Irvin Yalom is an existential psychiatrist and pioneer of humanistic psychology, with a career spanning 60 years as an educator, writer, and psychotherapist. 

An expert on grief, the emeritus professor of psychiatry at Stanford University spent 2019 writing 'A Matter of Death and Life' with his wife, Marylin, as each described their perspective on her terminal illness. Marylin died in November 2019, ending their 73-year relationship. 

In this episode of Being Human, counsellor and Star columnist, Sandy Clarke, talks to Irvin Yalom about his relationship with Marylin and their journey together through her illness. 

They also discuss how Irvin's grief came to inform his work with clients, and Irvin shares his thoughts, reflecting on 90 years of life, on what really matters in the end. 

For more information on Relate Malaysia and our services, visit www.relate.com.my or email us at: [email protected]

When it comes to studying addictions and mental health, psychology has traditionally relied on researchers and clinicians to measure, observe, and collect data from which they offer their professional conclusions. 

While this is an important part of understanding why people suffer - and what we can do to help them - there's a missing piece of the puzzle that can help us better understand these problems: the inclusion of people with lived experience.

In this episode of Being Human, Dr. Chua Sook Ning is joined by Dr. Larry Davidson - Professor of Psychology and Director of the Program for Recovery & Community Health in the Department of Psychiatry of the School of Medicine at Yale University.

For more information on Relate Malaysia and our services, visit www.relate.com.my or email us at: [email protected]

Most of us will have heard of eating disorders – but what does it mean to have an atypical eating disorder, and why is the distinction important?

In this episode of Being Human, Dr. Chua Sook Ning is joined by Dr. Jennifer Thomas to discuss what it means to have an atypical eating disorder, and some of the myths that surround eating disorders in general. They also talk about the steps people can take if they suspect they or someone they know has an eating disorder.

Dr. Jennifer Thomas is the co-director of the Eating Disorders Center and Research Program at Massachusetts General Hospital, and an Associate Professor of Psychology in the Department of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. 

She is the author of 'Almost Anorexic: Is My (or My Loved One’s) Relationship with Food a Problem?' and 'Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy for Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder: Children, Adolescents, and Adults', and is also an Associate Editor for the International Journal of Eating Disorders.

For more information on Relate Malaysia and our services, visit www.relate.com.my or email us at: [email protected]

"If you find some goals that you're interested in and that are personally meaningful, what you'll find is the effort comes naturally to pursuing these - you don't have to rely on self-control." ~ Richard Koestner

When we try to motivate ourselves, why doesn't self-control work as well as we'd hoped? And how can autonomy and playfulness help us to succeed where self-control and willpower fall short?

In this enlightening episode of Being Human, Dr Chua Sook Ning is joined by Richard Koestner - a professor of psychology at McGill University and expert on successful goal-setting, self-regulation, and internalising processes that motivate us in meaningful, lasting ways.

Prof. Koestner shares his insights on what motivation is really all about - and why pushing ourselves to do more, achieve more, and be better might work against us rather than for us...and what we can do instead to achieve a sense of purpose and success in life.

For more information on Relate Malaysia and our services, visit www.relate.com.my or email us at: [email protected]

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) was initially developed as an effective intervention to treat depression. Pioneered by Dr. Aaron T. Beck in the 1960s, it has since been successfully adapted to treat many issues such as anxiety disorders, alcohol and drug use problems, marital problems, eating disorders, chronic pain, and more.

"People with even the most serious mental illnesses are not broken or fundamentally different than we are. In fact, if you could really do a deep dive, they share much, much, much more with us... The best way to change stigma is contact: interactions between people with lived experience and the rest of the population." ~ Prof. Pat Corrigan  

What does it mean to show prejudice toward people with mental health issues? How can we understand and overcome stereotypes? What does is mean to challenge the stigma of mental health - and how can we play our part?  

Dr. Chua Sook Ning hosts Pat Corrigan in this episode of Being Human to discuss these questions and more. Pat is a Distinguished Professor of Psychology at the Illinois Institute of Technology. Currently, he is principal investigator of the National Consortium for Stigma and Empowerment (NCSE), a collaboration of investigators and advocates from more than a dozen institutions.  

Dr. Chua and Prof. Corrigan also talk about their own experiences of mental health issues and highlight the importance of seeing people beyond the struggles they face. 

For more information on Relate Malaysia and our services, visit www.relate.com.my or email us at: [email protected]

"We know more than we can say, and what we know is given to us in our bodies...we're wiser than our intellect or our rational mind alone. Our body has a wisdom and it gives us direction." ~ Leslie Greenberg

When we deal with our past and present issues, we might try to rationalise what has happened and how we've been affected. In the process, we miss out on a lot of important wisdom that comes from our emotions, which often offer clues about what needs attention. 

In this episode of Being Human, Dr. Chua Sook Ning is joined by Leslie Greenberg - professor emeritus of psychology at York University in Toronto, and director of the Emotion-Focused Therapy Clinic in Toronto. Leslie is also one of the originators and primary developers of Emotion-Focused Therapy (EFT). 

They discuss the inherent wisdom found in our emotions, and how we can distinguish between healthy and unhealthy emotional responses to help us better understand ourselves and foster deep and meaningful connections with others. 

For more information on Relate Malaysia and our services, visit www.relate.com.my or email us at: [email protected]

"I really want to see the day when people talk about counselling, when people talk about mental health and getting help." ~ Hannah Yeoh

Since 2017, Tengku Puteri Iman Afzan has been a refreshing advocate for mental health in Malaysia, founding her Green Ribbon Group in 2020 to raise awareness and break the stigma of mental health.

They describe themselves as "just five guys from Malaysia, looking to (try) grow the most lush moustaches for a worthy Movember cause: mental health."

These five guys - Ariff, Haris, Kaiza, Seth and Sul - are collectively known as the Movembros, and they have been putting their creative minds together to pull off some amazing fundraising work to support Relate Malaysia's work and mission.

These marvellous mental health advocates have been working tirelessly to raise awareness in Malaysia, and in this episode of Being Human, the fantastic five join Dr. Chua Sook Ning to discuss their work and why supporting mental health is a cause close to their hearts.

To find out more about the Movembros, you can follow them on Instagram @mymovembros

For more information on Relate Malaysia and our services, visit www.relate.com.my or email us at: [email protected]