Trauma from the Frontline

Bruce is with Dr Gail Kinman. Gail is a renowned Chartered Psychologist and Fellow of both the British Psychological Society and the Academy of Social Sciences. With extensive experience in research and practice, Gail is an expert in improving the working conditions and well-being of those who engage in emotionally demanding work, such as health and social care professionals, prison officers, and academics. In this episode, Gail shares her insights on the importance of emotional resilience in high-intensity workplaces and discusses her own work in this field.

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Bruce is with John A Shuford. With over 30 years of experience in delivering innovative staff development training programs, John is regarded as the national leader of the award-winning Immersion-Experiential© methodology, which utilizes the ‘4 E Principle’ - engage, energize, empower, and enjoy - and has produced notable results in improving work culture, staff relationships, and cooperation between departments. John's background as a rehabilitation counsellor with a focus on trauma healing has equipped him with a unique perspective in his leadership positions. Recently, he has published his book Mid 21st Century Criminal Justice: Work Culture Transformation. Join us as we explore John's experiences, insights, and expertise in transforming work culture in the criminal justice system.

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Bruce is with Dr Susan Jones. We had the pleasure of speaking with Susan, who has worked in the corrections system in Colorado, USA for 31 years. She has had an extensive career within the system, starting as a Community Corrections Counsellor and rising through the ranks to become a Warden. Now she spends her time working as an Instructor at Desert Waters Correctional Outreach. With a Bachelor's degree in Behavioural Science, a Master's degree in Criminal Justice Administration, and a Doctorate from the University of Colorado. Her academic background, combined with her extensive practical experience, provides her with an educated perspective on the corrections system, which she shares with us during the podcast.

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Bruce is with Greg Morton. Greg worked for Oregon State Corrections for more than thirty years, hehas a Bachelor degree in Psychology and a Master of Science degree in Industrial/Organisational Psychology, and since retiring in 2009 Greg has been a Master Trainer at Desert Waters Correctional Outreach Service. In this interview we talk about his experiences of training officers and his deep commitment to their mental health and well being.

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Bruce is with Ajdin (Adi) Mujezinovic, Adi is a psychologist and works part time at Assistance Dogs Australia as a Mental Health Clinician. In this interview Adi shares how the dogs are trained, the matching process and the roles a therapy  dog can play in the life of someone living with PTSD.

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Bruce Perham is with Don Gillies, Don worked as a Policeman for 5 years which he followed up with 37 years as an ambulance paramedic. Don talks about his work experiences, the continual exposure to trauma and his ultimate diagnosis of PTSD. Don is now retired from work and spends considerable time with his Bernese Mountain therapy dog Bernie which was trained by Assistance Dogs Australia.

Don was very keen for me to interview someone from Assistance Dogs Australia - which I did!

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It's been abit of a journey reflecting on the first season of Trauma from the Frontline. I've learned an immense amount from each episode & I can't express my gratitude I have for all our guests we've had on the show. Our goal is to make the second season just as helpful and knowledgeable as the first, so please do subscribe and follow us as we continue our conversations in Season 2!

Timothea Goddard has been practising Yoga and Meditation (in the Vipassana tradition) from early on in her life. Tim is acknowledged as a pioneer in bringing Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) and associated programs to Australia. Tim is a Psychotherapist and founding Director of Open Ground -an Australia wide network of Clinicians and teachers offering MBSR and related mindfulness programs, workshops and retreats. In this interview Tim discusses mindfulness and how it is useful in working people with trauma.

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Linda Curran is an international speaker, author and trainer on the treatment of trauma. Linda has developed, produced and presents multimedia workshops on all aspects of psychological trauma. Her latest projects include the completion of trauma101 an extensive guide for clinicians and clients a like. In this interview Linda talks about Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing and the role it plays in treating people with PTSD and a variety of mental health issues.

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Dr Turner is Chief Social Worker at Forensicare, Victoria. Prior to that Dr Turner worked in a variety of positions within the youth justice system and more recently was a Senior Lecturer Social Work in the School of Primary and Allied Health Care at Monash University. In this interview Dr Turner openly talks about her thoughts on the youth justice issues and the importance of mental health supports.

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Dr McKinnon has integrated several approaches to develop her own model of therapy called Radical Exposure Tapping (RET) for rapidly resolving disturbing memories and symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. In this interview Dr McKinnon provides and in-depth insight into the thinking behind RET and how it works. Dr McKinnon works privately at her practice Insite Therapy and Consulting in Sydney NSW.

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Dr Jon Finch specialises in treating people with complex trauma histories and specifically Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). In this interview Jon shares his earlier work as a Clinical Psychologist and his developing specialization in working with people who have PTSD. Dr Finch has over fifteen years of experience in this field and works with his clients using Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder PTSD. Dr Finch is the Director of the Centre for Clinical Psychology in Carlton Victoria.

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Andrew is the Emergency Management Victoria Commissioner. Prior to that Andrew was a Policeman for 38 years and was Deputy Commissioner of Regional Development when he accepted the position at EMV. In this interview, Andrew shares his trauma experiences as a police officer and the importance of providing mental health support to frontline workers. Andrew also discusses his move to EMV and the broadening of his experience in emergency management.

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Tim Peck was a police officer for more than 20 years and in this interview shares his experience of police work. He tells me how it totally took over his life, leading to a spiral into depression, PTSD, alcohol dependency, and the decision to take his own life. Tim is now open to sharing his experience and through his position at Phoenix Australia encourages police to seek professional help. Tim is involved in establishing specialised trauma counselling services for people with PTSD.

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Dr John Arden shares his thoughts about the psychological demands of frontline work and the importance of looking after your brain and body. John is a Neuropsychologist specialising in the field of brain research and impact of trauma on the brain and is a leading expert in this area. John has written extensively on this topic and I hope to interview him again in 2023 about his latest book release.

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In this interview Dr Spinaris talks about correction fatigue, PTSD, and her thoughts around the key things officers need to do in this work to ‘stay well.’ Dr Spinaris is the founding director of Desert Waters Correctional Outreach Service in Colorado, USA. Dr Spinaris has provided counselling, and training to correction officers for more than twenty years.

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