A podcast update! Listen | Donate | Connect at www.anyamedia.net/livelyminds ..read more

In a world dominated by Western approaches to psychiatric health, what does the non-Western world offer in terms of alternative interpretations of our mental health experiences? In today’s episode we are talking to Dr. Arya Thampuran, a researcher from Durham University in the UK, about her work focusing on how creative practitioners in African diasporic contexts express distress and healing in ways that challenge traditional Western views of mental health. Dr Thampuran’s work aims to go beyond the idea of distress as a disorder and explore alternative perspectives. She analyses various form ..read more

Just because you can go about your day-to-day life doesn't necessarily mean that everything is OK. Welcome to the world of "high functioning mental health problems" In this week’s episode of Lively Minds, we speak with Panama-based Pyschologist Karen Lowinger. Will came across Karen when he stumbled upon an article she wrote for online publication: the Mighty, called "When you are too functional to have your mental illness taken seriously". You can find that article here Karen begins by telling us about her efforts to raise awareness about High Functioning Mental Health problems. Then our c ..read more

Kema Sikawe recently appeared in a BBC 3 documentary: Therapy: Tough Talking in which he gives viewers a front-row seat at a series of therapy sessions where he opens up and discusses his mental health challenges. Kema, who is also known as Kema Kay, is a musician, actor and broadcaster based in Newcastle. In this episode we talk with Kema about the pros and cons of talking publicly about your mental health, and what safeguards need to be in place to make it a positive experience. Therapy: Tough Talking can be found on BBC iPlayer here. You can find out more about Will and Kema’s work with ..read more

In a world dominated by Western approaches to psychiatric health, what does the non-Western world offer in terms of alternative interpretations of our mental health experiences? In today’s episode we are talking to Dr. Arya Thampuran, a researcher from Durham University in the UK, about her work focusing on how creative practitioners in African diasporic contexts express distress and healing in ways that challenge traditional Western views of mental health. Dr Thampuran’s work aims to go beyond the idea of distress as a disorder and explore alternative perspectives. She analyses various form ..read more

Just because you can go about your day-to-day life doesn't necessarily mean that everything is OK. Welcome to the world of "high functioning mental health problems" In this week’s episode of Lively Minds, we speak with Panama-based Pyschologist Karen Lowinger. Will came across Karen when he stumbled upon an article she wrote for online publication: the Mighty, called "When you are too functional to have your mental illness taken seriously". You can find that article here Karen begins by telling us about her efforts to raise awareness about High Functioning Mental Health problems. Then our c ..read more

Just because you can go about your day-to-day life doesn't necessarily mean that everything is OK. Welcome to the world of "high functioning mental health problems" In this week’s episode of Lively Minds, we speak with Panama-based Pyschologist Karen Lowinger. Will came across Karen when he stumbled upon an article she wrote for online publication: the Mighty, called "When you are too functional to have your mental illness taken seriously". You can find that article here Karen begins by telling us about her efforts to raise awareness about High Functioning Mental Health problems. Then our c ..read more

"We will label you. We will punish you. And this is true of women in Victorian times who were labelled as 'hysterical'. [In the UK] being Gay was a 'mental illness' until the 1970s" Artist, poet, writer, activist, filmmaker and professional mischief-maker: Dolly Sen, joins us to discuss her own experiences and career, and why she questions whether ‘mental illness’ even exists. We talk about the current mental health care system in the UK, what needs to be done to improve it, and how humour and the celebration of ‘madness’ can be a powerful tool to engage people’s interest. The full episode ..read more

What is the relationship between neurodivergence and trauma? In today’s episode we are chatting again to Amanda Marples, who is a writer, social worker and mentor with over twenty years experience in community mental health. She has written for numerous magazines, is the author of "The Healing Workbook" and operates a mentoring service for neurodivergent writers called Reconcile Creative. The last time we chatted to Amanda was in episode 14, when she spoke to us about trauma. If you haven’t heard that episode then we recommend you go back and have a listen - in today’s episode we are going ..read more

What is it like to be an inpatient on a mental health ward? In the second of this three part mini-series, Will shall be chatting to Ellie about her experiences of both being admitted to and working in mental health hospitals. In the UK, a mental health or ‘psychiatric’ hospital or ward refers to an inpatient healthcare setting which specialises in the treatment of people who are considered to be experiencing a mental health crisis. Mental hospitals, or what were referred to as ‘asylums’ until the early 1900s have always been - and remain - controversial. There is conflicting evidence surro ..read more