Get Real: Talking mental health & disability
139 episodes - English - Latest episode: 18 days ago -Get Real presents frank and fearless conversations about mental health and disability, including people with lived experience, frontline workers in the sector, as well as policymakers and advocates. Get Real is produced and hosted by Emily Webb and co-hosted by Karenza Louis-Smith on behalf of ermha365 Complex Mental Health and Disability Services provider (https://www.ermha.org/).
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Episodes
Episode 34: Next to Normal – the ground-breaking musical exploring mental illness
June 08, 2021 23:00 - 53 minutes - 36.4 MBA musical may not be the first thing that comes to mind as a way to convey the experiences of mental illness and how people cope in a crisis. However, in this episode of GET REAL we speak to two people who will be bringing to the stage a rock musical that’s been described as “an unflinching look at a suburban family struggling with the effects of mental illness”. The show centres around a mother who is traumatised by loss and the unpredictable effects sparked by her bipolar diagnosis. O...
Episode 33: Lived Experience, Part 8: Parenting my transgender child
May 26, 2021 00:00 - 51 minutes - 35.6 MBSend us a Text Message. For this episode of GET REAL, we are joined by Ray Blessing who shares his experience of parenting his transgender son Oisin. It’s an honest and touching conversation about the journey Ray and his family have travelled as they supported Oisin through his transition, and the additional aspects of mental health and addiction that have been part of this journey. Ray speaks compassionately and candidly about the struggles, the joys and the ongoing learnings the family h...
Episode 32: Lived Experience, Part 7: Lauren McGovern - transgender & mental health
May 11, 2021 22:00 - 47 minutes - 32.8 MBSend us a Text Message. In this honest, raw and illuminating episode of GET REAL, we are joined by Lauren McGovern, who shares her experience of being a transgender woman in Australia, her hopes for the future, and how allies can better support trans people with their mental health. Lauren grew up in Tasmania, where LGBT rights were a bitterly divisive issue for decades. Although things have changed since then, Tasmania imposed the harshest penalties in the Western world for homosexual act...
Episode 31: Reactions to the Mental Health Royal Commission
April 28, 2021 01:00 - 56 minutes - 38.5 MBSend us a Text Message. The findings of the Royal Commission into Victoria’s Mental Health System are something that will shape the future of mental health services, not just in Victoria but potentially across Australia. Every year around one in five Victorians experience mental health issues, and about 3 per cent of the population — roughly 200,000 people — have a "severe" mental illness such as schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. The final report from the royal commission has found that...
Episode 30: Creativity, disability and mental health - what’s the connection?
April 15, 2021 03:00 - 50 minutes - 34.9 MBSend us a Text Message. In this episode you will hear our special guest Sue Roff, Executive Director at Arts Project Australia and ermha365’s Georgia Symmons explore how the arts and creativity have the power to unleash potential, support recovery and inspire and challenge what is possible for people who are living with mental health conditions and disability. Arts Project Australia is a creative social enterprise that supports artists with intellectual disabilities through their studio an...
Episode 29: Why are there so many people with disabilities in prison?
March 31, 2021 00:00 - 53 minutes - 37 MBSend us a Text Message. People with a disability are chronically over-represented in the criminal justice system in Australia, making up 29% of the prison population, despite being only 18% the general population. This is a situation that has to change, something that the Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability is hearing very clearly. Today Karenza Louis-Smith from ermha365 talks to Patrick McGee, national manager for policy, advocacy and...
Episode 28: Lived Experience series (Part 6) - Susan Berg, The Girl Who Lived
March 16, 2021 23:00 - 54 minutes - 37.3 MBSend us a Text Message. In this powerful and moving episode of GET REAL, the first in our Lived Experience series for this year, we are joined by special guest Susan Berg. At 15, Susan Berg was the sole survivor of a boating accident that claimed the lives of her Mum, Dad and 16-year old brother, Bill. Suffering from survivor guilt, she delved into a miserable life of self-loathing, anxiety and despair. It took Susan decades to learn the tools to heal her heart and find peace and happines...
