PsychEd: Educational Psychiatry Podcast

Welcome to PsychEd, the psychiatry podcast for medical learners, by medical learners. This short episode covers medical considerations in eating disorders.

Hosts: Dr. Shelly Palchick (PGY1) and Dr. Angad Singh (PGY3)

Audio Editing: Dr. Angad Singh (PGY3)

For more PsychEd, follow us on Instagram (⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@psyched.podcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠), Facebook (⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠PsychEd Podcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠), X (⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@psychedpodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠), and Bluesky (⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@psychedpodcast.bsky.social‬⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠). You can email us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and visit our website at⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ psychedpodcast.org⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.⁠

Welcome to PsychEd, the psychiatry podcast for medical learners, by medical learners. This episode covers homelessness and mental illness with Dr. Vicky Stergiopoulos, senior scientist with the General Adult Psychiatry and Health Systems Division at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH). She is also a full professor in the Department of Psychiatry and the Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation at the University of Toronto.

She has served in several administrative roles, including vice-chair, clinical and innovation (2017-2022) and co-Director of the Division of Adult Psychiatry and Health Systems (2012-2017) in the Department of Psychiatry, as well as physician-in-chief at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (2016-2022), psychiatrist-in-chief at St. Michael’s Hospital (2011-2016) and medical director, Inner City Health Associates (2017-2011).

Dr. Stergiopoulos completed her medical training at Dalhousie University and residency training in psychiatry at the University of Toronto. She holds a MHSc in health administration from the University of Toronto’s Institute for Health Policy, Management and Evaluation and completed director’s education training at the Rotman School of Management. 

The learning objectives for this episode are as follows:

1. Define homelessness and housing insecurity and identify key social determinants that shape health outcomes in this population

2. Understand how homelessness intersects with mental health, substance use, trauma, and barriers to care and recovery

3. Evaluate clinical and systems-level approaches to improving care in the interdisciplinary practice and training

Guest: Dr. Vicky Stergiopoulos

Hosts: Dr. Sena Gok, Dr. Matthew Cho (PGY2), Dr. Angad Singh (PGY3), Dr. Sophie Gregoire-Mitha (PGY2)

Audio editing by: Dr. Sena Gok

Welcome to PsychEd, the psychiatry podcast for medical learners, by medical learners. This short episode covers the basics of CYP450 metabolism as it applies to psychotropic medication.

Hosts: Dr. Celine Prell (PGY4), Dr. Angad Singh, (PGY3)

Audio Editing: Dr. Celine Prell (PGY4), Dr. Angad Singh, (PGY3)

For more PsychEd, follow us on Instagram (⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@psyched.podcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠), Facebook (⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠PsychEd Podcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠), X (⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@psychedpodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠), and Bluesky (⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@psychedpodcast.bsky.social‬⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠). You can email us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and visit our website at⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ psychedpodcast.org⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.⁠

Welcome to PsychEd, the psychiatry podcast for medical learners, by medical learners.

This episode covers Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) with Dr. Kenneth Fung and Dr. Iline Guan.

Dr. Kenneth Fung is Staff Psychiatrist at the Toronto Western Hospital, University Health Network. He is Professor and Director of Global Mental Health with the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Toronto. His research, teaching, and clinical interests include both cultural psychiatry and psychotherapy, especially ACT, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), and mindfulness. He is the Block Co-coordinator of the Cultural Psychiatry Core Seminars for psychiatry residents, and the seminar co-lead and psychotherapy supervisor in CBT at the University Health Network.

Dr. Guan is a psychiatrist who practices outpatient general psychiatry at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto, where she works in the Mood and Anxiety Ambulatory Services and the Northern Psychiatric Outreach Program. She also works with Inner City Health Associates in downtown Toronto. She has had training across various psychotherapy modalities, including psychodynamic therapy, CBT, DBT, IPT, MBSR/MBCT, and ACT. She is involved in resident teaching and psychotherapy supervision at the University of Toronto, and has implemented a pilot ACT group program in the Mood and Anxiety clinic at CAMH.

