24 APR 2024 · “Sometimes, people just need to be really very sad together” In this episode, we will be talking with funeral celebrant - or ‘funeralist’ - Andy Jones about funerals and mental health.  We ask Andy what ingredients he thinks a funeral needs in order to best support the wellbeing of those that have lost someone. We also discuss how, as someone who spends his life around death and grieving, Andy looks after his own mental wellbeing. You can hear Andy interviewed on the Cinematologists podcast by https://cinematologists.podbean.com/e/plan-75/ He will also be interviewed on an upcoming episode of the Endings podcast, which you can https://justhazel.co.uk/podcasts/ Follow @livelymindspod on X, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and more athttps://www.bio.link/livelymindshttps://www.bio.link/livelyminds Please note that this show does not constitute medical advice and is not a replacement for seeking professional help. You can find our more about the show and get signposting to support on our websitehttps://www.anyamedia.net/livelyminds

10 APR 2024 · What is Dramatherapy? How does it work? And how can it help us make better sense of our mental health?  In this episode, Ellie and Will chat with Ciara McClelland of https://dream-together.co.uk/ who is a registered dramatherapist and social worker. We explore dramatherapy's application in both individual and group contexts. From facilitating personal healing journeys to shedding light on pressing social issues, dramatherapy emerges as a powerful tool for fostering self-awareness and collective understanding. We will also discuss how dramatherapy helps to reclaim the way we understand ourselves, leading to profound insights into the complexities that shape our lives. Please note: case study examples are 'mock ups' of therapeutic scenarios for which consent has been given. Follow @livelymindspod on X, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and more athttps://www.bio.link/livelyminds Please note that this show does not constitute medical advice and is not a replacement for seeking professional help. You can find our more about the show and get signposting to support on our websitehttps://www.anyamedia.net/livelyminds

27 MAR 2024 · Did you know, that in the UK, anyone - no matter what their qualifications or experience - can set themselves up as a counsellor, a psychotherapist, or indeed use any job title except for a chosen few that are protected by law? In this episode, we will be talking Phil Doré and Amanda Williamson about regulation - or rather, the lack of it - in mental health care in the UK. Amanda Williamson is a Senior Accredited Counsellor and Coach working in private practice. Following her experience of abusive therapy as a trainee, she joined Phil Doré as part of Unsafe Spaces and campaigned for the regulation of counselling and psychotherapy. Phil Dore is a mental health nurse who has spent most of his career in the NHS, which is where he currently works. He started the Unsafe Spaces blog and together with Amanda, Phil wrote the Unsafe Spaces report in 2016 (see link below) Now you may be wondering why we are interviewing people who wrote a report that’s now 8 years old? Well, the reason is because - as we’ll hear later - everything in that report remains equally as relevant, if not more so today. Links  https://notsobigsociety.files.wordpress.com/2016/05/unsafe-spaces-report-may-2016.pdf the Unsafe Spaces report https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/1847527/Disgraced-therapists-ignoring-rulings the investigation by the Daily Express https://www.professionalstandards.org.uk/share-your-experience the Professional Standards Authority's 'Share Your Experience' form General advice on choosing a therapist in the UK - https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/drugs-and-treatments/talking-therapy-and-counselling/how-to-find-a-therapist/ - https://positivemindpractice.co.uk/blog/finding-accredited-therapists/ Follow @livelymindspod on X, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and more athttps://www.bio.link/livelyminds Please note that this show does not constitute medical advice and is not a replacement for seeking professional help. You can find our more about the show and get signposting to support on our websitehttps://www.anyamedia.net/livelyminds

13 MAR 2024 · How can the arts help achieve positive change for people with mental health problems? Who can get involved? What counts as “activism”?  Writer, director and Disabled rights activist: Vici Wreford Sinnott returns to the show to discuss these questions. She highlight some of her favourite examples of mental health-focused activism and talks about how those with and without mental health challenge can work together to make society a more equitable and happier place for everyone. Links - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mental_Deficiency_Act_1913#:~:text=In%20May%201912%2C%20a%20Private,provision%20for%20registration%20and%20segregation. about the Feeble Minded Control Bill (which became the Mental Deficiency Act 1913)  Follow @livelymindspod on X, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and more athttps://www.bio.link/livelyminds Please note that this show does not constitute medical advice and is not a replacement for seeking professional help. You can find our more about the show and get signposting to support on our websitehttps://www.anyamedia.net/livelyminds

