MQ Open Mind

In this episode, Professor Rory O’Connor and Craig spoke to Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Oxford, Dr Paul Harrison, and NIHR Clinical Lecturer also in the Department of Psychiatry at Oxford, Dr Maxime Taquet. 

Max and Paul are a part of the MQ-funded PHOSP-COVID study, which is a consortium of scientists from across the UK, researching long-term health outcomes for patients hospitalised with COVID-19.

In this conversation, they discussed the recent findings from the study, the new symptoms of Long COVID you should be aware of, and the long-term cognitive and psychiatric consequences of COVID-19 hospitalisation.

Thank you so much for watching the first half of season 3. We hope you were able to gain further insight into the world of mental health research whilst understanding more about yourself and those around you.

For this special episode of Open Mind, here are the important questions that our guests would love to be answered by mental health research.

Open Mind will return in the autumn, and we hope to see you again for more lived experience stories and more mental health research.

In this episode, we speak to Prudence Trust Research Fellow at King's College London, Dr Josefien Breedvelt.

Josefien’s research mainly focuses on preventing depression and anxiety. Her research on the effect of psychological interventions for relapse prevention for depression has directly informed the Dutch Multidisciplinary Clinical Guidelines for Depression.

In this conversation, we discuss preventing the onset of depression and anxiety in young people, identifying the appropriate treatment for each person, and the price of ambition in mental health research.

In this episode, Professor Rory O’Connor and Craig spoke to journalist, political strategist and podcaster, Alastair Campbell.

Alastair is best known for his role as former British Prime Minister Tony Blair’s spokesman, press secretary and director of communications and strategy.

Although he is still very much involved in politics, evidenced by his top-rated podcast, ‘The Rest is Politics’, Alastair is a keen writer, releasing nineteen books within sixteen years. His mental health memoir, Living Better: How I learned to survive depression, was a Sunday Times best-seller, and explored his experiences with depression and how it affected his personal and political life.

In this conversation, they discussed the political nature of mental health support, living with a mental health condition whilst working in a highly stressful industry, and creating new interventions to manage your mental health.

By Your Mental Health here:

https://mqmentalhealth.myshopify.com/products/your-mental-health-understanding-depression-anxiety-ptsd-eating-disorders-and-self-destructive-behaviour

In this episode, Professor Rory O’Connor and Craig spoke to Professor of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at the University of Glasgow, Professor Helen Minnis.

Helen’s research mainly focuses on young people’s mental health, such as examining the relationship between child maltreatment, neurodevelopment and mental illness across the lifespan.

In this conversation, they discussed the impact of services for children’s mental health, supporting families before children are neglected and abused, and how diversity can create more opportunities in research. 

In this episode, Professor Rory O’Connor and Craig spoke to a Professor of the School of Psychology at the University of Nottingham, Professor Ellen Townsend.

Ellen currently leads the Self-Harm Research Group, which researches psychological factors associated with self-harm and suicidality, and interventions that promote recovery, especially in young people.

Recently, Ellen has been a part of the Digital Youth project, which is working to find practical solutions through understanding the complex risks and opportunities for mental health associated with young people’s engagement with the digital world.

In this conversation, they discussed the issues young people may face online, current research into self-harm, and why lived experience is vital in research.

In this episode, Professor Rory O’Connor and Craig spoke to BBC broadcaster, author and counselling psychologist, Dr Sian Williams.

In this episode, Professor Rory O’Connor and Craig spoke to the Head of the School of Academic Psychiatry at the Institue of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, Professor Allan Young. 

Allan’s extensive research focuses on the causes and treatments for severe psychiatric illnesses, particularly mood disorders.

He was also ranked as one of the world's leading scientific minds in the field of Psychiatry and Psychology, according to the 2014 Thomson Reuters Highly Cited Researchers list.

In this conversation, they discussed common misconceptions about mood disorders, the latest interventions for bipolar disorder, and how jetlag can affect your mood.  

In this episode, Professor Rory O’Connor and Craig spoke to the Regius Professor of Psychiatry at King’s College London, Professor Sir Simon Wessely.

Simon is a psychiatrist and epidemiologist with a focus on military health and unexplained symptoms and syndromes.

In 2017, the then-Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Theresa May, commissioned Simon to chair the review of the Mental Health Act based on his extensive knowledge and experience.

In this conversation, they discussed Simon’s unique insight into the NHS, the process of reviewing mental health legislation, and his research on Gulf War veterans.

In this episode, Professor Rory O’Connor and Craig spoke to the CEO of Peopleful, Georgie Mack, and Head of Data, Analysis & Insight at Peopleful, Dr Kate Duckworth.

MQ Mental Health Research has joined forces with Peopleful and the WorkWell Research Centre at North West University to conduct a cross-industry study of workplace dynamics across the UK and Ireland. The aim is to develop a framework that will help leaders to build more mentally healthy workplaces that deliver better outcomes for their people that – in turn – boosts their organisations’ performance.

In this conversation, they discussed the Building Mentally Healthy Workplace report, how organizations can support their staff's mental health, and understanding the truth about burnout.

You can learn more about Peopleful here: https://peopleful.io/

You can read the report here: https://www.mqmentalhealth.org/wp-content/uploads/Workplace-mental-health.pdf