On The Couch

Sit down with Maddy and Winnie as they chat with Dr Melissa Kang and Yumi Stynes all about how we can have conversations about sex, bodies and consent with confidence and care while centering the power of young people's voices.  As co-authors of the award-winning ‘Welcome-To’ book series, Melissa and Yumi draw on their work across media, medicine and education to share why accessible, inclusive re...

In this impactful conversation, Professor Jennifer Power sits down with Winnie to share the latest findings from the 8th iteration of the Australian Secondary Students and Sexual Health (SSASH) Study, Australia’s most comprehensive national snapshot of young people’s sexual health, relationships and wellbeing.  As the Lead Investigator of SSASH and Associate Professor at the Australian Research Ce...

Dr Giselle Woodley and Dr Sarah Vrankovich join Maddy and Winnie for a thoughtful and nuanced conversation exploring how young people learn about sex, relationships and consent in an increasingly digital world.  Dr Giselle and Dr Sarah are researchers working at the intersection of sexuality education, digital cultures and sexual violence prevention. As dedicated advocates at Bloom-Ed, they bring ...

Sit down with Mai Nugyen (she/her), as she opens up with Maddy to share her personal experience and the importance of understanding compassion and empathy when approaching conversations about transness and cultural identity.   As a Vietnamese trans woman working in the trans healthcare space, Mai draws on her deep understanding of the communities she serves and the belief that inclusive healthcare...

Listen as co-hosts Winnie and Maddy unpack the On The Couch podcast and vodcast series and reflect on season 4’s themes and guests.  This episode was recorded in November 2025       Read transcript here               Check out our webpage for more information      Follow us on Instagram and Facebook          References    On The Couch full episode list Young People’s Digital Cultures & Sexual...

With World AIDS Day around the corner, Maddy and Josef sit down to chat about what it really looks like to support a loved one diagnosed with HIV. You’ll hear powerful stories from family members, partners, and allies about connection, compassion, and reducing stigma and discrimination through everyday actions.  This episode reminds us that listening to people’s stories and educating ourselves is...

“Sexual well-being should be the baseline we are aiming for when we are talking about Comprehensive Relationships and Sexuality Education (RSE), and sexual violence prevention is supplementary to that.”   Join Maddy as she chats with author and researcher Katrina Marson to unpack the power of sex education. Katrina reflects on her work as a criminal lawyer specialising in sexual offenses and share...

Join Winnie as she chats with Kyla Lawson, to find out more about the invisible population Kyla works with as a Health Promotion Officer with Women Partners.   Women Partners is a NSW based service that offers individual counselling, support groups and Sexual Health information for all women whose male partner is having sex with men or has come out as gay or bisexual.   This passionate and inclusi...

What does it actually mean to create real cultural change?  In this eye-opening and honest conversation, Winnie sits down with journalist and podcast creator Soaliha Iqbal to explore the intersections of politics, feminism, media trends, and anti-capitalism in a colonial world.  Soaliha shares how her lived experience as a Muslim women in Australian has defined her voice within the Australian medi...

“It's super powerful to go into a space, a group of people who don't know anything about you, and you have that connection and that community.” Drag is more than just a performance of heightened gender expression; it’s a safe and affirming space for exploration.   This honest and nuanced conversation explores the intersection of drag and the LGBTQIA+ community. It’s not drag 101, it’s a deep and v...

Join us as we host Tom (he/him) and Adie (she/her) to discuss sex, relationships and consent and their work in answering young people’s sticky questions.    Tom and Adie talk about their experiences working at Sexual Assault Support Service (SASS) and the inspirations that drove the production of the  Sticky Q’s podcast  as an educational tool. Sticky Q’s is a podcast where they answer anonymous q...

Join Naomi as she chats with Jennifer Power, a Principal Fellow at the Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society at La Trobe University.   Jennifer explores her research focused on sexuality, sexual health and HIV with Naomi, discussing her work on the Secondary Students and Sexual Health Survey and other studies relating to LGBTQIA+ wellbeing, young people and sexual health, and digit...