28 FEB 2024 · How many times have you heard someone say “I’m being so OCD” to describe a random bit of preciseness or when they need to double-check something? Whether it’s newspaper articles falsely linking OCD to violent behaviours, unhelpful social media memes that perpetuate mistaken concepts of “intrusive thoughts”, or the names of brands which trivialise the experience - misinformation, and perhaps sometimes active disinformation, about OCD remains rife. OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder) is one of the world’s most misunderstood mental health disorders. For a long time, it has been portrayed in the media as a personality quirk that has something or other to do with cleanliness. In fact, according to the World Health Organisation, it is one of the most disabling conditions on Earth. Whilst ‘contamination OCD’ is the most common subtype, this strand of the condition is grossly mischaracterised by the media, who also ignore the fact that most forms of OCD have nothing to do with germaphobia. In this special collaboration with https://theocdstories.com/, Ellie and Will chat to Matthew Antonelli from the https://iocdf.org/ and Stuart Ralph, from OCD Stories, about the impact OCD myths can have on those with the condition - and what we can do to spread positive messages that encourage people to seek the help they need and deserve. Links - The https://theocdstories.com/ - The https://iocdf.org/blog/2023/02/08/iocdf-launches-campaign-against-misinformation/ to articles that appeared in the New York Post Follow @livelymindspod on X, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and more athttps://www.bio.link/livelyminds Please note that this show does not constitute medical advice and is not a replacement for seeking professional help. You can find our more about the show and get signposting to support on our websitehttps://www.anyamedia.net/livelyminds

