At Mr. Perfect we regularly communicate our non-clinical purpose, but of course, seeing a healthcare professional if your mental health becomes poor is a vital part of your strategy and toolbox.
So here is our Dr. Perfect series, and you may not be surprised to learn that healthcare professionals such as GPs, Psychiatrists and Psychologists need as much support, connection and community as we do, and want it for us too.
Say hello to Dr Kaine Grigg. Kaine is the Founding Consultant Clinical Psychologist of MyLocalMind Inc. / FremantleMind Inc. / Australian Clinical and Forensic Psychology Services and a Clinical Psychologist with the Department of Health WA and Cygnet Clinic Fremantle.
Although we have never met I have followed his work from afar and there are few people I have seen that are as accomplished yet humble in his field.
What made you choose Psychology as your career?
A deep curiosity of the human condition and a desire to better understand the motivations underlying the behaviour of others and myself. My interest in the extremes of human behaviour led me to a specific focus on forensic and clinical psychology.
What makes men's mental health different? (in your opinion)
Mental health is very gendered with men and women being socialised in very distinct ways. This socialisation process contributes to different proportions of males and females experiencing certain types of mental health conditions, in addition to the different expression of the same conditions.
In the Western world males are raised to be strong, ignore pain, and remain stoic in the face of adversity. Anger is the primary emotion that is reinforced in males, with expression of other core emotions including fear, sadness, and even strong expressions of happiness being discouraged.
In contrast, females are raised to express their emotions and to verbalise their experiences. This imbalance created by gendered socialisation leads to different profiles of help-seeking behaviour, with females more likely to seek professional help earlier on and males more likely to seek professional help only after significant functional decline.
If there was one superpower you wish you had for patients, what would it be?
Resilience.
What does connection and community mean to you?
Both connection and community are being cumulatively eroded in contemporary culture. It has been proposed that Major Depressive Disorder, one of the most common and debilitating mental health conditions, has a lack of connection at its core.
There are strong reasons to believe that disconnection also contributes to many other mental health conditions in a multitude of ways. Being a part of a community is an essential component of being mentally healthy in large part because it promotes connection to others and creates positive and supportive relationships. Such connection to a supportive community not only enhances mental health and wellbeing, but protects one’s mental health and wellbeing during periods of stress. Community mental health and wellbeing promotion charities MyLocalMind Inc. and FremantleMind Inc. subscribe wholeheartedly to this proposition.
Our passion is community mental health. We aim to improve the way mental health is viewed and strengthened in a community setting by filling gaps in the existing community mental health system. We provide a range of evidence-based mental health and wellbeing services free to the community. These services are based on feedback from the community and hence are driven by the needs of the community.
Apart from the direct impact of providing evidence-based mental health and wellbeing services to an individual, having community input into the services provided promotes the development of a sense of connection to our organisations.
We deliver only group-based services, which in turn enables the building of relationships and the development of a community amongst the individuals that access our services. Creating connection amongst our community is core to the success of our organisations.
If you had one piece of advice or quote that you think is helpful in times of struggle, what is it?
This too shall pass.
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