Podcast Preview | Where There’s a Will
Where There’s a Will: A New Podcast Tackling Ireland’s Mental Health System
Ireland’s mental health system is failing us – something needs to change, and soon
We’ve just got word here at PodStuff of a new podcast on the topic of mental health in Ireland. From listening to some previews, it sounds like essential listening for anyone attempting to understand this hugely important yet all-too-frequently ignored area of Irish life.
The new six-part podcast series from A Lust For Life, the mental health charity co-founded in 2015 by Niall Breslin (Bressie), asks why our mental health system is so dysfunctional. Who is responsible for fixing it? And what can we, collectively, do to create long-term, systemic change?
The introductory episode will debut on Monday 12th November, with the rest premiering every Thursday starting Thursday 15th November and running over six weeks. The podcast series is co-hosted by Paula McLoughlin, Chair and Acting CEO of A Lust for Life, and produced and co-hosted by Editor of A Lust for Life Ciara O’Connor Walsh.
The podcast tackles the problems in the mental health system, covering stories of individuals failing to receive the help they need and systemic challenges with policy and infrastructure from those on the coal face. Guests include Professor John Hillery (President of the Royal College of Psychiatrists), Joan Freeman, Brian Higgins (CEO of Pieta House), Professor Peter Kinderman (University of Liverpool), Dominic Layden (CEO of Aware), Dr Ciara Kelly (Broadcast Journalist), John Saunders (Chair of the Mental Health Commission), Dr Eddie Murphy (Clinical Psychologist), Martin Rogan (CEO of Mental Health Ireland), and more; as well as eight people who share their personal experience of using the mental health services, stigma, barriers to care, and what ‘good’ could and should look like.
We made this podcast series because we at A Lust for Life fundamentally believe that the solutions are out there, that collectively we can influence our political leaders to drive towards a mental health system that truly serves our beautiful island.
– Chairperson and Acting CEO, Paula McLoughlin.
Editor and podcast producer Ciara O’ Connor Walsh also points out that “this work is not just about going over the old ground of everything that’s wrong with the system – it is about articulating the change that is both necessary and possible.”
The series will culminate in a live podcast episode recorded as part of the First Fortnight Festival in January, and will form part of a longer term advocacy campaign that A Lust for Life are driving around political accountability in mental health.
You can also have a listen to previews of Episode 1, Episode 2, and Episode 3.
