The Bethlem Royal Hospital was founded in the 13th century and still provides mental health care today. In 1930, it moved to its contemporary setting in Beckenham and new practices were introduced such as making spaces for patients to create art. One of the legacies of this approach is today’s Bethlem Gallery, a space in […]
Join the Wellcome Collection in the first of two discussion events exploring issues in the contemporary mental health system. These ‘Shrink Radio’ conversations will be curated byRe:Create Psychiatry, a service-user-led exploratory platform based at the Dragon Café, which brings together people with lived experience of mental ill-health and medical professionals to stimulate dialogue and collaboration. […]
Over the past few decades, an increasing amount of research has highlighted the links between the built environment and mental health. On one hand, the built environment is often seen as a significant source of mental distress, while on the other, thoughtfully designed spaces and places destined for mental health care are central for positive […]
In this talk, Professor Gwen Adshead will discuss what happens when the minds change, drawing on evidence from neuroscience and research into psychological therapy. She will discuss mentalisation: the process whereby humans learn to read others intentions, and explore how that can fail. Professor Adshead will discuss research into mindfulness practice, and the implications for mental development. […]
What makes some people more susceptible to mental health conditions? A recent revolution in our genetic understanding of illnesses like schizophrenia and autism has produced some surprising insights. Join us to discover how new research in neuroscience could lead to better treatments and a more realistic view of mental health. Dr Liz Tunbridge is a […]
What happens when people change their minds? In this lecture, forensic psychiatrist Professor Gwen Adshead will offer a historical perspective on changing minds, starting with a discussion of the role of medicine in changing minds. She will discuss the move from changing behaviour to changing thinking, and changing stories; and how modern mental health services […]
Mental Health (MH) issues have a vast range of impacts for those affected, their relationships and the economy. Economically, MH costs the UK £100 billion a year and clearly this is unsustainable. The professional views in MH are conflicting and confusing in terms of causality, diagnosis, prognosis and treatment and many professionals are calling for […]
Sarah Gaunt finds out why the elderly are taking to tablets (the computing variety)
Ureaplasma, normally a resident of the urinary tract, has been discovered to be causing devastating problems for some organ transplant patients
A talk on the history of the encounter between Reason and Unreason, taking a look at the ways cultures responded to the seemingly irrational, psychotic, and insane.
Writer, producer, and psychodynamic psychotherapist, Annie MacDonald, presents an intriguing case study. Eight years ago, a young man in his mid-thirties began coming to see me for weekly therapy…
Even simple tasks like leaving the house can be arduous for OCD-sufferers. But misuse of the label can have negative effects, argues Chrissie Clark…
Imperial College hosted this evening of top performance poets reciting verse on mental health. Each performer had either suffered mental health problems or been affected by the suffering of someone close …
The emotions associated with a young child’s attachment to a parent could be reprogrammed by treating parts of the brain like a computer. Professor Abbas Edalat from Imperial College’s Department of Computing is using John Bowlby’s attachment theory to find new methods of therapy that help to repair psychological damage suffered during upbringing. Professor Edalat set […]
Loneliness – is it all in the mind? According to a recent paper co-authored by Dr Bahador Bahrami at UCL’s Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience; the answer is yes. Max Sanderson caught up with …
It’s a Saturday night in Los Angeles and the University of South California’s Galen Centre is completely sold out. Over 10,000 excited fans have packed out the sports arena. Each has paid at least $30 to watch two teams battle it out in the championship final. The play-offs were thrilling, but this match is for […]
A sad soul kills you quicker than a germ. The science behind the healing power of the mind. The mind is its own place, and in itself Can make a heaven of Hell, a hell of Heaven. – John Milton, Paradise Lost Neuro-psycho-biology is the lengthy name awarded to the up and coming field of […]
In the first of our radio packages I take a closer look at the claim that poetry can be therapeutic. Many famous poets have been through mental illness. One poet who wrote extensively about his experiences was John Clare, England’s greatest nature poet. He even believed that poetry could be healing. But you don’t have to […]
The extended version of the Poetry is Madness event at Imperial College …