Conversations with Annalisa Barbieri

I'd been wanting to do this podcast for a while. Professor Alessandra Lemma is one of the most experienced, and insightful, specialists I work with. Every word she shares is a gem. But Pr Lemma's diary is packed and so this took a while to organise. I hope you think it was worth it.

The idea for this episode - the first in Series 9 - came to me last year but in reality, it had probably been bubbling away for some years. Alessandra and I were working on a problem for my Guardian column. The problem was from a reader who said that, despite them being an adult, they were still being body shamed by their parents for being overweight, this is sadly by no means an unusual problem to arrive on my desk. In our chat Alessandra said a line which stayed with me all of last year. It was this: you can’t delete developmental history it is always there even if you change the surface of the body. 

From this we went off topic a little, as my chats with my specialists sometimes, to talk about how - with some caveats - people who modified their bodies through things like cosmetic or plastic surgery, often didn’t feel happier because whatever developmental history that had led them to be unhappy with themselves, lay within then and beyond the reach of any sort of body modification. 

It got me thinking about how our body image is arrived at. Do we make it, or do others shape it? Why are so many people unhappy with they way they look? In this episode we look at how our body image is formed, who shapes it and how we can try to change our internal dialogue about it. A very useful listen, also, if you are a parent as we often help shape what our children feel about their bodies.

**************

If you'd like to support us you can leave a one off donation here: https://supporter.acast.com/conversations-with-annalisa-barbieri

If you'd like to listen to this episode, past or future ones, ad free then consider becoming a patron on Patreon, from just £3 a month. You also get early access to episodes. For £5 a month you get them as soon as they are produced: https://www.patreon.com/c/annalisabarbieri

You can also support us by sharing this podcast far and wide, it's available wherever you listen to your podcasts. And leaving a review if you can. Thank you so much.

Produced by Hester Cant. Art work by Lo Cole. Music by Toby Dunham.

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/conversations-with-annalisa-barbieri.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is the last episode, episode six, in Series 8 and in it I talk to UKCP registered family and systemic psychotherapist and John Cavanagh who is also a registered mental health nurse. John specialises in child and adolescent mental health.

Often children will manifest with a mental health problem that is indicative of what's going on in the family. We talk about this, what those problems might look like, why it's important to treat children as part of the family unit. John also talks us through the CAMHS system which I know some people find very difficult to navigate.

We also talk about common adolescent and child problems and how to manage them if your child comes to you with them.

Useful links we talk about in the podcast:

YoungMinds | Mental Health Charity For Children And Young People | YoungMinds

Information for 11-18 year olds on understanding CAMHS - Mind

Stay Alive App: 'a suicide prevention app for the UK, packed full of resources, useful information, and tools to help you stay safe or help someone else'.

StayAlive - Essential suicide prevention for everyday life

CalmHarm (https://calmharm.co.uk/)

DistrACT (https://www.expertselfcare.com/health-apps/distract/)

NHS England » NHS Mental Health Apps Library to increase access to psychological therapies and help to improve mental health outcomes

www.psychotherapy.org.uk (Registered psychotherapists search by specialism or area)

www.aft.org.uk

***************

If you'd like to support us you can leave a one off donation here: https://supporter.acast.com/conversations-with-annalisa-barbieri

If you'd like to listen to this episode, past or future ones, ad free then consider becoming a patron on Patreon, from just £3 a month. You also get early access to episodes. For £5 a month you get them as soon as they are produced.

Produced by Hester Cant. Art work by Lo Cole. Music by Toby Dunham.

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/conversations-with-annalisa-barbieri.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Very early on in my career as The Guardian's Agony Aunt the letters started coming in about family estrangements - the "should I cut X out of my life" style questions. Back then, cutting a family member out was anathema to me but over the years, i came to understand why some people sought it out. The thing is, cutting someone out is rarely the end of the problem. Sometimes it's only the beginning.

In this episode I talk to long-time conversationalist psychotherapist Chris Mills about why some situations become so bad that estrangement seems like the only answer - indeed is it the only answer? What it can mean and how to try to build bridges after an estrangement (maybe one not of your making) if that's what feels right.

If you'd like to support us you can leave a one off donation here: https://supporter.acast.com/conversations-with-annalisa-barbieri

If you'd like to listen to this episode, past or future ones, ad free then consider becoming a patron on Patreon, from just £3 a month. You also get early access to episodes. For £5 a month you get them as soon as they are produced.

Produced by Hester Cant. Art work by Lo Cole. Music by Toby Dunham.

IG: @annalisabarbieri

Links to further work: linktr.ee/annalisabarbieri

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/conversations-with-annalisa-barbieri.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What is attachment and how does attachment theory different from the primary real-life attachment we learnt as babies? The two often get confused. In this episode I talk to child, adolescent and adult psychotherapist Dr Graham Music who has been described as "one of the most deep thinking child psychotherapists in the world."

