Hosted and produced by Seiara Imanova, a PhD student from University of Birmingham, Behind the Stigma is a pioneering podcast that bridges the gap between the general public and the fields of Psychology, Psychiatry and Mental Health.
Each episode offers a deep dive into cutting-edge research, featuring conversations with leading experts and top researchers in the field. Take a listen, as we uncover the science, challenge misconceptions, and bridge the crucial gap between academia and the everyday.
Send us a text In this week's episode, I am back with Alina Vasilache, clinical psychologist on another Q&A session. Alina answers questions on burn-out, self-esteem, grief and what she has learnt in her journey as a psychologist. You can now jump to the question of your interest, using time stamps!
Send us a text In this week's episode, I speak to Adeel Ahmad, host of the Misophonia Podcast where people share their experiences living with Misophonia. We talk about his experience with Misophonia, why and how he started his podcast, and what he has learnt from his experiences with talking to people. Misophonia Podcast: https://misophoniapodcast.com/...
Send us a text Not only is it time to abandon psychiatric diagnosis, but it is time to move beyond the medicalized perspective of ‘mental health’. A new framework for understanding how we all cope with distress - the power threat meaning framework - can lead the way to a more honest and effective paradigm. In this week's episode, I speak to Dr. Ian Newey, part of the PTMF committee, about what the PTMF is, and how it can be used to understand one's own distress, whether we are medicalizing norma...
Send us a text What is emotion? In this week's education series episode, we will touch upon what emotion is, primary and secondary emotions, the 3 main theories of emotion, and what is emotional regulation.
Send us a text In this week's episode, I speak to Lee David, one of the authors of '10 Minutes to Better Mental Health' on how you can improve your well being with ten-minute tools and quick exercises using cognitive behavioral therapy and mindfulness techniques. From dealing with anxiety to building your confidence, and creating healthy life habits and positive relationships - listen to learn how to incorporate in just 10 mins! The book is now available worldwide on Amazon.com - https://www.ama...
Send us a text What is trauma? In this episode, Alina Vasilache talks to us about how she works with patients with trauma, and her definition of it. We go into different therapy approaches, specifically EMDR therapy, what it is and how its used. We also talk about how trauma shows up in the body and how important is it to work on trauma? cant we just move on?
Send us a text We all get angry. It's a normal feeling. And often our anger can be justified right? But sometimes we get angry over little things, or deal with our anger in ways which can have a negative impact on us. In this episode, I speak with our clinical psychologist about the nature of anger, where it comes from and how to protect ourselves from people that make us angry. We also discuss emotional regulation and how helpful are anger management programs, with concluding remarks on ways to...
Send us a text Perception is the sensory experience of the world. It is the ability to see, hear, or become aware of something through the senses. In this week's education series episode, we will touch upon perception through vision, different theories of how perception works and a very interesting experiment called the rubber hand illusion that gives us clue into the perceptual world.
Send us a text In this week's episode, I speak to one of the leading psychiatrists in the UK, Dr. Derek Tracy about some of the challenges faced in pharmacotherapy, the role of clinicians and oneself on mental health, the bio-psycho-social model, and what are novel psychoactive substances. Website: https://maudsleylearning.com/dr-derek-k-tracy/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/Derektracy1...
Send us a text In our previous episode with Nisrine Maktabi, we looked at what is the attachment theory, and what are the 4 main styles of attachment. In this episode, we dive a little deeper into relationships and dating, why we choose or attract certain partners, and what is at the heart of a secure, functioning relationships. We also discuss the meaning of rupture and repair, and how negative relationships affect us....
Send us a text You asked and we answered! Today's episode is all about answering some of the questions we received from our listeners that were of importance to them. Check out our chapter markers to jump straight to the questions of your interest, and if you have any burning questions yourself, reach out to us on @behindthestigmapodcast on instagram!
Send us a text Our memories help make us who we are. They are our link that connects our past to our present and they underlie the way we talk, the way we learn and even the way we feel about situations and things. Have you ever wondered how our memories are stored in our brain? Is there a difference between long term and short term memory? And if yes, can we use certain techniques to strengthen the way we remember and retrieve things? We will be discussing some of these questions today....
Send us a text Does our attachment style define how we are in relationships? In this episode, our guest speaker, Nisrine Maktabi, a licensed psychotherapist from Canada, speaks to us about a psychological, evolutionary and ethological theory concerning relationships between humans known as the attachment theory. We discusses how the relationship we have with our main figures of attachment, reflect on the type of people we tend to seek out in relationships as adults. We also discuss the 4 main st...
