Episodes

Bron and Brian unpack what to do when a client shares offensive views in the therapy room. They chat about 👉🏿 What even IS an offensive view and when could it become something to address in therapy 👉 Our favourite phrases to use 👉🏽Therapist self-care and permission to refer out. Guest: Brian Cheng, Psychologist THE END BITS Mental Work is the podcast unpacking the challenges faced by early career psychologists, so they don’t have to go it alone. Hosted by Dr Bronwyn Milkins. Love the podcast?...

Bron and Emma unpack how to adapt therapy to neurodiverse clients, using Schema Therapy as the example. They chat about 👉🏽 The new Schema Therapy model that Emma and her colleagues have developed for working with neurodiverse clients 👉🏻 How non-affirming therapists can be ableist and unhelpful to clients 👉 Signs that you are attuned to your neurodiverse client 👉🏿 The social model of disability. Guest: Dr Emma DeCicco (Psychologist and Director of The Dash Hub) THE END BITS Mental Work is t...

Therapists usually experience shock! horror! and despair! when they think about recording a therapy session. So let's talk about it. In this episode, Bron unpacks 👉🏽 Why you should record therapy sessions 👉🏻 How to ask for client consent 👉 Recording and storing sessions 👉🏿 Tips for overcoming recording anxiety. Bron's Informed Consent for Recording Sessions Word/PDF template is available to Patreon members - Join for $2 a month. THE END BITS Mental Work is the podcast unpacking the challenges ...

Bron and Carly unpack a spicy listener question: Is it possible to be financially secure AND avoid burnout? They chat about 👉🏽 Valuing the skills that you have to offer as a psychologist 👉🏻 Finding workplaces that align with your financial goals and respect that you are a human with a finite workload capacity 👉 How to not get sucked in by workplaces promising you the world. Guest: Carly Dober (Psychologist and Director at the Australian Association for Psychologists Inc) THE END BITS Mental Wo...

Bron and Jordan unpack working with kids. They chat 👉🏽 How to get kids engaged in therapy and build rapport with them 👉🏻 When and how to use self-disclosure with kids 👉 Managing parent expectations and getting parents onside 👉🏿 Resources for child therapy. Guest: Jordan Turner (Educational & Developmental Psychologist Registrar) THE END BITS Mental Work is the podcast unpacking the challenges faced by early career psychologists, so they don’t have to go it alone. Hosted by Dr Bronwyn Milki...

Bron and Amanda unpack neurodiversity affirming practice. They chat about 👉🏽 The social model of disability 👉🏻 How CBT and other CBT-umbrella therapies were created for neurotypical clients 👉 What neurodiversity affirming practice is VS what it is not 👉🏿 How to know if you're delivering neurodiversity affirming therapy. Guest: Amanda Moses, Director at Amanda Moses Psychology and Early-Career Coordinator at the Australian Association for Psychologists Inc (AAPi) THE END BITS Mental Work is the ...

You've prepped a great session for your client but they seem completely uninterested in all of your suggestions - what do you do? Bron and Kate unpack the dilemma of 'nothing sessions'. They chat about 👉🏽 What it feels like to have sessions that fall flat, despite good planning 👉🏻 How to help clients understand what therapy can involve 👉 Ways to increase client engagement in sessions 👉🏿 Tips for wrapping up therapy. Guest: Kate Christie, Psychologist THE END BITS Mental Work is the podcast...

Bron and Amanda unpack the tell-tale signs that you're in an unethical placement or workplace. They chat about 👉🏽 Fair pay 👉🏻 Reasonable caseloads 👉 Contractor vs employment arrangements 👉🏿 Should placements be paid? (spoiler: yes obviously) 👉🏾 Supports if you need help. Mental Work is the podcast unpacking the challenges faced by early career psychologists, so they don’t have to go it alone. Hosted by Dr Bronwyn Milkins. Guest: Amanda Moses, Psychologist and AAPi Early-Career Coordinator ...

