The Thinking Mind Podcast: Psychiatry & Psychotherapy

Kat Brown is an author & journalist whose work on mental health stigma and other social and entertainment commentary has appeared in The Telegraph, The Times and The Guardian. Her first book, No One Talks About This Stuff , is an anthology sharing people’s untold experiences of infertility and baby loss. Her second book, It's Not A Bloody Trend: Understanding Life as an ADHD Adult , was p...

Rose Cartwright is an author and screenwriter. She is the author of the 2015 book Pure about her experiences with OCD which subsequently became a Channel 4 television show with the same name. She is also a screenwriter and executive story editor on the upcoming Netflix sci-fi series Three Body Problem . Her new book The Maps We Carry is out now https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-maps-we-carry/ro...

Today we discuss prescription psychiatric medications as they are used for major mental health conditions such as depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and ADHD,  and we outline 8 principles as to how they can be used in a safe rational way. See 13th edition of the Maudsley guidelines here: https://www.clinicaltoolkit.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/9781119442608.pdf Audio-Essay by...

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. He also co-hosts the podcast Book Shambles with Josie Long, An Uncanny Hour and Science Shambles with Dr Helen Czerski, all three of which are a part of The Cosmic Shambles Network. His most recent books ar...

W. Keith Campbell, PhD is a nationally-recognized expert on narcissism, personality, and cultural change.  is the author of more than 200 papers and several books including the latest, The New Science of Narcissism. He's made frequent media appearances including the Joe Rogan Experience and the Mikhaila Peterson Podcast.  You can learn more about Dr. Campbell's work here: https://www.wke...

Caffeine is a central nervous stimulant and one of the most widely consumed drugs in the world. Today Alex, Anya and Rebecca discuss caffeine, their experiences trying to cut down and stop their use of caffeine, the withdrawal symptoms they experienced and how they plan to use caffeine in the future. They also discuss how caffeine acts on the brain and how it may impact us psychologically. Dr. Ale...

In today's episode we discuss how you can come to understand the psychology of your culture, your society and your zeitgiest, and how this can help you when you are trying to determine your own values. In particular we describe three virtues upheld by Western culture; Freedom, Happiness & Convenience, and we discuss the benefits and dark sides of each.  Audio-Essay by Dr. Alex Curmi. Dr....

Gestalt Psychotherapy is an often under-discussed, yet widely practiced form of therapy that was developed in the 40s and 50s by a psychoanalyst Fritz Perls, his wife Laura Perls and Paul Goodman. Gestalt therapy came to prominence during the counterculture movement of the 60s and focused on an individual's experience of the present moment, their relationship with their therapist, and the psy...

Andy Laithwaite is an actor and the co-founder of The Actor Inside, a company which delivers training to companies and organizations on public speaking and performance. Using the lessons learned from drama training Andy and his team help people to improve improvisational skills and and on the spot problem-solving, develop better vocal presence, gain composure in front of an audience and improve li...

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 Nonmedication Treatments for Adult ADHD (2010); Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Adult ADHD (with Dr. Anthony Rostain, 2015) and The Adult ADHD T...

Helen Fisher is a Biological Anthropologist, is a Senior Research Fellow at The Kinsey Institute and Chief Science Advisor to the Internet dating site Match.com. She is the author of several books including the Anatomy of Love, Why We love: The Nature And Chemistry Of Romantic Love and The First Sex: The Natural Talents Of Women And How They Are Changing The World . Her Ted Talks on YouTube, The B...

Vincent Deary is a practitioner health psychologist and professor of health psychology at Northumbria University, where his research focuses on the development of new psychosocial interventions for people with a variety of health issues, including cancer survivors and the elderly. Vincent worked as a clinician in the UK's first transdiagnostic Fatigue Clinic, he worked as part of a multidisci...

What if you are focusing on the wrong things? In this podcast we discuss the concept of selective attention and focus , why we have selective attention, how this interacts with our beliefs and expectations, how it can hold us back unconsciously, and how we can make conscious changes to help move us forward.  Audio-Essay by Dr. Alex Curmi. Dr. Curmi is a consultant general adult psychiatrist with a...

