Emerging Minds Podcast

Dr Tommie Forslund is a Swedish developmental psychologist and researcher with an interest in infant and child mental health and parenting. In this episode, he explores our current understandings of attachment and child development and how supporting a child's network of relationships can improve their lifelong wellbeing outcomes.

In this episode, host Nicole Rollbusch is joined by Alicia Phillips, a family therapist in the alcohol and other drugs (AOD) sector, to talk about child-focused conversations with parents who use substances. Alicia shares how practitioners can build trust, avoid shame and keep children's wellbeing in mind.

In this episode, we speak with occupational therapist Sarah Seekamp about the importance of play for children's mental health and their social, emotional and physical development. Sarah shares practice insights into how to partner with children and parents to support play.

This podcast is a little bit different. In this episode, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leaders and practitioners share their reflections on what supports strong social and emotional wellbeing for children and families. Through stories, insights and practice wisdom, they explore the healing and protective factors that strengthen connection, resilience and wellbeing within Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families and communities.

In this episode, we're joined by Becca Allchin, an occupational therapist and clinical researcher. Becca shares her experience in engaging with children and families to gather their perspectives on programs. She outlines the important role of relationships and creating safety when incorporating children's voices into processes and practice.

How can practitioners support the communication needs of children who have experienced complex trauma? In this episode, speech pathologist Kate Headley shares a range of neurodivergent-affirming strategies and examples from her work supporting children in out-of-home care.

Paediatricians are trusted entry points for families seeking mental health support – but they require the right skills, structures and supports to do this work. In this episode, Dr Victoria Carter and Dr Anagha Jayakar explore how to champion infant mental health through targeted workforce development for junior paediatricians.

Early relationships underpin infant mental health and lifelong wellbeing – but not all practitioners in the Australian mental health workforce feel confident in supporting infant mental health. In this episode, we're joined by Vicky Gilroy, Director of Innovation and Research at the Institute of Health Visiting (iHV). She speaks about how iHV's Perinatal and Infant Mental Health Champions Programme has helped support workforce development and system transformation to support children's mental health.

In this episode, we're joined by Amber Brock-Fabel and Dr Ben Lohmeyer, the authors of a recent study about young people's experiences of loneliness and its connection to bullying. They discuss the implications of the study's results for young people's wellbeing, the importance of creating safe spaces for young people and what practitioners and families can do to best support them.

This two-part series focuses on a recent Australian study about loneliness and its relationship with young people's experiences of bullying and undesirable social connections. In the first episode, we're joined by youth advocate Amber Brock-Fabel and academic Dr Ben Lohmeyer, who co-designed the study with young people. They share findings from the study that redefine loneliness as being created by social dynamics within school environments, rather than stemming from isolation. Amber and Ben also discuss the process of co-designing the study; the increased incidence of loneliness for young people in Australia; and the connections between bullying, social systems and experiences of loneliness.

When adults are supported to pause, tune in and respond to an infant's cues, they can build the strong relationships that underpin lifelong mental health and wellbeing. In this episode, Professor Andrew Whitehouse explores ways to foster connection and understanding between infants with developmental differences and their caregivers.

In this episode from the Emerging Minds Families podcast, Dr Billy Garvey (author, podcaster and developmental paediatrician) explores emotion regulation, how children build resilience and the role parents play in creating safe and supportive environments for children.

In this episode, Emerging Minds' Phil Robinson (Founder and Chair) and Brad Morgan (Director) reflect on how our understanding of and approach to children's mental health has changed over the past 30 years. They explore how these insights can guide us towards even greater outcomes in the years to come.

In recognition of Perinatal Mental Health Week, Amy Mathews joins us to share wisdom gained from her lived experience of perinatal mental health struggles and her subsequent work as a peer support worker. Amy discusses how social pressure and expectations impact the transition to parenting. She also talks about what practitioners can do to support parents and perinatal mental health during this time of rapid change.

In the first episode of this two-part series, Grant Sarra, a Goreng Goreng man from Queensland, joins us to share an Aboriginal perspective on what organisational allyship looks like for individuals, teams and broader organisations.

In this episode, practitioners, researchers, parents and young people explore strategies and shifts to better support infant, child and adolescent mental health in Australia. They discuss the need for better collaboration between professionals and more integrated services; for improving mental health literacy among community members; and for shifting away from using diagnostic thresholds to determine who can access mental health support.

In this episode from our Emerging Minds Families podcast, Kirsty (Schools Coordinator, Shine SA) discusses ways to equip children with the knowledge and skills to make informed and empowered decisions about their bodies and relationships. Kirsty shares how parents can start these conversations with their children, how adults can effectively model consent, and how these conversations support children's wellbeing.

