Phoenix Australia: Driving First Responder Mental Health Engagement
The Challenge: First responders face unique and deeply entrenched barriers to seeking mental health support. As Australia’s National Centre of Excellence in Post-Traumatic Mental Health, Phoenix Australia needed targeted engagement strategies to connect with this high-risk cohort, encourage participation in clinical research, and drive proactive help-seeking behaviour.
The Solution: Across a multi-project partnership, we designed a suite of strategic narrative interventions tailored specifically for first responders. Informed heavily by lived-experience and key stakeholder interviews, we developed:
A five-part educational series designed to directly address and dismantle the specific barriers first responders and their families face when reaching out for support.
An engagement strategy and campaign to successfully recruit NSW Firefighters into a clinical trial for a new mental health management app (featured below).
A targeted narrative campaign for PTSD Awareness Day.
The Impact: By centering the authentic, relatable experiences and voices of first responders, we successfully bypassed traditional barriers to engagement. Our narrative strategy ensured these highly sensitive cohorts felt understood, enabling Phoenix Australia’s objectives of increasing clinical trial participation and scaling evidence-based mental health resources across the sector.
“I am so grateful for your expertise in guiding us through the complex process of developing and telling our story. It has been refreshing to work with a team that is so capable and flexible. I really appreciated you fitting your process around our multitude of constraints. It was clear from the start that you and your team were dedicated to understanding our needs and then delivering over and above our expectations. I look forward to the opportunity to work together again soon.”
— Em Coy, Twiga Group
