The Thinking Mind Podcast: Psychiatry & Psychotherapy

Today Alex discusses the classic 2013 sci-fi romance Her directed by Spike Jonze and starring Joaquin Phoenix, Amy Adams and Chris Pratt. Including themes such as loneliness, attachmement , artifiical intelligence, dating, falling in love, overreliance on technology and the most socially acceptable form of insanity.  Presented by Dr. Alex Curmi. Dr. Alex is a consultant psychiatrist and a UKCP reg...

Professor Viren Swami is an international expert on attraction and body image and has written and edited several books on these topics. He is a chartered psychologist and associate Fellow of the British Psychological Society, and is ranked in the top 2% of the most-cited scientists in the world. Viren is the author of Attraction Explained: The Science of how we Form Relationships, which deconstruc...

Gillie is a qualified psychotherapist and counsellor with more than 30 years’ experience. She specialises in working with survivors of coercive, cultic or spiritual abuse, trauma including rape and sexual abuse, thought-reform (brainwashing) and undue influence. She works with former cult members, including those brought up in a cult (second and multi-generation) and those who joined or were recru...

Today Alex and Anya break down mental health studies to deliver fascinating insights from research, discuss the difference between good and bad science, and understand how science can be (for better and worse) leveraged to market products.  Papers discussed today: Flow neuroscience for depression:  https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-024-03305-y Ozempic and depression: https://www.nature.com/ar...

Pim Cuijpers. Ph. D. is professor emeritus of Clinical Psychology at the Department of Clinical, Neuro and Developmental Psychology, Amsterdam Public Health research institute, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, The Netherlands. He is also director of the WHO Collaborating Centre for Research and Dissemination of Psychological Interventions in Amsterdam. Professor Cuijpers is specialised in conducting...

Dr. Paul Eastwick is a Professor at UC Davis where he runs the Attraction and Relationships Research Laboratory. Dr. Eastwick’s research investigates how people initiate romantic relationships and the psychological mechanisms that help romantic partners to remain committed and attached. He is one of the hosts of the Love Factually podcast.  https://www.lovefactuallypod.com/ Interviewed by Dr. Alex...

We're on holiday this week! Today we briefly mention some recent episode recommendations, future episodes and other announcements.  The Thinking Mind Podcast is hosted by Dr. Alex Curmi. Dr. Alex is a consultant psychiatrist and a UKCP registered psychotherapist in-training. If you would like to invite Alex to speak at your organisation please email alexcurmitherapy@gmail.com with " Spea...

Dr. Alastair Santhouse is a consultant psychiatrist and author with over 20 years of experience in the field. He has worked at both Guy’s Hospital and the Maudsley Hospital in London, treating a wide range of mental health conditions. His clinical expertise includes the psychological impact of physical illness and persistent physical symptoms, as well as more typical psychiatric conditions such as...

Dr. Patte Randal is a doctor trained in psychiatry, now retired from practice after working for over 30 years in mental health. She has lived experience of recovery from psychosis, and has told her story publicly in many contexts, including her  published book, Finding Hope in the Lived Experience of Psychosis: Reflections on Trauma, Use of Power, and Re-visioning Psychiatry - co-authored with Dr....

Marieke Bigg is an author of fiction and nonfiction in the areas of women’s health, mental health, and the history of science. She holds a PhD in sociology from the University of Cambridge where her research focused on the debates on human embryo research in Britain. She is currently also training as a psychotherapist and works as a peer support coordinator and client liaison at the mental health...

What if you finally had a road map to your psychology? This week Alex shares a talk he gave at the MRC institute at Imperial College - Personality: How the Science of Who We Are Can Help Us Lead Better Lives. This talk describes how we can define personality, why its useful to have an understand of personality for career, relationships and quality of life, how personality affects our political lea...

Dr Joe Oliver is a consultant clinical psychologist and founder of Contextual Consulting , an organisation providing training, supervision and therapy in acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT).  He is also an associate professor and overall programme director for the University College London CBT for Severe Mental Health Problems post graduate programme. He has written 6 ACT books, and has his ow...

Dr. Elaine Hunter  is a Consultant Clinical Psychologist who has worked with Depersonalisation and Derealisation Disorder since 1999. She has conducted research into improving psychological treatment of the condition and worked clinically to try to help many people with the condition.   In March 2019 she set up The Depersonalisation Clinic to allow her freedom to see a wider range of clients. She...

