The Hair Therapist

Welcome to The Hair Therapist! I'm your host Mel. The Hair Therapist brings you real life stories from the salon chair and beyond. You will be introduced to guests from different backgrounds and experiences who have the courage to bring awareness to social issues, altering perceptions and changing stigmas. A community of daring individuals ready to transform lives, connected by stories woven from a collective of tapestries. My life is a testament to one’s ability of the human strength and spirit to expand and rise to a challenge, battling through domestic & family violence, family drug & alcohol addiction, I barely made it through high school. Starting my hairdressing apprenticeship at 15 was my saviour. With over 3 decades of listening to stories in the salon chair, I have heard it all as the poor man's unpaid, unqualified hair therapist. My passion project is to use my skills to give back by doing hundreds of haircuts per year on

The Hair Therapist is a education podcast hosted by Melissa Alsemgeest, with 130 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80.

Melissa Alsemgeest hosts The Hair Therapist, a education show with 130 episodes published.

Our AI reads these to draft pitches. Use them as grounding for a pitch that cites a real guest and a specific topic.

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  Episode #131

  Policing The Things You Can’t Unsee

  Oct 5, 20261h 25mS1

  Some careers shape you. Others transform you. And for Nikki Paterson, 24 years in the Queensland Police Service did both. During her decades on the frontline, Nikki stood in the most human of moments, beside people in deep crisis, sometimes keeping them alive long enough to receive help. Those experiences didn’t just define her policing career, they ignited a lifelong commitment to changing how we understand, respond to and support mental health in high‑stress environments. Today, Nikki brings that same courage and clarity of purpose to her work as a Mental Health First Aid Instructor and leader within Accomplish Education, helping workplaces act earlier, respond better, and build cultures where psychological safety isn’t an aspiration - it’s a practice. Her mission is simple but profound: to ensure the people who show up for us, our first responders, have the support, training, and understanding they need to stay well, stay connected, and stay human. In this conversation, Nikki opens up about the realities of policing, the emotional weight carried by those who serve, and the turning points that led her to champion mental health advocacy. She shares how operational experience shaped her teaching philosophy, why early intervention matters, and what meaningful support for first responders truly looks like. This is a story about service, resilience, and purpose and about one woman using her frontline experience to change the way we care for the people who protect our communities. Nikki Paterson | LinkedIn Accomplish Education: Home | LinkedIn On behalf of the Hair Therapist we acknowledge the Turrbal and Jagera people, the traditional custodians of the land on which this podcast is produced. The topics in this podcast are of general nature, we are not licensed professionals, so if any of the content brings up anything for you, please turn it off and reach out for support: Lifeline Australia - 13 11 14 - Crisis Support. Suicide Prevention. 13YARN - Call 13 92 76 | 24 /7 Crisis support for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders Home | 1800RESPECT National Domestic and Sexual Violence Counselling Service Kids Helpline | Phone Counselling Service | 1800 55 1800 Ask Izzy Search over 450,000 support services CREDITS: Host: Melissa Alsemgeest Guest: Nikki Paterson Editor: Robert Alsemgeest GET IN TOUCH: https://linktr.ee/InfectiousBehaviour Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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  Episode #130

