Public speaking
I’m an impactful public speaker who can tailor a presentation or workshop for any occasion. Topics include my healing journey from trauma; mentally healthy workplaces; moral injury & eyewitness to world events. My moral injury presentations have won rave reviews. I’m giving a keynote speech at the inaugural Australia New Zealand Moral Injury Conference in Launceston in May 2026.
"Dean's presentation -- A Story of Moral Injury from the Frontlines -- offered an extraordinary level of honesty, vulnerability, and insight that resonated profoundly with our audience. Drawing on his lived experience, Dean took delegates beyond theory and into the human reality of moral injury, its impact on identity, relationships, and the long path toward healing. Delegates described his session as confronting, courageous, and unforgettable, with many reflecting on how strongly his story mirrored their own experiences across emergency services, defence, and frontline roles. What set Dean apart was not only his willingness to share the most difficult chapters of his journey, but his ability to translate that experience into meaningful insight around prevention, organisational responsibility, and recovery. His keynote sparked important conversations that continued well beyond the session itself. Dean’s contribution was a standout moment of the conference, and a powerful reminder of why lived experience voices are essential in shaping the future of frontline mental health.” Frontline Mental Health Conference organisers, Gold Coast, March 2-3 2026.
An Introduction to moral injury — F2F & online presentation
Photo by Matt U’Brien, March 2, 2026
This presentation is suitable for anyone whose moral values are threatened in the workplace. But it’s especially geared toward frontline occupations; those in a leadership position (govt, NGO or private sector); WHS/HR & regulators; clinical & spiritual care teams. Among the things I talk about: Similarities and differences with PTSD; what recognition of moral injury in the DSM-5-TR in 2025 means in practice; moral injury and the challenge for workplaces; & moral injury prevention and healing. For more information, see here
I deliver this presentation for Positive Solutions. If your organisation is interested, contact me directly through this website, LinkedIn or admin@positivesolutions.com.au
Selection of participant feedback:
“Dean’s presentation is the most dynamic & relevant on moral injury I have seen. He has taken his lived experience as a journalist in warzones and translated this into an understanding of moral injury that should be required for all.”
“Dean's grasp of moral injury is significant. He answered a number of long-held questions no one else has been willing to answer for me - or didn't know how to.”
This submission to Safe Work Australia:
** Shows moral injury is on the cusp of going mainstream. One could argue moral injury crossed this threshold with recognition in the DSM-5-TR in Sept 2025. Therefore, this submission urges Safe Work Australia to collaborate with experts to develop a code of practice under the model WHS laws (2011) that recognises moral injury as a significant harm in the workplace and designates potentially morally injurious events (PMIEs) as a psychosocial hazard.
** Provides a summary of the data on moral injury in frontline roles to give Safe Work Australia insight into its prevalence across occupations that again shows the risk is no longer emerging, but is foreseeable.
** While noting the research for interventions is nascent, this submission proposes ways for a person conducting a business or undertaking (PCBU) to manage PMIEs.