This week Alex goes on the the Lively Minds Podcast to chat to hosts Will and Ellie. They take a deep dive into anti-depressants and SSRIs (Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors), which is the most commonly prescribed form of antidepressant in the UK. They discuss what we know about the effectiveness of SSRIs, what we don't, and why there is so much debate about their use. You can check out...

Shreevatsa Nevatia is an independent journalist. He has worked as the editor of National GeographicTraveller, and has written for the NationHindustan Times, and the Mumbai Mirror and Outlook. He is the author of How to Travel Light: My Memories of Madness and Melancholia, which among other things describes Shreevata's experiences coming to terms with a diagnosis of bipolar disorder in his ear...

Dr Hugh Selsick is a consultant psychiatrist treating adults with sleep disorders, he has been involved in Sleep and Sleep Medicine for nearly 30 years. He has also founded and ran the Insomnia and Behavioural Sleep Medicine Clinic at UCLH, having worked for over a decade in the Sleep Disorders Centre at Guy’s & St Thomas’ Hospitals.  Dr. Selsick founded and chaired the Sleep Special Interest...

Can Tony Robbins self-help course cure depression? Do people prefer ketamine or electroconvulsive treatment for depression and does preference matter? Today Alex and Anya break down mental health studies to deliver fascinating insights from research, discuss the difference between good and bad science, and understand how science can be (for better and worse) leveraged to market products.  Tony Rob...

Today Alex discusses the question: is social media harmful for the mental health of young people? In this episode expect to learn:  - Why human beings are vulnerable to information overload. - What about social media and smartphone technology could be addictive or harmful? - Super-powers or metaskills we should be cultivating in our children to deal with an AI driven world.  - Recommendations arou...

Ari Tuckman PsyD, MBA, is a psychologist, presenter, author, With 25 years in private practice, he specializes in diagnosing and treating ADHD and works with individuals, couples, and families.  Tuckman is the author of four books on adult ADHD and regularly contributes to ADHD-related publications  As a popular expert and advocate, Tuckman has been widely quoted in major media outlets such as the...

Dr Ben Underwood is Assistant Professor in Applied and Translational Old Age Psychiatry at the University of Cambridge and an Honorary Consultant Old Age Psychiatrist. His interests are in translational medicine in dementia, where he has been principal investigator (PI) for academic and pharma led clinical trials. Today we discuss: Trajectories of Common Mental Health Problems into Older Age, how...

Stefan Stern has been writing about management and leadership for over two decades. He has worked for the BBC, Management Today magazine and the Financial Times, He continues to write for the FT, the Guardian and other publications.  He is Visiting Professor in management practice at Bayes Business School, City University, London. He was previously the director of the High Pay Centre, a think tank...

Robin Ince is a comedian, author, broadcaster and a populariser of scientific ideas. He is best known as the co-host of the BBC Radio 4 series The Infinite Monkey Cage with Professor Brian Cox. His new book Normally Weird and Weirdly Normal: My adventures in neurodiversity is out now.  Interviewed by Dr. Anya Borissova and Dr. Alex Curmi - Give feedback here - thinkingmindpodcast@gmail.com Follow...

Dr Alan Baban is a writer, psychiatrist and BPC registered psychoanalytic psychotherapist, and he is the Chair of the Art and Psychiatry Special Interest Group at the Royal College of Psychiatry.  Today we discuss: - What makes psychoanalysis different from other therapies - Different unconscious drives people have  - What a psychoanalytic session looks like - The many benefits of free association...

Alex discusses his relationship with alclohol, how and why he chose to go sober, as well as recent cultural trends around drinking and observations on how society deals with the problem of alcohol. He also discussed some tools and mindsets you could adopt in an effort to reduce drinking or any other undesirable habit.  Dr. Alex Curmi is a consultant psychiatrist and a UKCP registered psychotherapi...

Dr. Russell Ramsay is a co-founder of the Penn Adult ADHD Treatment and Research Program, and served as professor of clinical psychology in the department of psychiatry of the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. He is author of many books on ADHD, his most recent book is Rethinking Adult ADHD: Helping Clients Turn Intentions into Actions (2020). In addition he has a popu...