Behind the Stigma

Send us Fan Mail The first episode of the New Year, we delve into the concept of Jungian shadow work and integration with the shadow. (Chapter Markers added). We discuss what Shadow work means, and why it's not only about the 'dark' parts of ourselves. We also explore how the shadow influences our behavior and relationships, leading to insights about projection and its impact on per...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to Season 2! In this week's episode, we explore the intriguing link between neuroimmunology and psychiatry with guest Dr. Thomas Pollak. We discuss what autoimmune diseases are and Dr. Pollak's work on Anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis and it's relation to psychosis. We also discuss the role of neurology in psychiatry, and challenges in diagnosis and the neces...

Send us Fan Mail In this week's episode, I speak with Amir Bozorgzadeh, Co-Founder and CEO of Virtuleap on the intersection between virtual reality and cognitive health. We discuss how Virtuleap designs VR brain training solutions to address cognitive illnesses and the potential of VR in mental health interventions. Amir shares personal insights into the power of VR, and the unique approach V...

Send us Fan Mail In this week's episode, I speak with psychiatrist, Dr. Mark Horowitz, on the Effects of Antidepressants.  We discuss how depression is currently understood in society - taking a step back from diagnostic categories. We also discuss what is truly known about the causality and mechanisms of depression, and the effects antidepressants have on our psychological well being and our...

Send us Fan Mail In this week's episode, I speak with Anne-Laure Le Cunff, Founder of Ness Labs, on productivity & the creative process.   We discuss 4 different creative processes: - diffused vs focused thinking - idea sex - generation effect and - combinational creativity We also go into Anne Laure's work of mindful productivity, the different ways to identify why we procrastinate,...

Send us Fan Mail In this week's episode,  I speak with Dr. Altay, a postdoctoral research fellow at the University of Zurich, on misinformation, fake news and conspiracy theories. We discuss these 3 concepts, exploring Dr. Altay's work on why people do and do not share fake news, what consists of misinformation, and the factors that make people more prone to conspiracy. We conclude with...

Send us Fan Mail In this week's episode, I speak with Professor Helen Fisher, Professor of Developmental Psychopathology from King's College London and Rebecca Gray on the Environmental Risk Longitudinal Twin Study (E-Risk Study).  The E-Risk Study builds knowledge around the question of how environmental and genetic factors contribute to the development of behaviors', health, and m...

Send us Fan Mail In this week's episode, I speak to one of the world's most influential psychologists and researchers on ADHD, Professor Stephen Faraone.  We go into defining ADHD , the role of executive functions and the differences in cognitive processes between individuals with and without the disorder. We also discuss the impact of social media on ADHD awareness and insights into the...

Send us Fan Mail What does your personality reveal about you, and how does it shape the way you interact with the world?  In this week's episode,  we dive into the fascinating realm of personality traits with  Dr. Alex Curmi, psychiatrist and host of The Thinking Mind podcast. We discuss the Five Factor Model and how traits like Extraversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Neuroticism, and...

Send us Fan Mail Two groups of boys embark on what appears to be an ordinary summer camp in the scenic State Park, Oklahoma.  Or is it if a group of researchers are watching you?  Learn today about the secret's of the infamous Robbers Cave Experiment, and it's contribution in the field of Social Psychology. 

Send us Fan Mail In this week's episode, I speak with Professor Lisa Bortolotti, Professor in the University of Birmingham on the Philosophy of Psychiatry. Our discussion was based around the notion of mental disorders and how they are viewed in the field. We also discuss the blurred lines between delusions and irrational beliefs, agency in mental health (where Professor Bortolotti talks abou...

Send us Fan Mail In this week's episode, I speak with Alina Vasilache on Binge Eating. We go through what classifies as a binge, what are some of the main factors that affect binge eating, relapse and remission, and how to seek help. Book : Overcoming Binge Eating  ( Dr. Christopher Fairburn)  - https://www.amazon.ae/Overcoming-Binge-Eating-Proven-Program/dp/1572305614

Send us Fan Mail Betrayal Trauma involves one partner  breaking the trust of the other by engaging in behaviors that go against the relationships agreed upon boundaries. How do you move past that? In this week's episode, I speak with licensed therapist, Kristin Snowden on this topic . We discuss what it is, what it means for both partners, whether a relationship can deal with it, and  steps t...