Episode 27: The outlook for people with a disability in 2021
March 03, 2021 00:00 - 47 minutes - 32.5 MB2020 was a tough year all round. And for people with a disability, and those that support them, it was a year of constant stress and anxiety, scrambling to provide disability support safely, while PPE and specific guidance for the disability sector were often in short supply. Will 2021 be any better for people with a disability, and if so, how? Today, GET REAL listeners have the rare opportunity to be a fly on the wall of our ‘virtual boardroom’, as four CEOs of disability support and ad...
Episode 27: The outlook for people with a disability in 2021
March 03, 2021 00:00 - 47 minutes - 32.5 MBSend us a Text Message. 2020 was a tough year all round. And for people with a disability, and those that support them, it was a year of constant stress and anxiety, scrambling to provide disability support safely, while PPE and specific guidance for the disability sector were often in short supply. Will 2021 be any better for people with a disability, and if so, how? Today, GET REAL listeners have the rare opportunity to be a fly on the wall of our ‘virtual boardroom’, as four CEOs of ...
Episode 26: Homelessness - where we are, and what’s ahead
February 16, 2021 23:00 - 50 minutes - 34.5 MBSend us a Text Message. In our first GET REAL episode of 2021, we are delighted to talk to some very important people at ermha365, who do vital, often unseen work with people experiencing homelessness. At ermha365, we support people with complex needs related to mental health and disability. This sometimes means that the people we support struggle to maintain accommodation, or are homeless, or sleep rough outdoors. In this episode, GET REAL talks to Tim and Rosie, who work in our Communi...
Summer Series, Episode 5 – Peer Workers, lived experience and mental health recovery
February 03, 2021 06:00 - 39 minutes - 27.5 MBOver summer, we’re revisiting some of our favourite GET REAL episodes of 2020. It’s February 2021, and not long now until we will see the final report from the Royal Commission into Mental Health in Victoria. The interim report, published in November last year, reflects the Commission’s desire to incorporate lived experience in all aspects of the mental health system, including the delivery of mental health services. In practice, this is likely to mean many more opportunities for peer su...
GET REAL Summer Series, Episode 5 – Peer Workers, lived experience and mental health recovery
February 03, 2021 06:00 - 39 minutes - 27.5 MBSend us a Text Message. Over summer, we’re revisiting some of our favourite GET REAL episodes of 2020. It’s February 2021, and not long now until we will see the final report from the Royal Commission into Mental Health in Victoria. The interim report, published in November last year, reflects the Commission’s desire to incorporate lived experience in all aspects of the mental health system, including the delivery of mental health services. In practice, this is likely to mean many more ...
GET REAL Summer Series, Episode 4 – Housing for people with high complex needs
January 27, 2021 01:00 - 49 minutes - 34 MBSend us a Text Message. Over summer, we’re revisiting some of our favourite GET REAL episodes of 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic has made housing a hot-button issue for government. Since we recorded this episode, the Victorian government alone announced it is pumping $5.3 billion into building more than 12,000 social and affordable housing properties to boost Victoria’s housing supply. Our guests on this episode are movers and shakers in the housing advocacy space, who have been working to ...
GET REAL Summer Series, Episode 3 – Mental health, disability, and the criminal justice system
January 20, 2021 04:00 - 45 minutes - 31.2 MBSend us a Text Message. Over summer, we’re revisiting some of our favourite GET REAL episodes of 2020. People living with disabilities and mental health conditions are over-represented in the justice system, something we at ermha365 see in our work every day. In this, one of our most popular episodes, we ask why this happens, and talk about how we amplified these issues by taking them to the Royal Commission on Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Discrimination against People with Disabilities...
GET REAL Summer Series, Episode 2 - Celebrating PARCs
January 13, 2021 00:00 - 1 hour - 48.6 MBOver summer, we’re revisiting some of our favourite GET REAL episodes of 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic has intensified public interest in how we deliver mental health services and support. PARCs are a short-term, residential mental health treatment services located in the community that provide an essential recovery-oriented service. ermha365 has been managing PARCs for almost 15 years and during 2020, we ran two GET REAL episodes celebrating PARCS – there is a lot to celebrate — but this ...