  Wolston Park Asylum - Who Was Protecting the Children? Part 2

  Sep 28, 20261h 1mS1

  This week on The Hair Therapist , Mel sits down with Deborah Mason - survivor, mother, artist and advocate - to share one of the most confronting and important conversations ever recorded on this podcast. Deb’s childhood was marked by sexual abuse, violence and abandonment, followed by her admission at just sixteen to Wolston Park Hospital and later Osler House, where she endured sexual assault, chemical restraint and the loss of basic human dignity. Her teenage years were taken from her by systems that were meant to protect her. But Deb’s story is not only about what happened to her. It is about the woman she became despite it. Today, she is restoring the identities of thousands of people who died inside Wolston Park and were buried under institutional numbers. Her research has already uncovered more than 4,500 names, giving dignity back to people forgotten for decades. In this episode, Deb speaks openly about her childhood, her time inside Wolston Park, the loss of her friends, homelessness, addiction, motherhood, and the extraordinary advocacy work she is doing now, work that has led to her nomination for Australian of the Year 2027. This conversation includes detailed discussions of childhood sexual abuse, rape, institutional abuse, suicide, violence, overdose, addiction, child loss and severe trauma. Please listen with care. Deb’s courage reminds us that behind every diagnosis, file and number is a human being who deserved safety, dignity and love. And to anyone listening who carries trauma from an institution, a family or a system that failed them, this episode is for you. You are seen. You are heard. Patients allege rape, beatings and staff cover-ups at Brisbane mental hospital in damning report - ABC News On behalf of the Hair Therapist we acknowledge the Turrbal and Jagera people, the traditional custodians of the land on which this podcast is produced. The topics in this podcast are of general nature, we are not licensed professionals, so if any of the content brings up anything for you, please turn it off and reach out for support: Lifeline Australia - 13 11 14 - Crisis Support. Suicide Prevention. 13YARN - Call 13 92 76 | 24 /7 Crisis support for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders Home | 1800RESPECT National Domestic and Sexual Violence Counselling Service Kids Helpline | Phone Counselling Service | 1800 55 1800 Ask Izzy Search over 450,000 support services CREDITS: Host: Melissa Alsemgeest Guest: Deborah Mason Editor: Robert Alsemgeest GET IN TOUCH: https://linktr.ee/InfectiousBehaviour Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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  Episode #128

  A Life Changed in Seconds Part 2

  Sep 14, 202651 minS1

  In this week’s episode Mel sits down with Dominic Beirne for a raw, courageous and deeply reflective conversation.   Dom’s life has been shaped by experiences that would break many - adoption, childhood sexual abuse, grief, addiction, domestic and family violence, profound loss, and a catastrophic motorcycle accident that left him a paraplegic at 47. And just when he thought he had survived the worst, Dom faced cancer of the tongue, major surgery, radiation and chemotherapy.   But this episode isn’t just about trauma. It’s about accountability, healing, and the moment a person decides they can no longer outrun their past.   Dom speaks openly about the anger and verbal abuse that once shaped his relationships, acknowledging the harm caused and the responsibility required to change. He shares how addiction became a way of silencing pain he didn’t know how to face, and how sobriety forced him to confront the little boy who never understood why those things happened to him.   We explore the day his life changed in seconds, one corner, one motorcycle, one moment and the reality of living every day in a body that now requires a completely different level of care. From pressure injuries and infections to accessibility challenges and the emotional toll of disability, Dom offers an honest look at what most people never see.   And yet, woven through every chapter is resilience. Dom drives. He competes in para bobsleigh. He advocates for spinal cord research. He continues to rebuild a life shaped not by what he’s lost, but by what he still hopes is possible.   This conversation asks a powerful question:   When does understanding what happened to us become taking responsibility for what we’re doing to others?   Dom’s answer and the chapter he names as the hardest to survive may surprise you.   This is a story of trauma, accountability, forgiveness, identity, disability, hope and the moment life forces you to finally look at everything you’ve been carrying.   On behalf of the Hair Therapist we acknowledge the Turrbal and Jagera people, the traditional custodians of the land on which this podcast is produced.   The topics in this podcast are of general nature, we are not licensed professionals, so if any of the content brings up anything for you, please turn it off and reach out for support:   Lifeline Australia - 13 11 14 - Crisis Support. Suicide Prevention. 13YARN - Call 13 92 76 | 24 /7 Crisis support for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders Home | 1800RESPECT National Domestic and Sexual Violence Counselling Service Kids Helpline | Phone Counselling Service | 1800 55 1800 Ask Izzy Search over 450,000 support services     CREDITS: Host: Melissa Alsemgeest Guest: Dominic Beirne Editor: Robert Alsemgeest   GET IN TOUCH:       https://linktr.ee/InfectiousBehaviour Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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  Episode #127

