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Across four episodes, you’ll hear how the nature of emergency service work increases the risk of mental health problems, the kinds of issues that can develop, the most effective models of care and the common challenges clinicians face when providing support.

Listen now below or via Spotify, Apple Podcasts or Google Podcasts.

Episode 1: Setting the Scene

Host, clinical psychologist Mark Creamer, and co-host Nicole Sadler, clinical psychologist and Director of Responder Assist, open this four-part series with a look at the mental health of emergency service workers and why it matters. They’re joined by David Lawrence, lead researcher on Beyond Blue’s Answering the Call study, the first national survey of its kind, covering over 21,000 police and emergency service workers across Australia.

Together, they unpack why emergency workers face a higher risk of mental health concerns, the kinds of issues that can develop, how common these problems really are, and the risk and protective factors that shape outcomes for this workforce.

Visit the MHPN website for episode host and guest bios, recommended resources and a self-directed CPD form.

Episode 2: Models of Care

Host Mark Creamer is joined by co-host Patricia Watson, Responder Assist consultant and psychologist for the U.S. National Center for PTSD, to explore why supportive leadership and strong organisational structures matter for emergency workers’ mental health.

Volunteer firefighter Neville Goddard, with over 35 years’ service, shares the value of peer support — how the Victorian CFA’s peer support program works, the training involved, and its positive impact on emergency workers and their families.

General practitioner Maya Edgerton Bachmann then offers practical insight into destigmatising help-seeking, the barriers emergency workers often face, and the key role GPs play in supporting them and their families.

Visit the MHPN website for episode host and guest bios, recommended resources and a self-directed CPD form.

Episode 3: Treatment Options

Host Mark Creamer is joined by co-host Jane Nursey, a clinical neuropsychologist with 30 years’ experience, to discuss the importance of considering a range of diagnoses beyond PTSD, and the common challenges practitioners face when treating emergency workers’ mental health.

Professor Andrea Phelps shares insights on treatment approaches, including the value of behavioural therapies alongside evidence-based treatments, and why nuanced recovery plans tend to achieve better outcomes. She also unpacks moral injury: what it is and how it impacts emergency workers.

Visit the MHPN website for episode host and guest bios, recommended resources and a self-directed CPD form.

Episode 4: Experts by Experience

In the final episode of this series, host Mark Creamer and co-host Tim Peck (Co-Director, Responder Assist and former Victoria Police member) speak with three ‘experts by experience’ about supporting the mental health of emergency workers.

Hear first-hand accounts from a salaried emergency worker, a volunteer firefighter and the partner of a volunteer, each sharing their own experience of emergency work across different roles and contexts.

Visit the MHPN website for episode host and guest bios, recommended resources and a self-directed CPD form.