Lived experience leadership in mental health

Guiding neurodiverse children through the perioperative journey

Having surgery an be a daunting time for anybody, let alone a child with neurodiversity being placed into an unfamiliar environment and taken out of their routine. Join Grace Curran associate Nurse Unit manager of Elective surgery & Clinical Nurse Specialist in pre admissions resource clinic and Nancy Puente PARC Nurse as they discuss how to best care for children with neurodiversity as they traverse the perioperative journey.

Lived experience leadership in mental health

In this episode Camille Foley speaks to two lived experience advisors Deanna Carr and Carmen Ludeman about lived experience in mental health, its origins, the importance of embedding the expertise of consumers, families, and carers into system design, policy, and practice, and how this can transform services, reduce stigma, and improve care.   Resources: Lived experience | health.vic.gov.au [https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.health.vic.gov.au/mental-health-reform/lived-experience__;!!IdXLKk1Z!TlkUUjXiNlMkoc4NvqUdwxjWua-IIujj75ZOcMu9u4CA0mffp5RRM8X86tlyeQqhiA_X_PeKDuuurKySmH_J1ZvCvEyvO7FL$] Tandem resource- Peak body for families, carers and supporters [https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://tandemcarers.org.au/p/p/Contents/Find-Support/Find-support.aspx__;!!IdXLKk1Z!TlkUUjXiNlMkoc4NvqUdwxjWua-IIujj75ZOcMu9u4CA0mffp5RRM8X86tlyeQqhiA_X_PeKDuuurKySmH_J1ZvCvICnIWMy$] Peak consumer advocacy service-IMHA: Independent Mental Health Advocacy | IMHA [https://www.imha.vic.gov.au/] Alternate consumer advocacy service- VMIAC: VMIAC Home Page [https://www.vmiac.org.au/] Housing and support service for people with significant mental health and wellbeing challenges: Housing and support | Mind Australia [https://www.mindaustralia.org.au/housing-and-support?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=1438165664&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIyMPF2vjGkwMVKlVIAB2nGSWHEAAYASAAEgJSTPD_BwE] Service who works with children of parents or family members with mental health challenges- Satellite Foundation: Satellite Foundation | Creativity and connection for mental health and wellbeing [https://www.satellitefoundation.org.au/?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=22303069644&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIwOi31_jGkwMV7llIAB2xxgDiEAAYASAAEgKt4fD_BwE] Alternate service who provide support for children and young people who are supporting someone with disability or mental health challenges- little dreamers: Little Dreamers Australia – Supporting Young Carers & Their Families [https://www.littledreamers.org.au/]

Understanding Non-Suicidal Self-Injury (NSSI) in Adolescents

In this episode, Camille Foley (Senior mental health clinician and education fellow) speaks with Adam Blake (Psychiatric Nurse Consultant) and Kate Coward (family peer-support worker) about non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) in adolescents, exploring its prevalence, risk factors, relational and family impacts, and how compassionate, evidence-informed treatment and responses can move us beyond stigma toward effective support. Resource link: Suicide and non-suicidal self-injury CPG : Suicide and Non-Suicidal Self-Injury in Children and Adolescents: Evidence-Based Clinical Practice Guideline [https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://medicine.unimelb.edu.au/school-structure/paediatrics/research/developmental-mental-health/research/projects/suicide-and-nssi-cpg__;!!IdXLKk1Z!TsrcPU0CvP_v_4j_WraG-K6ntOTr1LrKqeBdxSWRTmo4mN1Z6BRY8eadMyvNJjEC9BZp7YNtHw3ec9WieHYoejvEkiizCfQn$] References: AIHW (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare). Intentional self-harm hospitalisations. 2025. Suicide and self-harm monitoring. [https://url.au.m.mimecastprotect.com/s/VHZYC1WZKqhn1oVZ7FLfwSV6s_u?domain=aihw.gov.au] AIHW (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare). Suicide and intentional self-harm hospitalisations among young people. 2025. Suicide and self-harm monitoring. [https://url.au.m.mimecastprotect.com/s/meB-C2xZLrcKvXMmNt1hXS5E02P?domain=aihw.gov.au] Usmani et al., 2025. Understanding the Impact of Adverse Childhood Experiences on Non-suicidal Self-Injury in Youth: A Systematic Review.  Understanding the Impact of Adverse Childhood Experiences on Non-suicidal Self-Injury in Youth: A Systematic Review - PMC [https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11117420/] Yu-Jing Wang, Xi Li, Chee H. Ng, Dong-Wu Xu, Shaohua Hu, Ti-Fei Yuan, Risk factors for non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) in adolescents: A meta-analysis, eClinicalMedicine, Volume 46, 2022. Risk factors for non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) in adolescents: A meta-analysis - ScienceDirect [https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2589537022000803] Melbourne Children’s Suicide and Non-suicidal Self-injury Guideline Development Group. (2026). Suicide and Non-suicidal Self-injury in Children and Adolescents: Evidence-based Clinical Practice Guideline: Melbourne Children’s.  [https://medicine.unimelb.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0007/5472691/Suicide-and-Non-suicidal-Self-injury-in-Children-and-Young-People-Evidence-based-Clinical-Practice-Guideline-V.1.pdf]

Family violence

In this episode we are chatting with Dani Gold, who is a senior social worker in the Family Violence team at the RCH. Dani’s current work focuses on supporting healthcare workers to understand and respond to children and families experiencing Family Violence. Today we are delving into Family Violence as well as gender-based violence, which are both health issues. As healthcare workers, by recognising and responding to Family Violence, even in small ways, we can have a significant impact on the lives of children and their caregivers. This conversation provides listeners with the tools to recognise and respond to Family Violence, including how to frame conversations and advocate for families, thus enhancing the safety and dignity of those we care for.  Resources - (some of these are Australia specific) 1800 RESPECT [https://www.1800respect.org.au/]  Safe Steps Family Violence Response Centre [http://www.safesteps.org.au/]  No To Violence Men’s Referral Service [https://ntv.org.au/] Djirra [https://djirra.org.au/what-we-do/#prevention] WithRespect [https://www.withrespect.org.au/] Safer Families centre [https://www.saferfamilies.org.au/]

Learning from Wadja Aboriginal Family Place - Part 2

This is the final part for our Wadja mini-series. We'll be asking our guests questions like; Why is it important to have an understanding of families and kinship systems when working with First Nations children and their families? What are the common issues that Aboriginal Children present to RCH with? What should we keep-in-mind when we care for children and young people being cared for at RCH? Join us in hearing about the complexities that first nations people face in a hospital setting and how might staff better support them.