Join Maddy as she sits down with Kath Albury to explore the digital cultures and sexual health of young people in Australia.  Kath, an Australian Research Council (ARC) Future Fellow and Associate Investigator in the Swinburne Node for ARC Centre of Excellence for Automated Decision-Making and Society (ADMS), shares her Fellowship research which explores the impacts of digital transformation, rang...

“Awareness doesn't come about by silence”. Naomi is joined by Naomi Hoffman, a clinical sexual health nurse and HIV positive speakers Tasha and Mel. Listen as they discuss testing and treatment options available in Australia and the importance of raising awareness of women and HIV.  Naomi shares her clinical experience working with and supporting women living with HIV in the Illawarra Shoalhaven S...

Join Naomi as she chats with Rachel Wotton and Mohammed Samrah about the importance of people with disability’s access to sexual and reproductive health services. Rachel, a sex worker and academic in the field and Mohammed, a man of lived experience have a dynamic and eye-opening conversation about sex as a human right.  Rachel shares parts of her PhD research and elaborates on the role the NDIS p...

In this special edition mini-episode, Maddy and Winnie sit down with Public Health Placement Student Jade Scott at the University of Wollongong recording studio. Listen as they reflect on Jade’s project that explored podcast production and how it can be better used as an innovative tool for sexual health education and promotion.   This episode was recorded in October 2024     Read  transcript here...

Join Winnie as she sits down with Tessa Opie and Kerrin Bradfield in a nuanced discussion on consent, sex education and porn literacy education for young people. Tessa and Kerrin are dedicated and passionate in empowering others to develop healthy attitudes toward relationships, consent and sex. Listen as they share their dynamic collaboration in creating the Respect Collective: Relationships and...

"Young people are experts in their own experiences." Maddy chats with Laura Crozier a victim survivor, passionate youth advocate, Affirmative Consent Project Officer, a podcast co-host and ice hockey enthusiast. Laura shares how our life experiences shape not only who we are, but how we can help others. In this episode we are reminded the importance of centering young people in our work and ensuri...

People are not the problem, the problem is the problem. Maddy sits with mental health social worker Danyelle Mei Kaplan and massage therapist Egan Magee. They spend time sharing their coordinates of belonging and explore autonomy and dignity over their own fields of existence. A powerful conversation collating thoughts on collective holding, mutual aid and healing centered approaches. Working with...

Have you ever wanted to know more about sexological bodywork? Together, Naomi and Stella Topaz from Abundant Body talk through the wheel of consent and the somatic therapy approach of sexological bodywork and how it varies from other types of therapy and sexology. Stella reveals the inside of a sexological bodywork session and walks us through how she works with compassion and gratitude.   This ep...

Spend some time and listen to an honest and open conversation about medical consent, consent culture, TransHealth, queer and disability healthcare with Axel Nathaniel Rose. Axel shares with Naomi his lived experience as a queer, transgender, and disabled man, reflecting on the life-long impacts of when medical consent is not given. An empowering episode challenging necessary system change and insp...

How can we include pleasure in the consent conversation? Listen as founder of Learning Consent Dr Joy Townsend goes beyond the traditional definition of consent and discusses effective role modelling and consent culture in todays society. Learning Consent delivers comprehensive relationships, sexuality and consent education programs for educational institutions and organisations. Joy shares with N...

Naomi is joined by Maggie Smith, a Clinical Nurse Consultant from the T150 clinic at the Albion Centre in Sydney. T150 is an innovative specialist HIV and Sexual Health Service providing holistic care for the transgender and gender diverse community in a dedicated clinical space. Maggie provides clinical insight into TransHealth and unpacks the importance of community advocacy in ensuring accessib...

Join Maddy as she sits down with Ruiqi Fan, a clinical nurse specialist working at the Sydney Sexual Health Clinic. Ruiqi talks about being an international student to now working with international students in a clinical setting, providing insight into the experience. Listen as we better understand why having multilingual nurses and interpreters is important in delivering sexual health services f...

How can we treat ourselves with kindness when unexpected emotions arise? Naomi sits down with psychologist Chris Cheers and reflects on the mental health impacts of lockdown on the queer and creative community. His book, The New Rulebook is a practical game changing guide to embracing uncertainty offering radical, evidence-based solutions to improve wellbeing. Providing individual psychology servi...