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

Hi everyone, just a quick podcast update today.

Ellie and I have decided to reduce the frequency of Lively Minds to once a month. The main reason for this change is that, as you know, we produce the show in our spare time, and maintaining a fortnightly release schedule has become challenging alongside our other commitments.
We aren’t going anywhere! The next episode of Lively Minds, focusing on AI and mental health, will be released on the first Friday of July. Following that, new episodes will be published on the first Friday of each month.

We also hope that moving to a monthly schedule will allow us to dedicate more time to each episode. Those of you who have ventured into podcasting understand the constant balancing act between regularly releasing episodes and ensuring the content is high-quality.

We have some exciting ideas for future episode formats, including something we’re calling "voice notes." Ellie and I will exchange voice notes over several weeks or even months, gradually building a conversation around a specific topic. This approach, the idea for which came from the brilliant Podcraft podcast, allows each of us to respond thoughtfully and research before we reply.

I'm also eager to create episodes that blend previous interviews with new conversations to delve into specific themes. One idea is a show titled “The Figments of My Imagination Are Out to Get Me,” which will explore the evolutionary history of anxiety and why this essential human feeling can sometimes spiral out of control.

So, please keep listening, sharing, and telling others about the show. If you are able to, please donate to us at buymeacoffee.com/livelyminds. If you haven’t yet, please rate or review us on your podcast app—it really helps boost our visibility and motivates us to create new content.

Until July, bye for now.

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

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

“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.

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

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.

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

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/

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 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