GET REAL Summer Series, Episode 2 - Celebrating PARCs
January 13, 2021 00:00 - 1 hour - 48.6 MBSend us a Text Message. Over summer, we’re revisiting some of our favourite GET REAL episodes of 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic has intensified public interest in how we deliver mental health services and support. PARCs are a short-term, residential mental health treatment services located in the community that provide an essential recovery-oriented service. ermha365 has been managing PARCs for almost 15 years and during 2020, we ran two GET REAL episodes celebrating PARCS – there is a lot...
GET REAL Summer Series, Episode 1 – Caring for Carers
January 06, 2021 02:00 - 48 minutes - 33.3 MBSend us a Text Message. Over summer, we’re revisiting some of our favourite GET REAL episodes of 2020. Caring for Carers was our first episode, recorded in early 2020, and is still one of our favourites. In this episode, we talk to Lynn and SJ, both carers with lived experience, about what it’s really like to support someone with a complex mental health issue or a disability, and how we can better care for carers – especially during challenging times. We hope you enjoy it. For more GET RE...
Episode 20: From illness, to wellness, to recovery: Suicide Prevention
December 22, 2020 22:00 - 52 minutes - 36 MBSend us a Text Message. Ingrid Ozols battled mental illness and suicidal ideation. She has loved ones who have succeeded, and others who actively contemplate suicide. Ingrid not only continues on her wellness and recovery journey, but thrives as a national and global speaker on suicide prevention. Ingrid’s strength comes from willingness to share her vulnerability. ermha365 provides mental health and disability support for people in Victoria and the Northern Territory. Find out more ab...
Episode 19: Invisible Disabilities
December 07, 2020 22:00 - 42 minutes - 29.3 MBSend us a Text Message. Not all disabilities are visible – in fact most aren’t! People with invisible disabilities face all the same barriers as people with obvious disabilities, but compounded by the lack of obvious impairment. Attitudinal barriers, in particular, are rife – with well-meaning members of the public interrogating people who don’t seem to have a disability (for example, are not in a wheelchair) about using a disabled parking space or toilet. Confronted like this, people w...
Episode 18: Lived Experience series (Part 5), Yvonne Sillett: The Power of Sharing Your Story in Mental Health Recovery from LGBTIQ+ discrimination
November 24, 2020 21:00 - 39 minutes - 26.9 MBDiscrimination, in all its forms, is unacceptable. People who discriminate, and the structures and systems that allow this to happen, must be called out. Discrimination causes people to lose their self-confidence, make them feel like outsiders – not part of the team; the anger that arises from being ‘othered’ can lead to depression and even suicidal thoughts. In this fifth episode of our Lived Experience series, special guest Yvonne Sillett talks about the overt, systemic and intense di...
Episode 18: Lived Experience series (Part 5), Yvonne Sillett: The Power of Sharing Your Story in Mental Health Recovery from LGBTIQ+ discrimination
November 24, 2020 21:00 - 39 minutes - 26.9 MBSend us a Text Message. Discrimination, in all its forms, is unacceptable. People who discriminate, and the structures and systems that allow this to happen, must be called out. Discrimination causes people to lose their self-confidence, make them feel like outsiders – not part of the team; the anger that arises from being ‘othered’ can lead to depression and even suicidal thoughts. In this fifth episode of our Lived Experience series, special guest Yvonne Sillett talks about the overt...
Episode 17: Lived Experience series (Part 4), Peer Workers and Mental Health Recovery
November 10, 2020 21:00 - 39 minutes - 26.9 MBSend us a Text Message. Peer workers with lived experience provide an important complement to the psychosocial support teams delivering mental health services. They improve the recovery orientation of mental health services, by offering genuine and authentic engagement with the people who use these services. This results in a reduction in hospital admissions and reduced load on other practitioners. For many people, peer workers with lived experience offer an improved experience of mental...
Episode 16: Lived Experience series (Part 3), Graeme Alford: Never Give Up
October 27, 2020 23:00 - 45 minutes - 31.3 MBSend us a Text Message. In the third conversation in our Lived Experience series, Karenza Louis-Smith talks to Graeme Alford: a lawyer, ex-prisoner, and author of the bestselling book Never Give Up – the power of mental toughness. Growing up in Melbourne, Graeme had the world at his feet. He went to private school, won a Commonwealth Scholarship, excelled at Melbourne University and breezed his way into a city law firm. But Graeme was a heavy punter and drinker, and it wasn’t long before ...
