The Lancet Psychiatry in conversation with

On Cannabis and Mental Health 17.06.2026 30min

What does the science actually say about cannabis and mental health? In this episode of In Conversation With, hosted by Dustin Graham (Deputy Editor, The Lancet Psychiatry), three leading researchers unpack a landmark collection of papers on cannabis and mental health published in the journal. Dr. Jack Wilson (University of Sydney) breaks down a comprehensive meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials, revealing striking evidence gaps. Dr. Wayne Hall (University of Queensland) synthesises multiple forms of evidence, exploring cannabis's complex relationship with psychosis, anxiety, and depression. Professor Tom Freeman (University of Bath) zooms out to examine international cannabis policy, from decriminalisation to commercial legalisation, and what those shifts mean for psychiatric outcomes. Together, they tackle the tension between public demand, commercial interests, and a rapidly evolving evidence base — and what policymakers and clinicians urgently need to know. Read the full collection at thelancet.com

Tasdik Hasan on co-production of a Bangla mental health sign language bank 19.03.2026 33min

A Health Policy piece in our April issue by Tasdik Hasan and co-authors titled: Co-designing a Bangla Mental Health Sign Language Bank in Bangladesh https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanpsy/article/PIIS2215-0366(25)00334-7/fulltext Continue this conversation on social! Follow us today at... https://thelancet.bsky.social/ https://instagram.com/thelancetgroup https://facebook.com/thelancetmedicaljournal https://linkedIn.com/company/the-lancet https://youtube.com/thelancettv

Emily Holmes on an imagery competing task for intrusive trauma memories 18.02.2026 32min

How can you stop traumatic flashbacks in just one session? Intrusive memories are so common after experiencing traumatic events and are one of the hallmark features of PTSD, but what if you could take away the power of those images without having to discuss them at length in therapy? In this episode, Emily Holmes talks about a new randomised controlled trial of an imagery-competing task, where participants are taught in just one guided session to recall a traumatic memory and then use mental...

Mike Crawford on a brief intervention for personality disorder 12.02.2026 34min

Can personality disorder treatments be reduced to just a few months? The evidence base for personality disorder treatments, like dialectical behavioural therapy (DBT) or mentalisation-based treatment (MBT), points towards treatments that last at least a year. Within the mental health field in general, though, in many countries there's a drive towards offering shorter treatments. But how short is too short, considering the needs of people with personality-related difficulties and the challeng...

Ethelreda Nakimuli and Peter Jones on the COVID-19 pandemic and mental health 21.01.2026 37min

How did the COVID-19 pandemic affect mental health? Now that some years have passed since the pandemic's height, we can learn more from synthesising all the evidence about its shorter and longer term effects. In this episode, Ethelreda Nakimuli and Peter Jones talk about two new papers that gather the past 5 years of work on the pandemic and mental health and policy approaches. They talk about the different effects of the pandemic on different groups' mental health, how mental hea...

Ilaria Costantini and Francesca Solmi on young people’s body dissatisfaction and mental health 10.12.2025 37min

Body dissatisfaction has been rising among adolescents in recent years, and so have symptoms and diagnoses of mental disorders. To help us know what to do about increasing youth mental ill health, we need better understandings of what is driving it, but causal factors are hard to pin down. In this episode, Ilaria Costantini and Francesca Solmi talk about their new study that uses a longitudinal twin study to disentangle the genetic and environmental factors in the associations between a...

Melissa DelBello on metformin for youth with bipolar disorder 11.11.2025 31min

Weight gain is a typical side-effect of taking antipsychotics and can have a big impact on people. But for young people with bipolar disorder, metformin isn't commonly prescribed alongside an antipsychotic. In this episode, Melissa DelBello describes a huge randomised trial in the USA on metformin for young people with bipolar disorder taking antipsychotics, looking at its effects over a 2-year period. Click here to read the full article: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanpsy/article/PIIS...

Camilla Rosan on the COS-P perinatal mental health intervention 07.10.2025 34min

Up to 1 in 4 women and birthing parents experience perinatal mental health difficulties, but there isn't enough evidence around interventions that could help them, especially interventions that work with the parent-infant bond or that focus on a broad range of mental health difficulties rather than specific disorders. Camilla Rosan talks about what's needed in perinatal mental health services, and tells us about the trial she just led on Circle of Security-Parenting (COS-P), a group int...

Juan Carlos Bazo Alvarez and Claudia Cooper on antipsychotics and dementia 16.09.2025 29min

People living with dementia often have behavioural and psychiatric symptoms, such as agitation, and when these are severe, antipsychotics can be prescribed. Guidelines recommend prescribing antipsychotics at the lowest possible dose for the shortest possible time, but does this really happen in practice? Juan Carlos Bazo Alvarez and Claudia Cooper's research team looked at primary care data from the UK, to assess prescribing practice, and found that prescriptions are higher and for long...

Kasia Machaczek, Scott Teasdale, and Joe Firth on lifestyle interventions 12.08.2025 34min

Why is physical health so important for people with mental illness? In this episode, we talk about a new paper on lifestyle interventions for people with mental illness, covering which aspects of those interventions are beneficial for physical and mental health, and looking at key recommendations for how to implement these interventions in mental health settings. Kasia Machaczek, Scott Teasdale, and Joe Firth talk about their new paper on this topic, which extends the work of a 2019 Lan...

