The Thinking Mind Podcast: Psychiatry & Psychotherapy

Епизоде

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  E188 | Why The 70Up Documentary Feels Like Years of Therapy 18.09.2026 28мин

  Why does watching the 70 Up documentary feel like years of therapy? Watching lives unfold over six decades can make you reconsider your own: what you’re chasing, what you’re postponing and what really matters. In this episode Dr. Alex explores ITV’s 70 Up from his perspective as a psychiatrist and therapist. Through the participants’ ambitions, relationships, disappointments and everyday joys, we examine four uncomfortable questions: • Why don’t we always prioritise what matters most? • How m...
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  E187 | Can Psychiatrists Predict the Unthinkable? | The Lindsay Clancy Case 11.09.2026 29мин

  The Lindsay Clancy case has prompted an enormous debate about postpartum psychosis, criminal responsibility, psychiatric treatment and whether severe mental illness can ever be reliably predicted. In this episode Dr. Alex examines the case not to deliver a verdict on Lindsay Clancy, but to explore what it reveals about the realities and limitations of psychiatry. The episode looks at Lindsay Clancy’s psychiatric deterioration after the birth of her third child, her treatment for anxiety, depr...
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  How AI Shapes Our Beliefs (Key Moment w/ Dr. Tom Pollak) 04.09.2026 12мин

  How do you arrive at your beliefs? In this clip from E182 of the podcast, Dr Alex speaks with consultant neuropsychiatrist Dr Tom Pollack about what AI-associated delusions may reveal about human belief itself. Rather than treating belief as something purely rational (a simple matter of evidence, logic or facts) they explore how beliefs are also shaped by emotion, meaning, charisma, relationships and narrative. They also discuss how psychiatry should adapt to the arrival of this revolutionary...
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  Update on Channel 4's: The Great ADHD Myth? 27.08.2026 8мин

  In this update to last week’s episode, Dr Alex reflects on the response to Channel 4’s The Great ADHD Myth? and on an important new development. He also discusses what that means for the documentary, the wider ADHD debate, and the importance of discussing complex mental health issues without stigma, contempt or oversimplification. Presented by Dr. Alex Curmi. Dr. Alex is a consultant psychiatrist and a UKCP registered psychotherapist. Website: alexcurmitherapy.com Check out The Thinki...
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  E186 | Channel 4’s New ADHD Documentary Missed a Huge Opportunity 21.08.2026 29мин

  In this episode of The Thinking Mind Podcast, Dr. Alex responds to Channel 4’s new documentary The Great ADHD Myth? Presented by psychiatrist Dr Max Pemberton, this film asks whether ADHD is really a neurodevelopmental disorder, and whether ADHD diagnosis and medication have gone too far. He discusses this documentary and examines where it raises important questions, and where its conclusions go beyond the evidence. The episode explores the evidence as to whether ADHD is a neurodeve...
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  E185 | How Psychiatry Became Fixated on Chemical Imbalance (w/ Prof. Justin Garson) 14.08.2026 1ч 2мин

  What if one of psychiatry’s most influential ideas began with LSD, amphetamines and a handful of experiments that would be difficult to imagine today? In this episode, Dr. Alex speaks with philosophy Professor Justin Garson about his new book, The Madness Pill: One Doctor’s Quest to Understand Schizophrenia. They explore the remarkable story of neuroscientist Solomon Snyder, whose work helped establish the dopamine hypothesis of schizophrenia and contributed to psychiatry’s shift towards a mo...
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  Why Tradwife Content Feels Dangerous (Key Moment w/ Dr. Rosy Blunstone) 06.08.2026 13мин

  Is being a tradwife really just about baking bread, homemaking and traditional femininity, or is there something deeper going on? This clip is an except from E181 of the Thinking Mind Podcast. In this episode, Dr Alex is joined by Dr Rosy Blunstone to explore the psychology of the tradwife phenomenon: why tradwife content has become so popular online, what it offers women psychologically, and why it may also be more complicated (and less traditional) than it first appears. This conversati...
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  Podcast Announcements & Housekeeping! 31.07.2026 3мин

  The Thinking Mind is taking a short break, but there is plenty happening behind the scenes. In this quick update, Dr Alex shares what listeners can catch up on now, what is coming next, and why the podcast is making a move towards YouTube. There are also new episodes on meditation, doing difficult things, schizophrenia and more already in the works. If you want to support the show like, comment and subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@thinkingmindpodcast Dr. Alex is a co...
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  What the Manosphere Gets Wrong About Evolutionary Psychology (Key Moment w/ Dr Paul Eastwick) 30.07.2026 10мин

  In this exceprt from E179 of the Thinking Mind Podcast, Dr Paul Eastwick explains the “EvoScript” — the popular version of evolutionary psychology that many people have absorbed from online dating advice, red pill content, the manosphere and social media. Dr Eastwick argues that while “mate value” can matter in first impressions, the idea that your romantic fate is determined by looks, height, money, status or fixed desirability is deeply misleading. Attraction is not just about static trait...
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  E184 | Thinking Films: Obsession (2026) 24.07.2026 34мин

  Can we really love another person, or only the version of them we have created in our minds? Today Dr Alex explores Obsession, directed by Curry Barker, a psychological horror film about desire, consent, fantasy and the darker side of romantic love. Using the film’s central premise (a young man wishes for the woman he loves to become completely devoted to him) Alex examines the difference between love and obsession, the dangers of projection and limerence, and why genuine intimacy depends on ...
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  E183 | Finding Your Life's Meaning (w/ Dr. Joel Vos) 17.07.2026 1ч 2мин