Episode 15: Lived Experience series (Part 2), Steve Cain – Nothing Is Impossible
October 13, 2020 23:00 - 41 minutes - 28.2 MBSend us a Text Message. Imagine for a minute that you’re a young boy in the late ‘60s growing up in country Victoria. Yours is a typical childhood in many ways, but you are a little too fond of getting into trouble. On your twelfth birthday, you are made a Ward of the State and find yourself in Turana Youth Training Centre, starting your apprenticeship for a career of crime, drug addiction, mental illness and homelessness. What happens next? What kind of life will you have? And how do...
Episode 14: Lived Experience series (Part 1), Hard Cuddles – mental health support for men
September 30, 2020 02:00 - 53 minutes - 36.4 MBSend us a Text Message. Over the next few weeks GET REAL speaks with remarkable men and women who have overcome incredible adversity, and are giving back to those in need of support through their recovery journey. This week, it’s James Harding and Steven Kline from Hard Cuddles, a peer support program which looks holistically at what it means to be a man in today’s society. Through a combination of mentoring and outdoor therapy, James, Steven and their team help men to reconnect with them...
Episode 13: The Royal Commission on the Mental Health System in Victoria – where are we at and where are we heading?
September 15, 2020 04:00 - 43 minutes - 30.1 MBSend us a Text Message. In February 2019, the Victorian Government established a Royal Commission on the Mental Health System in Victoria, the first of its kind in Australia. This is a “once in a generation opportunity” to accelerate improvements in mental health services, service navigation and models of care. Nearly 18 months later, the Royal Commission has made interim recommendations and is due to hand down its final report in February 2021. What are these recommendations? What will ...
Episode 12: Housing for people with high & complex needs
September 03, 2020 23:00 - 48 minutes - 33.2 MBSend us a Text Message. Having a roof over your head is pretty fundamental to meet basic needs in life. It’s also a fundamental human right. All of us need a stable, long term home so we can thrive, and be the best that we can be. Unfortunately, inadequate and unsuitable housing is a really big barrier to thriving, for people with high and complex needs associated with mental health and disability. It gets in the way of effectively managing issues associated with that disability or menta...
Episode 11: Why is a model of practice so important when supporting people with high & complex needs?
August 26, 2020 20:00 - 41 minutes - 28.5 MBSend us a Text Message. This week on GET REAL, we look at what makes support successful when working with people with high and complex needs associated with mental health and disability. At ermha365, where we specialise in delivering this kind of support, we have seen that having a shared approach and a common language – used consistently across our organisation – is the key to supporting people safely and well. This model of practice is known to us as “the ermha way”. The ermha way mode...
Episode 10: Celebrating PARCs (Part 2)
August 05, 2020 01:00 - 42 minutes - 29 MBSend us a Text Message. In Part 2 of Celebrating PARCs, we take a deep-dive into the experiences of the people who work and stay at PARCs. If you missed Part 1, PARCs are mental health Prevention and Recovery Care Centres. You’ll hear from Sean Kearns, Day Program Co-ordinator at Barwon Health Mental Health, who has been working at Barwon PARC for 17 years; Sharon, who recently experienced a stay at Barwon PARC; and many of the fabulous ermha365 staff who make PARCs happen, including Sally...
Episode 9: Careers in Mental Health & Disability
July 15, 2020 02:00 - 37 minutes - 25.8 MBSend us a Text Message. Have you ever considered a career in mental health and disability? If not, here are some great reasons why you should. The sector is vibrant and growing, with the NDIS promising comprehensive choice and control for people with disabilities, and the mental health sector experiencing widespread community attention and renewed Government investment. All this offers many exciting career choices for people who want to make a difference and who care about supporting vuln...
