The Thinking Mind Podcast: Psychiatry & Psychotherapy The Thinking Mind Podcast

The Gender Identity Development service was the only gender identity clinic for people under the age of 18 in England and Wales. Operating since 1989, it was closed on March 28 2024. In today's episode we speak to Marcus Evans, who was previously on the board of governors for the service.  Marcus was also one of the whistleblowers (along with his wife Sue Evans) responsible for bringing the clinic under judicial review.

Among other topics, today we discuss:
 - The series of events which led to the clinic's closure
 - The problem with the gender affirmative model of approaching gender dysphoria
 - Psychoanalytic perspectives on gender dysphoria
 - Best practices for approaching gender dysphoria
 - The influences of politics and culture on healthcare
 - The recently published Cass report which outlined problems with the service and which provided reccomendations as to how such a service should be run

Marucs Evans is a consultant psychotherapist with 40 years of experience in mental health as a practitioner, supervisor, lecturer, and manager, including at the Tavistock & Portman NHS Foundation Trust. He is a member of the British Psychoanalytical Society and the Institute of Psychoanalysis.

Interviewed by Dr Alex Curmi. Watch the full podcast on youtube:
https://youtu.be/kOCarWJL84A

If you would like to enquire about an online psychotherapy appointment with Dr. Alex, you can email - alexcurmitherapy@gmail.com.

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Mark L. Ruffalo, M.S.W., D.Psa., is a psychotherapist in private practice in Tampa, Florida, and serves as Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Central Florida College of Medicine and Adjunct Instructor of Psychiatry at Tufts University School of Medicine. He has broad clinical experience in the psychoanalytic treatment of mood disorders, personality disorders, and psychosomatic illness, and has particular interest in the psychotherapy of schizophrenia. He is also the editor-in-chief of the Carlat Psychotherapy report.

In today's episode we discuss borderline personality disorder, the most common symptoms and problems associated with the condition, how it is treated, the pros and cons of diagnosis and much more.

His article on "double binds" in borderline personality disorder can be found here:
https://www.psychiatrictimes.com/view/double-binds-in-borderline-communication

Interviewed by Dr Alex Curmi. Watch the full podcast on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UDGzku4PqNQ

If you would like to enquire about an online psychotherapy appointment with Dr. Alex, you can email - alexcurmitherapy@gmail.com.

Give feedback here - thinkingmindpodcast@gmail.com -  
Follow us here: Twitter @thinkingmindpod Instagram @thinkingmindpodcast

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Kat Brown is an author & journalist whose work on mental health stigma and other social and entertainment commentary has appeared in The Telegraph, The Times and The Guardian. Her first book, No One Talks About This Stuff, is an anthology sharing people’s untold experiences of infertility and baby loss. Her second book, It's Not A Bloody Trend: Understanding Life as an ADHD Adult, was published a month before her first, which is a ridiculousness she really enjoys.

Interviewed by Dr Alex Curmi. If you would like to enquire about an online psychotherapy appointment with Dr. Alex, you can email - alexcurmitherapy@gmail.com.

Give feedback here - thinkingmindpodcast@gmail.com -  
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Rose Cartwright is an author and screenwriter. She is the author of the 2015 book Pure about her experiences with OCD which subsequently became a Channel 4 television show with the same name. She is also a screenwriter and executive story editor on the upcoming Netflix sci-fi series Three Body Problem .

Her new book The Maps We Carry is out now https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-maps-we-carry/rose-cartwright/9780008591885.  

Watch this podcast on YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MyECqiNNj_4

In this episode Rose and Alex discuss her experiences including the pros and cons of the medical model, psychiatric diagnoses,  as well as Rose's experiences with meditation, psychedelics (such as psilocybin and MDMA) and trauma work.

Interviewed by Dr Alex Curmi. If you would like to enquire about an online psychotherapy appointment with Dr. Alex, you can email - alexcurmitherapy@gmail.com.

Give feedback here - thinkingmindpodcast@gmail.com -  
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Disclaimer: In this podcast we discuss self-experimentation with psychedelics, but we would strongly reccomend using medical supervision when using any kind of drug to manage your mental health.

Today we discuss prescription psychiatric medications as they are used for major mental health conditions such as depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and ADHD,  and we outline 8 principles as to how they can be used in a safe rational way.

See 13th edition of the Maudsley guidelines here: https://www.clinicaltoolkit.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/9781119442608.pdf

Audio-Essay by Dr. Alex Curmi. Dr. Curmi is a consultant general adult psychiatrist with a sub-speciality in addictions who completed his training in the South London and Maudsley NHS foundation trust. In addition to general adult psychiatry he is a UKCP registered training psychotherapist.


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Follow us here: Twitter @thinkingmindpod Instagram @thinkingmindpodcast
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If you would like to enquire about an online psychotherapy appointment with Dr. Alex, you can email - alexcurmitherapy@gmail.com

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Robin Ince is a comedian, author, broadcaster and a populariser of scientific ideas. He is best known as the co-host of the BBC Radio 4 series The Infinite Monkey Cage with Professor Brian Cox. He also co-hosts the podcast Book Shambles with Josie Long, An Uncanny Hour and Science Shambles with Dr Helen Czerski, all three of which are a part of The Cosmic Shambles Network. His most recent books are I'm a Joke and So Are You, The Importance of Being Interested – Adventures in Scientific Curiosity, and Bibliomaniac: An Obsessive’s Tour of the Bookshops of Britain.

Interviewed by Dr. Anya Borissova and Dr. Alex Curmi - Give feedback here - thinkingmindpodcast@gmail.com Follow us here: Twitter @thinkingmindpod Instagram @thinkingmindpodcast

If you would like to enquire about an online psychotherapy appointment with Dr. Alex, you can email - alexcurmitherapy@gmail.com

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SUPPORT: buymeacoffee.com/thinkingmind