

The Thinking Mind Podcast: Psychiatry & Psychotherapy
The Thinking Mind Podcast
"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. Listeners have also said:"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."Podcast related enquiries: thinkingmindpodcast@gmail.com.If you would like to work with Dr. Curmi: alexcurmitherapy@gmail.comDisclaimer: None of the information in the podcast is intended as medical advice for any one invididual.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Oct 14, 2022 • 15min
Audio Essay #14: Getting a More Balanced Perspective
This is an audio-essay about three unhelpful thinking habits, or cognitive distortions, where we think about some examples, why these ways of thinking are unhelpful and what we can do about them.There are many other unhelpful thinking habits or cognitive distortions that CBT guides us to think about - here are some links to some helpful websites to read: https://web.stanford.edu/~nanbhas/blog/understanding-cognitive-distortions/ https://www.verywellmind.com/ten-cognitive-distortions-identified-in-cbt-22412 You can also check out the short book ‘10 Steps to Positive Living’ by Windy Dryden. Audio-essay by Dr. Anya Borissova. Dr Borissova is an academic core trainee psychiatrist in the South London and Maudsley NHS foundation trust with a special interest in psychotherapy and researching improvements in treating depression.Give feedback here - thinkingmindpodcast@gmail.com Follow us here: Twitter @thinkingmindpod Instagram @thinkingmindpodcastJoin Our Mailing List! - https://thinkingmindpod.aidaform.com/mailinglistsignupSUPPORT THE PODCAST: buymeacoffee.com/thinkingmindGive feedback here - thinkingmindpodcast@gmail.com Follow us here: Twitter @thinkingmindpod Instagram @thinkingmindpodcast

Sep 30, 2022 • 52min
Lived Experience #3: Anorexia Nervosa
In our third lived experience episode Rebecca speaks with Ella about her experiences with Anorexia: how it started, the effects it had on her thinking, how it affected her family life and her process of recovery. Interviewed by Dr Rebecca WilkinsonGive feedback here - thinkingmindpodcast@gmail.com Follow us here: Twitter @thinkingmindpod Instagram @thinkingmindpodcastJoin Our Mailing List! - https://thinkingmindpod.aidaform.com/mailinglistsignupSUPPORT THE PODCAST: buymeacoffee.com/thinkingmindGive feedback here - thinkingmindpodcast@gmail.com Follow us here: Twitter @thinkingmindpod Instagram @thinkingmindpodcast

Sep 17, 2022 • 43min
Lived Experience #2: Psychosis (with Ad Gridley)
Ad Gridley was 18 when he had his first cannabis joint while on a gap year in Canada. He had no idea his choices then would – most likely – be the trigger for a 15-year unremitting, downward spiral that would see him diagnosed with schizophrenia and make multiple suicide attempts. He now lectures about his experiences and is the author of the book "The Geographer: The Descent into Madness". In addition Ad hosts two podcasts, Ad Gridleys Movie Sushi and Poetry Cafe. The link to his book and podcasts can be found on http://adgridley.com/.Interviewed by Dr Alex Curmi Give feedback here - thinkingmindpodcast@gmail.com Follow us here: Twitter @thinkingmindpod Instagram @thinkingmindpodcastJoin Our Mailing List! - https://thinkingmindpod.aidaform.com/mailinglistsignupSUPPORT THE PODCAST: buymeacoffee.com/thinkingmindGive feedback here - thinkingmindpodcast@gmail.com Follow us here: Twitter @thinkingmindpod Instagram @thinkingmindpodcast

Sep 2, 2022 • 37min
Interview #40: Psychiatry in a Time of War (With Dr. Natalia Pidkalyuk)
Dr Pidkalyuk is a Ukrainian psychiatrist. Dr Pidkalyuk has worked as a psychiatrist since 2004, and with local government set up a centre for stress disorders in the local polyclinic. In 2021, Dr Pidkalyuk set up and with a team runs an NGO for stress disorders - ‘The Institute of Psychosomatics and Trauma-therapy’ in Khmelnytskyi in Ukraine. Since the full-scale invasion in February 2022, this has been supported by the Czech organisation ‘People in Need’. They provide consultations, support groups and treatment to people affected by trauma and experiencing stress disorders. After Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Dr Pidkalyuk and the Institute have become a hub for many Ukrainians displaced by war from other parts of the country. This interview was possible thanks to translator Danny Dmytroshkyn. The clinic: https://www.facebook.com/105394482187302/posts/pfbid0UDJKkXdUr8fcNwauQLtoFBWbEBA9Y41VbwQvdy1a6ef5fwP4XMRdvyx5W1jLcsTql/. https://www.instagram.com/lifehub.khm/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y%3DGive feedback here - thinkingmindpodcast@gmail.com Follow us here: Twitter @thinkingmindpod Instagram @thinkingmindpodcastSUPPORT THE PODCAST: buymeacoffee.com/thinkingmindJoin Our Mailing List! - https://thinkingmindpod.aidaform.com/mailinglistsignupIf you want to help the situtation in Ukraine, please donate here:https://www.ukrainianlondon.co.uk/donate-help-ukraine-trusted-charities-uk/ Give feedback here - thinkingmindpodcast@gmail.com Follow us here: Twitter @thinkingmindpod Instagram @thinkingmindpodcast

