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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.

Links:

Tara J Lal (website)

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