Mark Horowitz is a training psychiatrist, now working as a Clinical Research Fellow at UCL. He is an Associate Editor of the journal Therapeutic Advances in Psychopharmacology and has edited a collection of papers in the journal on Discontinuing PsychiatricMedication. He has a PhD in psychopharmacology and the neurobiology of depression from the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience at King’s College London. He also co-wrote the Maudsley Deprescribing guidelines.Mark has his own blog https://markhorowitz.org/ and has written in the media about his own personal experiences with antidepressant withdrawal syndrome.Today we discuss:The problems with viewing depression primarily through a biomedical lens The causes of depressionThe limitations of anti-depressants, the risks of withdrawal symptoms when stopping them and Mark’s own personal experiences with thisSome useful principles in how to wean off psychiatric medications safely if you are considering doing soInterviewed by Dr. Alex Curmi, consultant psychiatrist and a UKCP registered psychotherapist in-training. If you would like to invite Alex to speak at your organisation please email thinkingmindpodcast@gmail.com with "Speaking Enquiry" in the subject line. If you would like to enquire about an online psychotherapy appointment with Dr. Alex, you can email - alexcurmitherapy@gmail.com.Give feedback here - thinkingmindpodcast@gmail.com -  Follow us here: Twitter @thinkingmindpod Instagram @thinkingmindpodcast

Matilda Gosling is an author, social scientist and researcher, with two books that cover parenting, development and mental health. Evidence-Based Parenting came out in January 2024, and Teenagers: The Evidence Base will be published in the new year. Her latest book uses evidence from social and experimental psychology, neuroscience, family systems and adolescent development (among others) to examine parent-teenager relationships, the online world and other connections, mood and maturity, mental health and resilience, risk, and the building blocks needed to become a healthy adult. Today we discuss both of her books, including topics such as different parenting styles, the psychological function of adolesence, how to guide teenagers with regards to drugs and alcohol, supporting children in terms of their life path, the problem of social contagion amongst teenagers and much more.You can find out more about Matilda's work here:https://www.matildagosling.com/ Interviewed by Dr. Alex Curmi, consultant psychiatrist and a UKCP registered psychotherapist in-training. If you would like to invite Alex to speak at your organisation please email thinkingmindpodcast@gmail.com with "Speaking Enquiry" in the subject line. If you would like to enquire about an online psychotherapy appointment with Dr. Alex, you can email - alexcurmitherapy@gmail.com.Give feedback here - thinkingmindpodcast@gmail.com -  Follow us here: Twitter @thinkingmindpod Instagram @thinkingmindpodcast

This week we're taking a well deserved break, so if you're looking for something to listen to you can check out one of our recent episodes - including our episode last week breaking down the factors that make for successful psychotherapy, our recent conversation exploring the fundamentals of self-development, and our November episode illustrating 8 lessons we learned making our first 100 episodes, which are applicable to anyone considering embarking on a change in their career, or a creative side-project. Any and all feedback, questions, comments or suggestions can be sent to thinkingmindpodcast@gmail.com. If you would like to invite Alex to speak at your organisation please email thinkingmindpodcast@gmail.com with "Speaking Enquiry" in the subject line. If you would like to enquire about an online psychotherapy appointment with Dr. Alex, you can email - alexcurmitherapy@gmail.comSUPPORT THE PODCAST: buymeacoffee.com/thinkingmindThanks for listening and see you next week!

Today Alex discusses 16 factors common to most kinds of therapy which help people to improve the quality of their lives including skills development, gaining new insights about old patterns, forming a reparative relationship with the therapist, being challenged, having their experiences normalised and much more.The book referenced in this podcast is Integration in Counselling & Psychotherapy by Lapworth, Sills and Fish (2001).  Dr. Alex Curmi is a consultant general adult psychiatrist with a sub-speciality in addictions who completed his training in the South London and Maudsley NHS foundation trust. He is also a UKCP registered psychotherapist in-training, and has a special interest in mindfulness meditation. If you would like to invite Alex to speak at your organisation please email thinkingmindpodcast@gmail.com with "Speaking Enquiry" in the subject line. Give feedback here - thinkingmindpodcast@gmail.com  Follow us here: Twitter @thinkingmindpod Instagram @thinkingmindpodcastJoin Our Mailing List! - https://thinkingmindpod.aidaform.com/mailinglistsignupIf you would like to enquire about an online psychotherapy appointment with Dr. Alex, you can email - alexcurmitherapy@gmail.comSUPPORT THE PODCAST: buymeacoffee.com/thinkingmind

Today Alex chats with Dr. Alex Meaburn, a speciality doctor in psychiatry who has been working on the podcast behind the scenes. They discuss some of the fundamentals of self-development including how to audit your time, break out of unhelpful patterns, some of the problems of modern living, the importance to cultivating your intuition, why play is fundamental to our lives, and much more. If you would like to invite Alex to speak at your organisation please email thinkingmindpodcast@gmail.com with "Speaking Enquiry" in the subject line. If you would like to enquire about an online psychotherapy appointment with Dr. Alex, you can email - alexcurmitherapy@gmail.com.Give feedback here - thinkingmindpodcast@gmail.com -  Follow us here: Twitter @thinkingmindpod Instagram @thinkingmindpodcast