Aug 19, 2022 • 14min
Audio Essay #13 - This is Going to Hurt: Why Growth is Hard (and why you should do it anyway)
How can we define Psychological Growth? Which traits define a mature person? Why is it hard to grow Psychologically? Why Should you do it Anyway?Audio-essay by Dr. Alex Curmi. Dr. Curmi is a specialist registrar in General Adult psychiatry in the South London and Maudsley NHS foundation trust with a special interest in psychotherapy and mindfulness meditation.Give feedback here - thinkingmindpodcast@gmail.com Follow us here: Twitter @thinkingmindpod Instagram @thinkingmindpodcastJoin Our Mailing List! - https://thinkingmindpod.aidaform.com/mailinglistsignupSUPPORT THE PODCAST: buymeacoffee.com/thinkingmindGive feedback here - thinkingmindpodcast@gmail.com Follow us here: Twitter @thinkingmindpod Instagram @thinkingmindpodcast

Aug 4, 2022 • 50min
Lived Experience #1: Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, Religion and Recovery.
Dr Asad Rajput is a FY1 doctor who suffered with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder from a young age. In this episode Rebecca and Asad discuss what it's like to live with OCD, how religion and culture impacted Asad's OCD and how he recovered. Interviewed by Dr Rebecca Wilkinson Give feedback here - thinkingmindpodcast@gmail.com - Follow us here: Twitter @thinkingmindpod Instagram @thinkingmindpodcastJoin Our Mailing List! - https://thinkingmindpod.aidaform.com/mailinglistsignupSUPPORT: buymeacoffee.com/thinkingmindGive feedback here - thinkingmindpodcast@gmail.com Follow us here: Twitter @thinkingmindpod Instagram @thinkingmindpodcast

Jul 22, 2022 • 1h 30min
Interview #39: Stop Being Nice (Dating & Relationships with Dr. Robert Glover)
Dr. Robert Glover is an author, psychotherapist and speaker. He is the author of bestselling men's self help book: No More Mr. Nice Guy. Dr. Glover has devoted his career as a psychotherapist to freeing men from what he was dubbed the "Nice Guy Syndrome": trying too hard to please others while neglecting their own needs, thus causing unhappiness and resentfulness.In this episode we discuss: - The problems with the "Nice Guy" archetype - The meaning of real kindness - The path to integrating aggression into your life - How to date in 2022 - The problem with dating apps - The value of facing one's fearsInterviewed by Dr Alex CurmiGive feedback here - thinkingmindpodcast@gmail.com Follow us here: Twitter @thinkingmindpod Instagram @thinkingmindpodcastSUPPORT THE PODCAST: buymeacoffee.com/thinkingmindGive feedback here - thinkingmindpodcast@gmail.com Follow us here: Twitter @thinkingmindpod Instagram @thinkingmindpodcast

Jul 8, 2022 • 1h 28min
Interview #38: Addiction, the Opioid Epidemic and How to Save Lives (with Professor Sir John Strang)
Professor Sir John Strang is a leading clinical academic. He is head of the Addictions Department at King’s College London and a Consultant Psychiatrist in addictions treatment for over 30 years.He is one of a small number of senior addictions researchers outside North America identified by ISI (the Institute for Scientific Analysis) as a “Highly Cited Author” with a rate of citation in the “top one half of one percent of all publishing researchers in the last two decades”. He developed and continues to expand the work on Take-Home Naloxone, a life-saving innovation for reducing opiate overdose deaths. We discuss how addiction and substance use disorders are defined and what might cause someone to develop them. We talk about what can make substance use disorders difficult to treat. We talk about the opioid epidemic and pick Prof Strang’s brains on what the reasons for the differences between the UK and USA is. We discuss take home naloxone and treatment for opiate dependence and consider broader issues such as what the aims of treatment might be/should be.We are so grateful to all the listeners who sent questions in - we didn’t get to cover all of them this time, but look out for future episodes!Interviewed by Dr. Anya Borissova Give feedback here - thinkingmindpodcast@gmail.com Follow us here: Twitter @thinkingmindpod Instagram @thinkingmindpodcastSUPPORT THE PODCAST: buymeacoffee.com/thinkingmindGive feedback here - thinkingmindpodcast@gmail.com Follow us here: Twitter @thinkingmindpod Instagram @thinkingmindpodcast

Jun 23, 2022 • 49min
Interview #37: Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (With Prof. David Veale)
Prof David Veale is a Consultant Psychiatrist and leads a national outpatient and residential unit service for people with severe treatment refractory Obsessive -Compulsive Disorder (OCD), Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD) and anxiety disorders at the South London and Maudsley Trust. Dr David Veale specialises in obsessive compulsive disorder, body dysmorphic disorder, health anxiety, emetophobia and depression. He is a Visiting Professor in Cognitive Behaviour Therapies at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London.Interviewed by Dr Alex Curmi - Give feedback here - podcast@maudsleylearning.com - Follow us here: Twitter @maudsleypodcast Instagram @maudsleylearningpodcastGive feedback here - thinkingmindpodcast@gmail.com Follow us here: Twitter @thinkingmindpod Instagram @thinkingmindpodcastSUPPORT THE PODCAST: buymeacoffee.com/thinkingmindGive feedback here - thinkingmindpodcast@gmail.com Follow us here: Twitter @thinkingmindpod Instagram @thinkingmindpodcast

Jun 10, 2022 • 48min
Interview #36: Providing Drug and Alcohol Treatment and its Challenges (with Dr. Emmert Roberts)
Dr. Emmert Roberts, an addiction psychiatrist and research fellow from South London, discusses the crisis surrounding drug treatment. He shares insights on the UK's record drug-related deaths, the impact of policy changes on patient care, and innovative approaches like drug consumption rooms. Roberts highlights the successes and challenges of the 'Everyone In' initiative that provided emergency housing during COVID-19 and emphasizes the need for holistic care in substance use treatment to effectively support marginalized communities.