Bron is joined by Averil Cook (Clinical psychologist and Director of Bodhi & Psychology) and Sahra O'Doherty (Psychologist and Director of AAPi) to get curious about gender roles and leadership in the Psychology profession. They unpack 👉🏽 Why men are disproportionately represented in leadership positions in a female-dominated profession 👉🏻 Internalised misogyny 👉 Sahra and Averil's leadership journey 👉🏿 Practical tips to have a sustainable career and reach leadership goals. Listen in for some sp...

Bron is joined by long-term listener Sarah Glover (recently registered Psychologist) to share their registration journey with us. They unpack the lessons about 👉🏽 Feeling responsible for clients 👉🏻 Comparison to other psychs 👉 Being highly impressionable to what senior psychs say 👉🏿 Managing feelings of isolation. Mental Work is the podcast unpacking the challenges faced by early career psychologists, so they don’t have to go it alone. Hosted by Dr Bronwyn Milkins. THE END BITS Have an early-c...

Bron is joined by Emma St John (Sexologist & clinical psych registrar) to unpack how early-career psychs can apply their existing skills to talk about sex with clients. They explore 👉🏽 When is it relevant to talk about sex with clients? 👉🏻 Why it's important to examine our attitudes towards sex 👉 How to talk about sex 👉🏿 Applying our existing therapeutic skills to sex therapy interventions 👉🏾 How Emma became interested in sexual health. You won't find talking about sex nearly as intimidating by ...

[Rerun] Bron takes listeners through the dilemma of choosing an area of practice to niche in. She talks about 👉 Feeling pressured to niche from colleagues, supervisors, parents, and everyone else 👉🏼 Benefits of niching 👉🏾 Why you don't have to niche (phew!) 👉🏻 What Bron feels now after Googling the crap out of niching. Mental Work is the podcast unpacking the challenges faced by early career psychologists, so they don’t have to go it alone. Hosted by Dr Bronwyn Milkins. THE END BITS Love t...

(Rerun) Bron takes us through the topic that therapists love to avoid: Money 💵. She highlights the negative attitudes embedded in the mental health profession and shares the experiences that have taught her that wanting a liveable salary is not only okay, but necessary. Mental Work is the podcast unpacking the challenges faced by early career psychologists, so they don’t have to go it alone. Hosted by Dr Bronwyn Milkins. THE END BITS Love the podcast? Keep it alive by joining our Patreon for $...

Thanks for listening, Mental Workers! Season 3 has wrapped up and shiny new episodes will be released in just a few weeks! ✨ SUPPORT THE POD THAT SUPPORTS YOU... Join the Patreon for $2 a month 😎 Leave a rating and review on Apple and Spotify! It REALLY helps new listeners find the show! Support the show by buying me a virtual coffee! ☕ Email Bron at mentalworkpodcast@gmail.com Facebook / Instagram / Website / Apply to be a guest CREDITS Producer: Michael English Music: Home See omnystudio....

The National Psychology Exam (NPE) is a big ass exam that provisional psychologists doing the 4+2 and 5+1 pathways must pass to gain full registration. On today's episode, Bron is joined by Amanda Moses (Psychologist) to unpack 👉🏼 What does the NPE assess? 👉🏾 How to prepare step-to-step 👉🏿 Top tips for sitting the NPE on the day 👉 How much time to set aside for study. Mental Work is the podcast unpacking the challenges faced by early career psychologists, so they don’t have to go it alone. Ho...

Heck yes, it's a listener story! 🥳 Bron is joined by Jordan Turner (Psychologist & Ed/Dev Registrar) to share her lessons from the first 2 years of being fully registered. They unpack 👉🏽 Being pregnant while seeing clients and handling baby questions 👉🏻 Building rapport with clients 👉 Setting boundaries with clients 👉🏿 Setting boundaries with yourself on the kinds of clients you see 👉🏾 Why Jordan likes working with complex clients. Mental Work is the podcast unpacking the challenges faced by ...

