The Innerview

In this heartfelt episode, we sit down with Alison Bohn, a dear friend, as she opens up about her mother Annie's battle with dementia. Annie, known for her humor and warmth, left an indelible mark on everyone she met. Ali shares cherished memories of her mother before dementia took hold, offering a glimpse into the incredible woman she was.

As we delve into their journey, Ali sheds light on the unexpected challenges that come with caring for a loved one with dementia. She emphasises how this experience is far more gut-wrenching than most might imagine.Despite the...

In this episode we're privileged to have Erryn Sculley, the compassionate mental health social worker behind "Nurtured Mothers Wellbeing," share her profound journey. Erryn reveals the origins of her initiative and her mission to support mothers in their mental health journeys, touching on the often-overlooked concept of matrescence.

Erryn shares her personal story and recounts discovering her mother's cancer diagnosis just one day before learning of her own pregnancy. She bravely shares how this dual journey profoundly impacted her experience and the coping mechanisms she relied on during this challenging time.

The societal myth of...

Join us in this inspiring episode as we sit down with Alan Thorpe, an extraordinary individual who is embarking on a remarkable journey from Ballarat to Adelaide CBD. Covering a staggering distance of 630 kilometers in roughly 35 days, Alan's determination to walk around 30 kilometers a day is a testament to his unwavering commitment to mental health awareness.

In this captivating conversation, Alan shares the motivations behind his incredible journey and his dedication to raising funds for the mental health charity Beyond Blue. Having already surpassed his initial goal of $15,000 with an astonishing $40,000 raised, Alan delves into how these...

Join us for a heartfelt episode as we celebrate the life of Tess Pearce, a remarkable individual who embraced life with cerebral palsy and refused to let her challenges define her. Tess's mother, Sandi Pearce, shares the story of her incredibly intelligent and kind daughter who fought for equality her entire life.

Tess's journey was filled with determination and support from her family, especially her inspiring mother, Sandi. Although she faced social challenges at school due to her disability, Tess remained determined to succeed academically. She pursued her dreams, and even in the face of adversity, she...

In this inspiring episode, join us as we sit down with Dean, Gus, and Josh, three remarkable individuals who are embarking on an extraordinary charity run from Federation Square in Melbourne to Ballarat, covering a distance of approximately 117 kilometers, all in one go. Their mission? To raise awareness and funds for men's mental health.

We dive deep into their motivations and personal connections to mental health challenges. Dean shares his own journey, shedding light on the struggles he has faced and continues to face, which have fueled his determination to make a difference. Gus and...

Join us for an incredible chat with Celia Gercovich, a young and fearless entrepreneur who took a leap of faith by leaving her corporate job to conquer the world of social media and entrepreneurship. With a thriving online presence on TikTok and YouTube, Celia shares her journey of transition and the highs and lows of building a successful online career.

Discover the early influences that shaped Celia's entrepreneurial mindset and fuelled her determination for success. Hear how she bravely made the leap from the typical 9-5 grind to fully embracing the digital realm. She'll also reveal the...

York's journey continued with two open-heart surgeries, complications, and a harrowing stint on life support known as ECMO. Maddison vividly recounts the harrowing moments when the doctor revealed the gravity of York's condition, forcing her to confront the possibility of leaving the hospital without her baby. The PICU became their second home, witnessing both the heart-wrenching struggles of other families and the extraordinary dedication of medical professionals.

The episode takes a dramatic turn as Maddison reveals the recent cardiac arrest that York experienced, and the heroic actions she and her partner had to take to save their...

In this powerful and emotionally charged episode, join us as we welcome back returning guest Maddison Hutchinson. Maddison bravely shares her remarkable journey of resilience and hope after the loss of her daughter Sutton to hypoplastic left heart syndrome. Experience the rollercoaster of emotions she endured, from the depths of despair to the joy of a new pregnancy.

After the devastating loss of her daughter and a subsequent miscarriage, Maddison found herself living in fear during her subsequent pregnancy with York. Every step felt precarious, and she meticulously watched every aspect of her life, from medications to...

Join us for an emotionally charged podcast episode as we delve into the extraordinary journey of Tamara Donnelly, a resilient mother who faced unexpected challenges with her daughter, Mackenzie. Everything seemed perfect on Mackenzie's first day of life, but a routine hearing screen revealed something amiss. Tamara vividly recounts the moments that followed, from initial confusion to witnessing her partner's concern. 

They underwent a series of tests, with each step bringing a mix of emotions. Tamara humorously reflects on turning to Dr. Google, only to be bombarded with worst-case scenarios. However, it was their exceptional audiologist who b...