Send us a text This week, I speak to Alina Vasilache about a talk therapy that's most popularly used today known as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). CBT is a type of psychotherapeutic treatment that helps people learn how to identify and change destructive or disturbing thought patterns that have a negative influence on behavior and emotions. We talk about what CBT addresses, some of its techniques that can be applied to everyday life, and also its limitations as a therapeutic approach....
Send us a text What is burn out? In this week's episode, I speak to, Alina Vasilache about the feeling of being burn out and when it can happen. We talk about its meaning, and how long term stress can be physically emotionally and draining for us. We then talk about her experience of burn-out and what are some of the things that can be done.
Send us a text This week, I speak to Dr. Gisele Dias, a chartered psychologist, neuroscientist and a senior lecturer in Psychology at King’s College London about one of her research works in Positive psychology. Positive psychology is the scientific study of what makes life most worth living, focusing on both individual and societal well-being. In contrast to usual psychology, it's focus is more on human strength, and values. A very rich discussion on empowering our own strengths....
Send us a text This week is NEDA, (National Eating Disorder Awareness) week, and so we decided to dedicate a very important episode to the relationship between food and our body. I speak to Alina Vasilache, the podcast's clinical psychologist, about what having a healthy relationship with food and body means. We also briefly introduce the 3 main eating disorder types: anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge eating disorder....
Send us a text This week, Alina Vasilache, our clinical psychologist talks about how she witnesses anxiety during her practice and the different types of anxiety that people go through. Anxiety is a feeling of unease, such as worry or fear that can cause disruption in our lives and is now considered one of the highest burden rates in the world. We discuss the different forms of anxiety, the potential root causes of it, and to learn ways on how to cope with it....
Send us a text This week, Alina Vasilache, our clinical psychologist comes back to speak to us about the feeling of guilt. We all feel guilt, and in fact it helps direct our moral compass. But can guilt reach to a point, where it stops us from being or doing certain things in our life? We discuss the maladaptive form of guilt, the difference between shame and guilt, and the way we can look and cope with this emotion....
Send us a text Are you a result of your genes? or your environment? What if its possible that our genes and environment is interactive with one another? In this episode, I speak to Professor Thalia Eley, who specializes in both gene-environment interactions on the development of anxiety and depression on this topic. We discuss the different types of gene-environment correlations, what is gene-environment interaction, and what this can mean for us in understanding and treating mental health probl...
Send us a text This week, I speak to Dr. Ioannis Bakolis, a senior lecturer at King's College London, who's interest lies in understanding how social and built environments impact our mental well being. Dr Bakolis helps us understand how city living is affecting mental health through the influence of increased stressors and factors such as: noise and air pollution, neighborhood deprivation and reduced social support. We also discuss the 'Urban Mind' application: Urban Mind: https://www.urbanmind...
Send us a text What is the connection between the brain and gut? & does the microbe composition in our gut have an impact on our mental health? This week, I speak with Dr. Ruari Robertson, a leading researcher in the field who studies how microbes in our gut influence the human body and brain. We speak about the brain gut connection, what type of diet is good for our gut composition, and the difference between prebiotics and probiotics. Website: https://ruairirobertson.com/ Biomes Podcast: h...
Send us a text Is psychiatry doing more harm than good? In this episode, our guest speaker is Nick Fortino, a Psychology Professor at University of Silicon Valley and Gavilan College in the USA and host of the Psychology Is podcast. We talk about the nature of mental health diagnosis and how it's history evolved into what we know today as biological mental disorders. We cover the history of the DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders), classifications of disease and the effica...
Send us a text In this episode, Alina Vasilache, our clinical psychologist talks about the different types of thought processes we may have known as cognitive distortions. These distortions are negative thinking patterns we have that are not always rational and can cause us distress. We discuss different types of cognitive distortions, how people with anxiety and depression are more predisposed to these thoughts, and how to deal with them....
Send us a text Is seeking validation actually a bad thing? Our clinical psychologist Alina Vasilache, explores the root of seeking validation and when it can become maladaptive. We also cover living with guilt, self acceptance and living with rights.
Send us a text In this episode, I talk to Alina Vasilache, a clinical psychologist from Dubai, UAE, about her interpretation of a concept that has raised a lot of interest recently: The Inner Child. Alina explains her understanding of the word inner child, and talks about the 3 different types of modes we inherit: - the child mode, - the adult mode and - the parent mode. About: https://cmcdubai.ae/doctors/alina-vasilache/...
Send us a text Our first and quick introductory episode covers the definition and difference between mental health and mental disorders, how disorders are currently being diagnosed, and a few tips from our clinical psychologist on how to take care of our overall well being.
Send us a text Learn all about who we are in this short 2 minute audio!
