Lively Minds, the UK Mental Health Podcast Ellie Page & Will Sadler

Australia’s nominee for the Hans Christian Andersen Award 2024, Matt Ottley, talks to us about his new work The Tree of Ecstasy and Unbearable Sadness, which explores experiences of bipolar and psychosis through art, word and music. 

Matt Ottley is an internationally acclaimed and multiple award-winning neurodiverse artist, author and composer from Australia, with more than forty picture books to his name.

You can find out more about The Tree of Ecstasy and Unbearable Sadness by following these links


Matt Ottley’s website
Publisher: One Tentacle’s website

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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 website anyamedia.net/livelyminds

“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 clicking here

He will also be interviewed on an upcoming episode of the Endings podcast, which you can find here.

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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 website anyamedia.net/livelyminds

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 Dream Together, 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.

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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 website anyamedia.net/livelyminds

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 

Link to the Unsafe Spaces report

Link to the investigation by the Daily Express

Link to 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/

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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 website anyamedia.net/livelyminds

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
More information about the Feeble Minded Control Bill (which became the Mental Deficiency Act 1913) Follow @livelymindspod on X, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and more at https://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 website anyamedia.net/livelyminds

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 the OCD Stories podcast, Ellie and Will chat to Matthew Antonelli from the IOCDF, 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 OCD Stories PodcastThe IOCDF’s response to articles that appeared in the New York Post
Follow @livelymindspod on X, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and more at https://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 website anyamedia.net/livelyminds