Dean Yates

Dean Yates's Biography

Dean Yates is a powerful public speaker whose journey -- including three psych ward admissions to treat his PTSD -- allows him to connect with people from all walks of life.

A workplace mental health expert, Dean seeks to inspire organisational leaders to take better care of their staff.

Dean worked for the international news service Reuters for 26 years, leading teams that covered the Bali bombings, the Boxing Day tsunami, and the Iraq War. He created a mental health strategy for Reuters.

Dean’s critically acclaimed memoir, Line in the Sand, took seven years to write and has been acclaimed by well-known clinicians, authors, journalists, and politicians around the world.

Described as a rare communicator, someone who speaks with passion and insight, is authentic and relatable. He combines lived experience with deep knowledge of trauma and the workplace mental health literature.

Dean’s final job at Reuters was to create a mental health strategy for 2,500 journalists. It was a unique role in global media, probably anywhere. The successes and failures guide Dean in the workplace mental health training he does today.

Dean has presented for the Black Dog Institute, Mindarma, Moody’s Corp (London), MAD World Summit (London), SC Group-Global, Monash Health, Tasmanian Leaders and Relationships Tasmania. He’s trained staff from the BBC, SBS, Zeit Online, Iran International and designed a mental health strategy for Private Media.

As a journalist and speaking about his own journey, Dean has been interviewed by ABC Australia, CNN, the BBC, and PBS as well as multiple publications, radio stations and podcasters. Dean hosts a podcast for Mindarma, an award-winning mental health outfit supported by the Black Dog Institute.

Speaking Topics Include

Dean’s jaw-dropping story. Inspiring and hopeful

Dean was a high-flying foreign correspondent brought to the brink of suicide by extreme workplace trauma who recovered because of his obsession to get better and the human connection of his loving family and a mental health system that worked (yes, you read that correctly).

The pillars of a mentally healthy workplace

Dean speaks with authority on what he calls the 6 pillars of a mentally healthy workplace: Leadership buy-in; psychological safety; prevention & early intervention, multi-layered organisational support; evidence-based training and good communication.

 

Trauma

Dean’s memoir is a life-changing roadmap for anyone trying to heal from trauma. Dean explains the moral dimension of trauma, he shows the consequences when organisations fail to look after their people. Health workers, especially in the mental health space, will learn something because Dean never gave his good clinicians a chance to relax! And people will understand why trauma makes their male partners difficult to live with.

Moral injury

Dean is an Australian expert on moral injury, a condition akin to PTSD that can occur in any occupation/walk of life. Moral injury is starting to get attention because it can happen when someone’s idea of what’s right has been violated strongly enough. The possibilities for harm are endless.

Breaking stigma

No matter the context, Dean has a story to tell about stigma: around suicide, mental illness in the workplace, in-patient psych wards. Dean is passionate about breaking stigma, and you will be too after listening to him.

 

Men!

Dean has instant credibility with men, whether they wear suits or Hi-Vis vests, which is why he's the ideal speaker at showing men the benefits of seeking mental health support and expressing their emotions.

 

Eyewitness to the world

Dean covered some of the biggest global stories of the past 25 years. Why do journalists risk their lives? What do they take from these experiences, the loss of life? Does reporting on ordinary people matter as much as wanting to be there when Saddam Hussein gets captured?

Navigating life

Dean’s family have been through the wringer, and not just from having to deal with him! Dean’s wife has had depression all her life. Their children, now young adults, have had mental health issues. Dean’s eldest son survived a cardiac arrest in 2020.