This event has now ended. If you were unable to attend this insightful Q&A session, or would like to revisit this very important and interesting session, click here to watch the panel recording on the Deakin Research YouTube channel.
Join us for a free online Q&A session with a panel of experts.
World Bipolar Day is celebrated each year on March 30th, the birthday of Vincent Van Gogh, who is widely believed to have suffered from bipolar disorder.
The event is coordinated by the International Bipolar Foundation on behalf of participating organisations across the globe. In Australia, Bipolar Australia aims to use World Bipolar Day to help bring the good news about recovery to people affected by the condition, and to educate the community about bipolar. We believe encouraging people to seek out help, and working to eliminate social stigma, will together bring about our core goal of making recovery possible for every Australian with bipolar disorder.
This year, on the 30th March from 6pm till 7:30pm we are hosting a free online Q&A session. All are welcome to attend this important event. We’re recognising that not everyone has had their question answered – either for themselves or someone they care for. Come along to hear an extraordinary panel answer all your unanswered questions.
Find out more and register for the event online here
Meet the panel
David Angeler
Expert by Experience
David lives in Stockholm, Sweden, with his wife and two children. He is a university researcher and studies complex systems of people and nature from a transdisciplinary perspective. Besides being a trained scientist he is a practising artist and enjoys creating visual artworks, sculptures, writing short stories and poems and composing on the piano. He thrives on being emerged in the spiritual power of nature and contemplating the stars.
Matthew Dale
Bipolar Life and World Bipolar Day Ambassador
Matthew Dale has been working for over 17 years in the mental health sector in a variety of different roles including mental health promotion, outreach support, peer work, respite and as a family and carers worker. He was drawn to working in the mental health sector due to his own experience of mental ill health (Bipolar II) and recovery. He is passionate about mental health promotion and the importance that early intervention/prevention can make in helping a person in their unique and individual journey to recovery from mental illness. He believes in empowering individuals to develop self-belief, confidence and hope for a meaningful life despite their mental health challenges. Matthew recognises the importance of education in helping a person to stay well and that we can all learn something new from each other. He currently works as a Student Wellbeing Officer at a TAFE in Melbourne and also volunteers as a Peer Ambassador for SANE Australia. He is the Vice President of Bipolar Life and facilitates the Bipolar Carers Support Group through the Mental Health Foundation Australia.
Dr James McLure
Research Fellow, Change to Improve Mental Health (CHIME)
Accepting challenges for sustained personal growth, James completed a PhD in Clinical Pharmacology at Flinders University in 2008 while beginning the transformation to mental health post a seven-and-a-half-year mental decline. His ensuing thirteen years were dedicated to connecting and playing my part in the peer support movement, initially through Grow, the last five years as a Senior Peer Support Worker with Barwon Health. Enter an opportunity with Change to Improve Mental Health (CHIME), a partnership between Barwon Health and Deakin University, to marry his dormant research skills with lived experience engagement and the next challenge was born (Lived Experience Engagement and Research Fellow). In this project James believes the drive to become a Listening and Learning Mental Health System will provide continuous improvement and consequently enable greater healing for people accessing our acute services. Learn more about CHIME on the night.
Dr Leanne Beagley
CEO, Mental Health Australia
Prior to working at Mental Health Australia Leanne worked for Western Victoria Primary Health Network as the Chief Executive Officer for three years. Her background includes clinical qualifications in Occupational Therapy and Family Therapy, as well as a Masters of Business Leadership and a PhD in Psychology in organisational culture and performance. With 15 years’ experience in direct mental health care in clinical settings in Melbourne, Leanne is also a former Director of Mental Health and Drugs at the Victorian Department of Health and Human Services, a role she held for five years. She also has a range of experience as a non-executive Director on a variety of Boards including the Western Alliance Academic Health Science Centre, Tweddle Child and Family Health Centre, and Eating Disorders Victoria.
Professor Susan Rossell
Investigator, Mental Health Australia General Clinical Trial Network (MAGNET)
Professor Susan Rossell is a cognitive neuropsychologist and Professorial Research Fellow at Swinburne’s Centre for Mental Health. She also holds adjunct positions at Monash Alfred Psychiatry Research Centre and at St Vincent’s Health. Professor Rossell’s research focuses on understanding the cognitive and neurobiological processes involved in psychosis and related disorders. She has published extensively and received both the International and European award for Young Investigator into Schizophrenia Research. Professor Rossell is also a Steering Committee member of the newly launched Mental Health Australia General Clinical Trial Network (MAGNET), read more about MAGNET here.
Professor Victoria Palmer
Director, The ALIVE National Centre for Mental Health Research Translation
Victoria Palmer is Professor of Primary Care Mental Health & Co-Design in the Department of General Practice, Melbourne Medical School. She trained in applied ethics and the humanities. Victoria is an expert in qualitative and mixed-method research design and analysis, including participatory design, experience co-design and health systems improvement. Victoria is the Inaugural Director of The ALIVE National Centre for Mental Health Research Translation funded by the NHMRC as part of a special initiative in mental health (2021-2026) and she is the head of the Co-Design Living Lab program.
This exciting event will be chaired by our very own Theme Leader of Clinical Trials and Interventions, A/Prof. Olivia Dean.
