"If you are interested in your mind, emotions, sense of self, and understanding of others, this show is brilliant."
Learn something new about the mind every week - With in-depth conversations at the intersection of psychiatry, psychotherapy, self-development, spirituality and the philosophy of mental health.
Featuring experts from around the world, leading clinicians and academics, published authors, and people with lived experience, we aim to make complex ideas in the mental health space accessible and engaging.
This podcast is designed for a broad audience including professionals, those who suffer with mental health difficulties, more common psychological problems, or those who just want to learn more about themselves and others.
Hosted by psychiatrists Dr. Alex Curmi, Dr. Anya Borissova & Dr. Rebecca Wilkinson.
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"Every episode is enlightening, the approach, conversations and depth of information is deeply enriching. So refreshing to hear practitioners with this level of insight into human behaviour. Thank you for the work and for sharing."
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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 Curmi. Dr. Alex is a consultant psychiatrist and a UKCP registered psychotherapist in-training. If y...
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 " Speaking Enquiry " in the subject line. Alex is not currently taking on new psychotherapy clients, if you are inter...
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 depression, anxiety disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and adjustment disorders. Dr. S...
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. Josephine Stanton. For more resources on mental health recovery from Patte and her colleages visit: ...
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 charity Mind. Her most recent book is No Such Thing As Normal: Disorders, Diagnoses and the Limits o...
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 leanings and much more. This lecture is also available on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4yI1...
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 own Youtube channel dedicated to discussing ACT and related topics. Interviewed by Dr. Alex Curmi. Dr. ...
Dr. Elaine Hunter, a leading expert, delves into Depersonalisation and Derealisation Disorder (DPDR), a condition where one feels unreal or disconnected from their body or surroundings. She highlights DPDR's unexpected prevalence (1% of the population), its strong link to panic and anxiety, and how it can be triggered by trauma or even recreational drug use, often fueling fears of permanent damage. The conversation covers thorough assessment, the adaptive function of dissociation, and CBT strategies to challenge unhelpful beliefs and break the vicious cycle of anxiety, offering a hopeful outlook for recovery.
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 Lively Minds on Apple, Spotify and every major podcast platform: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/l...
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 early twenties. Interviewed by Dr. Alex Curmi. Dr. Alex is a consultant psychiatrist and a UKCP registered p...
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 Group in the Royal College of Psychiatrists and he is a past president of the Sleep Section at the Ro...
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 Robbins Study: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9107501/ Ketamine vs Electroconvulsive Treatment...
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 around smartphones and social media for young people. Dr. Alex Curmi is a consultant psychiatrist and a UK...
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 New York Times, Washington Post, Boston Globe, and Men’s Health. His most recent book - The ADHD Prod...
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 mental health issues such as depression or psychosis evolve as people age. Dementia and Its Differen...
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 which focuses on the causes and consequences of economic inequality. Stefan is the author of How To ...
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 us here: Twitter @thinkingmindpod Instagram @thinkingmindpodcast If you would like to invite Alex to ...
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 - How art can help people understand the human experience - The acclaimed Netflix series Adolescence ...
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 psychotherapist in-training. If you would like to invite Alex to speak at your organisation please email alexcurmi...
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 popular blog on psychology today, rethinking adult ADHD. Find out more about Dr. Ramsay here - https://w...
Mary Morgan is an individual and couples psychoanalyst, Fellow of the British Psychoanalytical Society and Honorary Member of the Polish Society for Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy. She has written extensively in the field of couple psychoanalysis and teaches and supervises internationally. She is the author of ‘A Couple State of Mind: Psychoanalysis of Couples and the Tavistock Relationships Model’ . In this episode we discuss: - How and why couples commonly run into problems - Typical difficultie...
Dr Livia Martucci is a consultant in perinatal psychiatry, and is the clinical lead for perinatal services in South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust. She is experienced in assessment and management of many common and complex mental health problems including anxiety, panic, OCD, depression and other disorders such as Bipolar Disorder as well as psychotic illnesses, both in the perinatal period and more generally in men and women, and has experience of partners/fathers with antenatal and p...
Dr Awais Aftab is a psychiatrist in Cleveland, Ohio and Clinical Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at Case Western Reserve University. He is the author of Conversations in Critical Psychiatry - a 2024 Oxford University Press book, based on a series in the Psychiatric Times - https://www.awaisaftab.com/conversations-in-critical-psychiatry.html. He also writes Psychiatry at the Margins , a substack newsletter exploring critical, philosophical, and scientific debates in psychiatric practice and the...
Professor Brendan Kelly is a leading psychiatrist, author, and researcher. He is a Professor of Psychiatry at Trinity College Dublin and Consultant Psychiatrist at Tallaght University Hospital. He has authored over 20 books, including, The Science of Happiness, The Modern Psychiatrist's Guide to Contemporary Practice and Resilience: Lessons from Sir William Wilde on Life After Covid. Among other things, in this episode we explore the complex relationship between happiness, society, and mental he...
Professor David Taylor is Director of Pharmacy and Pathology at the Maudsley Hospital and Professor of Psychopharmacology at KCL. David is the Editor-in-Chief of the journal Therapeutic Advances in Psychopharmacology. Professor Taylor has been the lead author of the Maudsley Prescribing Guidelines since their inception in 1993. David has also authored over 375 clinical papers in journals such as the Lancet, BMJ, JAMA Psychiatry, British Journal of Psychiatry and Journal of Clinical Psychiatry. T...
Mentalisation-Based Therapy (MBT) is a structured, evidence-based psychotherapy designed to enhance a person’s ability to mentalise, especially in emotionally intense situations. It was developed by today's guests Prof. Peter Fonagy and Prof. Anthony Bateman for treating borderline personality difficulties (BPD) but has since been adapted for other mental health conditions, including anti-social and narcissistic personality difficulties, eating disorders and more. Today we discuss: - What does i...
Today Alex discusses the concept of self-esteem; including core components of self-esteem, how poor self-esteem can affect your life and how people's self-esteem becomes disrupted through the lens of different psychological theories. We also discuss different interventions one could consider to improve their self-esteem, any why good self-esteem is essential for a successful life. Further reading: The Six Pillars of Self-Esteem by Nathaniel Branden Neurosis and Human Growth by Karen Horney On Be...
Adam Lane Smith is a renowned Attachment Specialist with over 15 years of experience in psychology and relationships. Formerly a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, he has dedicated his career to helping individuals and couples overcome attachment issues and build secure, meaningful connections. Adam has worked with a diverse clientele, including death row inmates and Fortune 500 executives. Adam has his own podcast and youtube channel with over 100k subscribers, though which he aims to educ...
Alex Ruck Keene KC (Hon) is a barrister at 39 Essex Chambers in London, specializing in mental capacity, mental health, and healthcare law. In recognition of his significant contributions beyond the courtroom, Alex was appointed Honorary King's Counsel in March 2022. Beyond his legal practice, Alex is involved in academia and policy development. He serves as a Professor of Practice at the Dickson Poon School of Law, King's College London, and as a Visiting Senior Lecturer at the Institute of Psy...
Joanna Moncrieff is a British psychiatrist, researcher, and professor of critical and social psychiatry at University College London (UCL). She is widely recognised for her critical perspectives on psychiatric medication and the biomedical model of mental health. Her work challenges conventional ideas about the role of drugs like antidepressants and antipsychotics, advocating instead for a nuanced understanding of their effects. She has authored several books, including The Myth of the Chemical ...
