Lively Minds, the UK Mental Health Podcast
Lively Minds is a monthly podcast about mental health challenges that go beyond everyday ups and downs. Hosted by people with lived experience, it explores how understanding our mental health shapes the way we cope with difficulties. New episodes arrive on the first Friday of each month. More info is available at anyamedia.net/livelyminds.
Episodes
S3E21 - The mental health of Green and Blue Spaces, with Ellie
It's easy to assume that proximity to greenery or stretches of water (rivers, lakes, the sea) is good for your mental health.... Not so fast... Ellie dismantles some of Will's assumptions in this episode!They discuss Ellie's new PhD at the University of Cumbria, funded through an NIHR-supported Mental Health Leaders Award focused on mental health inequalities in Cumbria.Ellie’s research explores h
S3E22 – Speaking publicly about your mental health, with Kema Sikazwe (Rerun)
We are pleased to announce that we plan to start new episodes of Lively Minds again from next month!In the meantime, here is a re-run of another of our favourite episodes - this time from August 2023.Kema Sikawe recently appeared in a BBC 3 documentary: Therapy: Tough Talking in which he gives viewers a front-row seat at a series of therapy sessions where he opens up and discusses his mental healt
S3E21 - Learning Disability and Mental Health, with Paul Wilshaw (Re-Run)
Hello everyone, it’s Will here. We are still in the process of resuming normal service, but we’re aware that today is the first Friday of the month so we’d ordinarily be releasing a new episode.We are really pleased we managed to get out 2 new episodes over the past couple of months; this month we are taking another dive into our archives and re-playing a conversation that Ellie and I had with Pau
S3E20 - Will discusses how he is processing his sudden cancer diagnosis
In late November 2025, Will was told that what was thought to be a lingering infection was in fact advanced testicular cancer.Within about 36 hours of being rediagnosed he had been admitted to hospital and was starting an intensive 12-week BEP chemotherapy regimen.Will describes shock, dream-like dissociation, fear of death, and the balance between trying to feel positive, hopeful and grateful for
S3E19 - Random Acts of Crochet Kindness, with Olivia Dieterich
Hosts Will and Ellie interview therapist and crocheter Olivia Dieterich about her book Random Acts of Crochet Kindness and the global movement she founded.After losing a friend, Natalie, to suicide, Olivia used crochet to cope with grief and set a 100-day challenge to crochet a flower each day and leave it for strangers with a note inviting them to take it home, sparking the hashtag.During lockdow
S3E18 - Update + Illustrating Bipolar, with Matt Ottley (Re-Run)
Hello everyone, it’s Will here.As you know, Ellie and I have had to take a break from the podcast due to some ongoing health issues. We are still hoping to bring you new episodes in late Spring or Summer 2026 but in the meantime, we thought we’d go back through our archives and bring you some of our favourite episodes from the 3 years we’ve been doing the show.And so, here is an episode from May 2
See you in 2026!
Hello everyone, it’s Ellie here.Thank you so much to all of you for following our podcast over the last few years. It has meant the world to us, and we’ve loved every part of the podcasting process so far.Unfortunately, due to various health issues, we are going to take a slightly-longer-than-planned break from recording new Lively Minds episodes. We hope to return to your ears for a new season so
S3E17 - Putting a patient-centred approach into practice, with Dr Alex Curmi
What is a 'patient-centred approach'? What systemic challenges get in the way of making it a reality?What does the biopsychosocial model tell us about how to choose the best pathways for treatment?Alex Curmi, a consultant psychiatrist and trainee psychotherapist from The Thinking Mind Podcast discusses how he helps clients determine the best treatment plans based on a multitude of factors.He elabo
S3E16 - How do we avoid overdiagnosis whilst respecting people’s experiences? With Dr Elspeth Davies and Dr Helen Salisbury
In this episode we are joined by Dr. Elspeth Davies, a medical anthropologist from the University of Oxford, and Dr. Helen Salisbury, a GP and BMJ columnist, about their BMJ article: How do we talk about overdiagnosis of mental health conditions without dismissing people’s suffering?Our discussion explores the fine line between validating patients' experiences and the potential harms of unnecessar
S3E15 - School and Mental Health, with Caro Giles
In this episode we are joined by author: Caro Giles to talk about school and mental health.Caro has worked as a teacher across the education sector. She is winner of the inaugural BBC Countryfile New Writer Award, author of Twelve Moons, published by Harper North and writes a regular monthly column for Psychologies Magazine. Her latest book - Unschooled - published by Little Toller Books, is a mem
S3E14 - High Functioning Depression, with Dr Judith Joseph