  A Life Changed in Seconds Part 1

  Sep 7, 20261h 11mS1

  Over the next two weeks (Part 1 and 2) Mel sits down with Dominic Beirne for a raw, courageous and deeply reflective conversation.   Dom’s life has been shaped by experiences that would break many - adoption, childhood sexual abuse, grief, addiction, domestic and family violence, profound loss, and a catastrophic motorcycle accident that left him a paraplegic at 47. And just when he thought he had survived the worst, Dom faced cancer of the tongue, major surgery, radiation and chemotherapy.   But this episode isn’t just about trauma. It’s about accountability, healing, and the moment a person decides they can no longer outrun their past.   Dom speaks openly about the anger and verbal abuse that once shaped his relationships, acknowledging the harm caused and the responsibility required to change. He shares how addiction became a way of silencing pain he didn’t know how to face, and how sobriety forced him to confront the little boy who never understood why those things happened to him.   We explore the day his life changed in seconds, one corner, one motorcycle, one moment and the reality of living every day in a body that now requires a completely different level of care. From pressure injuries and infections to accessibility challenges and the emotional toll of disability, Dom offers an honest look at what most people never see.   And yet, woven through every chapter is resilience. Dom drives. He competes in para bobsleigh. He advocates for spinal cord research. He continues to rebuild a life shaped not by what he’s lost, but by what he still hopes is possible.   This conversation asks a powerful question: When does understanding what happened to us become taking responsibility for what we’re doing to others?   Dom’s answer and the chapter he names as the hardest to survive may surprise you.   This is a story of trauma, accountability, forgiveness, identity, disability, hope and the moment life forces you to finally look at everything you’ve been carrying.     On behalf of the Hair Therapist we acknowledge the Turrbal and Jagera people, the traditional custodians of the land on which this podcast is produced.   The topics in this podcast are of general nature, we are not licensed professionals, so if any of the content brings up anything for you, please turn it off and reach out for support:   Lifeline Australia - 13 11 14 - Crisis Support. Suicide Prevention. 13YARN - Call 13 92 76 | 24 /7 Crisis support for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders Home | 1800RESPECT National Domestic and Sexual Violence Counselling Service Kids Helpline | Phone Counselling Service | 1800 55 1800 Ask Izzy Search over 450,000 support services     CREDITS: Host: Melissa Alsemgeest Guest: Dominic Beirne Editor: Robert Alsemgeest   GET IN TOUCH:       https://linktr.ee/InfectiousBehaviour   Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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  Episode #126

  Where Shouldn’t Limit Where You Study

  Aug 31, 202638 minS1

  There are places that don’t just support learning - they ignite it. And after spending time with Lorna and Alyce from Country Universities Centre Southern Downs, it’s impossible not to feel fired up about what’s happening in their corner of the region.   They haven’t just opened a study space. They’ve built a launchpad. A hub where regional students walk in carrying big dreams… and walk out believing they’re possible.   A centre buzzing with focus, connection, and the kind of encouragement that makes you want to push a little harder. Reliable internet, academic support, quiet rooms, shared energy - it’s all there, wrapped in genuine community spirit.   This is what regional study can look like: A place that feels safe. A place that feels motivating. A place that feels like yours.   And here’s the magic - sometimes all it takes is one conversation, one tag, one share to help someone discover a resource that could completely change their study journey.   Because the next chapter someone’s been waiting for might already exist… They just need someone to point them toward the door. CUC Southern Downs | Regional Study Hub (@cuc_southern_downs) • Instagram photos and videos CUC Southern Downs | Degrees Closer (20+) Facebook CUC Southern Downs   On behalf of the Hair Therapist we acknowledge the Turrbal and Jagera people, the traditional custodians of the land on which this podcast is produced.   The topics in this podcast are of general nature, we are not licensed professionals, so if any of the content brings up anything for you, please turn it off and reach out for support:   Lifeline Australia - 13 11 14 - Crisis Support. Suicide Prevention. 13YARN - Call 13 92 76 | 24 /7 Crisis support for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders Home | 1800RESPECT National Domestic and Sexual Violence Counselling Service Kids Helpline | Phone Counselling Service | 1800 55 1800 Ask Izzy Search over 450,000 support services     CREDITS: Host: Melissa Alsemgeest Guest: Alyce Lotz & Lorna Moore Editor: Robert Alsemgeest   GET IN TOUCH:       https://linktr.ee/InfectiousBehaviour Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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