Tara J Lal's guest appearances

Tara J Lal

Better Thinking

Pebble in the Pond

Mindarma 

Martin Fisk

James Martin

Christopher Willard

John Gray

Judith Grisel

Amanda Feilding

David Sloan Wilson

Kevin Humphreys

Megan Mitchell

Warren Farrell

Chris Miller

Travis Rieder

Dr Marshall

Steven Hayes

David Mandel

OwlTail

The power of lived-experience stories not only enable us to feel emotional and inspired, but can also be the pillars we need for change, particularly as it relates to our systems and processes for health and wellbeing This week’s guest Tara J Lal has a mission to use the voice of lived experience to effect meaningful change for our frontline workers at all individual, organisational and community levels. Tara is a professional firefighter and peer support officer with Fire and Rescue NSW. She is also a PhD candidate at the University of New England and was awarded the inaugural Australian Rotary Health scholarship for research into the mental health of emergency service workers in 2018. Her research focusses on understanding the impact of suicide on firefighters. Tara is a Mental Health First Aid instructor and has managed the psychological wellbeing program in Fire and Rescue NSW, working with researchers at the Black Dog Institute to implement programs aimed at building resilience and improving mental health outcomes in firefighters. She was a finalist in the Rotary Inspirational Woman of the Year awards in 2017. Stay tuned as Tara tells us her story and lived experience as both an active firefighter and survivor of a traumatic childhood.  She will highlight how growth can emerge after trauma and what we, as individuals, organisations and communities can do to effect that transformation through working together, shared responsibility and a compassion-first approach.

The power of lived-experience stories not only enable us to feel emotional and inspired, but can also be the pillars we need for change, particularly as it relates to our systems and processes for health and wellbeing This week’s guest Tara J Lal has a mission to use the voice of lived experience to effect meaningful change for our frontline workers at all individual, organisational and community levels. Tara is a professional firefighter and peer support officer with Fire and Rescue NSW. She is also a PhD candidate at the University of New England and was awarded the inaugural Australian Rotary Health scholarship for research into the mental health of emergency service workers in 2018. Her research focusses on understanding the impact of suicide on firefighters. Tara is a Mental Health First Aid instructor and has managed the psychological wellbeing program in Fire and Rescue NSW, working with researchers at the Black Dog Institute to implement programs aimed at building resilience and improving mental health outcomes in firefighters. She was a finalist in the Rotary Inspirational Woman of the Year awards in 2017. Stay tuned as Tara tells us her story and lived experience as both an active firefighter and survivor of a traumatic childhood.  She will highlight how growth can emerge after trauma and what we, as individuals, organisations and communities can do to effect that transformation through working together, shared responsibility and a compassion-first approach.

S4:E08 | Tara J Lal AFSM: How Frontline Workers Can Change How We Approach Wellbeing

In this episode of Better Thinking, Nesh Nikolic speaks with Tara J Lal about raising awareness around suicide and reducing the stigma associated with mental illness. Tara J Lal is a professional firefighter with Fire and Rescue NSW and a PhD candidate at the University of New England. She is the internationally published author of Standing on My Brother’s Shoulders – Making peace with Grief and Suicide; a memoir and self-help book that tracks her journey through childhood trauma to a life of meaning and purpose. She has been awarded an Australian Rotary Health scholarship for research into the mental health of emergency service workers and was a finalist in the Rotary Inspirational Woman of the Year awards in 2017. She is also a Mental Health First Aid instructor and has managed the psychological wellbeing program in Fire and Rescue NSW working with researchers at the Black Dog Institute to develop programs aimed at building resilience and improving mental health outcomes in firefighters. She is also a professional speaker, integrating research and story to create healthy conversation around suicide. Her mission - to gently reframe the public narrative around mental health and suicide by changing the way people think about illness and wellness. Episode links at https://neshnikolic.com/podcast/tara-lalSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode of Better Thinking, Nesh Nikolic speaks with Tara J Lal about raising awareness around suicide and reducing the stigma associated with mental illness. Tara J Lal is a professional firefighter with Fire and Rescue NSW and a PhD candidate at the University of New England. She is the internationally published author of Standing on My Brother’s Shoulders – Making peace with Grief and Suicide; a memoir and self-help book that tracks her journey through childhood trauma to a life of meaning and purpose. She has been awarded an Australian Rotary Health scholarship for research into the mental health of emergency service workers and was a finalist in the Rotary Inspirational Woman of the Year awards in 2017. She is also a Mental Health First Aid instructor and has managed the psychological wellbeing program in Fire and Rescue NSW working with researchers at the Black Dog Institute to develop programs aimed at building resilience and improving mental health outcomes in firefighters. She is also a professional speaker, integrating research and story to create healthy conversation around suicide. Her mission - to gently reframe the public narrative around mental health and suicide by changing the way people think about illness and wellness. Episode links at <a href="https://neshnikolic.com/podcast/tara-lal" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://neshnikolic.com/podcast/tara-lal</a>See <a href="https://omnystudio.com/listener" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">omnystudio.com/listener</a> for privacy information.

