Lively Minds, the UK Mental Health Podcast

We are pleased to announce that we plan to start new episodes of Lively Minds again from next month! In the meantime, here is a re-run of another of our favourite episodes - this time from August 2023. Kema Sikawe recently appeared in a BBC 3 documentary: Therapy: Tough Talking in which he gives viewers a front-row seat at a series of therapy sessions where he opens up and discusses his mental hea...

Hello everyone, it’s Will here. We are still in the process of resuming normal service, but we’re aware that today is the first Friday of the month so we’d ordinarily be releasing a new episode. We are really pleased we managed to get out 2 new episodes over the past couple of months; this month we are taking another dive into our archives and re-playing a conversation that Ellie and I had with Pa...

In late November 2025, Will was told that what was thought to be a lingering infection was in fact advanced testicular cancer. Within about 36 hours of being rediagnosed he had been admitted to hospital and was starting an intensive 12-week BEP chemotherapy regimen. Will describes shock, dream-like dissociation, fear of death, and the balance between trying to feel positive, hopeful and grateful f...

Hosts Will and Ellie interview therapist and crocheter Olivia Dieterich about her book Random Acts of Crochet Kindness and the global movement she founded. After losing a friend, Natalie, to suicide, Olivia used crochet to cope with grief and set a 100-day challenge to crochet a flower each day and leave it for strangers with a note inviting them to take it home, sparking the hashtag. During lockd...

Hello everyone, it’s Will here. As you know, Ellie and I have had to take a break from the podcast due to some ongoing health issues. We are still hoping to bring you new episodes in late Spring or Summer 2026 but in the meantime, we thought we’d go back through our archives and bring you some of our favourite episodes from the 3 years we’ve been doing the show. And so, here is an episode from May...

Hello everyone, it’s Ellie here. Thank you so much to all of you for following our podcast over the last few years. It has meant the world to us, and we’ve loved every part of the podcasting process so far. Unfortunately, due to various health issues, we are going to take a slightly-longer-than-planned break from recording new Lively Minds episodes. We hope to return to your ears for a new season...

What is a 'patient-centred approach'? What systemic challenges get in the way of making it a reality? What does the biopsychosocial model tell us about how to choose the best pathways for treatment? Alex Curmi, a consultant psychiatrist and trainee psychotherapist from The Thinking Mind Podcast discusses how he helps clients determine the best treatment plans based on a multitude of factors. He el...

In this episode we are joined by Dr. Elspeth Davies, a medical anthropologist from the University of Oxford, and Dr. Helen Salisbury, a GP and BMJ columnist, about their BMJ article: How do we talk about overdiagnosis of mental health conditions without dismissing people’s suffering? Our discussion explores the fine line between validating patients' experiences and the potential harms of unnecessa...

In this episode we are joined by author: Caro Giles to talk about school and mental health. Caro has worked as a teacher across the education sector. She is winner of the inaugural BBC Countryfile New Writer Award, author of Twelve Moons, published by Harper North and writes a regular monthly column for Psychologies Magazine.  Her latest book - Unschooled - published by Little Toller Books, is a m...

Depression isn’t just about a presence of sadness, it’s also about an absence of happiness. And whilst ceasing to function is a long-understood symptom of Depression, those that cope by never stopping aren’t necessarily in any less need of help.  In this episode of Lively Minds we discuss High Functioning Depression with Dr. Judith Joseph, a board-certified psychiatrist and researcher. Dr. Joseph,...

Professor Melissa Bateson, an expert in ethology, explains the biological functions of anxiety, its evolutionary importance, and how it prepares humans and animals to detect and respond to threats. The conversation covers the smoke detector principle, the optimal threshold for anxiety responses, and the potential impact of modern environments on anxiety levels. The episode also delves into how und...

We take a deep dive into SSRIs (Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors), which is the most commonly prescribed form of antidepressant in the UK. We discuss with Consultant Psychiatrist: Dr Alex Curmi what we know about the effectiveness of SSRIs, what we don't, and why there is so much debate about their use. Check out the Thinking Mind Podcast by searching for it wherever you get your podcasts....

