About the Authors
Mr Paul Cooper, Lecturer in Nursing
Paul is a registered nurse with over a decade of experience spanning mental health, orthopaedics/trauma, emergency, and theatre. He can be found teaching into both undergraduate and post graduate mental health areas, as well as some other topics in the nursing degrees with the University of South Australia.
Paul has a master’s in nursing (Mental Health). He is passionate about sociological changes and mental health impacts in society. He has an interest in CBT, ACT and vicarious trauma as well as addressing burnout and promoting the de-stigmatisation of mental health issues. He is driven to create a workforce who are resilient and capable to enact positive change, which led to creating a collaborative team for this textbook.
Raymond Tini, Associate Lecturer in Nursing
Ray is an experienced Registered Nurse with over 20 years in the profession, including more than a decade specialising in mental health nursing in both clinical and senior roles. As an educator at Flinders University, Ray coordinates undergraduate and postgraduate mental health nursing units and also teaches various other nursing units.Driven by a strong commitment to accessible mental health education, Ray has collaborated in the development of this open educational resource, providing free, high-quality learning materials to support students in their mental health care studies.In addition to teaching, Ray remains actively engaged in clinical practice, working casually as an Emergency Department Mental Health Liaison Nurse, ensuring up-to-date knowledge and real-world expertise inform both education and practice.
Alice Standfield, Lecturer in Occupational Therapy
Alice is an Occupational Therapist with endorsement and clinical experience in mental health practice in Australia. She currently lectures at the University of South Australia in the Occupational Therapy program. She has an interest in supporting people with mental health challenges who may face additional stigma and/or barriers to receiving services. This has led to her clinical work and research in areas such as therapeutic services within correctional facilities, supporting those who have personality disorder diagnoses, and exploring mental health experiences of women in the perinatal period. Alice’s drive for growing the understanding of mental health needs and services within the broader health sector was the impetus for her collaboration on this text.