Get ready for an incredibly powerful and heartfelt episode as we wrap up our "Loss of a Parent Series" with Marnee, our sixth and final guest. Marnee has bravely agreed to share her deeply personal story of losing both her mum and dad to heart attacks and cardiac arrests. Through tears and vulnerability, she opens up about the devastating impact these losses have had on her life and who she has become as a person.

In this candid conversation, Marnee reflects on her challenging relationship with her mum, revealing the ups and downs they experienced together. But...

In this emotional episode, we sit down with Emma French, who shares her deeply personal story of pregnancy, loss, and healing. Emma takes us back to that fateful moment in October 2018 when she discovered she was expecting her first child, just as she was about to embark on a girls' weekend for her 30th birthday. 

The journey seemed hopeful as Emma underwent various tests and scans, which initially indicated a low-risk pregnancy. However, at the 20-week scan, everything changed in an instant. Emma and her husband received the heartbreaking news that their baby had a severe case o...

Join us as we chat with Ange, the amazing owner of Lucida Boutique Dress Hire, in this empowering episode. Ange shares her personal journey towards body positivity and how it has influenced her business. We delve into the fashion industry's contribution to body shaming and get practical tips on navigating the challenges of finding clothes online.

Discover the benefits of dress rental and how it aligns perfectly with Ange's message of body positivity. We also explore the most common concerns women have when dressing up for special occasions and how Ange helps them overcome insecurities.

...

In this deeply personal episode of our 'Loss of a Parent' series, we sit down with Yarnie Couchman as our guest. Yarnie takes us on her emotional journey of losing her mum when she was just a young teenager. Her mother, tragically taken by breast cancer at only 51 years old, left a void in Yarnie's life that she had to navigate as she transitioned from a girl to a woman.

With raw honesty, Yarnie shares the challenges and difficult moments of growing up without her mum's guidance. She opens up about being the only woman in the...

In this episode, I have a very special guest joining me - my grandfather, Barry Whitehead. We'll be sharing our personal story of how we found each other through an Ancestry DNA test in September last year. Prior to this test, neither of us knew that the other existed.

This is a deeply personal episode for me, as my father Aaron unfortunately passed away by suicide when I was just three years old. Before his death, he often spoke about his biggest grievance in life - not knowing who his real father was. This caused him a...

Welcome back to our Loss Of A Parent Series. 
In this episode, we are joined by our first-ever repeat guest, Tara Dowling, who joined us previously to share her inspiring journey of weight loss surgery.

However, in this episode, Tara shares a completely different story as she opens up about the loss of her mother, Trish, to stomach cancer that spread throughout her whole body just four days after Tara became a first-time mother. Trish passed away at just 58 years old and had been brushed off many times when trying to seek a diagnosis over the y...

In this episode of the podcast, we sit down with Alysha, a mother of three who has experienced both the joys and challenges of pregnancy and childbirth. However, this episode focuses on a topic that is often difficult to discuss: the stillbirth of her daughter, Isla, at 34 weeks gestation.

Alysha opens up about her experience with pregnancy loss and the difficulties she faced during her daughter's birth, which prompted her to advocate for a bereavement room in every hospital in Australia. She shares her personal story and reflects on the signs of stress she missed during her...

Welcome to episode 3 of our "Loss of a Parent" series. In this episode, I speak with Carla Walker, a former classmate of mine from primary school. Carla was a happy, outgoing, and athletic young girl with a dream of making it to the Olympics. Her father was her biggest fan, but all of her hopes and aspirations were shattered when he suddenly passed away when she was just 13 years old.

Carla, who was an only child, speaks candidly about the sudden loss of her dad and how it affected her relationship with her mother, whom she has...

Welcome to episode two of our 'Loss of a Parent' series. In this episode, we speak with Shaylan, a business owner, wife, and mum of three children, who lost her mum to suicide when she was just 17 years old.

Shaylan shares with us the devastating loss, the shock, and what she remembers from that night. Despite having different circumstances, we asked each guest the same questions to gain insight into their unique experiences.

As an only child, Shaylan had to step up and grow up instantly, moving into a role of cooking and cleaning as...

In this episode of our Loss of a Parent series, we have the honor of speaking with Ashlee Burrell. Ashlee's father, Shane, tragically lost his life in a drowning incident in Warrnambool in 2005, which also claimed the lives of four other family members. Ashlee and her sisters were the only survivors of the freak wave that took out her family. Her youngest sister was in a coma for some time but survived.

Ashlee opens up about the trauma of losing her dad and multiple family members in such a horrific and traumatic way. She shares her journey...

In this episode, we speak to Crystal Atkins, a clinical audiologist, new mum, and wife to a paramedic. Crystal shares with us how the families of front line/emergency service workers are also affected by the stresses and strains of their jobs, something that is not often spoken about and can leave partners and family members feeling isolated and misunderstood.