The learning objectives for this episode are as follows:

1. Describe the theoretical model and core processes underlying ACT

2. Identify the evidence base and clinical indications for using ACT across psychiatric presentations

3. Demonstrate core ACT techniques and how they can be integrated into clinical practice

Guest: Dr. Kenneth Fung and Dr. Iline Guan

Hosts: Victoria Meng (MS3), Dr. Katherine Bailey (PGY3), and Dr. Angad Singh (PGY3)

Audio editing: Dr. Angad Singh (PGY3)

References:

Association for Contextual Behavioral Science. https://contextualscience.org

Dindo, L., Van Liew, J. R., & Arch, J. J. (2017). Acceptance and commitment therapy: A transdiagnostic behavioral intervention for mental health and medical conditions. Neurotherapeutics, 14(3), 546–553. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13311-017-0521-3

Fung, K. (2015). Acceptance and commitment therapy: Western adoption of Buddhist tenets? Transcultural Psychiatry, 52(4), 561–576. https://doi.org/10.1177/1363461514537544

Gloster, A. T., Walder, N., Levin, M. E., Twohig, M. P., & Karekla, M. (2020). The empirical status of acceptance and commitment therapy: A review of meta-analyses. Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science, 18, 181–192. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcbs.2020.09.009

Hayes, S. C., Strosahl, K. D., & Wilson, K. G. (2012). Acceptance and commitment therapy: The process and practice of mindful change (2nd ed.). Guilford Press. 

Hayes, S. C., Luoma, J. B., Bond, F. W., Masuda, A., & Lillis, J. (2006). Acceptance and commitment therapy: Model, processes and outcomes. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 44(1), 1–25. ⁠https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brat.2005.06.006⁠

Hayes, S. C., Luoma, J. B., Bond, F. W., Masuda, A., & Lillis, J. (2006). Acceptance and commitment therapy: Model, processes and outcomes. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 44(1), 1–25. ⁠https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brat.2005.06.006⁠

Harris, R. (2019). ACT made simple: An easy-to-read primer on acceptance and commitment therapy (2nd ed.). New Harbinger Publications. 

Harris, R. (2017). Choice point 2.0: A brief overview. ACTMindfully. https://www.actmindfully.com.au/upimages/Choice_Point_2.0_A_Brief_Overview_-_Russ_Harris_April_2017.pdf 

Harris, R. (2022). The happiness trap: How to stop struggling and start living (2nd ed.). Shambhala Publications.

For more PsychEd, follow us on Instagram (⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@psyched.podcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠), Facebook (⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠PsychEd Podcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠), X (⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@psychedpodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠), and Bluesky (⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@psychedpodcast.bsky.social‬⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠). You can email us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and visit our website at⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ psychedpodcast.org⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Welcome to PsychEd, the psychiatry podcast for medical learners, by medical learners. This short episode covers factitious disorder.

Hosts: Jo Kikukawa (MS3), Dr. Kate Braithwaite

Audio editing: Dr. Kate Braithwaite

References: 

1. American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders: DSM-5, text revision (DSM-5-TR). 5th ed. Washington, D.C.: American Psychiatric Association Publishing; 2022.

2. Irwin, M. R., Bursch, B., & Solomon, D. (2025, July 21). Factitious disorder imposed on self (Munchausen syndrome). UpToDate. https://www.uptodate.com/contents/factitious-disorder-imposed-on-self-munchausen-syndrome?search=factitious+disorder&source=search_result&selectedTitle=1~90&usage_type=default&display_rank=1&searchCorrelationId=681d447e-f8e6-4338-b905-ff937cad5972&searchCorrelationTerm=factitious+disorder#H368608737

3. PsychDB. (2021, December). Factitious Disorder. Factitious Disorder - PsychDB 

4. Roesler, T. A., & Jenny, C. (2026, June 12). Medical child abuse (Munchausen syndrome by proxy). UpToDate. https://www.uptodate.com/contents/medical-child-abuse-munchausen-syndrome-by-proxy?search=factitious+disorder&source=search_result&selectedTitle=3~90&usage_type=default&display_rank=3&searchCorrelationId=681d447e-f8e6-4338-b905-ff937cad5972&searchCorrelationTerm=factitious+disorder#H90255160

5. Yates, G., & Bass, C. (2017). The perpetrators of medical child abuse (Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy) - A systematic review of 796 cases. Child abuse & neglect, 72, 45–53. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2017.07.008

For more PsychEd, follow us on Instagram (⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@psyched.podcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠), Facebook (⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠PsychEd Podcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠), X (⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@psychedpodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠), and Bluesky (⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@psychedpodcast.bsky.social‬⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠). You can email us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and visit our website at⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ psychedpodcast.org⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Welcome to PsychEd, the psychiatry podcast for medical learners, by medical learners.

