Geoffrey Ahern

My story

I’m a senior mental health clinician and educator who splits my time between working with people in a mental health crisis in the emergency department of a large hospital, taking calls on a mental health crisis intake line, and working proactively in educating other health professionals and the community about how better to understand mental health problems and the journey of recovery. For six years, I worked on the road with Victorian Police on a crisis mental health response team - Mental Health and Police Response (MHaP).Over the years, I’ve gained extensive experience in emergency and trauma nursing, rural nursing, alcohol and other drug counselling, and psychiatric nursing across both the public and private sectors.I’m particularly fascinated by the impact that exercise, nutrition, community, meaning and purpose, and practices like yoga have on a person’s mental health and living a simple life of reflection, contentment, and wonderment.I hold a Master’s Degree in Mental Health Nursing and a Graduate Certificate in Critical Care Nursing. As a part of my own ongoing education, I’ve completed a Certificate in Plant-Based Nutrition through e-Cornell University, which explores nutrition and society, diseases of affluence and plant-based practices for clinicians and educators such as myself.

I've experienced trauma as a child and mental health crises myself, which has deepened my understanding of and passion for the work I do.Shortly after moving to Melbourne in 2013, I fell into a major depressive episode and gained over 20kg. I'll spare you the details, but I was in a terrible place.My life changed in 2018 when I visited my dad in the hospital and saw all the terribly sick people there eating awful hospital food. Something snapped in me. I knew if I continued down this path, then I'd be one of those diabetes patients with stomach ulcers or worse.Since that epiphany, I joined 5th Element Wellness and lost all the weight I gained (and gained muscle!). I also saw, and continue to see, a great therapist here in Melbourne.My personal experience with childhood trauma, PTSD, and health transformation has made me who I am today.That's why it's my mission to help people all over the world overcome their mental and physical health challenges.

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Training options include:
Mental Health First Aid
Youth Mental Health First Aid
Resilience workshops
Mental health & well-being
Diet, exercise, and longevity
PTSD and trauma
Trauma-informed care
Professional development for healthcare workers

How I got here

I never envisioned myself working in mental health. Still, alas, after completing a four-month secondment with a mental health crisis team in Sydney whilst I was working in a busy emergency department, I caught the bug and moved from the ED to crisis mental health work.One of the reasons I have such compassion and understanding when working with a person with a mental health problem is that I have my own lived experience, just like many of you reading this.Prior to having any formal diagnosis, my childhood was littered with trauma. I experienced significant bullying at school to the point where I was literally terrified on a daily basis. By the time I reached Year 10, I was ready to get out of there as quickly as possible. The bullying peaked when I was bashed to the point where I ended up with a contused liver and broken ribs.Most significantly, in terms of adverse experiences growing up, I was the victim of four sexual assaults from four different perpetrators, one of the assaults involving three perpetrators at once. I’ll spare you the gory details. Suffice it to say that this kind of trauma impacts you long-term. Like many victims of sexual assault, however, I never disclosed this to anyone till I was thirty years old.If you want to hear more of my story of recovering from childhood sexual assault, listen to Andrew “Spud Fit” Taylor interviewing me about thriving after trauma here.My “formal” lived experience, if you like, of having a mental health diagnosis was at the age of twenty-five when I was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder after my newborn son died in my arms. Tragically, this should never have happened. It was as a result of the gross negligence on the part of the midwife that actually implicated me in his death (that’s a whole other story).There was an impending court case related to my son’s death that required that I obtain a report from a psychiatrist, and the psychiatrist who assessed me said in his report that,

“Mr Ahern is suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, which he will most likely never recover from.”

Now I understand why he used that language; he needed to convince the court that justice needed to be served, but they’re still pretty tough words to read when you’re already struggling in a very vulnerable position.Unfortunately, I didn’t seek treatment straight away. It wasn’t until many years later, after my daughter was born that I disclosed to my then-wife that I had been the victim of multiple sexual assaults as a child, and I was slowly unravelling. In the meantime, I’d discovered that alcohol numbed the pain, and for many, many years this was my source of comfort and escape. I was “functioning” on the outside; working, studying, and raising a family, but I was living in a world of pain, self-loathing, shame and guilt. On several occasions, I came very, very close to ending my life as well. Each time this happened, I was drunk and in a world of emotional pain and torture.Long story short, I eventually sought help. And today, I can say with absolute confidence that I had (past tense) post-traumatic stress disorder. I no longer have it. Yes, occasionally, I’ll have a wobbly day, but I am okay.So, if you, like me, have a lived experience of mental health, please know that we expect you to get better and there is hope. It might take a while to recover, but you’ll get there. Of this I am sure.