Mental health podcast nominated in Australian Podcast Awards

NOVEMBER 28 2021 - 12:00PM

A Launceston-based podcast discussing mental health issues faced by young people has been nominated in the 2021 Australian Podcast Awards.

A brainchild of health and wellbeing advocacy organisation Healthy Tasmania, the six-episode series Get Psyched has been nominated for the Listeners' Choice Award.

Healthy Tasmania Creative Director Penny Terry said the idea behind the podcast was to provide basic psychoeducation to the broader community in a way that was easy to engage with and digest.

"If we want everyone to better understand mental health, we need to make it really interesting to learn about," she said.

"We wanted to create something that goes beyond a brochure or a website which is where a lot of people go, but is about stories that you keep thinking about long after the story is over.

"That information is there in your brain somewhere to pull back out at that crucial time when you need it, and that is the superpower that this resource, which is based on storytelling has."

Ms Terry said the team behind the podcast were proud and excited about the nomination, particularly as the production was based in a regional city.

"The great thing about the Australian Podcasts Awards is it puts the small operators like us right up against the really big media companies, and that's why I'm so excited and really proud of this nomination," she said.

She said the nomination showed that you didn't need to come from a capital city or large organization to be able to address significant social issues.

"Despite our small size and living in regional Australia, we've got big brains, we've got big talent, and we're working on some really big and important projects, so we're incredibly proud to have these stories recognised on the big national stage," she said.

Ms Terry said each of the six episodes dealt with a different issue that had been identified as an area of stress, anxiety or concern for young people.

She said to ensure each issue was adequately addressed the production team works with clinicians, young people with lived experience and mental health support services.

She said one of the most valuable contributions to the podcast was the young people who took part in each of the episodes to tell their stories.

"These young people know more about managing mental health than I've learned in my almost 40 years of being alive," she said.

"It's the stories that stick with you, It's the way that they have been able to learn about mental health that we can learn so much from.

"Without their voices, I think the ability for information like this to be relevant, and to be relatable will just fall away."

Ms Terry said the podcast was produced in partnership with headspace Launceston and funded by a digital innovation grant through Primary Health Tasmania, and the Australian Government Primary Health Networks Program.

Headspace Launceston clinical lead Raelene Ikin said the podcast had been a valuable resource, not only for young people to gain insights from their peers, but to support the organisation's work.

"Often young people find it difficult to be direct with their family about what they need, so we would encourage anyone with a young person in their life to take the time to listen to Get Psyched," she said.

This article was originally published in The Examiner Newspaper and can be accessed here