This episode covers the topic of grief with Dr. Cindy Grief, a Geriatric Psychiatrist at Baycrest Health Sciences in Toronto, where she is the Medical Director for Mental Health Services. She is also an Associate Professor at the University of Toronto and has played active roles in postgraduate and continuing education.

The learning objectives for this episode are as follows

1. Explain how acute grief becomes integrated over time, and how the dual process model helps us understand this adaptive process.
2. Recognize the clinical features of Prolonged Grief Disorder, understand factors that may increase vulnerability, and distinguish it from trauma-related disorders and depression.
3. Structure a bereavement-focused clinical history, differentiate the management of normative grief from Prolonged Grief Disorder, and approach suicide risk assessment in the context of grief.

Guest: Dr. Cindy Grief

Hosts: Ahmad Khan (incoming PGY1), Dr. Angad Singh (PGY2), and Sara Abrahamson (MS3)

Audio editing: Dr. Angad Singh

Resources:

• T⁠he Center for Prolonged Grief (https://prolongedgrief.columbia.edu/)
• Canadian Virtual Hospice  (MyGrief.ca)Association for Death Education and Counseling (https://adec.org)
• What’s Your Grief (https://whatsyourgrief.com/)
• Podcasts: AllThere Is; Griefcast

⁠⁠Books/Memoirs:

• Joan Didion, The Year of Magical Thinking
• Helen Macdonald, H Is for Hawk
• C.S. Lewis, A Grief Observed
• Chimamand Ngozi Adichie, Notes on Grief

Articles:

• A.C. Shilton, “There Is No Vaccine for Grief,” New York Times, March 2, 2021
• M. Stroebe, “The Poetry of Grief: Beyond Scientific Portrayal,” OMEGA: Journal of Death and Dying, 2018, 78(1), 67–96

References:

1. Shear, K., Frank, E., Houck, P. R., & Reynolds, C. F., III. (2005). Treatment of complicated grief: A randomized controlled trial. Journal of the American Medical Association, 293(21), 2601–2608. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.293.21.2601

2. Simon, N. M., & Shear, M. K. (2024). Prolonged grief disorder. New England Journal of Medicine, 391(13), 1227–1236. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMcp2308707

3. Zisook, S., & Shear, K. (2009). Grief and bereavement: What psychiatrists need to know. World Psychiatry, 8(2), 67–74. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.2051-5545.2009.tb00217.x

Welcome to PsychEd, the psychiatry podcast for medical learners, by medical learners. This episode covers cultural concepts of distress.

The learning objectives for this episode are as follows:

1. Define cultural concepts of distress and describe how they are framed in DSM-5

2. Differentiate cultural concepts of distress from psychiatric diagnoses

3. Appreciate the varied clinical takeaways from cultural concepts of distress

Hosts: Sara Abrahamson (MS3), Grant Yao (MS4), Dr. Angad Singh (PGY2)

Audio editing: Dr. Angad Singh (PGY2)

References:

1. Lewis-Fernández, R., & Kirmayer, L. J. (2019). Cultural concepts of distress and psychiatric disorders: Understanding symptom experience and expression in context. Transcultural Psychiatry, 56(4), 786-803.

2. Patel, R., Ashraf, A., Myers, N., & Bhatt, N. (2025). Cultural Concepts of Distress: A Dive into Presentation and Avenues for Management. Innovations in Clinical Neuroscience, 22(7-9), 14.