Depression isn’t just about a presence of sadness, it’s also about an absence of happiness. And whilst ceasing to function is a long-understood symptom of Depression, those that cope by never stopping aren’t necessarily in any less need of help. In this episode of Lively Minds we discuss High Functioning Depression with Dr. Judith Joseph, a board-certified psychiatrist and researcher. Dr. Joseph,
S3E13 - The evolutionary basis for anxiety, with Professor Melissa Bateson
Professor Melissa Bateson, an expert in ethology, explains the biological functions of anxiety, its evolutionary importance, and how it prepares humans and animals to detect and respond to threats.The conversation covers the smoke detector principle, the optimal threshold for anxiety responses, and the potential impact of modern environments on anxiety levels.The episode also delves into how under
S3E12 - Antidepressants, with Dr Alex Curmi
We take a deep dive into SSRIs (Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors), which is the most commonly prescribed form of antidepressant in the UK. We discuss with Consultant Psychiatrist: Dr Alex Curmi what we know about the effectiveness of SSRIs, what we don't, and why there is so much debate about their use.Check out the Thinking Mind Podcast by searching for it wherever you get your podcasts.Or
Sorry for the delay
Sorry for the delayOur content does not constitute medical advice and should not be considered a replacement for seeking professional support. Signposting to resources can be found on our website livelymindspod.comPlease subscribe wherever you get your podcasts by searching Lively Minds in your favourite podcast app.Please consider leaving us a rating or review, it really helps others to find the
S3E11 - Rethinking Happiness Part 2, with Professor Mark Fabian
What does it mean to live a happy life? Can happiness be more than just feeling good? And how might ideas like meaning, community, and values help us rethink wellbeing?In this second of a two part series, hosts Will and Ellie are joined by Dr Mark Fabian, Associate Professor of Public Policy at the University of Warwick and author of Beyond Happy. They explore happiness as something more complex t
S3E10 - Rethinking Happiness, Part 1 - with Professor William Tov
What is happiness? How does it change across cultures? How might notions of happiness change for people with mental health challenges? What does it mean to live a “happy life”?In this first of a two part series, we revisit an interview from May 2023 with Professor William Tov of Singapore Management University. We discuss the broad and varied definitions of happiness, cultural differences in how h
S3E9 - Collective Care, with Charlie Fitz and Miss Jacqui
In this episode of 'Lively Minds,' Ellie discusses the importance of collective care and mental health through a conversation with artists: Charlie Fitz and Miss Jackie.They explore how their artist collective, Triad, created during the Covid pandemic, became a vital support system for their well-being.The shared experiences of disability and creativity fostered a unique bond among them, providing
S3E8 - Understanding self-harm, with Naomi Salisbury
What is self-harm? Why can it be so uncomfortable to talk about? How do we best support those who self-harm?In this episode of Lively Minds, hosts Ellie and Will explore self-harm with Naomi Salisbury, a consultant and former CEO of Self Injury Support. They discuss the varied reasons behind self-harm, its misconceptions, and the importance of compassion and harm minimisation.Naomi shares insights
S3E7 - The shift to online peer support, with Ellie
Ellie's just had a research paper published!In today's episode we discuss how can we learn from the impact that COVID-19 had on mental health peer support groups being forced to transition to online formats? Ellie shares insights from her research conducted at the University of Liverpool, focusing on the experiences of Hearing Voices Network facilitators.Key themes include the rapid shift to Zoom,
S3E6 - Why is North East England so mentally unwell? With Alisdair Cameron
North East England has the highest per capita use of antidepressant use in England and Wales and has had the highest suicide rate in England for 3 out of the past 4 years.We are joined by Alasdair Cameron, co-director of Newcastle-based independent mental health charity ReCoco, to explore why.We explore regional socio-economic factors impacting mental well-being, the inflexibility in mental health
S3E5 - Art and mental health, with Doll
How can art be used as a therepeutic tool to navigate types of grief that go beyond death and bereavement? This is just one of the questions covered in our conversation with Doll - an artist, who shares their story of using their artistic practice to navigate their mental health experience.Discussing their eclectic artistic practices—from sketchbooks to sculpture and crochet—Doll elaborates on how
S3E4 - Our ingredients for good mental health, with Will and Ellie