Bron is joined by Annie Slater (Psychologist and Director at Annie Slater Psychology) to unpack getting the most out of supervision. They chat about 👉🏽 Making supervision work when you don't have a choice in your supervisor 👉🏻 How to manage a not-so-great supervisory relationship 👉 What an 'ideal' supervisory relationship looks like 👉🏿 How to give feedback to a supervisor who relays too many personal stories. Mental Work is the podcast unpacking the challenges faced by early career psychologi...

Bron is joined by Julie Waller (Counselling Psychologist) to unpack what it's like working rurally. They unpack 👉🏽 What led Julie to working rurally 👉🏻 Managing tricky ethical dilemmas including multiple relationships and professional boundaries 👉🏾Why errybody should work rurally at least once in their career 👉 What you need to know if you're thinking about rural work. Mental Work is the podcast unpacking the challenges faced by early career psychologists, so they don’t have to go it alone. Hos...

WE'RE GOING RURAL, BABY! Bron is joined by Lauren Vines (early-career psychologist) to tell us what it's really like to work rurally, where you are sometimes hundreds of kilometres from your nearest colleague. They unpack 👉🏽 What led Lauren to working rurally 👉 Best things, most challenging things, and most ~surprising~ things about working rurally. Mental Work is the podcast unpacking the challenges faced by early career psychologists, so they don’t have to go it alone. Hosted by Dr Bronwyn Mi...

Bron is joined by Neeraja Shankar (Clin Psych registrar/PhD Candidate) to unpack getting comfortable with making mistakes as an early-career psych. They chat about 👉🏽 How being human means you're gonna make mistakes, and - take a deep breath - that's ooooook 👉🏿 What counts as a mistake in therapy? 👉 How to see mistakes as growth opportunities 👉🏻 The mistakes we've made and how we've survived. Mental Work is the podcast unpacking the challenges faced by early career psychologists, so they don’...

Bron is joined by Rebecca Black (Clin Psych at Nourish, Heal, Grow & sustainable career coach) to unpack how to build a sustainable psychology career. Yes, it IS possible to have a profitable career, friends/family, and even hobbies without burning out 😮! They chat 👉🏽 Over-preparing for sessions 👉🏻 How many clients per day is too many? 👉 Tips if you struggle with unrelenting standards and self-sacrificing schemas. Mental Work is the podcast unpacking the challenges faced by early career psych...

Today on Mental Work, by popular request Bron returns to the topic of emotional labour with guests Anthony Joffe (Psychologist/PhD Candidate) and James Clarke (Clinical Psychologist/PhD Candidate). They chat about 👉🏽 Surface acting vs deep acting vs natural expression 👉🏻 Surface acting and burnout 👉 Why authenticity is key 👉🏿 How emotional labour shows up in James' and Anthony's therapy work 👉🏾 The emotion regulation strategies they use in and out of sessions. Mental Work is the podcast unpac...

If you cry a little inside every time you think about treatment planning, then this episode is for you. Bron is joined by Amanda Moses (Psychologist) to unpack treatment planning in an easy-to-understand, bite-sized way. They chat about: 👉🏻 How to formulate using the 5 P's 👉 How to treatment plan for depression 👉🏿 Ways to deliver CBT for depression 👉🏾 Getting the right balance between over-planning and under-planning for sessions. Mental Work is the podcast unpacking the challenges faced b...

Today on Mental Work, Bron is joined by Carly Dober (Psychologist and Director of AAPi) to unpack the question, 'Can I be a good therapist if I have lived experience?' They chat about 👉🏽 How having lived experience can inform your work as a psych 👉🏻 Myths about therapists with mental illness 👉 Changes in attitudes among psychs towards lived experience practitioners 👉🏿 Why peer-led work is super cool. Mental Work is the podcast unpacking the challenges faced by early career psychologists, so t...