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I’m such an advocate for encouraging and supporting discussions around mental health and mental ill-health, as well as sharing some of my own lived experience to help address stigma around these topics.

Trent McWhinney is a qualified Creative Arts Therapist, who creates an environment which encourages creative self-expression, nurtures personal development, inspires individuality, and promotes a sense of safety and comfort within the space.

Trent says his role as a therapist isn’t to give a client the answer to their questions (or a solution to any problems) but instead help them figure out what their own truth is.

Robbie & Tamzyn are joined by host of ‘Knowing Me, Knowing You’, JOY’s very own home for mental health, Trent McWhinney. We chat all about the new show, social media and its effect on mental health & the many facets of anxiety.

In this episode of In The First Person, Trent McWhinney: a creative arts therapist, shares his personal story of anxiety and depression.

In conversation with Professor Mark Creamer, Trent talks about the various interventions he’s tried and what impact they’ve had on his symptoms as well as how his art practice has helped him both personally and professionally.

Trent takes listeners on his journey – how it led him to be involved with radio, leading an LGBTIQA+ mental health network of practitioners and becoming a creative arts therapist.

On this episode of Knowing Me, Knowing You, Trent and Dave continue their journey, across multiple episodes, into exploring the topic of anxiety.

For this show, the boys look at two therapeutic modalities that can help us better work with and manage our anxiety – Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) and Art Therapy. The boys discuss:

  • How CBT can help us understand the relationship between our thoughts, emotions and behaviours,

  • How CBT helps us challenge and change our negative automatic thoughts,

  • Our core beliefs and how CBT helps us work with them better,

  • The importance of not avoiding behaviours that inform our anxiety,

  • The role Exposure Therapy can play in helping us manager our anxiety,

  • What Art Therapy is and how it helps us understand emotions like anxiety,

  • The difference between our mind brain, heart brain & gut brain, as well as

  • How creatively expressing emotions can provide a different perspective to understanding emotions like anxiety.

You can read the ‘Art as Emotion Regulation‘ study via Psychology Today: Art as Emotion Regulation | Psychology Today Australia

Please keep in mind, the discussions, topics, and advice provided as part of this podcast are general in nature. They should not replace specific and individualised mental health support that might be needed. If you are experiencing mental health concerns, you can visit the Joy Radio support page for assistance and guidance at: https://www.joy.org.au/support

You can also find other episodes via the JOY website, Apple or Spotify

On this episode of Knowing Me, Knowing You, Trent and Dave get to know a little more about the world of Art Therapy. They speak with ANZACATA’s CEO Kate Dempsey about:

  • The role of Creative Arts Therapy in Australia.

  • The advocacy role that ANZACATA does for Creative Arts Therapists, and

  • Why someone might want to seek out therapeutic arts support

You can also find the ‘Find a Therapist’ directory mentioned in the show, via: FIND A THERAPIST (anzacata.org)

Please keep in mind, the discussions, topics, and advice provided as part of this podcast are general in nature. They should not replace specific and individualised mental health support that might be needed. If you are experiencing mental health concerns, you can visit the Joy Radio support page for assistance and guidance at: https://www.joy.org.au/support

You can also find other episodes via the JOY website, Apple or Spotify