Tunde Meikle

About me

I am an experienced professional mental health professional (registered psychologist) and educator (from primary to postgraduate higher education). I have my own journey of mental health challenges and am also involved in the care of family with mental health challenges and I come from a refugee background with multigenerational trauma. I have been part of lived experience groups for several years, coming mainly from the carer perspective, working on an advisory committee to a major public mental health service, and more recently as an employee as a lived experience educator (carer perspective). I have educated nurses and teachers and psychologists while working as a university lecturer in psychology, always emphasising the humanist tradition in my work. I have also worked for many years as an Employee Assistance Provider helping individuals and work groups with crises, ongoing trauma and organisational and management problems. I have also worked at Board level on several organisations and have been directly involved in developing policies and procedures within regulatory environments. I have also served in the military (army and navy) in education, recruiting and trauma response. This work has also been useful in my role as a long term volunteer firefighter, where I have also helped with trauma responses. I am also a nationally accredited mediator.

My experience

After many years educating nurses, teachers and psychologists, I evolved to work at Board level developing policies and procedures and strategy for a major emergency services organisation having previously served on the Board for registering psychologists. Both roles enabled me to gain insight into the way decisions are made in large services and organisations and the importance of familiarity with regulatory environments, I continued work in employee assistance program roles mostly in supporting people struggling with organisational changes, tragedies, traumas and conflicts and their personal journeys of mental health challenges and the difficulties of caring roles. To share my insights and improve the service provision in mental health I became a member of an advisory panel to a major public mental health service for several years as a lived and living experience carer, and then became employed by the service in mid 2023 as a lived and living experience educator from the carer perspective.

My current role/work

Presently I am a lived and living experience educator at a major public mental health service where I am involved in creating and delivering learning experiences for our lived experience workforce, both carers and consumers. I continue to do casual sessional work in counselling and professional performance coaching.

My training

I have a Bachelor of Science, a Master of Arts, a Graduate Diploma in Education (secondary), Master of Business Administration, My complementary interests in wider models of care are expressed in my completing a Cert III in Horticulture, and a Cert III in Conservation and Land Management. I also hold a Cert IV Training and Assessment and have completed countless regular professional development courses related to mental health, service improvement, co-design and coaching.

My approach to supervision

My basic approach to working with people derives from the Humanist tradition and is strongly informed by the anti-psychiatry movement which means I emphasise respect for the individual in their infinite variety as an expert in their own life. As a divergent thinker I always remain receptive and open to both learning from the person I am working with and seek ways to offer what I can to enrich their experience and broaden their choices in their personal and professional lives. I ensure I create a safe space for vulnerability to allow sensitive disclosures, alongside opportunities to identify strengths and resilience building. From my wide experience working over the full spectrum of employment roles, I have insights into the reality of working life in many role types, and being a mental health practitioner I can provide support for impact of the tensions and challenges inherent in a lived experience helping role and refer wisely for appropriate extra supports. I aim for us to work together to solve problems and identify opportunities for growth, confidence and competence as we build your toolbox of skills, knowledge and wisdom for the whole of life.