21 FEB 2024 · A podcast update! Listen | Donate | Connect at www.anyamedia.net/livelyminds

7 FEB 2024 · Why is mental health and learning disability so often confused? How do they interact? Why are learning disabled people more likely to experience mental health problems than the general population? In this episode, we will be talking to Paul Wilshaw, who is Associate Producer at https://www.mind-the-gap.org.uk/. As well as being an advocate for Mind the Gap, Paul uses his own lived experience to be an advocate for learning disabled people. Paul is also presenter of Mind the Gap and Disability Arts Online’s podcast, https://disabilityarts.online/projects/the-disability-and-podcast/ Again, we make quite a few references to websites and research in this show. Here are the links! The connections between mental health and learning disability according to https://www.mencap.org.uk/learning-disability-explained/research-and-statistics/health/mental-health and https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/guides-to-support-and-services/learning-disability-support/. Some research suggests that learning disabled people are more than twice as likely to experience a mental health problem than the population at large: see results on https://consensus.app/results/?q=Are%20learning%20disabled%20people%20more%20likely%20to%20have%20mental%20health%20problems%20than%20non-learning%20disabled%20people?&synthesize=on Disabled people are more at risk of loneliness than non-learning disabled people: ses results on https://consensus.app/results/?q=Are%20disabled%20people%20at%20higher%20risk%20of%20loneliness%20than%20non-disabled%20people%3F&synthesize=on Follow @livelymindspod on X, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and more athttps://www.bio.link/livelyminds Please note that this show does not constitute medical advice and is not a replacement for seeking professional help. You can find our more about the show and get signposting to support on our websitehttps://www.anyamedia.net/livelyminds --Show Transcript-- W: Hi everyone, the following episode includes a brief reference to suicidal ideation and a potentially triggering comment made by a healthcare professional who is not identified in the conversation. There are also quite a few references to research again and you’ll find links in the show notes. Please take care whilst listening and for signposting to support, visit our website anyamedia.net/LivelyMinds W: Hello, my name is Will. E: And my name is Ellie. W: You are listening to Lively Minds, the podcast about mental health challenges that go beyond the ebb and flow of the everyday. E: The podcast that looks at how developing our understanding of mental health issues influences the ways that we address them. W: Before we get going with today’s episode, we just want to say a big thank you to the person who gave us a very generous anonymous donation at our Buy Me a Coffee page. You know who you are. It’s very much appreciated. If you’d like to support the show too, then you can find our Buy Me A Coffee page at buymeacoffee.com/livelyminds. [Music] E: In today’s episode we are talking about the interconnections and misconceptions surroundingmental health and learning disability.  W: According to the charities Mind and Mencap, learning disability and mental health are often muddled. At the same time, some studies show that learning disabled people are at least twice as likely to struggle with their mental health than the population at large. E: To guide us through this topic, we are delighted to welcome Paul Wilshaw to the show. Paul is an associate producer at Mind the Gap Theatre Company. His role includes supporting the company’s producing team and project delivery. As well as being an advocate for Mind the Gap, Paul uses his own lived experience to be an advocate for learning disabled people. Paul is also presenter of Mind the Gap and Disability Arts Online’s podcast, Disability and… I always want to say the dot dot dot. W: Welcome to the show Paul. P: Thank you very much for having me. Really do appreciate it. W: I guess we should start off just by saying that Ellie and I both know you outside of this podcast, known you for a while and it’s just really great to actually finally be able to have you on the show. E: Definitely. P: It’s great and I know Ellie from We Shall Not Be Removed and that was a great experience, except for, wish we didn’t have to go through that experience in the first place but we did. E: Yeah W: Just to explain that We Shall Not Be Removed was the Disability Arts Alliance that came together during the pandemic to try and work out how we could have a better landscape for disabled artists during and most importantly, following the pandemic as well, right? E: Yeah,  P: definitely. E: Simultaneously it feels like it was ages ago that me and Paul were seeing each other on Zoom all the time, but actually it also in a way feels like it was like a month ago. P: I know. W: So Paul, thanks for coming and talking to us. To start off with, as I mentioned in the intro, according to both Mencap and Mind, Mencap being a charity that works with learning disabled people, Mind being a charity that focuses on mental health, learning disability and mental healthare often confused. So, we were wondering, do you agree with that? And if so, why do you think that is? P: I think it, it does get confused. A lot of the times that you can’t actually tell what part is of you, what part is your learning disability and also what part is your mental health. And if, if you don’t understand it yourself, then in a way, how can you expect other people to understand it. So I mean, I have depression, I got diagnosed with that, but I’ve also got learning disabilities and cerebral palsy. So what part of my personality is my learning disability, what part is it my mental health, and what part of it is my cerebral palsy?. It’s a really hard thing to understand in myself, so I do understand why people get confused. I think though people do get confused, I think it’s also that fear that people have of the unknown and the fact of that there’s so much now being in the media around mental health, and people are trying to understand their mental health but also trying to understand have I got this disability? or is that part of my disability? And that sometimes, it’s hard to actually know yourself. So yeah, no, I think there is definitely some confusion, but I think there’s, people are trying to understand more, well I’m hoping so anyway. E: It’s hard trying to figure out which bits which isn’t it? And then at the end of the thought you’re like, well, actually it’s just sort of all the bits, a bit like a jigsaw or something.  P: Yeah, you have to put it all together. I think it’s also that thing of that everyone’s scared, but also there is fun around having your disability and having your mental health because there is fun in that.  E: Yeah.  P: I think that’s something that people are like, how can that be fun? How is that fun? But you can’t just, you’re not always down.  E: Yeah P: And I think that’s a thing that people just think, oh, if you’ve got depression, or if you’ve got this, you’re always down. It’s not always the case. It’s also that support that you have in place as well.  E: Yeah. W: Can I ask Paul, if I had to put you on the spot and say, have you thought about what might be some differences between mental health and learning disability? P: I think my mental health fluctuates and I try not to use jargon words. So what I mean is it goes up and down. My learning disability is there all my life.  E: Yeah P: It’s the best way I can describe it. My learning disability, I learn different from and I need support. With my mental health, I get support but it’s not as easy. And sadly, I’m one of those people that probably tries to cover up and puts a face on stuff too much. And what I’ve started to realise more recently is that people know when my cerebral palsy is playing me up because I’m shifty and all that. And I’m, but with my mental health, only a few people will recognize when I’m going through one of my situations. W: mmm P: I think, yeah, there’s so much. So, no, there’s no, I think what mind and mencap put is very honest and say that it’s not the same thing because it’s not. And not, I mean, not one person will have the same situation. I mean, my situation is different than other people with mental health situations, but you need to be there to support everyone. And so, yeah. E: Yeah. P: And something that Mencap do talk about is how one of the problems about the confusion is that sometimes a learning disabled person might go to their doctor, and the doctor will just assume that whatever they’re presenting is part of their learning disability, whereas in actual fact, it could well be a mental health issue. And the other thing they mentioned as well is that sometimes there can be a lack of connection between mental health and learning disability services within health as well, and a lack of coordination. P: A prime example of the doctors and stuff is that I went to my doctor ... https://www.anyamedia.net/livelymindspod/s2e2-learning-disability-and-mental-health-with-paul-wilshaw/