For more PsychEd, follow us on Instagram (⁠⁠⁠⁠@psyched.podcast⁠⁠⁠⁠), Facebook (⁠⁠⁠⁠PsychEd Podcast⁠⁠⁠⁠), X (⁠⁠⁠⁠@psychedpodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠), and Bluesky (⁠⁠⁠⁠@psychedpodcast.bsky.social‬⁠⁠⁠⁠). You can email us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠⁠⁠ and visit our website at⁠⁠⁠⁠ psychedpodcast.org⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Welcome to PsychEd, the psychiatry podcast for medical learners, by medical learners.

This episode is part of the PsychEd Book Club, a forum where we discuss books of interest to psychiatry learners from a variety of disciplines. We invite you to read along with us and contribute to our discussion.

This short introductory episode gives you a heads-up about our upcoming book club on How Can I Help? A Week in My Life as a Psychiatrist by David Goldbloom and Pier Bryden. Stay tuned for a longer episode in a few months where we’ll share our thoughts on the book.

If you’d like to share your thoughts or questions about the book, email us at [email protected] or reach out on social media.

Hosts:

Dr. Angad Singh, PGY2

Dr. Alastair Morrison, PGY2

Dr. Matthew Cho, PGY1

Sara Abrahamson, MS3

Dr. Sena Gok, international medical graduate and scientist

Dr. Nikhita Singhal, staff psychiatrist

Audio Editing: Dr. Matthew Cho, PGY1

For more PsychEd, follow us on Instagram (⁠⁠@psyched.podcast⁠⁠),  Facebook (⁠⁠PsychEd Podcast⁠⁠), X (⁠⁠@psychedpodcast⁠⁠), and Bluesky (⁠⁠@psychedpodcast.bsky.social‬⁠⁠). You can email us at ⁠[email protected]⁠ and visit our website at⁠⁠ ⁠⁠psychedpodcast.org⁠⁠.

Welcome to PsychEd, the psychiatry podcast for medical learners, by medical learners. This short episode covers the basics of extrapyramidal symptoms.

Hosts:

Jo Kikukawa (MS2)

Dr. Matthew Cho (PGY1)

Sena Gok (Scientist)

Audio Editing: Dr. Matthew Cho (PGY1)

References:

Dayalu, P., & Chou, K. L. (2008). Antipsychotic-induced extrapyramidal symptoms and their management. Expert Opinion on Pharmacotherapy, 9(9), 1451–1462. https://doi.org/10.1517/14656566.9.9.1451

Drake, R. E., & Ehrlich, J. (1985).Suicide attempts associated with akathisia. American Journal of Psychiatry, 142(4), 499–501. https://doi.org/10.1176/ajp.142.4.499

Pringsheim, T., Gardner, D., Addington, D., Martino, D., Morgante, F., Ricciardi, L., Poole, N., Remington, G., Edwards, M., Carson, A., & Barnes, T. R. E. (2018). The assessment and treatment of antipsychotic-induced akathisia. Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 63(11), 719–729. https://doi.org/10.1177/0706743718760288

Poyurovsky, M., Pashinian, A., Weizman, R., Fuchs, C., & Weizman, A. (2006). Low-dose mirtazapine: A new option in the treatment of antipsychotic-induced akathisia. A randomized, double-blind, placebo- and propranolol-controlled trial. Biological Psychiatry, 59(11), 1071–1077. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsych.2005.11.004

Links to Scales Featured in Episode:

https://simpleandpractical.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Barnes-Akathisia-Rating-Scale-BARS.pdf

https://www.psychdb.com/_media/meds/antipsychotics/sas_simpson_angus_scale_modified.pdf

https://www.ohsu.edu/sites/default/files/2019-10/%28AIMS%29%20Abnormal%20Involuntary%20Movement%20Scale.pdf

For more PsychEd, follow us on Instagram (⁠⁠⁠@psyched.podcast⁠⁠⁠), Facebook (⁠⁠⁠PsychEd Podcast⁠⁠⁠), X (⁠⁠⁠@psychedpodcast⁠⁠⁠), and Bluesky (⁠⁠⁠@psychedpodcast.bsky.social‬⁠⁠⁠). You can email us at ⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠⁠ and visit our website at⁠⁠⁠ psychedpodcast.org⁠⁠⁠.

Welcome to PsychEd, the psychiatry podcast for medical learners, by medical learners.

