS), as well as a range...

Trigger Warning: Suicide & SA Annette Baulch & Graeme Sudholz have been relationship counsellors, sex therapists and retreat facilitators with a tantric flavour since 2006. Their inclusive approach is known for changing lives through changing relationships, as couples learn to open their hearts and come home to love. Dr Deb Roberts, PhD is the Mind Medicine Australia Podcast host for Seaso...

Kerry is a nurse of 44 years, mother of four and grandmother to nine, specialising in palliative care. She had suffered depression, addictions and suicidal ideation all her life. “Trauma by omission” Gabor Mate calls it. Every antidepressant, therapy, book, course and seminar failed and just left her feeling hopeless and wanting to die even though she was so blessed. At age 58 she had an oppo...

TW: Suicide Tony Mantz aka “Jack the Bear” has been in the music industry since 1981 working in all facets of it , including being a radio announcer on MMM FM Melbourne for the duration of the 90’s. He has had an interest in psychedelics since first hearing about them on The Joe Rogan Experience podcast back in 2009. In Jan 2020 he had the most transformative experience of his life through an inte...