Episodes

  • Professor John Krystal will be giving a Guest Lecture at the 2024 British Association of Psychopharmacology Summer Meeting in Birmingham on 24th July 2024. His talk is entitled: Linking depression pathophysiology to the mechanism of action of ketamine and “next generation” treatments.


    In this 18-minute podcast, André Tomlin from The Mental Elf asks John Krystal how he first got into ketamine research and where we are now with this promising intervention for people with severe and enduring depression.


    John Krystal, MD is Professor of Translational Research and Professor of Psychiatry, of Neuroscience, and of Psychology; Co-Director, Yale Center for Clinical Investigation; Chair, Psychiatry; Chief of Psychiatry, Yale New Haven Hospital; Director: NIAAA Center for the Translational Neuroscience of Alcoholism; Director, Clinical Neuroscience Division, VA National Center for PTSD

    https://medicine.yale.edu/profile/john-krystal/


    The British Association of Psychopharmacology 2024 Summer Meeting will take place in Birmingham on 21st - 24th July 2024 at the University of Birmingham: https://www.bap.org.uk/BAP2024


    The Mental Elf will be covering it live on Twitter and you can follow along using the hashtag #BAP2024 https://twitter.com/search?q=%23BAP2024&src=typed_query&f=live


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  • Professor Heather O'Mahen from the University of Exeter previews her talk at the 2024 UK and Ireland Marcé Society Annual Conference in London on 25th January: Are perinatal community mental health teams effective? What's the evidence? 


    Find out more about the International Marcé Society for Perinatal Mental Health https://marcesociety.com/regional-groups/uk-ireland-marce-society/


    View the programme for the 2024 UK and Ireland Marcé Society Annual Conference https://www.kcl.ac.uk/ioppn/assets/ukims-flyer-jan-2024-v7.pdf


    Get tickets for the UK and Ireland Marcé Society Annual Conference in London on 25th January: https://estore.kcl.ac.uk/conferences-and-events/academic-faculties/institute-of-psychiatry-psychology-neuroscience/health-service-and-population-research/ukims-conference-2024


    Follow Heather O'Mahen on Twitter: https://twitter.com/@HeatherWillis18


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  • Zoë Darwin from the University of Huddersfield and Jacob Stokoe from Transparent Change preview their talk at the 2024 UK and Ireland Marcé Society Annual Conference in London on 25th January: Gestational and non-gestational parents: transcending existing perinatal mental health frameworks.


    Find out more about the International Marcé Society for Perinatal Mental Health https://marcesociety.com/regional-groups/uk-ireland-marce-society/


    View the programme for the 2024 UK and Ireland Marcé Society Annual Conference https://www.kcl.ac.uk/ioppn/assets/ukims-flyer-jan-2024-v7.pdf


    Get tickets for the UK and Ireland Marcé Society Annual Conference in London on 25th January: https://estore.kcl.ac.uk/conferences-and-events/academic-faculties/institute-of-psychiatry-psychology-neuroscience/health-service-and-population-research/ukims-conference-2024


    Follow Jacob Stokoe on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@jacobtheseahorse?lang=en


    Follow Zoë Darwin on Twitter: https://twitter.com/zoe_darwin


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  • Effective patient and public involvement (PPI) is crucial to conducting research that meets the needs and values of patients. In this podcast, we hear from a team of researchers and people with lived experience about getting involved in the AVATAR2 trial. This study is investigating the effects of digital avatar therapy in people with psychosis who hear voices. We hear about how PPI makes a difference, what getting involved entails, and how people with lived experience shaped the questions, methods, conduct and analysis of the trials.


    This podcast was created for the NHS Research Scotland Mental Health Network's Annual Scientific Meeting, 30th October 2023 in Glasgow.


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  • Roslyn Morgan and Kate Charlesworth speak to Laura Hemming from The Mental Elf about their sessions at the Quality Forum in Melbourne in October 2023.


    Roslyn Morgan is the ANMF (Vic Branch) Environmental Health Officer and her talk at #Quality2023 in Melbourne is entitled: Workplace Sustainability and Environmental Reform, Be the change.


    Dr Kate Charlesworth is the Medical Director at the Climate Risk & Net Zero Unit, NSW Health.


