When Hilton Koppe was diagnosed with PTSD, the much-loved country doctor had no choice but to retire from general practice. In this session Hilton chats with courageous authors, Roz Bellamy and Jonathan Seidler about their own personal and familial experience with mental health, as well as with social worker, Romi Grossberg whose work with street kids in Phnom Penh has informed her holistic counselling approach, in view of family, culture, society, religion and nationality.
Artists
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Roz Bellamy
Roz Bellamy is a writer and researcher based in Melbourne. Roz’s first book, Mood: A Memoir of Love, Identity and Mental Health, published by Wakefield Press in 2023, explores the intersections of mental illness, Jewish and queer identity, and intergenerational trauma. In 2022, Roz completed a PhD exploring the impacts of engaging in life writing on young people’s wellbeing. Roz’s work has been published in The Big Issue, The Age, SBS, The Guardian, Kill Your Darlings, Meanjin and Huffington Post.
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Romi Grossberg
Romi Grossberg is an Australian-born social worker, public speaker and author of two self-help books, who has been living in Asia since 2010. Romi has spoken at TEDx Phnom Penh 2011, SXSW Austin Texas 2023, and numerous festivals and international conferences in between. She appears regularly on television, podcasts and radio, including with Cambodian Princess Soma Norodom. Romi is still living in Asia (Thailand), working as a counsellor and in professional development. She is currently on the Board of Directors of Tiny Toones Cambodia and Asia Pacific Writers and Translators. romigrossberg.com
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Jonathan Seidler
Jonathan Seidler is an author, creative director and music critic. His work is published frequently in The Guardian, The Age and The Australian. Jonathan launched two nationally syndicated fiction series for Broadsheet and edited an Unyoked nature writing anthology. His memoir, It’s A Shame About Ray, was adapted for an immersive live performance for SWF 2023. Jonathan is an Esquire columnist, writing weekly about men, mental health and fatherhood. All the Beautiful Things You Love is his first novel.
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Hilton Koppe
Hilton Koppe is a writer, educator, podcaster and doctor living on Bundjalung Land. Hilton facilitates reflective writing workshops for doctors and other health professionals with the goal of deepening their compassion, overcoming professional isolation and reducing risk of burnout. The workshops have been adapted for people living with chronic and mental illnesses, as well as enthusiastic amateur writers. Hilton has been invited to present his workshops all the way from Byron Writers Festival to Harvard Medical School. Hilton’s book, One Curious Doctor: A Memoir of Medicine, Migration and Mortality, explores the personal impact of working as a country doctor.