What is the effect of nature on our mental health? Today Alex speaks with Prof. Chris Dayson & Dr. Annette Haywood, who have conducted research involving 8000 people, who were given nature-based interventions (such as nature walks, community gardening, tree planting and wild swimming) to help them with their mental health difficulties across seven different sites in the UK.See below link to an article about their work: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/article/2024/sep/04/better-than-medication-prescribing-nature-works-project-showsInterviewed by Dr. Alex Curmi, consultant psychiatrist and a UKCP registered psychotherapist in-training. If you would like to invite Alex to speak at your organisation please email thinkingmindpodcast@gmail.com with "Speaking Enquiry" in the subject line. If you would like to enquire about an online psychotherapy appointment with Dr. Alex, you can email - alexcurmitherapy@gmail.com.Give feedback here - thinkingmindpodcast@gmail.com -  Follow us here: Twitter @thinkingmindpod Instagram @thinkingmindpodcast

In this episode Alex discusses 8 lessons he learned from making the first 100 episodes of the podcast, including how to deal with success and failure, internal and external obstacles, creativity, peristence and much more. 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 foundation trust. He is also a UKCP registered psychotherapist in-training, and has a special interest in mindfulness meditation. If you would like to invite Alex to speak at your organisation please email thinkingmindpodcast@gmail.com with "Speaking Enquiry" in the subject line. Give feedback here - thinkingmindpodcast@gmail.com  Follow us here: Twitter @thinkingmindpod Instagram @thinkingmindpodcastJoin Our Mailing List! - https://thinkingmindpod.aidaform.com/mailinglistsignupIf you would like to enquire about an online psychotherapy appointment with Dr. Alex, you can email - alexcurmitherapy@gmail.comSUPPORT THE PODCAST: buymeacoffee.com/thinkingmind 

In this week's podcast we discuss five different problems facing the modern world, including the decline in critical thinking, political polarisation, the overreliance on technology and more, and how they are contributing to a rise in mental health problems. 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 foundation trust. In addition to general adult psychiatry he has a special interest in psychotherapy and mindfulness meditation.If you would like to invite Alex to speak at your organisation please email thinkingmindpodcast@gmail.com with "Speaking Enquiry" in the subject line. Give feedback here - thinkingmindpodcast@gmail.com  Follow us here: Twitter @thinkingmindpod Instagram @thinkingmindpodcastJoin Our Mailing List! - https://thinkingmindpod.aidaform.com/mailinglistsignupIf you would like to enquire about an online psychotherapy appointment with Dr. Alex, you can email - alexcurmitherapy@gmail.comSUPPORT THE PODCAST: buymeacoffee.com/thinkingmind

Nancy Gee, Ph.D is a Professor of Psychiatry in Human Animal Interaction, and the Director of the Centre for Human Animal Interaction at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) in Richmond, VA. The Centre is the only one of its kind to be housed in a School of Medicine, and in addition to research and educational activities it also houses the “Dogs On Call” therapy dog program. With over 90 DOC volunteer dog-and-handler teams, this program engages in upwards of 100,000 meaningful interactions with patients, staff, and students in the VCU Health system during a typical year.  Nancy is  also the co-editor of “The Role of Companion Animals in the Treatment of Mental Disorders”.Interviewed by Dr. Alex Curmi, consultant psychiatrist and a UKCP registered psychotherapist in-training.If you would like to invite Alex to speak at your organisation please email thinkingmindpodcast@gmail.com with "Speaking Enquiry" in the subject line. If you would like to enquire about an online psychotherapy appointment with Dr. Alex, you can email - alexcurmitherapy@gmail.com. Give feedback here - thinkingmindpodcast@gmail.com -  Follow us here: Twitter @thinkingmindpod Instagram @thinkingmindpodcastJoin Our Mailing List! - https://thinkingmindpod.aidaform.com/mailinglistsignupSUPPORT: buymeacoffee.com/thinkingmind.

This is a recording of a Q & A session at Riddlesdown collegiate, a secondary school in South London. For this session, specifically aimed at male staff, Alex was interviewed by Deputy Head of College Andrew Edwards. Today we cover topics including male mental health issues, lifestyle factors influencing mental health, work life balance, the economics of discomfort, the signs of burnout, cultural trends affecting dating & relationships, criticial thinking and much more.Dr. Alex Curmi is a consultant general adult psychiatrist with a sub-speciality in addictions who completed his training in the South London and Maudsley NHS foundation trust. He is also a UKCP registered psychotherapist in-training, and has a special interest in mindfulness meditation.  If you would like to invite Alex to speak at your organisation please email thinkingmindpodcast@gmail.com with "Speaking Enquiry" in the subject line. If you would like to enquire about an online psychotherapy appointment with Dr. Alex, you can email - alexcurmitherapy@gmail.com.Give feedback here - thinkingmindpodcast@gmail.com -  Follow us here: Twitter @thinkingmindpod Instagram @thinkingmindpodcastJoin Our Mailing List! - https://thinkingmindpod.aidaform.com/mailinglistsignupSUPPORT: buymeacoffee.com/thinkingmind.