We talk about these differences, plus the concept of attachment which is how secure we feel with our primary care given and how our needs were met, and the impact that can have on our later life. Attachment is at the core of every letter I get, ergo every problem I think we come across in our daily lives. How we relate to others can very often lead back to our early attachment figures.

Dr Graham Music is registered with the Association of Child Psychotherapists and the UKCP. He is also the author of some amazing books such as Respark, Nurturing Natures and Nurturing children. We talked together in Series 4 on How to Motivate Your Child.

You can find out more about Graham from his website: https://nurturingnatures.co.uk/

If you'd like to support us you can leave a one off donation here: https://supporter.acast.com/conversations-with-annalisa-barbieri

If you'd like to listen to this episode, past or future ones, ad free then consider becoming a patron on Patreon, from just £3 a month. You also get early access to episodes. For £5 a month you get them as soon as they are produced.

Produced by Hester Cant. Art work by Lo Cole. Music by Toby Dunham.

IG: @annalisabarbieri

Links to further work: linktr.ee/annalisabarbieri

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/conversations-with-annalisa-barbieri.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Forensic psychotherapy is psychotherapy with people who have committed criminal offences. In this episode I talk with clinical psychologist and psychoanalyst Dr Stephen Blumenthal who is registered with the British Psychoanalytic Council and has over thirty years experience in treating people. Stephen started his professional life as a clinical psychologist in a secure unit with offenders. Stephen has also written a couple of books on forensic psychotherapy, the latest of which is called Assessing Risk, a Relationship Approach.

I was in conversation with Stephen in Series 7, talking about shame, which would make a good companion listen to this one.

In this episode we talk about what forensic psychotherapy is, what it can tell us about the person committing the crimes, as well as society in general and why talking groups, such as the one Stephen presides over, can radically diminish re-offending. All crime has a meaning. This would make a particularly interesting listen to those who are fascinated by true crime podcasts.

If you'd like to support us you can leave a one off donation here: https://supporter.acast.com/conversations-with-annalisa-barbieri

If you'd like to listen to this episode, past or future ones, ad free then consider becoming a patron on Patreon, from just £3 a month. You also get early access to episodes. For £5 a month you get them as soon as they are produced.

Produced by Hester Cant. Art work by Lo Cole. Music by Toby Dunham.

IG: @annalisabarbieri

Links to further work: linktr.ee/annalisabarbieri

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/conversations-with-annalisa-barbieri.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Did you know that procrastination, risky behaviour, blaming others and even infidelity may be a sign of self-sabotage? There are a host of other symptoms, too. In this, episode 2 or Series 8, I discuss with psychotherapist Ryan Bennett-Clarke why we might self sabotage, what it tells us about ourselves and of course, what we can do about it.

If you'd like to support us you can leave a one off donation here: https://supporter.acast.com/conversations-with-annalisa-barbieri

If you'd like to listen to this episode, past or future ones, ad free then consider becoming a patron on Patreon, from just £3 a month. You also get early access to episodes. For £5 a month you get them as soon as they are produced.

Produced by Hester Cant. Art work by Lo Cole. Music by Toby Dunham.

IG: @annalisabarbieri

Links to further work: linktr.ee/annalisabarbieri

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/conversations-with-annalisa-barbieri.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to series 8 of Conversations with Annalisa Barbieri. 

This episode was Professor Lucy Easthope's idea as it’s something she really wanted to talk about and I’m honoured she has trusted me with this delicate subject. In this episode Lucy talks openly about her very personal five baby losses by miscarriage.

Lucy is Professor of Practice of Risk and Hazard at the University of Durham and a Professor in Mass Fatalities at the University of Bath. She studied law at university and has a masters in disaster management and a pHD in medicine.

Lucy is a UK Expert and advisor on emergency planning and disaster recovery and a world authority on these subjects. She works with governments, emergency services and communities and families who have been affected by disaster. She’s advised on almost every major disaster that’s happened in the last two decades.

She is also the author of the best seller: When the Dust Settles, Searching for Hope after disaster. Her baby losses are talked about candidly throughout the book but in particular in Chapter Seven, Little Losses.

Links listeners may find useful:

https://www.tommys.org/

https://www.miscarriageassociation.org.uk/

https://www.sands.org.uk/

If you'd like to support us you can leave a one off donation here: https://supporter.acast.com/conversations-with-annalisa-barbieri

If you'd like to listen to this episode, past or future ones, ad free then consider becoming a patron on Patreon, from just £3 a month. You also get early access to episodes. For £5 a month you get them as soon as they are produced.

Produced by Hester Cant. Art work by Lo Cole. Music by Toby Dunham.

IG: @annalisabarbieri

Links to further work: linktr.ee/annalisabarbieri

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/conversations-with-annalisa-barbieri.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is the final episode in Series 7. It's about birth trauma and I speak with journalist, author and CEO of The BTA, Kim Thomas.

