I was recently on ABC Radio National’s Life Matters with Beverley Wang, discussing narcissism, what it actually means, why the word is suddenly everywhere, and why the label is now slapped onto every selfish ex, vain public figure, and mildly irritating dinner guest. In the interests of gonzo journalism, I decided it was only fair to drag my own ego into the experiment....

Guess my status I’m writing this in a busy McCafe during a layover in Kuala Lumpur, travelling on a budget non-direct AirAsia flight from Phuket to Bali. I’m wearing frayed cotton trousers, a Kmart T-shirt, and plastic Birkenstocks. But I also have Bose headphones and the latest iPhone Pro. And, for reasons both trivial and revealing, I’m in seat 1A...

The current debate over suppression orders on mental health grounds turns on an important but often overlooked question: what, exactly, can psychiatric evidence reliably establish? As a psychiatrist, I do not wish to lessen the importance of mental illness. Courts should keep the authority to safeguard genuinely vulnerable individuals in exceptional cases. However, I am worried that psychiatric reports might...

We know it’s fake. But we watch anyway. A politician contradicts themselves mid-sentence. A “documentary” quietly re-stages its scenes. A reality show manufactures tension, then promotes it as unscripted. And not only do we accept it, but we also click, we binge, we applaud. Somewhere along the way, we made a trade: truth for entertainment. And we didn’t even haggle....

This morning I spoke with Richelle Hunt about hand gestures & body language on ABC Melbourne Conversation Hour (based on this Substack article https://steveellen.substack.com/p/the-secret-life-of-your-hands ) Click this link: FB63A4BC-D108-4758-83A8-483151894230_2_0_a

Every year, I spend a month or two working as a visiting psychiatrist in Cape York and the Torres Strait, and each time, I return changed. The culture, the community, the humour, the quiet strength — they stay with me. These aren’t remote, forgotten places; they’re vibrant centres of knowledge, identity, and deep time. But here’s the thing: one of...

This morning on ABC Melbourne Radio, I joined the conversation hour with Richelle Hunt to discuss a topic that’s been quietly weighing on many in the medical profession: mandatory reporting of GPs with mental health issues. The current system, designed to protect patients, requires health professionals to report colleagues if they believe their mental illness could impair their ability to practise...

It’s been a while. If you’ve been following my writing or media work in the past, you might have noticed that I’ve been unusually quiet. No columns, no podcasts, no commentary — just silence. I didn’t burn out. I didn’t move to a monastery. I wasn’t kidnapped by tech billionaires for an underground mind project (though that’s not far off,...

This is a website I co-developed with my team at Peter Mac with the goal of  exploring ways to look after your mind when you are affected by cancer. The Cancer Mind Care self-help online platform was developed and launched in 2021. It provides Australia’s first ‘one-stop-shop’ for tailored mental health support for people with cancer, their support persons, clinicians...

This is a video I made with psychologist, Ella Sexton. The video explains the five key pillars of good mental health: sleep, exercise, nutrition, stress management and healthy relationships. Psychological First Aid