Crystal talks about her childhood, her background, and how she became a clinical audiologist. She also shares how she met her husband, who drew her to him, and how her impressions of paramedics changed once her husband...

In this episode of the podcast, we interview Jessica Sculley, a mother who shares her family's journey with her daughter Sadie's diagnosis. Jessica talks about the first signs of an issue when Sadie was just 3 months old, as she was an extremely colicky and unsettled baby, which led them to visit their GP. The pediatrician suggested that it could be colic, but he had concerns about Sadie's head control, tone, and eye movements.

The situation escalated when Sadie was 5 months old, and an MRI revealed bleeding on her brain, which opened up a child services case. The...

In this episode of the podcast,  we have a very special guest, Mikayla, who at the age of 12 was diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis. Mikayla shares with us what it's like to live with a chronic condition throughout her childhood, teenage years and now as an adult.

Mikayla speaks candidly about the challenges she has faced while managing her condition, including how it has affected her relationships with family and friends, caused her to be bullied, and impacted her ability to work. She shares her experience with the healthcare system and how she has been not believed to h...

Welcome back to the final episode of our twin series with Edie Hartnell, Mama of twin boys Ollie & Alfie. In this episode, Edie opens up about her fears and emotions when she found out she was pregnant with twins. She shares how she wasn't expecting it and had no suspicions until her first ultrasound. The news of having two babies at once can be overwhelming for any new parent, and Edie is no exception.

Edie also talks about the negative and hurtful comments she received from strangers, especially during the early days when one of her sons...

In this episode of our Twin series, we talk to Olivia, a mum of three who already had a toddler before giving birth to her twin babies. Olivia shares her unique perspective on raising twins, having experienced a single pregnancy and birth first.

Olivia talks about the differences in her pregnancy with twins, from feeling more tired and uncomfortable to the added monitoring and care from her healthcare providers. She also shares her experience with giving birth to twins and the challenges she faced during labor and delivery.

Olivia delves into the recovery process after...

Ever wonder what it's really like to raise two little ones at once? We've got you covered with our three-part series on twin parenting. I sit down with three amazing women who share their unique experiences and perspectives on the ups and downs of raising twins.

In episode #1, we chat with Meg, a Mum of twins Oslen & Elsie, who gives us the inside scoop on what it's really like to juggle two kiddos at once. From managing schedules to dealing with strangers' comments and questions, Meg shares her tips and tricks for navigating twin parenting.

...

Welcome back to The Innerview Podcast! After a much needed break, I'm excited to be back and ready to dive into the new year. In this mini episode, I'll be recapping the highlights of 2022 and sharing the reasons behind my extended break. You'll get an inside look at what's been going on and what's to come for The Innerview Podcast in 2023.

I'm grateful for the support of my listeners and I want to thank each and every one of you for sticking with me through this time. Whether you're a long-time listener or just tuning in, I'm...

Meet Bridget!

Bridget is an Accredited Mental Health Social Worker who has over 15 years of experience in the field. Bridget has extensive experience working in private practice with people with a range of mental health presentations. She has also worked within primary and secondary education settings as a child, adolescent and parent/family counsellor, at the Department of Education and as a lecturer at university level.

Bridget has extensive experience working in the perinatal and fertility space, and her passion lies in working with women’s wellness, in pre and post-natal mental health and the on...

Founder and Director at Raven Collective, Nat has worked locally in the social welfare sector for several years and has a Bachelor’s Degree in Community and Human Services from Federation University. She is an accredited member of the Australian Community Workers Association.

With a strong desire to impact the space of Domestic and Family Violence, she has been dreaming about bringing Raven to life for many years and is incredibly excited the time has come.

Nat is a strong advocate and enthusiast of human rights along with promoting inspiring women and girls. She hopes, th...

Meet Lace! A Wife & Mother working full time AND running her own business "The Cookie Collective". In this episode we chat about her upbringing and how this has shaped her and moulded her parenting style. 

Lace shares her business journey and what inspired her to start making cookies. She speaks about the highs and lows of working for yourself and doing something that requires such effort and intricate details. We discuss the challenging aspects of running a business in 2022 and how tricky it can be keeping up with the social media world.

Switching gears, Lace r...

Meet Steph, A Wife and Mama with an incredible story, her baby girl was born at just 27 weeks gestation. Back in January this year Steph was suffering from Covid and what she thought was a rally bad case. Eventually after days of excruciating symptoms and starting to worry for the health of her baby Steph was taken into the Emergency Department.

It was then that doctors quickly realised not only was Steph suffering from Covid, she also had HELLP Syndrome. HELLP syndrome is a rare pregnancy complication. It is a type of preeclampsia and has similar symptoms...