This episode covers interventional psychiatry with Dr. Sean Nestor, an interventional psychiatrist and clinician-scientist at the University of Toronto, where he serves as Assistant Director of the Psychiatry Program and oversees the Clinician Researcher Track (CResT) residency within the Department of Psychiatry. His research program at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre focuses on advancing the clinical application of neuromodulation therapies to improve outcomes across a wide range of psychiatric disorders.

The learning objectives for this episode are as follows

1. Define interventional psychiatry and distinguish it from traditional pharmacologic and psychotherapy-based approaches
2. Describe the role of interventional psychiatry in clinical practice, including identifying patient populations most likely to benefit from neuromodulation treatment
3. Identify pathways to become involved in research and scholarly work within the field of interventional psychiatry

Guest: Dr. Sean Nestor

Hosts: Dr. Pooja Sankar (PGY1), Michael Wang (MS4), Dr. Kate Braithwaite

Audio editing: Dr. Kate Braithwaite

Time Stamps:

(2:25) - Defining Interventional Psychiatry (IP) and its role in Psychiatric practice

(4:20) - Evolution of Interventional Psychiatry (IP)

(8:40) - Patients who will benefit from IP modalities

(12:35) - Other factors to consider when assessing a patient for IP 

(15:30) - rTMS

(19:15) - Description of a typical rTMS session

(23:50) - ECT

(26:45) - Ketamine

(29:05) - Other Investigational Modalities

(30:45) - Maintenance treatment

(35:30) - Medication and IP

(37:55) - Addressing stigma of ECT

(43:15) - Discussion on place of IP in Depression management decision tree

(47:00) - How to get involved in IP

(50:10) - Rewarding aspects of working in IP

(52:25) - Challenges of working in IP

(53:40) - Future of the field 

Resources:

⁠Stanford Accelerated Intelligent Neuromodulation Therapy (SAINT) | Stanford Health Care⁠

⁠CTMSS | International medical society dedicated to optimizing clinical practice, supporting research, and increasing access to high quality, evidence-based Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation

⁠The Interventional Psychiatry Consortium⁠

References:

Andrade, J. & Brito, M.. (2023). When the SAINT goes marching in – A novel transcranial magnetic stimulation protocol shows miraculous promise. European Psychiatry. 66. S835-S835. 10.1192/j.eurpsy.2023.1768. 

⁠Canadian Network for Mood and Anxiety Treatments (CANMAT) 2023 Update on Clinical Guidelines for Management of Major Depressive Disorder in Adults | CANMAT⁠

Conway, C. R., & Sackeim, H. A. (2022). Interventional Psychiatry: The revolution has arrived. Brazilian Journal of Psychiatry. ⁠https://doi.org/10.47626/1516-4446-2022-0046⁠ 

Rakesh, G., Cordero, P., Khanal, R., Himelhoch, S. S., & Rush, C. R. (2024). Optimally combining transcranial magnetic stimulation with antidepressants in major depressive disorder: A systematic review and Meta-analysis. Journal of affective disorders, 358, 432–439. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2024.05.037

Yavi, M., Lee, H., Henter, I. D., Park, L. T., & Zarate, C. A., Jr (2022). Ketamine treatment for depression: a review. Discover mental health, 2(1), 9. ⁠https://doi.org/10.1007/s44192-022-00012-3⁠

Zaidi, A., Shami, R., Sewell, I. J., Cao, X., Giacobbe, P., Rabin, J. S., Goubran, M., Hamani, C., Swardfager, W., Davidson, B., Lipsman, N., & Nestor, S. M. (2024). Antidepressant class and concurrent rTMS outcomes in major depressive disorder: a systematic review and meta-analysis. EClinicalMedicine, 75, 102760. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eclinm.2024.102760 

For more PsychEd, follow us on Instagram (⁠⁠⁠@psyched.podcast⁠⁠⁠), Facebook (⁠⁠⁠PsychEd Podcast⁠⁠⁠), X (⁠⁠⁠@psychedpodcast⁠⁠⁠), and Bluesky (⁠⁠⁠@psychedpodcast.bsky.social⁠⁠⁠). You can email us at ⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠⁠ and visit our website at⁠⁠⁠ psychedpodcast.org⁠⁠⁠