#70 — Tara J Lal on The Ripple Effect of Suicide

Resilience

In our first Mindarma podcast, Dean Yates talks to Senior Firefighter, author and PhD Scholar Tara J Lal.  Tara is a full-time firefighter in Sydney. She helps run the psychological wellbeing program for Fire &amp; Rescue NSW. She is trained in suicide prevention and mental health first aid. Tara is extremely passionate about mental health. She is now half-way through a PhD, in which she is researching how firefighters cope with the tragic suicides they encounter on the job. When someone suicides, Fire and Rescue usually get called. Tara wants to understand how firefighters make sense of it all.Tara’s family history has shaped who she is today. Born in London, some of Tara’s earliest memories are of the crippling mental illness her father has suffered all his life. When she was eight, Tara’s mother was diagnosed with cancer and died five years later. At the time, Tara turned to her sensitive fifteen-year-old brother Adam for support. Adam was grieving silently, pouring his thoughts into a series of diaries. Four years after their mother died, in his first semester at Oxford University, Adam took his own life. Tara coped by keeping busy. By travelling. By never stopping. But her family trauma caught up with her. Tara spent many years trying to understand this trauma. Building her resilience. Finding meaning in life. That culminated in 2015 with  the publication of her powerful memoir: Standing on my Brother's Shoulders: Making Peace with Grief and Suicide. In this podcast Tara shares her valuable insights on building personal resilience in the face of adversity and trauma. Brought to you by Mindarma.com.

In our first Mindarma podcast, Dean Yates talks to Senior Firefighter, author and PhD Scholar Tara J Lal.   Tara is a full-time firefighter in Sydney. She helps run the psychological wellbeing program for Fire &amp; Rescue NSW. She is trained in suicide prevention and mental health first aid.  Tara is extremely passionate about mental health. She is now half-way through a PhD, in which she is researching how firefighters cope with the tragic suicides they encounter on the job. When someone suicides, Fire and Rescue usually get called. Tara wants to understand how firefighters make sense of it all.Tara’s family history has shaped who she is today. Born in London, some of Tara’s earliest memories are of the crippling mental illness her father has suffered all his life. When she was eight, Tara’s mother was diagnosed with cancer and died five years later. At the time, Tara turned to her sensitive fifteen-year-old brother Adam for support. Adam was grieving silently, pouring his thoughts into a series of diaries. Four years after their mother died, in his first semester at Oxford University, Adam took his own life. Tara coped by keeping busy. By travelling. By never stopping. But her family trauma caught up with her. Tara spent many years trying to understand this trauma. Building her resilience. Finding meaning in life. That culminated in 2015 with  the publication of her powerful memoir: <a href="https://www.penguin.com.au/books/standing-on-my-brothers-shoulders-9781786783561" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Standing on my Brother's Shoulders: Making Peace with Grief and Suicide.</a> In this podcast Tara shares her valuable insights on building personal resilience in the face of adversity and trauma. Brought to you by <a href="https://www.mindarma.com/home/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Mindarma.com</a>.

Episode 1: Senior Firefighter Tara J Lal on storytelling, self-care and resilience.