Episode 8: Celebrating PARCs (Part 1)
July 01, 2020 02:00 - 49 minutes - 33.7 MBSend us a Text Message. At ermha365, we reckon PARCs are pretty special places. But if you haven’t heard of them before, what is a PARC? PARC stands for “Prevention And Recovery Care” services. PARCs are short-term, residential mental health treatment services located in the community. ermha365 has been managing PARCs for almost 15 years. As a psychosocial support services provider, we work hand-in-hand with our clinical mental health partners to make sure our PARCS address local need...
Episode 7: Mental health, disability, and the criminal justice system
June 17, 2020 02:00 - 44 minutes - 30.5 MBSend us a Text Message. People with complex mental health conditions, along with a range of physical, sensory, and cognitive disabilities, face additional challenges and hardships within the criminal justice system; a system that is difficult for any of us to negotiate. So, when the Royal Commission on Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Discrimination against People with Disabilities released a Paper on Criminal Justice issues, the team at ermha365 – which has long been a lifeline for people wh...
Episode 6: Human Rights and Disability
June 03, 2020 02:00 - 43 minutes - 29.8 MBSend us a Text Message. This week, GET REAL looks at the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities – and how it impacts on the disability sector and our work today. Together, the United Nations Convention, plus Australian and State legislation and policies, create a robust regulatory framework to protect the human rights of people with disabilities. In addition, organisations that advocate for and provide services to people with disabilities are instrumental in h...
Episode 5: Getting help for your mental health during COVID-19
May 20, 2020 03:00 - 45 minutes - 31.6 MBSend us a Text Message. This week, GET REAL asks a very practical question: Where do you go to get help for your mental health – particularly if it is something you’ve struggled with even before COVID-19, or you have an underlying mental health condition, or the advice that’s available online, and to everyone, just doesn’t seem to make a difference for you? On this episode, guests include: Karenza Louis-Smith, CEO of ermha365 and Board Member of Mental Health Victoria; Lynne and Cass...
Episode 4: Telehealth - delivering mental health support in a time of social distancing
May 06, 2020 00:00 - 50 minutes - 34.5 MBSend us a Text Message. Now more than ever, people need support with their mental health, and services like ermha365 are finding new and innovative ways to continue to provide mental health support, while maintaining social distancing to help flatten the curve. This week, GET REAL explores the way that ermha365’s mental health team has pivoted to telehealth services to continue to provide care and support to our clients, with the enthusiastic support of our staff and funders who have bee...
Episode 3: VROOM VROOM - Virtual Reality training for the psychosocial disability workforce
April 21, 2020 05:00 - 38 minutes - 26.3 MBSend us a Text Message. How do we equip our workforce to support people who are living with psychosocial disabilities? This is a particular challenge for some NDIS services like ermha365, who work with people who have been diagnosed with a significant mental disorder, have complex needs and challenging behaviours, and may also have extended histories of self-harm and violence. This week, GET REAL explores an innovative virtual reality training project designed to offer immersive experie...
Episode 2: The disability sector response to COVID-19
April 07, 2020 01:00 - 30 minutes - 20.7 MBSend us a Text Message. People with disabilities are highly vulnerable in the COVID-19 pandemic. Is our government doing enough to help them? What more do people with disabilities - and the organisations that support them - need to get them through this crisis safely? GET REAL talks to the CEOs of three disability support organisations that have banded together with more than 30 others to lobby the government for the help that the sector desperately needs. Together, this non-affiliated co...
Episode 1 – Who cares? Caring for carers
March 18, 2020 00:00 - 47 minutes - 32.6 MBSend us a Text Message. People who care for a friend of family member are the unsung heroes of our community. Carers provide a service that would otherwise fall on the health system, providing a $15bn contribution to the Victorian economy alone. Yet they often face enormous challenges. In this episode, we talk to three people with lived experience about what it’s really like to support someone with a complex mental health issue or a disability, and how we can better care for carers. Resou...
Episode 1 – Who cares? Caring for carers
March 18, 2020 00:00 - 47 minutes - 32.6 MBPeople who care for a friend of family member are the unsung heroes of our community. Carers provide a service that would otherwise fall on the health system, providing a $15bn contribution to the Victorian economy alone. Yet they often face enormous challenges. In this episode, we talk to three people with lived experience about what it’s really like to support someone with a complex mental health issue or a disability, and how we can better care for carers. Resources and further informat...