Will and Ellie - co-hosts of the Lively Minds mental health podcast, discuss what their ingredients are for good mental health.Follow @livelymindspod on X, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and more at https://www.bio.link/livelymindsPlease 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 signpos
S3E3 - The impact of separation for care-experienced children, with Ciara McClelland
How might the impact of detachment from their mother and birth family affect care-experienced children and young people's behaviour and relationships? And how can we support care-experienced children and young people to process their feelings? We welcome back to the podcast Ciara McLelland, who specialises in working with children and families impacted by adverse childhood experiences, to find out
S3E2 - Mindfulness, with Dr Afrosa Ahmed
What is mindfulness? What's the difference between mindfulness and doing things 'mindfully'? What does evidence about the positive impact of mindfulness tell us about the origins of our mental health struggles?We'll be discussing these topics with Dr Afrosa Ahmed, who has just written a book: "Mindful Healing, 5 Simple Steps to Transform your Life" published by Michael O'Mara Books.A practising GP
S3E1 - The film & TV industry and mental health, with Rupert Jones-Lee
In 2022, a survey revealed that only 11% of people working in the UK’s film and TV sectors considered the industry to be a mentally healthy place to work.As the latest iteration of the “Looking Glass” survey is launched, we speak with Rupert Jones-Lee, Head of Research and Impact at the Film & TV Charity, about the mental health challenges faced by those in the film and TV industry.We talk abo
Why we are changing our schedule to once per month ...
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 will be released
S2E8 - Illustrating Bipolar, through pictures, words and music, with Matt Ottley
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 h
S2E7 - Funerals and mental health, with Andy Jones
“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
S2E6 - What is dramatherapy? with Ciara McClelland
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,
S2E5 - Uncovering unregulated therapy in the UK, with Phil Doré and Amanda Williamson
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 Sen
S2E4 - Arts activism and mental health, with Vici Wreford-Sinnott
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
S2E3 - Tackling misinformation about OCD, with Matthew Antonelli and Stuart Ralph
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 sometim
Podcast Update
A podcast update!Listen | Donate | Connectat www.anyamedia.net/livelymindsOur content does not constitute medical advice and should not be considered a replacement for seeking professional support. Signposting to resources can be found on our website livelymindspod.comPlease subscribe wherever you get your podcasts by searching Lively Minds in your favourite podcast app.Please consider leaving us
S2E2 - Learning Disability and Mental Health, with Paul Wilshaw
Why is mental health and learning disability so often confused? How do they interact? Why are learning disabled people more likely to experience mental health problems than the general population?In this episode, we will be talking to Paul Wilshaw, who is Associate Producer at https://www.mind-the-gap.org.uk/. As well as being an advocate for Mind the Gap, Paul uses his own lived experience to be
S2E1 - What is 'Pure O' OCD? With Stuart Ralph
Welcome to the first episode of SEASON 2 of Lively Minds!In this episode, we will be talking to Stuart Ralph who featured in what is currently our most popular episode of season 1, exploring OCD: Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.Stuart is a counsellor and psychotherapist for children and young people, who has lived experience of OCD, is the co-founder of the Integrative Centre for OCD Therapy and hos
S1E22 - Mental Health Hospital - (MORE of) your questions answered! (part 2)
We asked for your thoughts and questions, and you did not disappoint! Thank you to everyone who contacted us. In the second of our 2-parter, Ellie will respond to your questions about her experiences both working in and being admitted to mental health hospital. If you haven’t heard our three episode miniseries on mental health hospitals you may want to go back and listen to that before listening t
S1E21 - Mental Health Hospital: YOUR questions answered (part 1), with Ellie Page
We asked for your thoughts and questions, and you did not disappoint! Thank you to everyone who contacted us. In the first of another 2-parter, Ellie will respond to your questions about her experiences both working in and being admitted to mental health hospital. The questions were SO good, that we’ve had to spread Elllie’s responses over two episodes - and the second will land in your feeds next
S1E20 - Reconceptualising mental health through the social model of disability, with Vici Wreford-Sinnott
The social model of disability offers a radical alternative to the way we understand our mental health problems.Rather than focusing on health problems as deficits or diagnoses, the social model asks what structural barriers such as lack of mental health care, access, discrimination and exclusion (whether intentional or not) affect people’s wellbeing.The social model of disability still values the
