Richard has worked in the mental health field as a clinician, manager, teacher and researcher for approximately 30 years.
He has researched and published extensively (80+ publications) on a diverse range of topics including how people cope with extra-ordinary experiences such as voices and how people recover from a suicidal crisis.
His doctoral research examined how homeless sector workers deal with vicarious trauma. He is a psychotherapist and nurse with experience in primary care settings and tertiary mental health services working largely with people with considerable psychosocial complexity.
Most recently he worked in youth mental health and in an Acute Care Team in an Emergency Department. He is presently a Senior Lecturer at Southern Cross University responsible for co-ordinating an on-line Masters of Mental Health programme.