Ceara is a 37-year-old psychologist living with terminal illness. On this episode, Ceara speaks about facing her death, how she finds hope in uncertainty, and why she supports voluntary assisted dying. *Ceara is our first returning guest, and spoke to us back in July 2020. Instagram: @makingsenseofchaos Twitter: @msoc_pod   Contact Ceara: Twitter: @CearaRickard Instagram: @ceararickard https://www.gofundme.com/f/supporting-cearas-cancer-journey   ..read more

Dr Lars Madsen is a forensic psychologist with 20+ years experience in the treatment of sexual and violent offending. On this episode, Lars shares anecdotes and insights from experiences across his career. In the second part of this episode, Lars discusses a case where he provided psychological assessment & treatment to a child sex murderer, using Forensic Schema Therapy.  Instagram: @makingsenseofchaos  Twitter: msoc_pod    TRIGGER WARNING: This episode describes heavy content.    Supports:  Lifeline - 13 11 14 1800 Respect - 1800 737 732   Wor ..read more

James Harding was once an abuser, drug dealer and underworld debt collector. Now he’s a counsellor, and uses his experience to help criminals change their story.  [Episode hosted by Maddie]. Instagram: @makingsenseofchaos Twitter: @msoc_pod SUPPORTS Lifeline - 13 11 14 Beyond Blue - 1300 22 4636 Mensline - 1300 78 99 78 _____ Hard Cuddles: An innovative mental health service that specialises in counselling, forensic counselling, mentoring and peer support facilitated in an outdoor environment ..read more

In this episode we talk to Dr Ray Middleton on the consequences of medicalising psychological suffering into “mental disorders”. Ray is an independent trainer, speaker and writer, and a long-standing critic of the western diagnostic model of psychiatry. He is a lead trainer in the Power Threat Meaning Framework - a radically different approach to psychological suffering, which abandons diagnoses altogether, and offers an alternative to seeing oneself as "disordered" or "mentally ill".  In this episode, Ray shares how his own experiences as a psychiatric patient in the 1990s led to his cur ..read more

Jess has a background in psychology and criminology, and works in the reintegration space with long term & serious offenders. Jess chats with Jason about the different perspectives of grief, and why we are who we are. *note: apologies as the audio quality on this episode is slightly poorer than usual.  Instagram: @makingsenseofchaos ..read more

In this episode, hosts Jason & Maddie reflect on Brock's episode, sharing their personal reflections on suicide, loneliness and fear. Instagram: @makingsenseofchaos WARNING: This episode does contain heavy & potentially triggering content.  SUPPORTS Lifeline - 13 11 14 Beyond Blue - 1300 22 4636 Griefline - 1300 845 745 ..read more

8 years on from his footy career, Brock McLean opens up about his battles off the field - bulimia, depression, anxiety and attempts at ending his life.  TRIGGER WARNING: This episode describes heavy content.  Instagram: @makingsenseofchaos SUPPORTS Lifeline - 13 11 14 Beyond Blue - 1300 22 4636 Griefline - 1300 845 745 Mensline - 1300 78 99 78   ..read more

Emmy van Deurzen is one of the world’s most respected existential psychologists. This is a raw and intimate episode, where Emmy talks about death, love and how she makes meaning of life. Also discussed is society’s obsession with ‘being happy’, the medicalisation of human misery and the need to get to know our darker sides.  Instagram: @makingsenseofchaos       ..read more

William Wainwright is a forensic psychologist with over 20 years experience in various settings, with a particular focus on sexual and violent offending.  In this episode, we discuss the psychology behind sexually abusing a child, how offenders justify breaking moral standards, and the cycle of shame involved in repeat offending.  We also discuss the trauma carried by emergency service workers, and how this is identified and treated within Vic Police. Jason shares some of his personal experiences of trauma working as a police officer, and later as a correctional officer in Parkville ..read more

Part 2: We discuss with Noah Rasheta the notion of impermanence; that uncertainty is the only constant in life. We also discuss suicide, interdependence, doubt and the nature of introspection.  Noah Rasheta is a Buddhist teacher, lay minister, and author, as well as the host of the podcast Secular Buddhism.    Instagram: @makingsenseofchaos TRIGGER WARNING: This episode describes heavy content.   SUPPORTS Lifeline - 13 11 14 Beyond Blue - 1300 22 4636 Griefline - 1300 845 745     ..read more