24 JAN 2024 · Welcome to the first episode of SEASON 2 of Lively Minds! In this episode, we will be talking to Stuart Ralph who featured in what is currently our most popular episode of season 1, exploring https://www.anyamedia.net/livelymindspod/s1e2-why-is-ocd-so-misunderstood/ Stuart is a counsellor and psychotherapist for children and young people, who has lived experience of OCD, is the co-founder of the https://www.integrativecentreforocd.co.uk/and host of the very popular https://theocdstories.com/s podcast which we recommend you check out. In today’s show, Stuart will be chatting to us about a strand of OCD known as “Pure O”. We’ll be finding out what it is, why - despite its existence being contested, why the term has been embraced by so many within the OCD community. Follow @livelymindspod on X, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and more athttps://www.bio.link/livelyminds Please note that this show does not constitute medical advice and is not a replacement for seeking professional help. You can find our more about the show and get signposting to support on our websitehttps://www.anyamedia.net/livelyminds --Show Transcript-- [music] W: Hello, my name is Will. E: And my name is Ellie. W: You are listening to Lively Minds, the podcast about mental health challenges that go beyond the ebb and flow of the everyday. E: The podcast that looks at how developing our understanding of mental health issues influences how we address them. W: In this episode, we will be talking to Stuart Ralph, who featured in what is currently our most popular episode of season one, exploring OCD, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. [music ends] E: Stuart is a counsellor and psychotherapist for children and young people who has lived experience of OCD, is the co-founder of the Integrative Centre for OCD Therapy and host of the very popular OCD Stories podcast, which we really recommend you check out. W: In today’s show, Stuart will be chatting to us about a strand of OCD known as Pure O. We’ll be finding out what it is and why, despite its existence being contested, the term has been embraced by so many within the OCD community. Welcome back on the show, Stuart. S: Thank you for having me back on. I’m honoured to hear that it’s the most popular episode! That’s really flattering and great to be back on talking with you guys. W: Thank you. It’s great to have you. E: To begin with, could you remind us, particularly for the benefit of people who aren’t so familiar with it, how you define OCD? S: Yeah. So it’s best just to break it down into the O and C. So obsession, compulsion. Obsession could also be named intrusive for, image, urge, impulse. Often they call it ego dystonic. It’s against what we want. It’s repugnant to us. That’s why it’s scary to the person. They don’t want these thoughts and feelings, these sensations. they want none of it. They can come in different themes, sometimes called subtypes of OCD. It could be worried about physical contamination, emotional contamination, worrying about offending your God. You’d call that religious OCD, obsessively worrying about your romantic relationship, called relationship OCD. Worrying about sort of harming someone, hurting someone, killing someone. We might call that harm OCD. You could also have paedophile-themed OCD, which is where you’re worried that you’re a paedophile. And of course, people that have those worries, far from being a paedophile, they’re deeply disgusted and scared by that thought. Because they’re deeply disgusted and scared by that thought, they then do compulsions. Compulsions are any actions in our heads or in the outside world, like mental reviewing is a mental compulsion going over memories or facts and figures. Physical compulsions could be googling, it could be checking, it could be flipping a light switch on and off, washing your hands, hiding knives if you’re worried about killing someone and the reason they do compulsions is to get rid of, remove, reduce, the thoughts and feelings. And then I just mentioned feelings, so that’s not in the title OCD, but the feelings are really what fuels OCD so it’s usually anxiety although it can also be guilt, shame, disgust you name it that also drives the OCD but it’s more common that it’s anxiety but I’ve worked with clients that don’t really have much anxiety and it’s mainly disgust or guilt is the driving emotion behind it. And quite often if we didn’t have those, I say we, because I’ve experienced OCD, I talk a bit about my story in the first episode. When we don’t have those feelings, it doesn’t really matter if we have intrusive thoughts, obsessions, because they don’t bother us. So there was a study done, it’s probably over 10 years ago now, it was like 94 and 96% of people have intrusive thoughts. So that was general public that were questioned and I think the other, whatever it was, 6% was probably lying or just didn’t realise it. But we all have that image if we stand too close to a train track our brain throws us on the tracks. Most of us have had that thought right? Or you’re holding your kid and suddenly your brain throws your kid down the stairs. Not literally but in your mind. That’s an intrusive thought, it’s scary. Now, but if you’re seriously anxious at the time of having that thought, that thought sticks around and it becomes more and more recurrent in your head and it will keep coming back and back and that’s the OCD cycle and then we do compulsions and what the compulsions teach our brain is that this thought is, could be real, it could be a real danger, because it’s a real danger I better do these safety behaviours or compulsions, but that just reinforces the cycle and teaches our brain we should be afraid of these thoughts therefore we end up doing more compulsions because we’re more anxious, so it’s this vicious cycle of OCD and it really keeps people trapped. The last thing I say about it is these thoughts are so far fetched often, they’re so far out there. You know just because I had a thought about let’s say Jesus in some kind of sexual way and if I’m a Christian, I might get super worried about that, of course I don’t want to do anything sexual to Jesus, but because I’ve had that thought I’m now obsessed worried about it and can’t stop thinking about it, praying compulsively. That’s just teaching my brain the thought could be real and I get stuck in this cycle. But it’s just far-fetched, right? E: Thank you. That’s really thorough, today we’re going to talk about something called Pure O which I wasn’t too familiar with until we spoke to you and Will told me about it after the first episode you did with us. So what is Pure O and how does it differ from more traditional understandings of OCD? S: Yeah, so Pure O is, is highly contested and arguably a bit controversial, which we’ll talk about in a bit, but its, it means purely obsessional, right? So the assumption is there are no compulsions. Now that is the problem with the wording of Pure O, because there’s always compulsions. But the compulsions for people with Pure O are mainly in their head. So they’re doing compulsions in their head as opposed to the physical world. That’s not entirely true, and I’ll share that in a bit when we talk about maybe the issues with the term of Pure O, but in theory it means compulsions are in the mind, not in the physical world, so I’m mainly doing compulsions like checking memories or making lists in my head or saying words in my mind to counteract the thought. It’s those sort of things and it’s also a word for, that could be called rumination. We all ruminate but with OCD it’s very prevalent. I could just call that seriously overthinking. So that’s where it, it got its name. Now it was coined by Dr. Steven Phillips and he’s been on my show like 10, not 20, 10 to 12 times and he coined the term in 1988 because he was seeing a lot of clients come through his practice who didn’t seem to have any physical compulsions, were having these intrusive thoughts often quite taboo intrusive thoughts like violent sexual intrusive thoughts, and they were being missed in the research. So he coined the term to try and bring them into the term OCD. Now they were always OCD but they were getting missed by other therapists and researchers because they didn’t seem to be washing their hands or checking things over and over again in the real world. So that’s where Pure O came about and it’s been a very useful term because it’s helped people find others who don’t seem to have many physical compulsions. So it’s helped them find a tribe and again I think we’ll talk about that later. But yeah, in short, it’s just where there’s not any physical compulsions or many and it’s mainly mental compulsions but the issue with the wording is purely obsessional to anyone outside would say well that means there’s no compulsions because it’s purely obsessional right? if we’d be very anal about it and that’s why a lot of, not a lot, there are therapists and researchers out there who hate the term. And there are many therapists that actually like the term for the reasons I’ve said that it’s helped people find a tribe. So it’s a real, it’s a problematic term, but it also has had a lot of uses over the years, good uses, and has helped a lot of people feel understood. But yeah, just that misconception of, if anyone says they’ve got Pure O and they don’t do compulsions, lie, unintentional lie, they are doing compulsions, just mainly in their head. W: Yeah, as ...

