Brain fog, cognitive changes and mental wellbeing are increasingly part of conversations around perimenopause and other hormonal transitions. But what do these experiences actually mean, and how can clinicians recognise and respond to them?
In this episode of Focused Practice Conversations, practice operations expert Matt Woollard speaks with A/Prof Caroline Gurvich, a clinical neuropsychologist and Deputy Director of the HER Centre Australia at Monash University, about the evolving understanding of women’s mental health and cognition.
They discuss Caroline’s journey into this area of expertise, why brain fog and perimenopause have attracted greater attention, and what clinicians are learning about the lived experience of hormonal transitions.
The conversation also explores some of the misconceptions surrounding cognitive symptoms, how these experiences can affect quality of life, and the developments in research that are shaping the field.
For GPs and other healthcare professionals, it offers an opportunity to consider what may be overlooked in consultations and how our understanding of women’s health continues to change.
Watch or listen to the podcast to hear Caroline’s insights and explore where the conversation around women’s cognition, hormones and mental wellbeing is heading.
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Listen to all episodes in the Focused Practice Conversations series.
This episode is also available on the HealthCert Education YouTube channel.
Focused Practice ConversationsHealthCert Education's Focused Practice Conversations podcast series explores how GPs build focused areas of practice, why they chose that path, what changed in their clinic, and whether going deeper into one niche was ultimately worth it. |
Hosted by Matt WoollardHealthcare Entrepreneur & Business Development Consultant Matt began his healthcare career in 2000 as the second employee of Skin Alert Skin Cancer Clinics, where he worked alongside founder Paul Elmslie to grow the business from the ground up to a network of 14 clinics nationwide over seven years. As Chief Executive Officer of National Skin Cancer Centres, established in 2016, Matt led the business through a period of significant expansion before its successful acquisition by Sonic Clinic Services. With a deep knowledge of skin cancer medicine, Medicare frameworks, and the operational realities of primary care, Matt's core expertise lies in business development, identifying, structuring, and growing healthcare assets in an increasingly complex and competitive landscape. Today, Matt consults across the broader healthcare sector, partnering with large corporates and private equity firms to develop and de-risk healthcare assets. He remains active in skin cancer medicine and brings the same sharp commercial lens to emerging opportunities in women's and mental health. |
Guest: A/Prof Caroline Gurvich
She is the Deputy Director of the HER Centre Australia, Monash University, and Head of the “Cognition and Hormones Group". Caroline has a research interest in the neuropsychology of women's mental health, particularly in understanding how cognition and mental health can be influenced at times of hormonal change. Caroline's research combines neuropsychological assessments with eye movement research to clearly characterise cognition.
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