It was during the pandemic, and all the stressful stories that came along with it, that Dave Seglins was assigned a story about a historical child murder case. And he couldn’t do it.

By this point, Dave knew a thing or two about his mental health. Years earlier, he had been diagnosed with PTSD following his coverage of a trauma-filled court case. And in that moment that he was assigned that historical child murder case, he knew he didn’t have the capacity. The reaction from his boss, he recalls, was that Dave wasn’t allowed to refuse an assignment and that if he couldn’t handle it, perhaps he should be in a different job.

“The words were, ‘This is not the way it’s supposed to work.’ And I reflected on that and I said, ‘You know what? This is exactly how it’s supposed to work. I’m a 25-year veteran who’s been through the wringer. I know what PTSD is. If I’m in the height of stress and I can’t put up my hand, you know, as a senior white guy in the newsroom with a secure, union-protected job, who can?’”

That experience inspired Dave’s crusade to create safer and healthier workplaces for journalists across the country.

In this conversation, the investigative journalist and self-described Well-Being Champion speaks with Tamara about the “trauma load” experienced by many journalists and his efforts to make things better, not only for his colleagues at Canada’s public broadcaster, but for journalists across the country. When he’s not reporting and hosting shows for CBC, Dave is focused on research, advocacy, training and building better supports to enhance mental health and well-being within the industry. He was the co-lead of a national Take Care Survey, which studied the well-being of more than 1,200 journalists across Canada, and holds certificates in Global Mental Health and Trauma and Mental Health First Aid.

Resources:

Taking Care Report

As per trauma-informed practice, each guest in The Trauma Beat podcast is afforded the opportunity to review and veto a list of anticipated questions before the recorded conversation. Ongoing, informed consent is sought throughout the production process.

This conversation was recorded in November 2023.

For more trauma-informed storytelling resources, visit pickupcommunications.com.