Louise Glenthøj, Ditte Lammers, and Vibeke Andersen on virtual reality-based therapy for auditory hallucinations 03.07.2025 40min

What if you could see the voice inside your head? Auditory hallucinations in schizophrenia are often distressing, as the voices are often malicious and unrelenting. In a new type of immersive virtual reality-based therapy, a 3D avatar of the voice is built by the patient and therapist, and it is then confronted together during the sessions. In this podcast, we discuss the randomised controlled trial of a large study into this VR therapy, and we hear from one of the participants in...

Katrina Kennedy and Rose Pollard Kaptchuk on health-care responses for trans and gender diverse people after interpersonal violence 04.06.2025 33min

Transgender and gender diverse people experience disproportionately high levels of interpersonal violence, but they also face multiple barriers to receiving quality post-violence care, with knock-on effects for their mental health. Katrina Kennedy and Rose Pollard Kaptchuk talk with Sophia Davis about the values and preferences of trans and gender diverse people around post-violence health sector responses. Their review on this topic will inform new WHO guidelines on the health of trans...

Andrea Iaboni on medications for anxiety in older adults 14.05.2025 31min

Which medications should be the first choice for prescribing for anxiety in older adults? Anxiety is common in older adults, but a lot of research on medication for anxiety is done in younger adults and doesn't take into account the different needs of and side-effects risks for older adults. Andrea Iaboni talks with Sophia Davis about her group's review of medications for anxiety in older adults, discussing the evidence base to inform patients and clinicians on antidepressants, benzodiazepin...

Philipp Klein on a digital intervention for borderline personality disorder 15.04.2025 39min

Sophia Davis, senior editor at The Lancet Psychiatry, discusses research on a new digital therapy for borderline personality disorder with Philipp Klein from the University of Lubeck, Germany. This episode delves into the core experiences of borderline personality disorder, the innovative schema therapy-based digital intervention, and the results from the new study. Learn about the effectiveness, safety, and potential of digital therapies to affect mental health treatment, and their pot...

Helene Speyer and Marte Ustrup on dissensus in lived experience research 06.03.2025 29min

Helene Speyer and Marte Ustrup talk with Sophia Davis about embracing dissensus in lived experience research. Read the full article: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanpsy/article/PIIS2215-0366(25)00003-3?dgcid=buzzsprout_icw_podcast_generic_lanpsy Continue this conversation on social! Follow us today at... https://thelancet.bsky.social/ https://instagram.com/thelancetgroup https://facebook.com/thelancetmedicaljournal https://linkedIn.com/company/the-lancet https://youtube.com/thelancettv

Peter Fonagy on mentalisation-based treatment for antisocial personality disorder 18.02.2025 36min

Peter Fonagy talks with Sophia Davis about a trial of mentalization-based treatment for antisocial personality disorder in men on community probation. Read the full article: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanpsy/article/PIIS2215-0366(24)00445-0/fulltext?dgcid=buzzsprout_icw_podcast_generic_lanpsy Continue this conversation on social! Follow us today at... https://thelancet.bsky.social/ https://instagram.com/thelancetgroup https://facebook.com/thelancetmedicaljournal https://linkedIn.com/c...

Mikkel Højlund on antipsychotics polypharmacy 12.11.2024 21min

Sophia Davis talks to Mikkel Højlund about research into the prevalence and outcomes of antipsychotics polypharmacy. Continue this conversation on social! Follow us today at... https://thelancet.bsky.social/ https://instagram.com/thelancetgroup https://facebook.com/thelancetmedicaljournal https://linkedIn.com/company/the-lancet https://youtube.com/thelancettv

Nguyen Tran and David Kinitz on conversion practices and mental health 30.09.2024 43min

Nguyen Tran and David Kinitz talk with Sophia Davis about conversion practices for people of sexual and gender minorities and their mental health. Read the full article: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanpsy/article/PIIS2215-0366(24)00251-7/fulltext?dgcid=buzzsprout_icw_podcast_generic_lanpsy Continue this conversation on social! Follow us today at... https://thelancet.bsky.social/ https://instagram.com/thelancetgroup https://facebook.com/thelancetmedicaljournal https://linkedIn.com/comp...

Marco Solmi, Manish Sood, and Nicholas Fabiano on eating disorders and electrolyte abnormalities 17.09.2024 33min

Marco Solmi, Manish Sood, and Nicholas Fabiano join Sophia Davis to discuss electrolyte abnormalities in people with eating disorders and their association with physical health outcomes and mortality. Read the full article: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanpsy/article/PIIS2215-0366(24)00244-X/fulltext?dgcid=buzzsprout_icw_podcast_generic_lanpsy Continue this conversation on social! Follow us today at... https://thelancet.bsky.social/ https://instagram.com/thelancetgroup https://facebook...

Frank Padberg and Stephan Goerigk on child maltreatment and psychotherapy 13.08.2024 35min

Frank Padberg and Stephan Goerigk join Sophia Davis to discuss the effects of child maltreatment on psychotherapy for depression. Read the full article: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanpsy/article/PIIS2215-0366(24)00209-8/fulltext?dgcid=buzzsprout_icw_podcast_generic_lanpsy Continue this conversation on social! Follow us today at... https://thelancet.bsky.social/ https://instagram.com/thelancetgroup https://facebook.com/thelancetmedicaljournal https://linkedIn.com/company/the-lancet ht...