It’s an Occupied first! We’re coming to you LIVE from the 2026 Occupational Therapy Australia Mental Health Forum in Canberra!

For our very first live episode, Brock and Jess are joined by Rachel and Riley from Mental Illness Education ACT (MIEACT) for an open, honest and occasionally hilarious conversation about lived experience and what mental health professionals can learn from the people they’re supporting.

We explore their personal experiences of mental health challenges, the insights they’ve gained along the way, and why lived experience needs to be more than just something clinicians acknowledge. It’s something we should genuinely listen to, learn from and allow to challenge the way we practise.

Along the way, we touch on MIEACT’s DoNOHarm Framework, the importance of creating safe spaces for sharing stories, and, of course, a particularly memorable discussion about “the fuckening.” You’ll have to listen to find out about that one!

A huge thanks to Rachel and Riley for being so generous with their stories, perspectives and humour, and for helping us kick off Occupied LIVE!

Find out more about MIEACT: https://mieact.org.au/

Recorded live at: OTA Mental Health Forum 2026, Canberra

Instagram: @OccupiedPodcast
Facebook: Occupied Podcast

Hosts: Brock Cook & Dr Jess Levick

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