The Proper Mental Podcast

Welcome to episode 237 with Beatrice Birch, who is a Hauschka Artistic Therapist and the founder of Inner Fire, a proactive healing community that offers a choice for adults to recover from debilitating and traumatic life challenges with minimal use of medications.

Beatrice has worked as an artistic therapist and consultant since 1986 and over these years she has worked in schools, hospitals, rehab facilities and prisons in the Uni...

Welcome to episode 236 recorded live at the City Lit Mental Wealth Festival 2025!

On Saturday 11th October I was joined by Sam Delaney and Shaun Flores for a live recording of Proper Mental which was titled ‘On Being a Man: Contemporary Masculinities & Mental Health’

We set out to explore what it means to be a man in 2025, the mental health challenges men face, and the resources and interventions available to help support and e...

Welcome to episode 235 with Louise Beech, who is an award-winning author and writer who was making up stories in her head before she was even old enough to hold a pen.

One of her many published works is the incredible memoir ’18 Seconds’ where she writes about the day her mother jumped from the Humber Bridge and somehow survived the fall.  This event inspired Louise to look back at her life and recon with the impact that parental m...

Welcome to episode 234 with Andy Ellis, who is an actor, voice actor and film maker known for his roles in This is England, The Walk In and Supertato.  He is also acting coach at Scene to Screen Acting School in Manchester.

Andy found a passion for acting in high school and it was almost by chance that he landed a part in Shane Meadow’s BAFTA winning film ‘This is England’.  He went on to star in a number of film and television pro...

Welcome to episode 233 with Brother Richard Hendrick, who is a Capuchin Franciscan priest-friar, a mindfulness and meditation teacher, and a poet and author.

For over 20 years, he has worked to bring the insights of the Christian Contemplative tradition to wider public awareness, particularly in relation to modern mindfulness theory and has worked as a retreat giver and chaplain in various settings, including schools, hospitals, an...

Welcome to episode 232 with Katja Pavlovna, who is an educator and award-winning activist and the co-founder of Lives Not Labels, a project designed to shine a light on the mental health conditions and labels that are stigmatised, discriminated against and typically left out of the mainstream conversation.

After years of struggling with her mental health and fighting to access support, Katja received a diagnosis of Borderline Perso...

Welcome to episode 231 with Krystal Evans who is a writer and stand-up comedian.

Krystal is also the author of The Hottest Girl at Burn Camp, a memoir about growing up poor in America, living with a mentally ill mother and narrowly escaping a house fire that led to the unimaginable tragedy of losing her sister.

In this episode I chat to Krystal about the chaos of her childhood, the impact of constantly moving from place to place, c...

Welcome to episode 230 with Sophie Scott, who is a practicing transpersonal psychotherapist and the Founder of Balance, an award-winning wellness media brand working to bring mental and physical wellbeing to the masses.

Sophie is also the author of ‘You Are Not Alone in This’ a book aimed at the partners, parents, siblings and children of people who are suffering, that offers practical ideas on how to support a loved one with their...

Welcome to episode 229 with Glyn Butcher, who is a member of the People Focused Group in Doncaster and an Ambassador for the Citizen Network.

Growing up Glyn experienced racism, abuse, poverty and discrimination on a daily basis.  When he was 11 his Mum was sectioned under the mental health act and not long after that he left to school to care for her at home.

He spent his youth bouncing in and out of care homes and his adulthood b...

Welcome to episode 228 with Dr Eugene Lipov, who is an anaesthesiologist and pain physician and a leading expert in treating post-traumatic stress.

When advanced brain scans revealed trauma’s invisible scars on the brain, Dr Lipov realised that if trauma could be seen, then it could be treated and he became the pioneer of using a stellate ganglion block to alleviate the symptoms of PTSD, a procedure that is so impactful that it has...

Welcome to episode 227 with Angus Collins, an endurance athlete and adventurer who has rowed across the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic Oceans, setting multiple records in the process.

He is the youngest man to row three oceans and is thought of as one of the world’s most successful rowers and he achieved all of this while battling his own mental health, taking on these incredible challenges to avoid facing up to himself.

His struggl...

Welcome to episode 226 with Nick Ray, who is a sea kayaker, wild walker and adventurer who also lives with treatment resistant depression and is a suicide attempt survivor.

Nick has undertaken many adventures by sea and over land.  Throughout 2022 and into 2023 he undertook a 12-month solo sea kayak journey around Scotland, paddling over 3000 miles.

This year he walked 1000 miles, over three months to reach each of Scotland’s four ...

Welcome to episode 225 with Phil Borges, a documentary photographer and filmmaker, recognised for his documentation of indigenous peoples and tribal cultures, with a particular focus on Tibet, human rights, and women's empowerment issues.  His work is exhibited in museums and galleries worldwide.

While Phil was documenting the various human rights abuses faced by tribal and indigenous cultures around the world, he began to meet the...

Welcome to episode 224 with Karla Chubb, who is a singer, guitarist and songwriter in Sprints.

Sprints formed in Dublin in 2019 and quickly became known for their explosive, cathartic, and incredibly powerful live performances.  After a series of EP’s, they released their debut album in 2024 to great critical acclaim.  The follow up ‘All That is Over’ is out this month.

In this episode I’m joined by Karla to chat about the origins ...

Welcome to episode 223 with Dr MaryCatherine McDonald, who is a research professor and life coach who specialises in the psychology and philosophy of trauma.

Her work focuses on thinking critically about how we understand, define, and heal from traumatic experiences.

Her newest book, The Joy Reset is a ground breaking, accessible guide to identifying the key ways trauma prevents joy and hope, with strategies for healing.

In this ep...

Welcome to episode 222 with Anthony Kavanagh, a singer and author who exploded onto the pop music scene in the late 90’s when his song ‘I Can Make You Feel Good’ was a huge hit all over the world.  At just 18 years old he was touring with the Spice Girls and Boyzone, on the front cover of Smash Hits and countless magazines and regularly appearing on Top of the Pops.

Throughout this time Anthony was keeping his sexuality a secret, s...

Welcome to episode 221 with Kaila Yu, a journalist, travel writer and the author of Fetishized: A Reckoning with Yellow Fever, Feminism, and Beauty.

A former model, Kaila became closely associated with the import scene that took off in the late 90’s (think Fast & Furious 1) and also featured in many of the high-profile magazines of that time.

In this episode Kaila joins me to chat about growing up as an Asian woman in America a...

Welcome to episode 220 with Miranda Arieh, who is a mental health educator and founder of the pioneering HEROES Programme, a holistic, transformation-focused and trauma-informed approach to mental health recovery.

Miranda was sectioned under the mental health act at the age of 14 and became a ‘revolving door service user’ in the NHS mental health system, bouncing in and out of foster care, homelessness and crisis.

This cycle contin...

Welcome to episode 219 with Andrew Scull, who is a sociologist whose research has centred on the social history of medicine and particularly psychiatry for more than 50 years.

He is a recipient of the Roy Porter Medal for lifetime contributions to the history of medicine and the author of more than a dozen books including Madness in Civilization: A Cultural History of Insanity and Desperate Remedies: Psychiatry's Turbu...