The Thinking Mind Podcast: Psychiatry & Psychotherapy

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 ...

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 tod...

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 ...

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 w...

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, phi...

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 exp...

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, Br...

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 di...

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...

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...

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'...

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. Sh...

Richard Benthall is a Professor of Clinical Psychology at the University of Sheffield in the UK. His research has focusued on the psychological mechanisms of severe mental illness (such as hallucinations and delusions) and social factors that affect these conditions. His work along with the work of other researchers is responsible for psychological interventions (such as cognitive behaviour therapy) being included in national guide...

Dr. Adam Hunt (PhD) is a post-doc researcher at the University of Cambridge and the host of the Evolving Psychiatry podcast which provides interviews, insights and an introduction to evolutionary psychiatry, with guest appearances from leading academics and psychiatrists.

His upcoming book Specialised Minds which seeks to explains the existence of long term, common mental disorders, and common personality traits as products of the s...

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 limitations of psychiatry including problems with the biomedical model of depression, social-cultural reasons for mental health problems, crticisms of anti-depressants, dysfunctional attitudes towards suffering, the pros and cons of psychotherapy, the value of medication for ADHD ...

This podcast is a guide to making any kind of resolution towards long term behaviour change. It includes a step by step guide to implementing a new behaviour including choosing an area to work on, framing your resolution appropriately, setting an intention, making a plan, measuring your results, leveraging positive and negative emotions to your advantage, anticipating identity level change, and much more.

Dr. Alex Curmi i...

This week's episode is a live Q & A recorded at Trinity Rugby Club in South London. Dr. Alex is interviewed by Andrew Edwards the Director of Rugby at the club and they discuss various topics such as:

- Modern problems men face
- Difficulties with dating and relationships
- Preventing anxiety and depression
- Making friends with failure
- The value of introspection
- The importance of facing c...

Dr Hamilton Morrin is a psychiatrist at South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust and an NIHR academic clinical fellow at King's College London researching neuropsychiatric disorders using neurotechnology. He is a Trustee for Gaming the Mind, a charity that promotes positive mental health within the gaming community and the games industry by raising awareness of mental health challenges and reducing the stigma surrounding...

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 ...