Psychotherapist Arie Winograd (LMFT) has spent the vast majority of his 25-year psychotherapy career treating clients with body dysmorphic disorder. He founded and was the director of the Los Angeles BDD & Body Image Clinic. He is the author of Face to Face with Body Dysmorphic Disorder: Psychotherapy and Clinical Insights. He currently works with BDD clients in his private practice. Interviewed by Dr. Alex Curmi, consultant psychiatrist. If you would like to enquire about an online psychoth...
Jun 27, 2024•1 hr 18 min
Professor Anthony David trained in neurology before entering psychiatry at the Maudsley Hospital in London. He was the Vice Dean for Academic Psychiatry at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (IoPPN) from 2013 to 2018. In 2018, Professor David joined University College London (UCL) as the Director of the Institute of Mental Health. He has a wide and diverse range of research interests, including schizophrenia, neuropsychiatry, medically unexplained syndromes, and neuroimag...
Jun 21, 2024•1 hr 10 min
Dr. Benjiman Waterhouse is a consultant psychiatrist. He is also an award-winning stand-up comedian. He has written for the Guardian and Independent and was included in a list of ‘Inspiring Psychiatrists’ by the Royal College of Psychiatrists. You Don’t Have to Be Mad to Work Here , his first book, was released in May 2024 In this episode we discuss the ups and downs of psychiatry training, his experiences with psychotherapy, common misconceptions about mental illness, some of the problems with ...
Jun 13, 2024•1 hr 14 min
Professor Henry O’Connell is a Consultant Psychiatrist working in Portlaoise, Ireland and Associate Clinical Professor with the School of Medicine at the University of Limerick. Henry has a special interest in how principles of evolutionary psychology can be applied to psychiatry, mental health and illness and medical education. Henry was isthe founding chair of the college of psychiatrists of Ireland Evolutionary Psychiatry special interest group in 2021 . In 2022 he published his a textbook Ev...
Jun 06, 2024•1 hr 17 min
What if the biggest obstacle in your way was yourself? If this were true and it was something you took seriously, it would have major implications about the way you conducted yourself. It would also mean reflecting on your decisions, and the overarching patterns of your life might be one of the most important things you could do. Today we discuss the many routes to self-sabotage, including evolutionary reasons, fear of change, the repetition compulsion and much more. Audio-Essay by Dr. Alex Curm...
May 30, 2024•26 min
MJDorian is an artist, educator, podcast creator, and award winning composer. In 2018, MJ launched the podcast: Creative Codex , which he continues to write and produce. The show frequently appears in the top 100 charts globally in the genre of Arts. The mission of Creative Codex is to explore the mysteries of creative genius through narrative, sound design, and original music. Today we discuss who Carl Jung was, an overview of what he contributed to psychology, why he disagreed with Freud, the ...
May 23, 2024•1 hr 14 min
John E. Wisneski is a Clinical Assistant Professor at Rice University in Texas, where he teaches a course on Emotional Intelligence. He is the recipient of numerous student-selected graduate teaching awards, including the 2017 Professor of the Year Award at the Kelley School of Business, and the 2018 Most Impactful Core Professor Award at the W.P. Carey School of Business. In 2020, he was recognized by Poets & Quants as a Favorite MBA Professor for the Class of 2020. Prior to pursuing a care...
May 16, 2024•1 hr 7 min
Andew Wilkinson is a dating coach and a Youtuber who specialises in helping men find and sustain healthy relationships with women. You can learn more about Andrew and is work on his youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@HonestImprovementYT In this episode we discuss the problems faced by men and women alike in dating, the potential harm of dating apps, the changing ethical landscape of dating, the looming problem of AI girlfriends, how to improve your ability to attract a partner, the value ...
May 09, 2024•1 hr 12 min
The Gender Identity Development service was the only gender identity clinic for people under the age of 18 in England and Wales. Operating since 1989, it was closed on March 28 2024. In today's episode we speak to Marcus Evans, who was previously on the board of governors for the service. Marcus was also one of the whistleblowers (along with his wife Sue Evans) responsible for bringing the clinic under judicial review. Among other topics, today we discuss: - The series of events which led to the...
May 02, 2024•1 hr 6 min
Mark L. Ruffalo, M.S.W., D.Psa., is a psychotherapist in private practice in Tampa, Florida, and serves as Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Central Florida College of Medicine and Adjunct Instructor of Psychiatry at Tufts University School of Medicine. He has broad clinical experience in the psychoanalytic treatment of mood disorders, personality disorders, and psychosomatic illness, and has particular interest in the psychotherapy of schizophrenia. He is also the editor-in...
Apr 25, 2024•55 min
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 published a month before her first, which is a ridiculousness she really enjoys. Interviewed by Dr Alex Cu...
Apr 18, 2024•1 hr 12 min
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/rose-cartwright/9780008591885. Watch this podcast on YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MyECqiN...
Apr 11, 2024•1 hr 3 min
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 Dr. Alex Curmi. Dr. Curmi is a consultant general adult psychiatrist with a sub-speciality in addict...
Apr 04, 2024•27 min
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 are I'm a Joke and So Are You, The Importance of Being Interested – Adventures in Scientific Curiosity...
Mar 29, 2024•1 hr 40 min
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.wkeithcampbell.com/about Interviewed by Dr. Alex Curmi - Give feedback here - thinkingmindpodcast@gmail.com Follow ...
Mar 22, 2024•1 hr 3 min
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. Alex Curmi, Dr. Rebecca Wilkinson and Dr. Anya Borissova are all practising psychiatrists and members o...
Mar 15, 2024•47 min
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. Curmi is a consultant general adult psychiatrist with a sub-speciality in addictions who completed his tra...
Mar 08, 2024•23 min
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 psychological adjustments people make in response to their environmental and social context. Today, on the p...
Mar 01, 2024•1 hr 3 min
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 listening, collaboration and leadership skills. In addition Andy also dose 1:1 coaching to provide a m...
Feb 23, 2024•58 min
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 Tool Kit (also with Dr. Anthony Rostain, 2015). His most recent book is Rethinking Adult ADHD: Helpin...
Feb 16, 2024•1 hr 30 min
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 Brain in Love and Why We love Why We Cheat , have been viewed a combined 3 million times. In this epi...
Feb 09, 2024•1 hr 16 min
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 multidisciplinary team to help people with disabling fatigue. He is the author of How We Are and How we Break, the ...
Feb 02, 2024•1 hr 3 min
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 sub-speciality in addictions who completed his training in the South London and Maudsley NHS foundat...
Jan 26, 2024•19 min
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 commission to improve the physical health of people with mental health conditions. Interviewed by Dr. Anya B...
Jan 19, 2024•51 min
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 recognised. He was chair of the Nice guideline development group for Adults with Autism and was chair of the ps...
Jan 12, 2024•46 min
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 our psychology.We also discuss - the concept of death anxiety and terror management theory in some de...
Jan 05, 2024•1 hr 20 min
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 psychiatry he has a special interest in psychotherapy and mindfulness meditation. If you would like ...
Dec 29, 2023•11 min
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 Years resolutions and much more. From the Thinking Mind team Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! With Dr. Any...
Dec 22, 2023•44 min
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 thinking about causes/factors that increase risk, the idea of zero suicide, impact of the Covid pandemic,...
Dec 15, 2023•1 hr 10 min
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. Audio-Essay by Dr. Alex Curmi. Dr. Curmi is a consultant General Adult Psychiatrist who completed his train...
Dec 08, 2023•19 min