    Find out more about the International Forum on Quality and Safety in Healthcare, taking place at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre on 30 Oct to 1 Nov 2023: https://internationalforum.bmj.com/melbourne/


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  • Professor Daniel Smith from Edinburgh University gives a short overview of bipolar disorder, and introduces two studies he is working on to investigate the role of light, circadian rhythms and sleep in bipolar disorder, and their effect on the action of lithium as a treatment.


    This podcast is part of the Annual Scientific Meeting of NHS Research Scotland's Mental Health Network, which takes place on 30th October in Glasgow.


    Find out more about this event, which is free to attend, in person or online.


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  • Simon Hackett sits down with Douglas Badenoch to discuss Arts Psychotherapy for people with Intellectual Disabilities.


    This recording was made as a preview to the Annual Scientific Meeting of NHS Research Scotland's Mental Health Network on 30th October 2023.


    Find out more about the event.


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  • Claire Doherty and Jennie Hutton speak to Laura Hemming from The Mental Elf about their sessions at the Quality Forum in Melbourne in October 2023.


    Claire Doherty is Senior Research and Evaluation Officer at St Vincent's Hospital in Melbourne.


    Jennie Hutton is an Emergency Physician and Hon Senior Research Fellow at the Victorian Virtual Emergency Department.


    Find out more about the International Forum on Quality and Safety in Healthcare, taking place at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre on 30 Oct to 1 Nov 2023: https://internationalforum.bmj.com/melbourne/


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  • Professor Bryn Lloyd Evans from UCL talks to Douglas Badenoch about his clinical work and research on loneliness and social prescribing in people with severe mental illness.


    Bryn will be presenting further details of his work at the #NRSMH23 Annual Scientific Meeting on 30 October 2023.


    Find out more information about the event


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  • Bianca Forrester and Paresh Dawda speak to Laura Hemming from The Mental Elf about their sessions at the Quality Forum in Melbourne in October 2023.


    Bianca Forrester is a GP Academic at the Western Victoria Primary Health Network. Her talk at the Quality Forum in Melbourne is entitled: "Towards a regional primary care learning health system: from crisis response to resilience".


    Dr Paresh Dawda MB BS, DRCOG & DFRSH, FRCGP, FRACGP, is Adj Prof at the University of Canberra, and Adj Assoc Prof at UNSW - Prestantia Health. His talk at the Quality Forum in Melbourne is entitled: "Implementing age friendly health care systems in primary care for house bound people".


    Find out more about the International Forum on Quality and Safety in Healthcare, taking place at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre on 30 Oct to 1 Nov 2023: https://internationalforum.bmj.com/melbourne/


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  • This audio documentary accompanies an online and in person photo exhibition, which details the experiences of diverse people detained under the Mental Health Act.


    Sixty people took part in the project led by Oxford University, and funded by the NIHR Policy Research Programme, which captured their reflections on the process of detention and life on a mental health ward.


    The majority (73%) of people who took part in this project were from racialised populations, who are disproportionately detained under the Mental Health Act.


    The exhibition includes pictures of locked doors, medication, hospitals but also outdoor spaces, nature and family.


    Key findings following the photovoice project included:

    Preventative care before detention was often considered ineffective with GPs not able to respond quickly enough, though some community nurses were considered supportive and helpfulThe process of being detained could feel threatening and disrespectful, even inhuman.There was a lack of clear information and explanation through detainment and on a ward, which could be confusing and distressingProfessionals who were part of detention and on wards could be hostile and even aggressive, with staff considered to be under-resourced and poorly trained.

    The ‘photovoice’ project involves participants being given cameras and taking pictures, before describing and discussing what they associate with those photos.


    Professor Kam Bhui said:

    "The findings bring to life the challenging experiences of those living with mental illness who find themselves receiving compulsory care in crisis. We also explore the quality of care, the importance of family involvement, the lack of therapeutic environments and activities on inpatient settings, and the neglected nature of how upsetting and traumatic being sectioned can be. The co-design data already show optimism about the proposed solutions from those with lived experience."


    The photovoice project is part of the Co-Pact research project in Oxford’s Department of Psychiatry, which aims to improve the experiences of people detained under the Mental Health Act and reduce inequalities in the way the Act is used. Currently people from racialised populations are four times more likely to be detained under the Mental Health Act than their white British counterparts, and tend to have worse experiences and outcomes.


    View the Co-PACT online photo exhibition.


    This study/project is funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Policy Research Programme [NIHR201704]. The views expressed are those of the author and not necessarily those of the NIHR or the Department of Health and Social Care.


