Past Programs
Mental Health - 2007
Carers and politics
16/10/2007
Millions of Australians selflessly look after their loved ones...those with chronic illness, the frail aged, the disabled and the mentally ill.
Caring for someone with high needs is an unrelenting commitment and carers pay a high price -- financially, emotionally, and physically.
They often can't work, their own health declines and, always on the horizon, is the worry about what will happen when they're no longer able to care.
Frustrated by the lack of services, carers are stepping up the pressure on the major parties. One disability group organised a sit-in at the Prime Minister's Sydney office ... and now they've established their own political party, the Carers Alliance, ready to field Senate candidates in the up-coming election.
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Away From Her
12/10/2007
Our conversation is about the Canadian film Away from Her, starring Julie Christie. It's based on a short story by Canadian writer Alice Munro; a love story about a married couple facing the greatest challenge to their relationship...the onset of dementia. As dementia starts to take hold, the wife decides to book herself into a special hospital for dementia patients.
The film is a quiet and intense meditation on ageing, dementia and memory -- and more -- and it's like an invitation for all of us to see, close up, this tale of love and loss.
So today we're talking about the way these themes are explored in Away from Her ... and, more broadly, how ageing and dementia is portrayed in cinema.
Battle fatigue
02/05/2007
Are we seeing an alarming mental health crisis among our servicemen and women returning from active service? While veterans associations call for better counselling services for our soldiers, the federal government defends the support services in place. We will discuss how four soldiers have already committed suicide on returning from the war zone, while many others have been discharged on psychological grounds.
Is the mental health of our defence force members being ignored? Does Australia need better support services for soldiers returning from war zones?
Depression in the workplace
01/05/2007
The economic and social impact of depression in the workplace is our theme today on Australia Talks. A new confidential study by the University of Queensland shows that once clinical help is sought, those suffering from stress and depression become more productive in the workplace. So everyone wins, with less workplace absenteeism and an increased sense of personal wellbeing.
Puzzlemania!
10/04/2007
This program picks up on our obsession with puzzles. Crosswords and word games seem to have maintained their popularity; while the Sudoku craze continues...We'll be joined by those infuriating people; the crossword compilers, and also examine the evidence which claims that there are mental benefits - particularly as we age - in doing these brain-teasers.
In The Wake Of Trauma
03/04/2007
On Australia Talks; we will introduce you to Alison who underwent a gruelling violent rape and assault in South Africa in the early 1990's. Alison recovered -to tell her story and to see the two perpetrators brought to justice. Today Alison has become the epitome of strength and determination and is now using her story to assist others in their recovery.
How do people recover from traumas of such magnitude and what can life hold?
