The Royal College of Psychiatrists Podcast

Choosing Wisely: What every psychiatrist needs to know

In this podcast, Dr Howard Ryland, the BJPsych’s Trainee Editor, talks to Dr Daniel Maughan, RCPsych Associate Registrar for Sustainability and Consultant Psychiatrist at Oxford Health and Dr Joe Hayes, MRC Clinical Research Fellow at UCL and RCPsych Choosing Wisely Lead about the Choosing Wisely initiative.

International Congress 2017: The strange case of Dr Oliver Sacks

Dr Raj Persaud interviews Professor Anthony David on his keynote lecture about Dr Oliver Sacks at International Congress 2017 in Edinburgh

Professor Anthony David is Professor of Cognitive Neuropsychiatry at King’s College London.

Ego is the enemy

Ryan Holiday discusses his new book 'Ego Is The Enemy' with Dr Raj Persaud - how ego blocks success and happiness.

Ego Is The Enemy is a new book published by best-selling author Ryan Holiday and is a philosophical exploration of difficulties we create for ourselves in life. Early in our careers, Ryan argues, ego impedes learning and the cultivation of talent. With success, ego can blind us to our faults and sow future problems. In failure, ego magnifies each blow and makes recovery more difficult. At every stage, ego holds us back.

The book draws on a vast array of stories and examples, from literature to philosophy to history. Using the stories of people like William T. Sherman, Katharine Graham, Bill Belichick, and Eleanor Roosevelt, all of whom reached the highest levels of power and success by conquering their own egos.

Eleanor's terrifying stalking experience

GP, Eleanor, describes a harrowing and prolonged experience of being stalked: in conversation with Dr Raj Persaud, FRCPsych

How evolution can help us understand child development and behaviour

Dr Howard Ryland discusses the topic with Dr Annie Swanepoel who, together with her co-authors, Daniela F. Sieff, Graham Music, John Launer, Michael Reiss and Bernadette Wren, has published a paper in January's issue of BJPsych Advances.

The traditional disease model, still dominant in psychiatry, is less than ideal for making sense of psychological issues such as the effects of early childhood experiences on development. We argue that a model based on evolutionary thinking can deepen understanding and aid clinical practice by showing how behaviours, bodily responses and psychological beliefs tend to develop for ‘adaptive’ reasons, even when these ways of being might on first appearance seem pathological. Such understanding has implications for treatment. It also challenges the genetic determinist model, by showing that developmental pathways have evolved to be responsive to the physical and social environment in which the individual matures. Thought can now be given to how biological or psychological treatments – and changing a child’s environment – can foster well-being. Evolutionary thinking has major implications for how we think about psychopathology and for targeting the optimum sites, levels and timings for interventions.

In this inaugural Advances podcast, Dr Howard Ryland discusses the topic with Dr Annie Swanepoel.

Is Human Progress Inevitable? Raj Persaud talks to Professor Joel Mokyr about his new book, 'A Culture of Growth'

In this groundbreaking book, celebrated economic historian Joel Mokyr argues that a culture of growth specific to early modern Europe and the European Enlightenment laid the foundations for the scientific advances and pioneering inventions that would instigate explosive technological and economic development.

Is there hidden meaning to the use of violence in movies?

Dr Raj Persaud talks to Professor David Humbert about his new book on Violence in the Films of Alfred Hitchcock, and uses a depth psychological analysis to show that there are often hidden layers of meaning behind the use of violence in film. This analysis also helps us understand ourselves better and why we turn to anger and violence ourselves.

You can also listen to this interview on a free app on iTunes and Google play store entitled, Raj Persaud in conversation, which includes a lot of free information on the latest research findings in mental health, plus interviews with top experts from around the world.

The process of clinical assessment

The first of two linked BJPsych Advances podcasts recorded at the RCPsych International Congress, Dr Howard Ryland is in conversation here with Dr Derek Tracy and Professor Keith Rix on the complex topic of Malingering.

Medico legal reporting of malingering

Dr Howard Ryland in conversation with Dr Derek Tracy and Professor Keith Rix

This, the second of two BJPsych Advances podcasts on Malingering, focuses on the medico legal reporting of malingering.

Peer reviewing

Professor Patricia Casey

Editor, BJPsych Advances

In conversation with Dr Howard Ryland today, Professor Patricia Casey, Editor of BJPsych Advances, gives an overview of the importance of the peer review system and provides comprehensive guidance and advice on the process.

Read: 'Peer reviewing made easy' by Neel Halder, Rosalind Ramsay, Peter Tyrer, Patricia Casey

Advances in Psychiatric Treatment Feb 2011, 17 (2) 150-157