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  • Catherine Crock and Chris Turner speak to Laura Hemming from The Mental Elf about their sessions at the Quality Forum in Melbourne in October 2023.


    ProfessorCatherine Crock AM is a Physician at the Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne and Chair of the Hush Foundation and Gathering of Kindness. Her talk at the conference is entitled: "Kindness in action".


    Dr Chris Turner is a consultant in emergency medicine at University Hospital of Coventry and Warwickshire.


    Find out more about the International Forum on Quality and Safety in Healthcare, taking place at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre on 30 Oct to 1 Nov 2023: https://internationalforum.bmj.com/melbourne/


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  • Deon York and Ashfaq Chauhan speak to Laura Hemming from The Mental Elf about their sessions at the Quality Forum in Melbourne in October 2023.


    Deon York is Director of Consumer Engagement at Te Tāhū Hauora Health Quality & Safety Commission New Zealand.  Deon's talk at the Quality Forum in Melbourne will be on: Expertise by experience: A national code of expectations for consumer engagement.


    Dr Ashfaq Chauhan is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Centre for Health Systems and Safety Research at the Australian Institute of Health Innovation, Macquarie University. Ashfaq's talk at the Quality Forum in Melbourne will be on: ‘Making it Meaningful’ - Co-designing a medication safety intervention with service users.


    Find out more about the International Forum on Quality and Safety in Healthcare, taking place at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre on 30 Oct to 1 Nov 2023: https://internationalforum.bmj.com/melbourne/


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  • Students from the Wellcome Trust PhD in Mental Health Science at UCL speak to Prof Sir Louis Appleby from the University of Manchester before his talk at the 2023 UCL Institute of Mental Health Conference.

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  • Students from the Wellcome Trust PhD in Mental Health Science at UCL speak to Dr Scott Kim from the US National Institutes of Health before his talk at the 2023 UCL Institute of Mental Health Conference.

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  • Prof Hamish McAllister-Williams from Newcastle University and the Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust, previews his BAP Summer Meeting plenary on the clinical utility and potential generalisability of the “difficult to treat...” concept, which includes a talk from him on applying the model of care for difficult to treat depression to bipolar disorder.


    The British Association for Psychopharmacology (BAP) Summer Meeting is taking place in Manchester on 23-26 July 2023. Find out more by visiting the BAP2023 website, which includes the full programme and details of how to participate:

    https://www.bap.org.uk/BAP2023


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  • Lucy Rocca from Soberistas and Prof Julia Sinclair from the University of Southampton preview their Public Lecture, which is taking place at the British Association for Psychopharmacology (BAP) Summer Meeting in Manchester on 24th July 2023.


    Find out more by visiting the BAP2023 website, which includes the full programme and details of how to participate:

    https://www.bap.org.uk/BAP2023


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  • The President of the British Association for Psychopharmacology (BAP) helps us prepare for the annual BAP Summer Meeting, which is taking place in Manchester on 23-26 July 2023.


    Find out more by visiting the BAP2023 website, which includes the full programme and details of how to participate:

    https://www.bap.org.uk/BAP2023


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  • Before her keynote talk at the 2023 BIGSPD conference in Glasgow, Dr Satbinder Kaul Bhogal, talks about the importance of exploring intersectionality in addressing harm in services.


    Dr Satbinder Kaur Bhogal, Clinical Psychologist. Dr Kaur Bhogal has worked for over 20 years within the field of Mental Health in various organisations. She has led services to support children and adults experiencing complex emotional, social, and interpersonal difficulties, often referred to as ‘Personality Disorder.’ Satbinder has a keen interest in Attachment Trauma across the lifespan and provides therapy to support individuals to develop a better understanding of their needs and difficulties. Her areas of interest and expertise are with working with those who have who experienced trauma (including racial trauma) in their lives.


    From a Punjabi Sikh background and being a Clinical Psychologist led Satbinder to develop an interest in working with minoritised and marginalised communities. This then led her complete her Doctoral research looking into the experiences of Black and South Asian users and their experiences of diagnosis and access to care in Mental Health Services. Working in inner city Birmingham which is full of cultural and racial diversity, Satbinder has a passion for ensuring equity in care for those that are marginalised, which includes access to care, issues around diagnosis, racism, intersectionality and health inequalities.


