Emerging Minds Podcast

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.

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 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 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 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.

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.