Sorry for the delay

What does it mean to live a happy life? Can happiness be more than just feeling good? And how might ideas like meaning, community, and values help us rethink wellbeing? In this second of a two part series, hosts Will and Ellie are joined by Dr Mark Fabian, Associate Professor of Public Policy at the University of Warwick and author of Beyond Happy.  They explore happiness as something more complex...

What is happiness? How does it change across cultures? How might notions of happiness change for people with mental health challenges? What does it mean to live a “happy life”? In this first of a two part series, we revisit an interview from May 2023 with Professor William Tov of Singapore Management University. We discuss the broad and varied definitions of happiness, cultural differences in how...

In this episode of 'Lively Minds,' Ellie discusses the importance of collective care and mental health through a conversation with artists: Charlie Fitz and Miss Jackie. They explore how their artist collective, Triad, created during the Covid pandemic, became a vital support system for their well-being. The shared experiences of disability and creativity fostered a unique bond among them, providi...

What is self-harm? Why can it be so uncomfortable to talk about? How do we best support those who self-harm? In this episode of Lively Minds, hosts Ellie and Will explore self-harm with Naomi Salisbury, a consultant and former CEO of Self Injury Support. They discuss the varied reasons behind self-harm, its misconceptions, and the importance of compassion and harm minimisation. Naomi shares insigh...

Ellie's just had a research paper published! In today's episode we discuss how can we learn from the impact that COVID-19 had on mental health peer support groups being forced to transition to online formats?  Ellie shares insights from her research conducted at the University of Liverpool, focusing on the experiences of Hearing Voices Network facilitators. Key themes include the rapid shift to Zo...

North East England has the highest per capita use of antidepressant use in England and Wales and has had the highest suicide rate in England for 3 out of the past 4 years. We are joined by Alasdair Cameron, co-director of Newcastle-based independent mental health charity ReCoco, to explore why. We explore regional socio-economic factors impacting mental well-being, the inflexibility in mental heal...

How can art be used as a therepeutic tool to navigate types of grief that go beyond death and bereavement?  This is just one of the questions covered in our conversation with Doll - an artist, who shares their story of using their artistic practice to navigate their mental health experience. Discussing their eclectic artistic practices—from sketchbooks to sculpture and crochet—Doll elaborates on h...

Will and Ellie - co-hosts of the Lively Minds mental health podcast, discuss what their ingredients are for good mental health. Follow @livelymindspod on X, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and more at https://www.bio.link/livelyminds Please note that this show does not constitute medical advice and is not a replacement for seeking professional help. You can find our more about the show and get signp...

How might the impact of detachment from their mother and birth family affect care-experienced children and young people's behaviour and relationships? And how can we support care-experienced children and young people to process their feelings?  We welcome back to the podcast Ciara McLelland, who specialises in working with children and families impacted by adverse childhood experiences, to find ou...

What is mindfulness? What's the difference between mindfulness and doing things 'mindfully'? What does evidence about the positive impact of mindfulness tell us about the origins of our mental health struggles? We'll be discussing these topics with Dr Afrosa Ahmed, who has just written a book: "Mindful Healing, 5 Simple Steps to Transform your Life" published by Michael O'Mara Books. A practising...

In 2022, a survey revealed that only 11% of people working in the UK’s film and TV sectors considered the industry to be a mentally healthy place to work. As the latest iteration of the “Looking Glass” survey is launched, we speak with Rupert Jones-Lee, Head of Research and Impact at the Film & TV Charity, about the mental health challenges faced by those in the film and TV industry. We talk a...

Hi everyone, just a quick podcast update today. Ellie and I have decided to reduce the frequency of Lively Minds to once a month. The main reason for this change is that, as you know, we produce the show in our spare time, and maintaining a fortnightly release schedule has become challenging alongside our other commitments. We aren’t going anywhere! The next episode of Lively Minds will be release...