In this podcast episode, Professor Daryl Higgins shares his research insights on child-safe organisational strategies and public health approaches to protecting children. Daryl was involved in the 2023 Australian Child Maltreatment Study (ACMS), which showed how disturbingly common it is for children in Australia to experience abuse and neglect. Daryl shares the findings from this study and its implications for prevention and early intervention policies and practices with children and young people.

In the second episode of this two-part series, Dr Carmela Bastian talks with child protection specialists Dr Amy Bromley, Arabella Stravolemos and Chloe Henderson about their approaches to child-centred practice. The conversation explores descriptions of practice that genuinely prioritise children's safety, emotional needs, wellbeing, voice and rights.

In the first episode of this two-part series, Dr Carmela Bastian talks with child protection specialists Dr Amy Bromley, Arabella Stravolemos and Chloe Henderson about their approaches to child-centred practice. The conversation explores descriptions of practice that genuinely prioritise children's safety, emotional needs, wellbeing, voice and rights.

In this episode, Dana Shen speaks with Jem Stone, a practitioner with Wayapa Wuurrk, the first internationally accredited Indigenous wellness program. Wayapa Wuurrk combines earth mindfulness, narrative meditation, physical movement storytelling and earth reciprocity to create a holistic wellbeing program for children in education settings. Jem takes listeners on a unique journey of collective wellbeing, encouraging practitioners to connect themselves to nature.

In this episode, therapist Sophie McEvoy discusses her work with children who have experienced sexual abuse. Sophie describes her practice in helping children to use their own words, communication preferences and meaning-making to describe the trauma events in their lives in ways that are supportive and hopeful. She also shares her experiences in working with non-offending parents to support their children's recovery.

Parental incarceration can have a significant impact on children's mental health and wellbeing. In this episode, senior mental health counsellor Linh Nguyen shares how she supports incarcerated fathers to overcome barriers and build strong, lasting relationships with their children.

In the second episode of this two-part series, neonatologist Dr Natalie Duffy explores the key themes expressed by infants and parents with lived experience of being hospitalised in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). This episode considers how this window into the infants' world can guide practitioners to engage in ways that are lifesaving and nurturing of both physical and mental health development.

In the first episode of this two-part podcast, neonatologist Dr Natalie Duffy provides insight into the impacts of hospitalisation in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) on infants and parents. Natalie shares how she observed, listened to and was guided by the voices of infants in her research into the lived experience of those in NICU.

In this episode, we speak with family counsellor Carolyn Markey about her work gathering and documenting children's knowledge, and how this knowledge can then be shared with others, particularly fathers.

In this episode, we are joined by Zaccariah Cox, the Manager for Social and Emotional Wellbeing and Mental Health at Kimberley Aboriginal Medical Services (KAMS), and Erica Spry, Senior Aboriginal Research Officer at KAMS and a research fellow at the University of Western Australia. Erica and Zac share what they heard when speaking with expecting and new fathers in rural and remote Western Australia, who often feel overlooked in their journey of fatherhood.

In this episode, we're joined by Professor Damien Riggs, a professor in psychology at Flinders University and a psychotherapist who specialises in working with transgender young people. In this conversation, Damien talks about gender-affirming practice. He shares how practitioners in general health and social services can use their skills to work with children and young people in gender-affirming ways that support their mental health and wellbeing. He also explores how practitioners can seek learning opportunities to increase their knowledge and confidence in working with gender diverse children and young people.

In this episode, we're joined by Arianne, a parent of six children between the ages of 8 and 22. Arianne is a strong advocate for her transgender child and the wider transgender community. In this conversation, Arianne shares her family's experience of supporting their daughter through coming out and transitioning, navigating services, and what practitioners can do to provide gender-affirming support in their practice.

In this podcast episode, we hear from Dr Lyn O'Grady, a community psychologist, and David Newman, a narrative therapist and social worker, as they share their insights on recognising and responding to self-harming behaviour with children.

In this episode, narrative therapist and social worker David Newman shares his approach to working with children and young people who are experiencing suicidal ideation. Through the lens of narrative therapy, David discusses how he negotiates conversations about distress, despair and suicide.

In the second part of this two-episode series, we continue our conversation with Lyndsay Healy, Dr Rickie Elliot and Dr Louise Wightman about collaboration with families and clear communication between professions to promote children's mental health in the early years.

In the first part of this two-episode series, Lyndsay Healy, Dr Rickie Elliot and Dr Louise Wightman join us to explore how collaboration with families and clear communication between professions promotes children's mental health in the early years.

In this episode, practitioners and parents of autistic and ADHDer children explore ways to build children's self-regulation and advocacy skills, foster acceptance of their neurodivergent identity, and uncover the ‘why' behind their behaviour.

