http://www.thepunch.com.au/author-bios/gordon-parker/ Gordon Parker AO is currently Scientia Professor of Psychiatry, University of New South Wales, and Executive Director, Black Dog Institute. He was awarded a Citation Laureate, Psychiatry/Psychology, for being the most highly cited researcher in Australia. He was Head, School of Psychiatry, University of New South Wales for 20 years, and Director of Mental Health, Prince of Wales Hospital. In a past life he wrote for The Mavis Bramston Show and OZ Magazine, was an ABC Science broadcaster, and in 2004 had a play produced by La Mama in Melbourne. His autobiography “A Piece of My Mind: A Psychiatrist on the Couch” will be published in early 2012. en Copyright 2012 The Punch penberthyd@newsltd.com.au penberthyd@newsltd.com.au Sat, 26 May 2012 20:00:40 +0000 Sat, 26 May 2012 20:00:40 +0000 Politics, opinion, world news, sports news, latest news, views, Barack Obama, Kevin Rudd, Julia Gillard, Nathan Rees, Malcolm Turnbull, Peter Garrett, Barnaby Joyce, Australian, federal politics, opinion polls, election, The Punch, thepunch, punch ExpressionEngine 1.6.7 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss 15 http://www.thepunch.com.au/images/punch-logo-rss.png http://www.thepunch.com.au/ 144 70 Politics, political opinion, world news, sports news and the latest news and views updated live, daily on The Punch - Australia's best conversation. Search The Punch keywords http://www.thepunch.com.au/search/ http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/Make-coffee-check-email-ask-workmate-if-theyre-ok/ R U OK? Day is with us again today, challenging us to reach out to others with compassion. The R U OK? concept is simple but potentially profound for several reasons. One in five Australians will personally experience clinical depression or a bipolar disorder over their lifetime. If not touched personally, we encounter the so-called Black Dog through family members, partners, close friends or work colleagues. Despite being common, mental illness is still stigmatised, perhaps reflecting our innate tendency to reject anything that is ‘not us’ or to view depression as a character flaw. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Gordon Parker) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/Make-coffee-check-email-ask-workmate-if-theyre-ok/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/Make-coffee-check-email-ask-workmate-if-theyre-ok/#item6723 Wed, 14 Sep 2011 19:45:15 +0000 Gordon Parker | Author bios | The Punch