20 DEC 2023 · We asked for your thoughts and questions, and you did not disappoint! Thank you to everyone who contacted us. In the second of our 2-parter, Ellie will respond to your questions about her experiences both working in and being admitted to mental health hospital. If you haven’t heard our three episode miniseries on mental health hospitals you may want to go back and listen to that before listening to this episode. It begins at episode 15. Content notes:There will be one reference to suicidality and references to institutional abuse in a mental healthcare setting. Follow us onhttps://twitter.com/livelymindspod and more athttps://www.bio.link/livelyminds Please note that this show does not constitute medical advice and is not a replacement for seeking professional help. You can find our more about the show and get signposting to support on our websitehttps://www.anyamedia.net/livelyminds

13 DEC 2023 · We asked for your thoughts and questions, and you did not disappoint! Thank you to everyone who contacted us. In the first of another 2-parter, Ellie will respond to your questions about her experiences both working in and being admitted to mental health hospital. The questions were SO good, that we’ve had to spread Elllie’s responses over two episodes - and the second will land in your feeds next week. If you haven’t heard our three episode miniseries on mental health hospitals you may want to go back and listen to that before listening to this episode. It begins at episode 15. Links to some of the Scandinavian approachs Ellie mentions are here: https://www.madinamerica.com/2019/12/medication-free-treatment-norway-private-hospital/ https://imhcn.org/bibliography/recent-innovations-and-good-practices/open-dialogue/ Follow us onhttps://twitter.com/livelymindspod and more athttps://www.bio.link/livelyminds Please note that this show does not constitute medical advice and is not a replacement for seeking professional help. You can find our more about the show and get signposting to support on our websitehttps://www.anyamedia.net/livelyminds