Dr Jared Watson, an experienced clinical psychologist, was born, raised & educated in New Zealand, including at the University of Wellington, before he came to the UK in 2016. Part of the award-winning team at Dr Finlay's Private Practice, Dr Jared divides his time between supporting people with severe and enduring mental-health issues, such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, and working with NHS staff who report a range of conditions relating to their work and stressful lifestyles. 

Dr Jared also supports individuals and teams within the corporate sector, specialising in what is termed ‘organisational psychology’. His work involves helping companies and their employees to optimise their performance. 

In this episode, he also discusses the impact on mental health brought by social media today. He also discusses the rise in mental health diagnoses in past 20 years in the UK, and the possible reasons for this. "That’s not so much related to the recent Pandemic and could be partly influenced by the fact that people are more comfortable talking about mental health issues today.” He sees this as a good thing. Mental Health has been on a journey and there is less stigma and shame attached to it and talking openly about it these days. Hence the expression: “It's OK not to be OK”. Dr Jared adds: “It's not such a taboo subject anymore.”

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John Street is the Founder & Director of one of Birmingham’s most famous and longest-established charities, Free At Last, which is dedicated to improving the lives of the children and young people of Nechells, an area of the city. Now in his 50s, John started as a community youth worker aged 17 and has worked in the sector for over 30 years. He works punishing hours and is devoted to supporting the charity, its staff, the children, and is constantly fire-fighting problems. 

Free At Last is celebrating its 25th anniversary. It currently helps 2,000-3,000 people a year and John manages a team of 65 staff. He attends the centre Monday-Fridays and usually has Saturdays and Sundays off, but he also works approximately 26 weekends a year. “In the last 5 weeks I’ve worked Monday to Friday, then Saturday and Sunday, too,” he says. Free At Last has won many awards, notably The Queens Award for Voluntary Service 2019, citation: “For improving the lives of the children and young people of Nechells, Birmingham”. 

Asked about his own health, John says: “I don’t do stress and I choose not to do stress”. Pressure helps him. He unwinds by climbing mountains and leading outdoor expeditions. John was listed in the Independent newspaper’s ‘Happy List’ in 2013 for being one of top 100 happiest people in the country for helping others.  

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Elizabeth Muir, a Musculoskeletal & Pelvic Health Physiotherapist and Clinical Pilates Practitioner, is part of the Dr Finlay's Private Practice team in Birmingham. Her “hybrid” credentials, combining and merging Physio and Pilates, also inspire her own business, Elizabeth Alexander Physiotherapy and Pilates. Beth offers listeners valuable tips and advice based on her 14 years’ experience treating and supporting everyone from new-born babies one day-old, right up to her oldest patient, who was 99.

Beth is passionate about encouraging people to move more. Breathing is also a major topic discussed at length, as it affects many areas of the body and mind. Our focus on mental health, as well as physical, has grown hugely post-pandemic, she says, and Pilates and Physio are central to this. There’s not enough post-natal care and support today, and Beth as a mother-of-two, talks about her own experiences, also of supporting clients in this area.

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Alan Kinnaird, a business development manager originally from Glasgow, started in Finance in 1987 and his accreditation is “FCSI” (a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Securities and Investments). Alan now lives in York and is marking his 30th anniversary in the sector where he is now a Portfolio Manager & Relationship Manager. Alan's main expertise is advising clients on the running costs involved in managing a portfolio of investments and handling their investments. 

In a wide-ranging conversation with Dr Ben, Alan talks about how people can look after their physical and mental health at the same time as managing their financial health. He is an expert on topics raised by his many clients over the years, such as * When should I build my wealth check and why? * Why Protection ranks first, investments second * How to carefully select and monitor your first team of dedicated Legal, Banking, Tax & Investment Advisers, plus the subs’ bench * How to save and build wealth without excessive compounding costs * What he has learned from 35 years of investing in funds and ETFs (Exchange-Traded Funds) * How to segregate and protect your assets * Online safety: measures to practise and * 3 steps to building a long-term financial plan. Alan also talks about pensions - and his passion for karate and the Israeli martial art of ‘Krav Maga’! Not a man to be messed with, he holds a black belt.

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

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

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

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

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

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