    My experiences of working in services for those with a diagnosis of 'personality disorder' in Birmingham have led me to explore why we have over (e.g. white women) and under (e.g. Black women) represented groups in services. While we understand access to services being difficult, the issues on the diagnosis of 'personality disorder' and how the diagnosis in itself is rooted in biases, I will look to examine why holding a intersectional lens in our work, is so important in mental health services. Needed so that we can start to address the above issues, but also to ensure equity of care in access, support and treatment for those from marginalised groups.


    Little attention is paid to intersectionality, that if left unexplored in-service use can lead to systemic harm, abuse and neglect in services. This is important because we know the diagnosis does harm and can further compound difficulties in those from marginalised groups. The term “intersectionality” was first coined by Kimberlé Crenshaw in 1989. Intersectionality encompasses the idea that we have more than one identity with a combination of various identity markers such as race, gender, religion, sexuality, etc. These identity markers intersect with one another and shape our experience. This relates to mental health because our mental health does not exist separately from identity markers. Our mental health can be impacted by race, gender, sexuality, age, religion, and much more. There may also be unique life stressors that accompany these identity markers. For these reasons understanding people, being more than just a diagnosis is central to our work in providing compassionate care, as it affects recovery. However, it is important to understand that our individual identities are not the issue, the problem lies within our systems that can harm, abuse and neglect our users and at times lead to death.


    I hope to raise awareness into why we need to talk about Intersectionality more in services and I will be drawing on my own intersectional lens and my experiences of leading services with diverse staff groups, whilst also bringing in the experiences of marginalised voices where systemic harm, abuse and neglect has been evident, further compounding the experiences for those that we care for. Please note that only themes will be shared and no identifiable material from any one individual will be shared.


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  • Before his keynote talk at the 2023 BIGSPD conference in Glasgow, Dr Daniel Taggart, from the University of Essex, talks about mental health provision for adult survivors in the wake of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) - lessons from the Truth Project.


    Dr Daniel Taggart, Senior Lecturer in Clinical Psychology, University of Essex is a senior lecturer in clinical psychology at the University of Essex, and a chartered psychologist. Danny worked at the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse from 2019-2022 where he was the principal psychologist and clinical lead for the Truth Project. Danny has worked as a clinical consultant and trainer for the Northern Irish Redress Board, the Scottish Redress Scheme, and the Jersey Care Inquiry Citizens Panel. His current research is focused on survivor participation in non-recent institutional abuse inquiries, the ways that childhood trauma impacts engagement with public services, and what value survivor testimony has in both facilitating recovery from trauma and creating change in institutional practices. Danny is a founder member of the 'Non recent child sexual abuse- Network for promoting change'; a group of survivors, clinicians, and academics who provide educational and training resources for practitioners, service leaders, and organisations.


    The Truth Project was one arm of IICSA, running from 2016-2021. It offered all adult survivors of child sexual abuse (CSA) in England and Wales an opportunity to share their experiences with the Inquiry, discuss the impacts of sexual abuse on their lives, and make recommendations for change. Over 6,000 adults between the ages of 18 and 87 took part, making it the largest scale public participation in a UK inquiry. The Truth Project generated a wealth of testimony from CSA survivors about the long-term impacts that sexual abuse, the types of support that have been offered or denied, and what the secondary impacts of service responses to their abuse have been. Given that 90% of all Truth Project participants reported that their mental health was negatively impacted by the CSA, their testimonies have an important role in helping mental health services understand more about survivor needs.


    While one of the notable features of Truth Project participants is their heterogeneity, clear themes emerge from the testimonies about service experience that can inform the development of treatment pathways. The importance of being believed, having their testimony taken seriously and validated was the most consistently cited reason for participating in the Truth Project, along with a sense of civic responsibility to protect future generations of children. While this need to be believed may appear axiomatic, the Truth Project reveals a strong thread of testimonial evidence that this is not how CSA survivors have been treated by public services, including in mental health. This paper will consider the lack of validation and belief CSA survivors report experiencing in mental health services in the context of the work of Hannah Arendt. Specifically, it will draw out Arendt’s arguments in her book the Human Condition, that scientific technology functions to usurp human collective action and undermines ordinary story telling and sense making about people’s lives. It will consider how the testimony provided by the Truth Project participants and the Inquiry’s emphasis on believing them, can provide a framework for mental health services developing treatment pathways for CSA survivors, in order to promote the value of testimonial sharing as a valid form of healing from trauma.


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