Meet Bella, she is a Wife, Mother & Incredibly talented photographer based in rural South Australia in a town called Whyalla. Not only has Bella battled her own journey with Cystic Fibrosis from birth she also had a bumpy road into becoming a parent and now is navigating two challenging paths for her children.

Bella's son has ASD & ADHD and her two year old daughter has a rare heart condition CCTGA (Congenitally corrected transposition of the great arteries) that was picked up in her 20 week scan, after two open heart surgeries and the addition of a...

*TW* This episode contains discussion of suicide, mental health, eating disorders and alcoholism.

Meet Maddie! She spent her entire childhood labeled as the "naughty & loud child", feeling completely different to her peers and struggling to apply herself.  Growing up in a traumatic environment and forced to grow up quickly - Maddie was misdiagnosed many times with different mental health issues.

In this episode we speak about the trauma and effects of being completely misunderstood for 29 years, the intense struggles she had as a new mum with undiagnosed ADHD and the comorbidites associated with t...

Meet Sarah a Paediatric Nurse & Co-founder of 'Paeds First Aid'. She has cared for some of Australia's most unwell children & supported their families through this process too. Sarah is incredibly passionate about first aid training and empowering parents, families & carers with the life-saving knowledge their training courses provide.

Sarah has extensive experience in education, training, and Paediatric Advanced Life Support. She has been involved in clinical education at a large tertiary hospital in Melbourne and with the Australian College of Critical Care Nursing, and has held roles in Paediatric Intensive Care as a Clinical Nurse Consultant, outreach...

Meet Erin, A non-diet dietitian from Melbourne. She is a wealth of knowledge and information, In this chat, she shares tips and inspiration to move away from weight loss and towards intuitive eating. She shares her philosophy about ditching diets to explore intuitive eating and a non-diet approach and how liberating, joyful and exciting it can be.

We circle back to Erin's childhood and discuss her relationship with her body and food over the years and how that is impacted by the messages society sends us as young women and diet culture. It’s so normal and co...

Meet Mel! She is a married Mama of 3 & working full time. In this episode we go back and discuss her upbringing and childhood in New Zealand, we discuss the painful loss of her mother at just 50 years old and how she navigated life after such a loss.
Mel talks about meeting her husband and their love story, her journey to becoming a mother and the parts that haven't always been easy.

Mel sheds light on post natal depression and anxiety, the things she wish she knew as a new mother and what she knows now as...

4 years ago Lee decided it was time to dedicate that year to address her health.
At the time she was suffering from terrible plantar fasciitis in both feet and knew her family history of bowel cancer and gastric issues, she also was unhappy with her weight. Once she took this step it was discovered that she had a
huge Hiatus Hernia that had pulled 2/3 of her stomach from its lining. An operation was needed to fix the hernia and assess the damage to her oesophagus.

3 hrs of surgery later, the hernia was back in her...

*Trigger Warning* This episode contains discussion of Pregnancy & Infant Loss, Miscarriage, Termination & medical procedures.  

Join us as we hear 3 anonymously submitted stories involving  their experiences with Miscarriage, Pregnancy & Infant Loss. Some share experience of miscarriage, loss of a twin while growing another baby to term & loss of an infant at just 8 weeks old. 
These women. share the complex emotions surrounding this type of loss and how they were able to cope through this horrific experience. 

Thank you to each person who bravely submitted and shared their experience for our anonymous series. Your openness and vulne...

At just 17 years old Rach was told she was infertile and would struggle to ever get pregnant without medical intervention. 6 years ago she moved to London to travel and explore the world she then had her entire life flipped on its head when she unexpectedly fell pregnant with someone she met a few months before.

In this interview, Rach walks us through this challenging journey and the confronting and heartbreaking reality of being pregnant with someone who did not desire to be a parent. She shares the experience of flying back to Australia alone and heavily pregnant...

Meet Jacob, born and raised here in Ballarat with a bunch of life experiences in just 22 years of life. In this episode, you will hear about Jacob's early life and upbringing, the challenges he faced growing up as a child of mixed race and how much he appreciates those adverse experiences now as an adult.

Jacob shares his personal experience with Weight Loss Surgery at a young age and what led him to make that huge life decision. We speak about the stigmas surrounding WLS and how that has changed his relationship with not only food/eating...

Did you know there are around 100 surrogacy births in Australia every year? Although Kat offered in February 2021, it takes time to get through the process to be a surrogate.
Surrogacy is NOT illegal in Australia. What is illegal is to advertise for a surrogate and for a surrogate to be compensated in any way financially. It is also recommended the surrogate has finished growing her family first.

This week we are speaking with Shannon & Kat, this is an incredible story of friendship and hope. Shannon was born with Mayer-Rokitansky-Küster-Hauser syndrome (MRKH) and chances are you h...