S1E19 - What is Clinical Anxiety? With Karen Lowinger
What is clinical anxiety? And how does it differ from everyday anxiety?We are delighted to welcome back to the show Karen Lowinger, who is a clinical psychologist from Panama. For fourteen years now, Karen has been working with teenagers and adults going through anxiety disorders, mood disorders and borderline personality disorder.She last spoke to us about high functioning mental health problems,
S1E18 - Trauma and Neurodivergence, with Amanda Marples
What is the relationship between neurodivergence and trauma?In today’s episode we are chatting again to Amanda Marples, who is a writer, social worker and mentor with over twenty years experience in community mental health.She has written for numerous magazines, is the author of "The Healing Workbook" and operates a mentoring service for neurodivergent writers called Reconcile Creative.The last ti
S1E17 - Mental Health Hospital (Part 3), with Ellie Page
What are Ellie's hopes for the future of mental health hospitals in the UK?In the third and final part of this three part mini-series, Will chats to Ellie about her experiences of running creative workshops and events within mental health hospitals, how this differed from her time as an inpatient, and what her hopes are for the future of mental health hospitals.Follow us on X (formerly Twitter) an
S1E16 - Mental Health Hospital (Part 2), with Ellie Page
What is it like to be an inpatient on a mental health ward?In the second of this three part mini-series, Will shall be chatting to Ellie about her experiences of both being admitted to and working in mental health hospitals.In the UK, a mental health or ‘psychiatric’ hospital or ward refers to an inpatient healthcare setting which specialises in the treatment of people who are considered to be exp
S1E15 - Mental Health Hospital (Part 1), with Ellie Page
What is it like to be admitted to mental health hospital? What does it mean to be “sectioned”? Over the next three episodes, I will be chatting to Ellie about her experiences of both being admitted to and working in mental health hospitals.In the UK, a mental health or ‘psychiatric’ hospital or ward refers to an inpatient healthcare setting which specialises in the treatment of people who are cons
S1E14 - Trauma, with Amanda Marples
What is trauma?In today’s episode we are chatting to Amanda Marples, who is a writer, social worker and mentor with over twenty years experience in community mental health. We will be discussing her new book: "The Healing Workbook". Published by Summersdale, this guide is designed to help people understand and deal with trauma.For more information on the DSM definition of PTSD (Post Traumatic Stre
S1E13 - Disability and mental health, with Professor Tom Shakespeare
Are mental health problems a ‘disability’?We chat with Professor Tom Shakespeare about the relationship between concepts of disability and mental health. Tom is Professor of Disability Research at London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. He has taught and researched at the universities of Sunderland, Leeds, Newcastle and East Anglia, worked for the World Health Organisation, and authored se
S1E12 - Speaking publicly about your mental health, with Kema Sikazwe
Kema Sikawe recently appeared in a BBC 3 documentary: Therapy: Tough Talking in which he gives viewers a front-row seat at a series of therapy sessions where he opens up and discusses his mental health challenges. Kema, who is also known as Kema Kay, is a musician, actor and broadcaster based in Newcastle. In this episode we talk with Kema about the pros and cons of talking publicly about your men
S1E11 - Decolonising mental health, with Dr Arya Thampuran
In a world dominated by Western approaches to psychiatric health, what does the non-Western world offer in terms of alternative interpretations of our mental health experiences?In today’s episode we are talking to Dr. Arya Thampuran, a researcher from Durham University in the UK, about her work focusing on how creative practitioners in African diasporic contexts express distress and healing in way
S1E10 - Avoiding anxious situations
Is it OK to avoid everyday situations that make us anxious? Or should we always find a way to cope?For people with mental health problems, this question is particularly relevant. It may be that fears around a particular situation are linked to trauma, generalised anxiety or compulsive behaviours. No matter how much we rationalise that such fears are unfounded, we find it near impossible to allay t
S1E9 - Comedy and mental health, with Hal Branson
Why do so many stand up comedians have mental health problems??In this episode, we chat with Hal Branson about the connection between stand-up comedy and mental health. Hal is a comedian and live comedy co-ordinator who has worked in the industry for over 12 years. He has a diagnosis of bipolar disorder and his comedy has been inextricably linked with his mental health, both in the content of his
S1E8 (Bonus) Podcast Update!
