Professor Robin Dunbar is a British anthropologist and evolutionary psychologist and a specialist in primate behaviour. He is currently head of the Social and Evolutionary Neuroscience Research Group in the Department of Experimental Psychology at the University of Oxford. He is best known for formulating Dunbar's number, a measurement of the "cognitive limit to the number of individuals with whom any one person can maintain stable relationships".He is the author of many books including Friends: Understanding the Power of our Most Important Relationships which we discuss today. Interviewed by Dr. Rebecca Wilkinson with 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/thinkingmind

Eli Zaretsky is Professor of History at The New School for Social Research. He has taught at Lang College since 1999. His interests are in twentieth century cultural history, the theory and history of capitalism (especially its social and cultural dimensions), and the history of the family. His most recent book is Political Freud, published in 2015 by Cambridge University Press. His earlier work includes Secrets of the Soul: A Social and Cultural History of Psychoanalysis and Why America Needs a Left.Interviewed by Dr. Alex Curmi - Give feedback here - thinkingmindpodcast@gmail.com -  Follow us here: Twitter @thinkingmindpod Instagram @thinkingmindpodcastSUPPORT: buymeacoffee.com/thinkingmindJoin Our Mailing List! - https://thinkingmindpod.aidaform.com/mailinglistsignupSpecial Thanks to www.wearegoat.com (insta: @wearegoat_official)  for our new logo and art work! 

Dr. David Spiegel is an American psychiatrist and Associate Chair of Psychiatry at Stanford University School of Medicine, where he is known for his research into psycho-oncology; the neurobiology of therapeutic hypnosis, and the role of the mind-brain-body connection in the management of various conditions.  He directs the Stanford Center on Stress and Health and is a recognized authority on hypnosis's clinical utility and neuroscience.Interviewed by Dr. Alex Curmi - Give feedback here - thinkingmindpodcast@gmail.com -  Follow us here: Twitter @thinkingmindpod Instagram @thinkingmindpodcastSUPPORT: buymeacoffee.com/thinkingmindJoin Our Mailing List! - https://thinkingmindpod.aidaform.com/mailinglistsignupSpecial Thanks to www.wearegoat.com (insta: @wearegoat_official)  for our new logo and art work! 

*Announcement! From April 14th 2023 the Maudsley Learning Podcast will be changing its name to The Thinking Mind Podcast and will have a completely new look! Make sure you follow or subscribe on your podcast player to avoid missing any new episodes!*Special Thanks to https://www.wearegoat.com for our new logo and art work! Give feedback here - thinkingmindpodcast@gmail.com -  Follow us here: Twitter @thinkingmindpod Instagram @thinkingmindpodcastJoin Our Mailing List! - https://thinkingmindpod.aidaform.com/mailinglistsignupSUPPORT: buymeacoffee.com/thinkingmind

As head of operations for the Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD) Foundation in the UK, Kitty Wallace supports sufferers and their families, raises awareness of the condition and much more. But she’s also had her own experience of living with BDD. Her story shows that recovery may not always be a straight line, but it’s always possible. Find out more on the BDD Foundation website https://bddfoundation.org/.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/thinkingmind

This week Alex meets with Lisa, a CBT therapist at the Anxiety Disorders Residential Unit. The ADRU specialises in severe cases of anxiety conditions such as social anxiety, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) and body dysmorphic disorder (BDD). The patients at the ADRU undergo an intensive 12 to 16 week residential programme with the goal of helping them understand their condition and develop better coping strategies to help manage their condition in their day-to-day lives. Alex and Lisa discuss how the ADRU works, what a patient there is likely to expect, the value of cognitive behaviour therapy as well as compassion focused therapy, the role of trauma in these conditions and how these conditions can be viewed holistically. 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: buymeacoffee.com/thinkingmind

This week Anya chats with Alex and Rebecca about what training in psychiatry is like: why it's a rewarding speciality to choose for your medical career, what makes it challenging, how to carve out your own unique career path and good mindsets to adopt around helping people with mental health difficulties. Alex, Anya and Rebecca are all medical doctors and currently training psychiatrists within the South London and Maudsley NHS foundation trust. Interviewed by  Dr. Anya Borissova - Give feedback here - thinkingmindpodcast@gmail.com -  Follow us here: Twitter @thinkingmindpod Instagram @thinkingmindpodcastJoin Our Mailing List! - https://thinkingmindpod.aidaform.com/mailinglistsignupSUPPORT: buymeacoffee.com/thinkingmind

In this week's episode Anya and Alex speak to Natalie Ertl (@NatalieErtl1) who is currently a research assistant at Invicro and PhD candidate at Imperial College London, specialising in functional MRI applications in psychopharmacology. With Natalie is Dr Matt Wall (@m_wall) who is a psychologist, cognitive neuroscientist and fMRI specialist at Invicro and Imperial College London researching cannabis, psychedelics, sex hormones and addiction.We talk about current understanding of what happens in the brain with sex and sexual desire, and current theories on what might contribute to difficulties with sexual desire or enjoying sex. From there, we find out what kind of drugs are being tested and how researching sexual function works. And what discussion about sex would be complete without a mention of Freud? We hope you enjoy!  Further reading on the studies mentioned: Bremelanotide (women): https://www.jci.org/articles/view/152341Kisspeptin (women):  https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2797718?resultClick=3Kisspeptin (men):https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2800937Interviewed by  Dr. Anya Borissova with Dr. Alex Curmi  Give feedback here - thinkingmindpodcast@gmail.com -  Follow us here: Twitter @thinkingmindpod Instagram @thinkingmindpodcastJoin Our Mailing List! - https://thinkingmindpod.aidaform.com/mailinglistsignupSUPPORT: buymeacoffee.com/thinkingmind

On our fourth lived experience episode Alex sits down with Katie to talk about her experiences getting treatment from the mental health system, including Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT), psychodynamic therapy,  Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT), crisis visits to A & E and medication. They also discuss issues around diagnosis (including depression, anxiety, autism and emotionally unstable personality disorder). They talk about what helped Katie made deeper meaningful change and how this has put her in a position where she can now help others.Disclaimer: The benefits and drawbacks of different forms of therapy and medication are discussed in this conversation, but should not be taken as reccomendations for any one individual listener. Rather, the goal is to help the listener become more aware of different forms of treatment to inform their discussions with their healthcare providers. 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: buymeacoffee.com/thinkingmind

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 .  In this episode Rose and Alex discuss her experiences including the pros and cons of the medical model, as well as Rose's experiences with meditation, psychedelics and trauma work. You can find Rose's book Pure here:https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/43814840-pureInterviewed by Dr Alex CurmiGive feedback here - thinkingmindpodcast@gmail.com -  Follow us here: Twitter @thinkingmindpod Instagram @thinkingmindpodcastJoin Our Mailing List! - https://thinkingmindpod.aidaform.com/mailinglistsignupSUPPORT: buymeacoffee.com/thinkingmind