We talk about what birth trauma is, what can cause it (we do not go into graphic detail), how it can manifest and how to get help. We discuss the difference between Post Natal Depression and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder brought on by birth trauma. We also discuss the impact of birth trauma on birthing partners.

May 2024 update: Parliamentary report.

Some organisations we talk about in the episode:

The Birth Trauma Association.

Kim Thomas's book on PTSD and Birth Trauma.

Masic: https://masic.org.uk/about-masic/

Magnolia midwives: https://www.instagram.com/magnoliamidwives/?hl=en

Doula UK: https://doula.org.uk

Tommy's: https://www.tommys.org

Nice Guidelines: https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance

Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists: https://www.rcog.org.uk

https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/types-of-mental-health-problems/postnatal-depression-and-perinatal-mental-health/useful-contacts/

If you'd like to support us you can leave a one off donation here: https://supporter.acast.com/conversations-with-annalisa-barbieri

If you'd like to listen to this episode, past or future ones, ad free then consider becoming a patron on Patreon, from just £3 a month. You also get early access to episodes. For £5 a month you get them as soon as they are produced.

Produced by Hester Cant.

IG: @annalisabarbieri

All links to pretty much everything else I do: linktr.ee/annalisabarbieri

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/conversations-with-annalisa-barbieri.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Interviewing Ryan Bennett-Clarke for my Guardian column - about something else entirely - we got talking about envy. And what he had to say fair blew my mind.

What is envy? How does it differ from jealously? Where does it come from and how does it manifest? If you've ever left a person feeling like little bits of you have been taken away, well envy may be the answer. We talk about how envy feels, why people get jealous or envious, how it's on the rise with social media; and we also talk about some nifty ways to 'interrupt' envy. How to answer back to those barbs. I found this one of the most thought-provoking episodes I've ever done and I have to admit I looked at certain people in a different way. Dare I say this is life-changing? I think it might be.

Ryan Bennett-Clarke, né Marjoram is a UKCP accredited psychotherapist. He has written two papers for The Journal of Psychodynamic Practice:

The Insidious Dance of Love and Hate: An examination of Envy and Greed in the Stalker-Victim Dynamic: Part One - Theory

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14753634.2022.2039880 

The Insidious Dance of Love and Hate: An examination of Envy and Greed in the Stalker-Victim Dynamic: Part Two - Clinical Application

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14753634.2022.2039881  

and you can read more about Ryan here:

Let us know if you feel this episode has brought up any thoughts, or if you have ideas for other episodes: [email protected]

If you'd like to support us you can leave a one off donation here: https://supporter.acast.com/conversations-with-annalisa-barbieri

If you'd like to listen to this episode, past or future ones, ad free then consider becoming a patron on Patreon, from just £3 a month. You also get early access to episodes. For £5 a month you get them as soon as they are produced.

Thanks so much for listening and please remember to share with friends and if you feel able to, leave a review, it really helps.

The producer is Hester Cant, the music is Toby Dunham and our artwork is by Lo Cole.

IG: @annalisabarbieri

All links to pretty much everything else I do: linktr.ee/annalisabarbieri

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/conversations-with-annalisa-barbieri.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Although unresolved grief can hit us at any stage in our lives, this episode specifically talks about childhood bereavement and the impact it can have on adulthood. My guest is UKCP and BACP registered psychotherapist and researcher Mandy Gosling who, as we shall hear, has personal experience of early bereavement.

An early bereavement can lodge - if not processed - and be carried into adult hood, manifesting as inability to hold down jobs or relationships, feelings of loneliness or depression (of course you can feel all these things without having been bereaved). Mandy talks about her personal experiences, how they impacted and how we can help children process grief and if that's now you as an adult, what you might consider doing to lighten your psychological load.

You can learn more about Mandy and her work here: www.abcgrief.co.uk or www.mandygosling.co.uk 

Some useful bereavement websites:

https://www.winstonswish.org

https://www.childbereavementuk.org

https://www.cruse.org.uk

Let us know if you feel this episode has brought up any thoughts, or if you have ideas for other episodes: [email protected]

If you'd like to support us you can leave a one off donation here: https://supporter.acast.com/conversations-with-annalisa-barbieri

If you'd like to listen to this episode, past or future ones, ad free then consider becoming a patron on Patreon, from just £3 a month. You also get early access to episodes. For £5 a month you get them as soon as they are produced.

Thanks so much for listening and please remember to share with friends and if you feel able to, leave a review, it really helps.

The producer is Hester Cant, the music is Toby Dunham and our artwork is by Lo Cole.

IG: @annalisabarbieri

All links to pretty much everything else I do: linktr.ee/annalisabarbieri

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/conversations-with-annalisa-barbieri.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.