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In this week's episode on Behind the Stigma, I speak with Dr. Alex Curmi, psychiatrist and host of the Maudsley Learning Podcast with a discussion on self-esteem. We discuss two varieties of how we can understand self-esteem: situational confidence and inherit self worth. We also go into meditation and self, how to parent yourself using a re-parenting model of therapy, and the importance of compassion.  

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While setting goals can be exciting, setting SMART goals can help us accomplish them!

SMART stands for:
Specific
Measurable
Achievable
Realistic
Time-framed

Listen to this short BTS series to learn how to set your NY resolution goals, and how to make them work!

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Happy New Years! This is the 51st episode of the BTS podcast, and this week's episode is on the Psychology of New Years Resolutions. We discuss why we have such a strong pull towards resolutions, but also why they can fail. Alina explains how we can set goals which can be achievable, with a focus on a process orientated approach rather than goal orientated. We also dive into weight loss as one of the most common goals, compassion, and how to be aware of your feelings during the process. 

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In this week’s episode, I speak with Phil Santos, founder of Ecstatic Playground on the type of dance known as ‘conscious dancing’. We dive into the importance of moving our bodies, trauma and movement, the impact of loneliness, and what it means to build conscious communities through dance. We also discuss Phil’s upcoming book ‘conscious clubbing’ whose goal is to make parties friendlier, with an ability to form meaningful connections.

Check out:
https://ecstaticplayground.com/
https://philsantos.net/

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In this week's education series, we dive into Part 2 of the developmental psychology theories, focusing on the work of Russian psychologist Lev Vygotsky. We go into his theory of cognitive development, the 'zone of proximal development', scaffolding, and the importance of language and culture, and how he differed from Jean Piaget. 

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In this week’s episode, I speak to Sir Professor Robin Murray, one of the most cited researchers in the world, on the topic of psychosis. We talk about the difference between psychosis and the construct of schizophrenia, the onset and risk factors, both biological and environmental. We also discuss the current treatments and the consequences of antipsychotics, and his reflection of his life work in the field. 

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This week, I speak with Professor Diane O'Leary on the topic of Dualism. We discuss how dualism is best understood in psychiatry in comparison to philosophy, and how this distinction impacts our understanding in the field.  We then dive deep into a variety of dualism, known as property dualism and what this means for psychiatric diagnosis, and understanding mental disorders as biological and psychological entities. 

Website: https://www.dianeoleary.com/

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In this week's episode, I speak with Nick Haisman-Smith, the Executive director, and one of the founders of  Social and Emotional Learning Institute. We discuss what SEL is,  it's importance for communities, including parents and teachers, and how SEL is important for aspects of our mental health, and the evidence behind it. We conclude with some of it's limitations, and what he forsees for the future. 

Website: https://www.instituteforsel.net/

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This week I speak to Psychiatrist Dr. Alex Curmi from the Maudsley Learning Podcast on how we diagnose mental health conditions. We talk about the pros and cons of the current diagnostic system and how we can utilize the pros. We also dive into his work as a psychiatrist, and his approach, discussing the difficulty of sectioning, and how he uses a multidisciplinary approach to help patients as best as possible. 

Maudsley Learning Podcast: https://maudsleylearning.com/podcasts/
 

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In this week's education series, we dive into developmental psychology, focusing on the work of Swiss genetic epistemologist Jean Piaget. We go into his theory of cognitive development, and the 4 main stages of child development:
Sensorimotor (0-2 years)
Preoperational (2-7 years)
Concrete operational (7 - 11 years)
Formal operational (12+ years).