Radio and Video

Here’s a few links to some radio and video interviews I’ve done …

2008

Visions DVD

Carolyn Davies, a professional TV producer and director, recorded quite a lot of video interviews with psychiatric survivors that were then published by the Queensland Alliance as a DVD with the title of ‘Visions’.  This is a short segment with me that you can see on YouTube and you can find lots of the others on the YouTube page for the Queensland Alliance.  Collectively, they form an important video record of some of the pioneers and leaders of the psychiatric survivor movement.  I felt privileged to be included in such inspiring company.  I strongly recommend, in particular, the videos of Tina Minkowitz, Peter Lehmann, David Oaks, Iris Hoelling, Mary O’Hagan, Gabor Gombos, Mary Nettle and Sylvia Caras, all of whom have been important influences on my work.

2010

Jon Faine Conversation Hour – with Patrick McGorry and Megan McQueenie

The Conversation Hour is a regular segment of Jon Faine’s popular morning program on ABC Radio in Melbourne. Here I’m with psychiatrist and Australian of the Year Patrick McGorry and Megan McQueenie, CEO of the very medical model Mental Health Foundation. A tough gig for me but we managed to be polite to each other despite some really fundamental differences. Patrick is interesting, though. I’ve no doubt about his genuine concern for the (mainly) young people he works with, but he is Mr Early Intervention and deep down is a pretty fundamentalist biological psychiatrist. But he’s also the only psychiatrist I’ve met in Australia – no, I must also include Michael Dudley of SPA (see below) – who acknowledges with any sincerity that human rights issues in mental health are serious and important.

All in the Mind – interview with Natasha Mitchell

All in the Mind is a major, weekly program on ABC Radio National -similar to a program of the same name on the BBC in the UK.  I was pretty happy with how it went but of special interest is the online comments that were received after the program went to air – not only did this program get more responses than any other program in 2010, but also the obvious thirst in the community for a more meaningful conversation about suicide.  Also of interest is a follow-up interview a week later with Michael Dudley, a psychiatrist and Chair of Suicide Prevention Australia (SPA), which also attracted a lot of online comments.  It’s interesting (revealing?), I reckon, that the interview with me is titled “One Survivor’s Perspective” (despite my PhD) and the follow-up interview with Michael is presented as the ‘expert’ commentary on my interview.  I know Michael quite well and he was able to chuckle with me about this.  You can get transcripts as well as audio (streaming or download) at these links.

Tough Times Don’t Last – Channel 31 TV interview with Michael Kuzilny

Tough Times Don’t Lasts is a program on community TV Channel 31 hosted by Michael Kuzilny. This is quite a long interview with me (approx 45 min) not long after my book was released. I’m so uncomfortable looking at myself on TV – where’s the makeup team? – but it’s an OK interview, I guess.

2011

Madness Radio – interview with Will Hall

Amongst his many talents, Will Hall also runs Madness Radio – “voices and visions from outside mental health” – from his studio in Portland, Oregon (USA)..  I really like this interview.  Will makes me sound really good.  First, he asks really good questions and lets the conversation go wherever it goes.  And then he does a brilliant job of editing out all my umms and errrs and other dumb sounds.  So if you prefer listening to reading, I reckon this interview is a really good overview of my key ideas.

Jon Faine Conversation Hour– with Adalita Srsen

Another Conversation Hour with Jon Faine, this time with Adalita Srsen, a musician who was lovely, though nothing to do with mental health. She gave me a copy of her latest CD and I gave her a copy of my book, which was nice.

Let’s talk about it – mental health and suicide forum – ABC Radio, Ballarat, with Kathy Bedford

What a disaster! When I heard about this forum I contacted Kathy Bedford to suggest that she really should include some survivors (OK, ‘consumers’, whatever) in this forum – Nothing About Us About Us, and all that. She was so rude that I complained to her manager and was subsequently invited to be speak. I hesitated to accept under the circumstances and probably should have said no. It was revolting. You can tell in my voice how anxious I was in this hostile space. But you can judge for yourself. I’ll just mention that after I spoke the forum broke for lunch and then the panel resumed after lunch, without me, where Kathy Bedford invited the panellists to respond to what I’d said. As I was no longer on the panel, I had to decide whether to interject from the floor to some of the things that were said. I was over it by then, and kept my silence … ho hum … silenced again … grrrrr …