Join Anita and Aileen as they interview psychologists and clinicians around Australia about their experiences, their work and their opinions about how psychology can better serve communities at best underserved and at worst pathologised and harmed by our profession. Listen here.
Episode 1. Judy Tang on connecting to amplify voices
Dr Judy Tang (she/her) is a clinical neuropsychologist and director at Invictus Health in Preston in Naarm (Melbourne), on the lands of the Wurundjeri people. A daughter of refugee migrants, Judy is a queer Asian-Australian who co-founded the Solis network, a “capacity-building, support & resource network for culture-oriented mental health advocates and practitioners”. Judy is also a Victorian Multicultural Commissioner and on the board of the Victorian Pride Centre. Anita had the pleasure of speaking with Judy about her experience of studying psychology, of advocacy, and of connecting practitioners to make their voices stronger.
Episode 2. Nasalifya Namwinga on creating safety
Nasalifya Namwinga (she/her) is a clinical psychologist and co-founder of Pola Practice in Ascot Vale in Naarm (Melbourne) in 2018, on the lands of the Wurundjeri people. Nasalifya is a Zambian woman who was raised in the UK and Aotorea/New Zealand before settling in Naarm. Pola Practice focused on culturally responsive and intersectional practice. Nasalifya provides consultation with a specialisation in culturally responsive mental health service delivery, executive coaching from an intersectional perspective and is pursuing a PhD professional burnout and the role of emerging technology. Anita was lucky enough to chat with Nasalifya about her experiences of psychology, what helps practitioners who are people of colour, and how our profession can better serve people who have experiences of marginalisation.
Episode 3. Averil Cook on decolonising psychological practice
Averil Cook (she/her) is a clinical psychologist and founder of Bodhi & Psychology, a practice located in Leichhardt on the lands of the Gadigal people of the Eora nation (Sydney). She is a family therapist and has background leadership in psychology training programs and academia, NSW health services and hospitals. Bodhi & Psychology works towards decolonising therapy and clinician practices through therapy, training, supervision and consultation. Across her career Averil has been passionate about social justice and has woven this into her work supervising and training psychologists, in her work with mental health organisations and in research. Her current work includes research collaborations examining climate change on the mental health of diverse communities with NSW health, the Bureau of Meterology and the Ingham Institute, and consulting to the Human Rights Commission to support intersectional and embodied change. Aileen was inspired by her discussion with Averil about the path ahead for Australian psychologists to decolonise their practice.
Episode 4. Professor Pat Dudgeon on her experience as a pioneer in Indigenous mental health and wellbeing (transcript here)
Professor Pat Dudgeon (she/her) is a Bardi woman from the Kimberley region of Western Australia. She was the first Aboriginal person to qualify as a Psychologist in Australia in 1985, and since then has had a long and distinguished career as a leader in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander mental health and wellbeing, Indigenous suicide prevention, decolonising psychology education and practice. Pat is the Director of the University of Western Australia’s Centre of Best Practice in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Suicide Prevention and was the head of the Centre for Aboriginal Studies at Curtin University for 17 years. She was a founding Chair of the Australian Indigenous Psychologists Association and a founding board member of Gayaa Dhuwi Proud Spirit Australia. Her list of achievements and publications is far too long for me to list but hopefully this gives you a taste of Pat’s role as a pioneer in Indigenous psychology and mental health in Australia. Anita was fascinated by her conversation with Pat, who generously talked about her experience of studying and creating change in psychology, about self-determination, and also about the Working Together book which celebrates it’s 15th anniversary this year (downloadable for free here). Pat spoke to me from Whadjuk Noongar country in Perth, while I was on Wurunjeri woi-worrung country in Melbourne.
Episode 5. Den Abreu on complex identities in the workforce and safety in the profession (transcript here)
Den Abreu (they/them) is the Principal Psychologist, Founder and CEO of Haven Psychology, a private practice with offices in Brisbane/Meanjin and Melbourne/Naarm. They are a Board Approved Supervisor, Psychosexual Therapist, a person of colour and identifies as NeuroQueer (ADHDer, Genderfluid and Queer). Haven Psychology is a trauma-informed, sex-positive and identity-inclusive and affirming practice. Den has a special interest in complex mental health, such as complex and developmental trauma, psychosis, dissociative disorders, and personality vulnerabilities. Her favourite ways to work include EMDR, Internal Family Systems, Ego State Therapy, and Narrative Therapy. Anita appreciated the opportunity to talk to and learn from Den.
Episode 6. Smruthy Nair on being a migrant psychologist in Australia (transcript here)
Smurthy Nair (she/they) is a Psychologist and Board Approved Supervisor with a passion for simplifying the idea of mental health. She has extensive experience working with children, adolescents and adults, both in India and Australia since qualifying in 2011. Smruthy is committed to intersectionality and collaboration and uses anti-oppressive and systems focused lens, and has worked in clinical, inclusion and advocacy roles in mental health, education, youth mental health and multiculturalism in private and public settings. Smruthy and her Unhyphen Psychology colleague Bimba Chavan run The Other Chair, a peer supervision and support network for psychologists who are People of Colour. She currently works on Larrakia country (Darwin) for the Department of Education and Training, leading the implementation of the Respectful Relationships Education program across all schools in the Northern Territory. Aileen and Smruthy shared their varied experiences of being migrant psychologists of colour in Australia. ***Apologies for poor audio quality at times***
Episode 6. Prof Damien Riggs ponders lived experience and psychology in context.
Damien Riggs (he/him) is a professor of psychology at Flinders University and a psychotherapist in private practice. He writes extensively (over 200 publications!) about family diversity, including gender, sexuality, surrogacy, out of home care, animal companions, and the intersections of race and queerness. His PhD, completed in 2006, was entitled "Belonging, benevolence and the repression of white violence." Damien's psychotherapy practice focuses on working with trans children and their families. Anita chatted with Damien about what it means to have lived experience in an area, what that means about what you're allowed to talk about, and psychology's failure to talk about its context and limitations.
Episode 7. Sandhya Menon on being a changemaker and neurodivergent brown psychologist.
Sandhya Menon (she/her) is an Education and Developmental Psychologist and founder of Onwards and Upwards Psychology who works with ADHDer/Autistic children and their families to support them in leading an authentically neurodivergent life. She also works with educators and professionals who want to support neurodivergent kids in ways that feel respectful, connected and grounded in real-life beyond textbook theory. Sandhya runs trainings, speaks at conferences, and partners with schools and services to embed neuro-affirming practice that lasts. She migrated from Singapore 18 years ago.
Sandhya also an author and has created beautiful resources that make tricky things easier to talk about, such as the What's Up Flip Chart, The Brain Forest and My Body’s Power Pack. Aileen and Sandhya chatted in this episode about what it is like for her to stand up for intersectional voices in the neurodivergent community, the various forms of masking and unmasking, and mothering neurodivergent kids of colour.