Wondering where this week's episode of Lively Minds is?Here's a podcast update!Follow us on Twitter and more at https://www.bio.link/livelymindsFind out more about our show at https://www.anyamedia.net/livelymindsOur content does not constitute medical advice and should not be considered a replacement for seeking professional support. Signposting to resources can be found on our website livelymind
S1E8 - Ellie and Will reflect on the show so far
On this episode of Lively Minds, the Mental Health Podcast, Ellie and Will reflect on their most memorable moments from the conversations so far and discuss why they resonate.If you haven’t heard some of the episodes we discuss, don’t worry, we’ll provide enough context for it to make sense. We’ll also mention the episode numbers so you can go back and listen if you’d like to!Follow us on Twitter
S1E7 - Faith, Feminism and Mental Health, with Rabbi Robyn Ashworth-Steen
Rabbi Robyn Ashworth-Steen talks to us about how her feminism, spirituality and career in social justice have intersected with her mental health.We discuss the possibility of redefining our community-centred identities as well as what we might learn from those who have gone before us. Follow us on Twitter and more at https://www.bio.link/livelymindsFind out more about our show at https://www.anyam
S1E6 - What is happiness? With Professor William Tov
It turns out that there is no one way to measure 'happiness' and what it actually means depends a lot on where we live in the world.In today's episode we'll be talking with William Tov who is Associate Professor of Psychology at Singapore Management University.Arguably, everyone wants to be happy - and people who experience mental health problems may find this more challenging than most. But what
S1E5 - High functioning mental health problems, with Karen Lowinger
Just because you can go about your day-to-day life doesn't necessarily mean that everything is OK. Welcome to the world of "high functioning mental health problems"In this week’s episode of Lively Minds, we speak with Panama-based Pyschologist Karen Lowinger.Will came across Karen when he stumbled upon an article she wrote for online publication: the Mighty, called "When you are too functional to
S1E4 - Men's mental health groups, with Jake Dunn
Speaking during men's mental health week 2022, mental health advocate Jake Dunn discusses his own mental health story, his involvement with men's mental health groups and what role volunteering and peer-support has in providing mental health care at a grassroots level.Male identity is different for everyone, and Will and Jake talk from the perspective of their own lived experiences about some of t
S1E3 - Does "mental illness" exist? With Dolly Sen
"We will label you. We will punish you. And this is true of women in Victorian times who were labelled as 'hysterical'. [In the UK] being Gay was a 'mental illness' until the 1970s"Artist, poet, writer, activist, filmmaker and professional mischief-maker: Dolly Sen, joins us to discuss her own experiences and career, and why she questions whether ‘mental illness’ even exists.We talk about the curr
S1E2 - Why is OCD so misunderstood? With Stuart Ralph
Will and Ellie chat to therapist and fellow podcaster: Stuart Ralph about what is perhaps one of the most misunderstood of all mental health conditions: OCD or Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.Often misrepresented in popular culture as a ‘personality quirk’, OCD is in fact a potentially debilitating illness in which the sufferer feels compelled to reduce the anxiety caused by 'intrusive thoughts' thr
S1E1 - What is Mental Health?
In episode 1 of our brand new series: Lively Minds: the mental health podcast, Ellie and Will ask 'what is mental health?'Drawing on their own personal and professional experience, they discuss how they frame and understand their own mental health challenges, the pros and cons of diagnostic labels, the difference between mental 'wellbeing' and mental 'health' and the problem with the prevalent 'se
Trailer, Season 1
Led by people with lived experience, Lively Minds is a UK-based podcast about mental health challenges that go beyond the ebb and flow of the everyday.Hosts: Ellie Page and Will Sadler present a show that is less about how we deal with our mental health problems, and more about how we understand them in the first place.In our first season, we will be talking with Clinical Psychologist Karen Lowing
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