Professor Dr Brendon Stubbs is a clinical-academic physiotherapist whose research focuses on physical activity and mental health and the mind-body interface. Brendon has published over 500 International academic papers. Brendon was lead author of the recently published European Psychiatric Association guidelines on the use of exercise for mental health and senior author on a recent Lancet commissi...

Professor Sir Simon Baron Cohen is a Professor of Psychology and Psychiatry, and Director of the Autism Centre at Cambridge University. He is the author of 600 scientific articles and 4 books, including Zero Degrees of Empathy and the Pattern Seekers.  He created the first UK clinic for adults suspected to have Asperger's syndrome that has helped over 1000 patients have their disability recog...

Sheldon Solomon is an American social psychologist. He is a professor of psychology at Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, New York. Solomon is best known for developing terror management theory, along with Jeff Greenberg and Tom Pyszczynski. This theory is concerned with how humans deal with their own sense of mortality. Today we talk all about existential themes and how our mortality affects o...

As the New Year approaches, we decided to make a short podcast all about endings, the importance of endings in psychotherapy, and how to orient yourself towards endings (small and large) in your own life. Audio-Essay by Dr. Alex Curmi. Dr. Curmi is a consultant General Adult Psychiatrist who completed his training in the South London and Maudsley NHS foundation trust. In addition to general adult...

This week the team is taking a much deserved break for the holidays, but we are re-posting this 2021 episode where Anya and Alex discuss the psychological significance and historical origins of Christmas, as well as other similar celebrations around the world. They also discuss: nostalgia, social cohesion, why you shouldn't try and change your relatives minds over Turkey, loneliness, New Year...

Professor Nav Kapur is an academic psychiatrist, working at Manchester University and Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust. He leads the suicide work programme of the National Confidential Inquiry into Suicide and Safety in Mental Health. We discuss the epidemiology of suicide and self-harm, how to think about prevention from both the societal and individual person perspective, the complexity of think...

In this week's podcast we examine Narcissism through the lens of Napoleon and other characters in film. We explore, the different ways narcissism can manifest itself (including malignant, grandiose, covert & communal) and some of the psychological mechanisms underlying narcissism. We also discuss how narcissism can distort your psychology and your life path and how you can combat this. Au...

Dr. Anna Lembke is a psychiatrist and author. She is the Chief of the Stanford Addiction Medicine Dual Diagnosis Clinic at Stanford University and is the author of the New York Times bestseller Dopamine Nation: Finding Balance in the Age of Indulgence. Today we discuss - Dopamine and the different psychological functions it serves - Different addictive behaviours ranging from drugs to alcohol to s...

In this week's podcast we discuss seven common misconceptions about psychotherapy, and these include: Only people with a psychiatric diagnosis can benefit from therapy Therapists have all the answers and will tell you what to do Therapy is only for long-term issues; it can't help with short-term problems Therapy is just about talking, which doesn’t accomplish anything Therapy is just abo...

On today's episode we discuss novel injectable weight loss drugs (GLP-1 agonists) such as Ozempic and Mounjaro. To discuss these drugs, we are in conversation with Dr. Michael Camilleri, a gastroenterologist from the Mayo Clinic who is specifically interested in how the gastrointestinal motility, obesity, diabetes, appetite, irritable bowel syndrome and related topics. He himself has overseen...

How do you a sustain a relationship past the honeymoon phase? Why is falling in love overrated? What practices and mindsets can help you build a strong relationship? Audio-Essay by Dr. Alex Curmi. Dr. Curmi is a consultant General Adult Psychiatrist who completed his training in the South London and Maudsley NHS foundation trust. In addition to general adult psychiatry he has a special interest in...

Jeremy Thomas is a public speaker and author. He is the author of two novels, Taking Leave , and the Santa Monica Suicide Club . He’s also co-written two books about mental health with Dr. Tony Hughes, the A-Z Guide to Mental Health and You Don't Have to Be Famous to Have Manic Depression. In 2006 Jeremy and Tony co-produced a documentary about bipolar disorder, the Secret Life of the Manic D...