Explore every episode of the podcast The Emergency Services Foundation 'Better Together' Podcast

Aligning with National PTSD Awareness Day (27 June) we speak with Tracey Varker, Associate Professor and Director of Research at Phoenix Australia along with Michael White, a former Police and SES call taker and dispatcher.

Guest host Deb Martindale speaks with Victoria Police Chaplain Jim Jung and Fire Rescue Victoria Chaplain and ESF scholarship 2024 supported by rotary recipient Jesse Winter.

Natalie MacDonald CEO at CFA and Michael Morgan Deputy Commissioner at FRV speak about their recent visit to New York to attend the 68th annual Commission on the Status of Women, the UN’s largest annual gathering on gender equality and women’s empowerment.

In this latest episode of the ESF Better Together Podcast ESF CEO Siusan MacKenzie sat down with PhD candidate Helen Frazer, to discuss her work around the effects and causes of trauma on women first responders.

Alongside guest hosts Hunter, Gavin, Ella and Fredy from WPI, we speak with experts and people on the ground about vicarious trauma. This episode features Sue Driver, a Team Leader from ESTA, Lauren Kew, a Team Leader at DEECA, Erin Smith, CEO of the Dart Center and former Ambulance dispatcher, Marianne Messer, an Emergency Chaplain with VCCEM, and Dale Bower, a call taker from the Major Collisions Unit at VicPol.

We speak with Peter Brick from Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action (DEECA) Nicole Conway from Country Fire Authority (CFA) about the recent deployment of Australian firefighters' to support Canadian emergency services.

We speak with Victoria's Emergency Management Commissioner, Andrew Crisp, as he reflects on his and others' well-being while he prepares for retirement.

We speak with Tony Pearce - ESF Chair and Inspector-General for Emergency Management, Shane Peach - Omeo SES, Paul King - CFA, Erika Lind - CFA and Forest Fire Management (DEECA) about Tony's 1500km trek to raise funds and awareness of ESF and the work we do for the sector.

We speak to the program manager, facilitator and participants' of ESF's Well Beyond program, a pioneering and best practice program designed to address a gap in support for emergency service workers as they transition from their agencies to retirement.

We speak with Megan Teychenne; Deakin University, Grace McKeon; University of NSW and Rick Nugent, Deputy Commissioner for Victoria Police, about the link between physical activity and mental health.

We speak with Canadian Firefighter about mental health initiatives supporting first responders, including two not-for-profits he founded: Keep Calm Paddle On, and Project All In.

We speak with the recently retired CEO of Ambulance Victoria, Tony Walker, on his career and the importance of advocating positive mental health and wellbeing from senior leadership.

We speak with police officers' Warren Ladgrove and Mark Thomas about the impact PTSD has had on them and their families.

We speak with Peter Brick and Stewart Kreltszheim about the mental health challenges that come with the job of Incident Controller

We speak with; Associate Professor Larissa Bamberry from Charles Sturt University, Dr Paula Robinson, founder and CEO of Applied Positive Psychology Learning Institute (APPLI) and Chris Hardman, Chief Officer at the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP) about burnout. 

We speak with; Dr Joe Tighe, a senior psychologist facilitating online group training for first responders, Dennis Smith, commander at Fire Rescue Victoria and ESF alumni who researched sector-specific mindfulness, along with Kate Duncan, a paramedic and firefighter who taught mindfulness to paramedic students at Flinders University in Adelaide.

Siusan MacKenzie and Rachel Treeby from VICSES speak with speaking with Amanda Taylor from the University of Adelaide, who has done some interesting work on the mental health of young emergency service volunteers.

We speak with Dr David Younger about how lived experience storytelling can be applied to help people recover from mental injury.

ESF CEO Siusan MacKenzie and Shannon Hood, a clinical counsellor specialising in working with emergency service people speak with Captain Farina about his involvement in developing a world leading 'First Responder Resiliency Program'.

We speak with Michelle Possingham and Lisa Renato from Lifeline about the services offered to support Victorians in distress.

Emergency service work can take a terrible toll on people – paid and volunteer – who are always ready to protect our community. Tony’s Trek – one step at a time, a solo walk of 1440km aims to raise awareness and funds so ESF can initiate two new programs to help support them.

ESF recently undertook a study to gain a deeper understanding of how emergency service work impacts family life and how we could better support family members. In this podcast we speak with one of the study leads Owen Pfannenstiehl and the Dean family.

The program lead and three facilitators speak about how the Leading for Better Mental Health program and pilot developed, what’s unique about it, and how is helps leaders to build psychologically safe workplaces.

We speak with Dr Lawrence about two important research studies he’s led that have provided baseline data around the wellbeing of people in the sector nationwide; Beyond Blue's Answering the Call and After the Fires

We speak with Dr Erin Smith about lessons from research for supporting mental health.

ESF CEO Siusan MacKenzie and Kate Siebert, state manager emergency services with Victorian Red Cross, speak with Elizabeth McNaughton, an expert in disaster recovery

We speak with Ambulance Victoria's Senior Manager of Peer and Pastoral Care, Wellbeing and Support Services about peer support dog program.

We speak with Senior Sergeant, Debbie Day from Victoria Police about the challenges balancing motherhood and a career.

Victoria Police Legacy CEO, Lex de Man AFSM speaks about the loss of life on duty he has experienced and what that taught him about leadership.

ESF's CEO, Siusan MacKenzie and Learning Program Manager, Dr Sarah Hewat talk with Bec from Ambulance Victoria.

ESF's CEO, Siusan MacKenzie and Learning Program Manager, Dr Sarah Hewat talk with Margie from Victoria Police.