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News

Colman O’Driscoll announced as new CEO

Following Dr Margaret Grigg’s decision to step down as Forensicare’s CEO in August 2023, our Board are pleased to announce the appointment of Colman O’Driscoll as our new Chief Executive Officer. Colman has over 25 years’ experience working across healthcare including forensic mental health. He has held senior leadership roles within public health services, government, corporate, not-for-profit and private sectors including being an Adjunct Associate Professor with the University of NSW. Colman will join Forensicare from the position of Chief [...]

Distinguished Professor James Ogloff awarded the 2023 Rüdiger Müller-Isberner Award

Distinguished Professor James Ogloff has been awarded the 2023 Rüdiger Müller-Isberner Award by the International Association of Forensic Mental Health Sciences (IAFMHS). The Rüdiger Müller-Isberner Award is intended to honour a long-standing member of the association whose career epitomises the fusion of clinical practice, scholarly research, and mentorship. The award is named after esteemed German forensic psychiatrist, Rüdiger Müller-Isberner, founding member of the IAFMHS and internationally renowned with respect to, in particular, the integration of science and practice.

Forensicare CEO Dr Margaret Grigg awarded OAM

Chief Executive Officer Margaret Grigg received the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in the King’s Birthday 2023 Honours List for her contributions to mental health. Margaret began her local and international career in the health, mental health and human services sector as a mental health nurse at Plenty Hospital. Since then, her roles have included working as the Deputy Chief Executive of Mind Australia, the Vice President of the Kyneton District Health Service Board and the Senior Executive [...]

Forensicare CEO Dr Margaret Grigg to step down in August

After four years as Forensicare CEO, Dr Margaret Grigg will be stepping down from the role in August. During her tenure, Margaret has driven the development and implementation of a new Strategic Plan and Model of Care, as well as leading an important program of cultural reform across all levels of the organisation. She has guided the organisation through a period of extraordinary change and expansion across all programs and services, while navigating the many challenges of COVID-19. Margaret’s commitment to consumers [...]

CFBS-Forensicare Annual Research Report 2021-2022

The CFBS-Forensicare Annual Research Report 2021-2022 is now available. The Centre for Forensic Behavioural Science (CFBS) is a partnership between Forensicare and Swinburne University of Technology and is Australasia’s leading centre for excellence in the areas of forensic mental health and forensic behavioural science research, teaching and practice development. The Annual Research Report celebrates our achievements in forensic mental health research, promoting innovation, knowledge creation, translation and application of best practice in forensic mental health services. Highlights from the report include:a total of 87 publications in the last [...]

Associate Professor Stephane Shepherd awarded ARC Grant

Associate Professor Stephane Shepherd from the Centre for Forensic Behavioural Sciences at Swinburne University of Technology has been awarded an ARC Discovery Grant for the project ‘Understanding the drivers and motivators of extremist violence’. The project received total funding of $864,680 for the period 2023-26 and will be conducted with fellow researchers Professor Michele Grossman, Professor Michele Pathé and Professor Paul Gill. Despite intense interest in the issue, the understanding of and ability to respond to extremist violence is limited. This [...]

Dr Tessa Maguire awarded 2022 Chris Abderhalden Award

Congratulations to Dr Tessa Maguire who was recently awarded the 2022 Chris Abderhalden Award for Young Researchers in the Field of Aggression in Healthcare at the 12th European Congress on Violence in Clinical Psychiatry.Tessa is a Senior Lecturer in Forensic Mental Health Nursing at Swinburne University of Technology and conducts research with Forensicare as part of the Centre for Forensic Behavioural Science (CFBS).Tessa received the award for her project ‘Reducing Inpatient Aggression and Use of Restrictive Interventions’.The Chris Abderhalden [...]

Thomas Embling Hospital Bed Expansion Project – Update October 2022

This week marks the next stage in the landmark expansion of Thomas Embling Hospital, Forensicare’s secure forensic mental health service.On Wednesday, Acting Minister for Mental Health Colin Brooks announced John Holland had been appointed to deliver the $462.5 million project, which will include a new dedicated 34-bed women’s precinct, a 48-bed medium security men’s facility, a new entry complex, onsite carpark and administration facilities.The project Co-design and Engagement Report was also released this week. This follows a comprehensive co-design [...]

The sacrifice you might not know you’re making

Something that comes up often in the reflective practice space is a preparedness to show up for others. And whilst this is admirable and often humbling to witness, it also often occurs at the expense of attending to our own needs and wellbeing. Today, October 10th is World Mental Health Day, with the theme ‘make mental health and wellbeing for all a global priority’.In this edition of The Ascent, we highlight the common tendency in health professionals to ‘self-sacrifice’ [...]

Managing burnout

Lately we’ve been hearing a lot about anxiety, fatigue, and exhaustion, and we’ve been feeling this too. Whilst there could be a whole host of explanations for this, two words come up time and again – burnout and stress. It can be hard to differentiate between the two, and indeed some of us may feel like we’re balancing on a fine line between them. This edition of The Ascent explores these experiences more deeply in a bid to try [...]