Send us Fan Mail In this week's episode, I speak with Dr. Ruben Laukkonen, Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience, on meditation and the predictive brain. We discuss what is predictive processing, 3 styles of meditation: focused attention, open monitoring and non-dualism, and how these map on to the brain. We also go into insight, how predictive processing works, and his future research in the f...

Send us Fan Mail Thinking about thinking - that's so metacognitive! In this week's education series episode, we dive into the concept of metacognition. We cover the work of John H Flavell, the Self-discrepancy theory, and if animals have metacognitive abilities. 

Send us Fan Mail Can someone be love addicted? & what would that even look like?  In this week's episode,  I speak with psychotherapist, Nisrine Maktabi on the topic of love addiction. We discuss what are the characteristics of a love addict, factors that contribute to its development, the impact it can have on an individual's life, and the ways in which it can be addressed.  

Send us Fan Mail In this week's episode,  I speak with  Kristin Snowden, a licensed marriage and family therapist with over 15 years of experience on the topic of understanding shame. We discuss what shame is, the work of Brene Brown’s shame shields, and of course identifying our own shame and how to overcome it Kristin's YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/KristinSnowden Website:...

Send us Fan Mail In this week's episode, I speak with Nicki Eyre, founder and director of Conduct Change, an organization in the UK that provides consultancy, coaching and training solutions rooted in the prevention of workplace bullying. We discuss Nicki's personal experience of workplace bullying, and how that led her to advocate for change. We go into issues like how organizations sho...

Send us Fan Mail In this week's episode on Behind the Stigma, I speak with Dr. Alex Curmi, psychiatrist and host of the Maudsley Learning Podcast with a discussion on self-esteem. We discuss two varieties of how we can understand self-esteem: situational confidence and inherit self worth. We also go into meditation and self, how to parent yourself using a re-parenting model of therapy, and th...

Send us Fan Mail While setting goals can be exciting, setting SMART goals can help us accomplish them! SMART stands for: Specific Measurable Achievable Realistic Time-framed Listen to this short BTS series to learn how to set your NY resolution goals, and how to make them work!

Send us Fan Mail Happy New Years! This is the 51st episode of the BTS podcast, and this week's episode is on the Psychology of New Years Resolutions. We discuss why we have such a strong pull towards resolutions, but also why they can fail. Alina explains how we can set goals which can be achievable, with a focus on a process orientated approach rather than goal orientated. We also dive into...

Send us Fan Mail In this week’s episode, I speak with Phil Santos, founder of Ecstatic Playground on the type of dance known as ‘conscious dancing’. We dive into the importance of moving our bodies, trauma and movement, the impact of loneliness, and what it means to build conscious communities through dance. We also discuss Phil’s upcoming book ‘conscious clubbing’ whose goal is to make parties fr...

Send us Fan Mail In this week's education series, we dive into Part 2 of the developmental psychology theories, focusing on the work of Russian psychologist Lev Vygotsky. We go into his theory of cognitive development, the 'zone of proximal development', scaffolding, and the importance of language and culture, and how he differed from Jean Piaget. 

Send us Fan Mail In this week’s episode, I speak to Sir Professor Robin Murray, one of the most cited researchers in the world, on the topic of psychosis. We talk about the difference between psychosis and the construct of schizophrenia, the onset and risk factors, both biological and environmental. We also discuss the current treatments and the consequences of antipsychotics, and his reflection o...

Send us Fan Mail This week, I speak with Professor Diane O'Leary on the topic of Dualism. We discuss how dualism is best understood in psychiatry in comparison to philosophy, and how this distinction impacts our understanding in the field.  We then dive deep into a variety of dualism, known as property dualism and what this means for psychiatric diagnosis, and understanding mental disorders a...