In this episode, practitioners and parents of autistic and ADHDer children explore the concept of ‘neurodivergent-affirming practice': what it means to them, how it shows up in their work, and how it supports both children's and parents' mental health and wellbeing.

All children deserve to have safe environments where they can thrive. But when a child's trust is broken and their environment no longer feels safe, this it can have significant ramifications for the child's life and development. In this podcast episode we talk with Dan Moss, who has a long history of working in support services with children who have experienced trauma. Dan helps us understand what relational trauma is and how it can affect the mental health and wellbeing of the children in our lives.

In this episode, Miranda Bain describes her involvement in developing the Victorian Charter of Rights for parents with intellectual disability. Miranda is a special advisor to the Office of the CEO for Courts Victoria and the Chair of the Disability Advisory Committee. She discusses her journey in working with child protection, non-government organisations and parents with intellectual disability to develop the charter of rights, which is now implemented within courts in Victoria.

In this episode, Alisa Hall describes her work as Director, Practice Development and Engagement at the National Centre for Action on Child Sexual Abuse. The National Centre was established in recognition of data showing that one in three girls and one in five boys experience some form of sexual abuse before the age of 18. Alisa's work focuses on prevention and education campaigns to protect Australia's children while helping children, young people and adults to recover from the effects of sexual abuse.

In this episode, we're joined by Melanie Renwick. As a child, Melanie lived in several residential and foster care placements. She shares her experience of living in care and discusses some of the things that practitioners can do to support the mental health of children in out-of-home care.

In the second part of this two episode-episode series, we speak with Ben Shannahan about working therapeutically with children, young people and families impacted by the suicide of a loved one.

In the first part of this two-episode series, we speak with Ben Shannahan about working therapeutically with children, young people and families impacted by the suicide of a loved one.

In this second of two episodes, we continue our conversation with Joanne Donne, a practice manager with Relationships Australia South Australia, about the single session consultation service they offer to children and their families.

In this first of two episodes, we speak with Joanne Donne, a practice manager with Relationships Australia South Australia, about the single session consultation service they offer to children and their families.

In this episode, host of the Emerging Minds Families podcast Alicia Ranford talks with Dr Zali Yager, an internationally recognised expert on body image, with a background in health and physical education. Dr Yager co-founded the Embrace Collective with 2023 Australian of the Year, Taryn Bromfield. Dr Yager shares how families, educators and practitioners can help create safer body image environments for children and young people.

In this episode, psychologist and author Alan Jenkins describes his practice theory for working with fathers who use violence, coercion or threats towards partners and children. Alan's two books, Invitations to responsibility (1990) and Becoming ethical: Parallel political journeys with men who have abused (2009) are seminal texts for practitioners in behaviour change programs. Alan has been influential in advocating for fair and ethical practice when working with men and fathers who have acted in unfair or unsafe ways.

In this episode, psychologist and author Alan Jenkins describes his practice theory for working with fathers who use violence, coercion or threats towards partners and children. Alan's two books, Invitations to responsibility (1990) and Becoming ethical: Parallel political journeys with men who have abused (2009) are seminal texts for practitioners in behaviour change programs. Alan has been influential in advocating for fair and ethical practice when working with men and fathers who have acted in unfair or unsafe ways.

This episode is the second in a two-part series discussing culturally responsive practice and key considerations for working with culturally diverse families. In this episode, parents and practitioners discuss considerations and responses when navigating family tensions that arise from differing ideas about priorities.

This episode is part one of a two-part series discussing culturally responsive practice and key considerations for working with culturally diverse (or CALD) families. We hear from parents and practitioners about responding to experiences of racism and navigating practitioners' cultural mistakes. Keep an eye out for part two which focuses on navigating intergenerational cultural tensions.

In this episode, host of the Emerging Minds Families podcast Alicia Ranford talks with Emerging Minds Director, Brad Morgan, and Emerging Minds Manager, Digital Health, Ben Rogers. They take an in-depth look at children's mental health, including a new suite of resources aimed at supporting parents' understanding of this important topic.

In this episode, we're joined by three guests: Margaret Dempsey (registered nurse), Dr Shereena Sinnayah (general practitioner) and Jacinta Goldenberg (practice nurse). They share their experience of responding to child mental health concerns with families in the primary health care sector and the considerations for practitioners, from systems level to daily practice.

In this episode, Miranda Bain describes her involvement in developing the Victorian Charter of Rights for parents with intellectual disability. Miranda is a special advisor to the Office of the CEO for Courts Victoria and the Chair of the Disability Advisory Committee. She discusses her journey in working with child protection, non-government organisations and parents with intellectual disability to develop the charter of rights, which is now implemented within courts in Victoria.