Partners
Gerry Farrell has clinical experience in general and psychiatric nursing and management experience both in health and tertiary education and is currently responsible for a large school of nursing and midwifery delivering undergraduate and postgraduate education and training in partnership with public and private health providers. His research has made him one of the leading international experts on problematic clinical relationships and aggression management in nursing. His 1991 book was amongst the first to show that problems on aggression can be understood and managed by analyzing the characteristics of the participants in their unique contexts. His current research addresses the problems of challenging behaviours in emergency departments and the prevalence of occupational violence in nursing and midwifery. He is regularly invited to present in Australia and overseas and he has provided consultancy for government bodies in health and education.
Peter Salmon, a clinical psychologist with experience in general and mental health, currently, manages a university division as well as leading an innovative clinical service in cancer care. His research expertise is in clinical communication and its problems in medical and nursing care. His particular focus is on how problems attributed to ‘difficult patients’ can be understood be understood as products of psychological processes in both the practitioner and the patient. He has published 150 papers on this and other topics and a text book on the psychology of clinical care in medicine and surgery. He has a particular interest in identifying the commonalities in challenging behaviours across diverse clinical settings, and in overcoming limitations of current staff training approaches. Currently president-elect of the European Association of Communication in Healthcare, his expertise is sought by educational and other organisations in Europe and North America.
Gerry Dares has worked as a mental health nurse and academic for 20 years. He currently combines university teaching and community clinical work in mental health with research on seclusion methods in acute mental health facilities. His presentations, both in Australia and overseas, focus particularly on the development of effective teamwork in clinical environments. They encompass advanced communication skills, self awareness, emotional intelligence, and working with challenging behaviors. A skilled communicator in his own right, Gerry’s workshops are well known for being both challenging and engaging.
Rod Mann has a career extending over 30 years in mental health having undertaken a range of clinical, managerial and policy development roles in rural, metropolitan and specialist statewide public mental health services and government departments. His interests include service development and redesign, service improvement and quality systems. Over the past 10 years Rod has participated in and led a number of service level reviews and investigations following critical incidents. Rod is a Registered Nurse and holds an Advanced Diploma in Psychiatric Nursing, Bachelor in Community Health Nursing, Graduate Diploma of Health Services Management and a Master of Business Leadership. He is currently the Senior Mental Health Nurse in a large tertiary health service and the co-chair of the Victorian Mental Health Alcohol and Drug Nurse Practitioner Collaborative and enjoys supporting Nurse Practitioners, candidates and those interested in this important area of clinical nursing practice.
Associates
Mark Smithers is trained in building design and has worked with several universities in the UK and Australia developing expertise in e-learning solutions to exploit the www for innovative responses to client needs.
Daniel Nicholls has worked in several universities and clinical settings. Daniel’s unique approach to interactional dynamics draws on philosophical perspectives. He is in demand for his expertise in clinical supervision.