Better Together Podcast
- 68th session of the Commission on the Status of Women 5 April 2024Natalie MacDonald CEO at CFA and Michael Morgan Deputy Commissioner at FRV speak about their recent visit to New York to attend the 68th annual Commission on the Status of Women, the UN’s largest annual gathering on gender equality and women’s empowerment.
- The Effects and Causes of Trauma on Women First Responders with Helen Frazer 7 March 2024In this latest episode of the ESF Better Together Podcast ESF CEO Siusan MacKenzie sat down with PhD candidate Helen Frazer, to discuss her work around the effects and causes of trauma on women first responders.
- Vicarious Trauma with the WPI Students 19 December 2023Alongside guest hosts Hunter, Gavin, Ella and Fredy from WPI, we speak with experts and people on the ground about vicarious trauma. This episode features Sue Driver, a Team Leader from ESTA, Lauren Kew, a Team Leader at DEECA, Erin Smith, CEO of the Dart Center and former Ambulance dispatcher, Marianne Messer, an Emergency Chaplain […]
- Deployment to Canada 22 August 2023We speak with Peter Brick from Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action (DEECA) Nicole Conway from Country Fire Authority (CFA) about the recent deployment of Australian firefighters' to support Canadian emergency services.
- Reflections on Wellbeing 9 August 2023We speak with Victoria's Emergency Management Commissioner, Andrew Crisp, as he reflects on his and others' well-being while he prepares for retirement.
- Tony's Trek 14 June 2023We speak with Tony Pearce - ESF Chair and Inspector-General for Emergency Management, Shane Peach - Omeo SES, Paul King - CFA, Erika Lind - CFA and Forest Fire Management (DEECA) about Tony's 1500km trek to raise funds and awareness of ESF and the work we do for the sector.
- Well Beyond: Transition to Retirement 12 April 2023We speak to the program manager, facilitator and participants' of ESF's Well Beyond program, a pioneering and best practice program designed to address a gap in support for emergency service workers as they transition from their agencies to retirement.
- Physical Activity and Mental Health 20 March 2023We speak with Megan Teychenne; Deakin University, Grace McKeon; University of NSW and Rick Nugent, Deputy Commissioner for Victoria Police, about the link between physical activity and mental health.
- Supporting First Responders 15 February 2023We speak with Canadian Firefighter about mental health initiatives supporting first responders, including two not-for-profits he founded: Keep Calm Paddle On, and Project All In.
- Leadership and Mental Health 11 January 2023We speak with the recently retired CEO of Ambulance Victoria, Tony Walker, on his career and the importance of advocating positive mental health and wellbeing from senior leadership.
- What PTSD Feels Like 30 November 2022We speak with police officers' Warren Ladgrove and Mark Thomas about the impact PTSD has had on them and their families.
- Incident Controllers 25 October 2022We speak with Peter Brick and Stewart Kreltszheim about the mental health challenges that come with the job of Incident Controller
- Burnout 24 August 2022We speak with; Associate Professor Larissa Bamberry from Charles Sturt University, Dr Paula Robinson, founder and CEO of Applied Positive Psychology Learning Institute (APPLI) and Chris Hardman, Chief Officer at the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP) about burnout.
- Mindfulness for emergency workers – how does that work? 24 July 2022We speak with; Dr Joe Tighe, a senior psychologist facilitating online group training for first responders, Dennis Smith, commander at Fire Rescue Victoria and ESF alumni who researched sector-specific mindfulness, along with Kate Duncan, a paramedic and firefighter who taught mindfulness to paramedic students at Flinders University in Adelaide.
- Mental Health of Young Emergency Service Volunteers 8 June 2022Siusan MacKenzie and Rachel Treeby from VICSES speak with speaking with Amanda Taylor from the University of Adelaide, who has done some interesting work on the mental health of young emergency service volunteers.
- Lived Experience Storytelling 24 May 2022We speak with Dr David Younger about how lived experience storytelling can be applied to help people recover from mental injury.
- First Responder Resiliency Program 7 May 2022ESF CEO Siusan MacKenzie and Shannon Hood, a clinical counsellor specialising in working with emergency service people speak with Captain Farina about his involvement in developing a world leading 'First Responder Resiliency Program'.
- Lifeline 17 March 2022We speak with Michelle Possingham and Lisa Renato from Lifeline about the services offered to support Victorians in distress.
- Tony's Trek 22 February 2022Emergency service work can take a terrible toll on people – paid and volunteer – who are always ready to protect our community. Tony’s Trek – one step at a time, a solo walk of 1440km aims to raise awareness and funds so ESF can initiate two new programs to help support them.
- Impact of Emergency Service Work on Families 20 January 2022ESF recently undertook a study to gain a deeper understanding of how emergency service work impacts family life and how we could better support family members. In this podcast we speak with one of the study leads Owen Pfannenstiehl and the Dean family.
ESF Better Together Podcast Suggestion
Do you have an interesting topic to share relating to the mental health and wellbeing of the emergency service/ management sector?