  This week Dr Alex speaks with psychologist and philosopher Dr Joel Vos about what it really means to live a meaningful life. They explore why modern culture can leave people feeling distracted, disconnected and overly focused on external goals, and how existential psychotherapy can help people reconnect with what matters most to them. The conversation also examines the relationship between meaning, mental health and radicalisation. Lastly, they discuss Transactional Analysis, and under discus...
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  Key Moment: What We Get Wrong About Depression (and Anti-Depressants) 15.07.2026 13мин

  This is an excerpt from E178 of the Thinking Mind Podcast. In this clip, Alex speaks with neuroscientist and author Dr Dean Burnett about whether depression should really be understood as a disease. They discuss the disease model of mental health, why depression is more complicated than a simple biological fault, and why mental health problems cannot always be treated in the same way as physical illnesses. Dean explains why calling depression a disease can sometimes help people take it serio...
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  E182 | Can AI Cause Psychosis? (w/ Dr. Tom Pollak) 10.07.2026 1ч

  Today Dr Alex speaks with consultant neuropsychiatrist and immunopsychiatry researcher Dr Tom Pollack about one of the strangest and most urgent questions emerging in mental health today: can AI chatbots contribute to delusions, psychosis, conspiracy thinking and changes in belief? They discuss the rise of so-called “AI psychosis” or AI-associated delusions, and how prolonged conversations with tools like ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini can sometimes drift into troubling territory. They also as...
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  Key Moment: How To Break the Habit of Negative Thinking 08.07.2026 7мин

  This is an excerpt from E175 of the Thinking Mind Podcast. In this episode, Alex is joined by Professor Kalina Christoff Hadjiilieva, Professor of Psychology at the University of British Columbia and one of the world’s leading researchers on the neuroscience of thought. We explore why our relationship with thought may be one of the most important factors in our wellbeing. Kalina explains why spontaneous thought — mind-wandering, daydreaming, creativity and even dreaming — is far more import...
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  E181 | Are Trad Wives Feminists? (w/ Dr. Rosy Blunstone) 03.07.2026 54мин

  Is being a tradwife really just about baking bread, homemaking and traditional femininity, or is there something deeper going on? In this episode, Dr Alex is joined by Dr Rosy Blunstone to explore the psychology of the tradwife phenomenon: why tradwife content has become so popular online, what it offers women psychologically, and why it may also be more complicated (and less traditional) than it first appears. This conversation examines whether tradwife culture is a harmless aesthetic, a gen...
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  Key Moment: The Three Faces of Self-Hate 01.07.2026 6мин

  This is an excerpt from: E177 - Why You Must Deal With Self-Hate. Low self-esteem doesn’t always look like insecurity. In this clip, Dr. Alex explains three patterns of low self-esteem and self-hate: becoming aggressive, becoming submissive, or becoming avoidant. Drawing on Karen Horney’s ideas in *Neurosis and Human Growth*, he explores how poor self-esteem can show up as narcissism, people-pleasing, dependency, cynicism, avoidance, difficulty with criticism, and trouble taking risks. Low ...
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  E180 | Thinking Films: Another Woman (1988) 25.06.2026 1ч 24мин

  In this episode of The Thinking Mind, Dr. Alex is joined by Michael Cohen and Jonathan Kirschner, hosts of That ’70s Movie Podcast, to discuss Woody Allen’s 1988 film Another Woman, starring Gena Rowlands, Ian Holm, Mia Farrow and Gene Hackman. Another Woman is a quiet but devastating psychological drama about Marion Post, a philosophy professor whose life begins to unravel when she overhears the therapy sessions of a younger pregnant woman. Dr Alex, Michael and Jonathan discuss why the...
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  Key Moment: How Dating Apps Break Male Confidence (LooksMaxxing Explained) 24.06.2026 15мин

  This is an excerpt from E174 about LooksMaxxing. Looksmaxxing has become one of the most talked-about trends among young men online — but what does it actually mean, and when does self-improvement become harmful? This conversation looks at the deeper psychological forces behind the looksmaxxing trend: fear of rejection, low self-esteem, the desire to become more attractive, the pressure to “ascend,” and the belief that changing your face or body will solve your dating life. We also ...
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  E179 | Why Attraction Isn't What You Think - Dr. Paul Eastwick 18.06.2026 1ч 7мин

  Dr. Paul Eastwick is a Professor at UC Davis where he runs the Attraction and Relationships Research Laboratory. Dr. Eastwick’s research investigates how people initiate romantic relationships and the psychological mechanisms that help romantic partners to remain committed and attached. He is one of the hosts of the Love Factually podcast. Today we discuss his 2026 book Bonded by Evolution - to explore the science of romantic attraction, dating, compatibility and long-term relationships...
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  Key Moment: Make Your Life a Work of Art (w/ Emmy Van Deurzen) 16.06.2026 17мин

  This is an excerpt from E172 of the Thinking Mind Podcast. Emmy van Deurzen, one of the leading figures in existential therapy in the UK and internationally. Emmy has over fifty years’ experience as a psychotherapist, has published more than thirty books, and was the first chair of the United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy when it was created in 1993. In this conversation, we discuss existential therapy, what it means to be truly free, how to face life’s difficulties without turning awa...