

All in the Mind
BBC Radio 4
The show on how we think, feel and behave. Claudia Hammond delves into the evidence on mental health, psychology and neuroscience.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Nov 11, 2014 • 28min
1:4 and Stigma; Emotional Brain Training; Clio Barnard
"One in Four" has been a prominent slogan in campaigns to reduce stigma and discrimination against people with mental health problems. But Clinical Psychologist Martin Seager tells Claudia Hammond why he believes saying 'one in four' people will experience mental illness in any one year actually increases prejudice, artificially separating our mental health from our physical health. The Director of Time to Change, Sue Baker, disagrees, and argues that this statistical campaign tool has helped to normalise mental illness and played an important part in changing public attitudes.Humans vary in their ability to "keep a cool head" in emotionally charged situations, and difficulty to regulating emotions is linked to many psychiatric disorders. Dr Tim Dalgliesh from the Medical Research Council's Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit at the University of Cambridge tells Claudia about new research which suggests our brains could, with practice, be trained to focus on the goal at hand, and not get diverted by overwhelming emotions.TV dramas, plays and films can be ruined when scriptwriters get the science wrong. The Wellcome Trust's first ever screenwriting fellowship is an attempt to give film makers the chance to immerse themselves in science and explore their interests with the country's top scientific brains. Award winning film maker Clio Barnard (The Arbor and The Selfish Giant) has spent a year trawling the Wellcome archives and meeting psychologists, psychiatrists and neuroscientists investigating memory, perception, hallucination and the impact of trauma: all themes which recur in her movies.Producer: Fiona Hill.

Nov 4, 2014 • 28min
Radicalisation; Bystander Effect; Recovery Letters
Claudia explores pioneering new research into radicalisation. She talks to Professor Kamaldeep Bhui who is doing research to try and prevent radicalisation in the early stages. His idea is, if we can understand what makes someone sympathetic to violence and terrorist actions then radicalisation can be stopped before it starts. He explains why vulnerability to radicalisation is linked to depression. Also in the programme, 50 years after a murder which spawned a whole new area of psychology. Did 38 people really watch the murder of Kitty Genovese and no one call the Police or help her? Claudia talks to author, Kevin Cook and psychologist, Rachel Manning about the misreporting of the case yet its continuing legacy for psychology in understanding why people do or don't help others. Claudia talks to James Withey, creator of the Recovery Letters, a website of letters from people who have been depressed to help those who are now.

Jun 24, 2014 • 28min
24/06/2014
Claudia Hammond hosts the All in the Mind Awards Ceremony from the Wellcome Collection in London, and meets all the finalists.

Jun 17, 2014 • 28min
17/06/2014
Claudia Hammond asks is autism underdiagnosed in girls? And this week's finalist in the All in the Mind awards is Dr Alan Barrett from Military Veterans.

Jun 10, 2014 • 28min
10/06/2014
Claudia Hammond meets two more finalists in the All in the Mind 25th anniversary awards.
She talks to a mother who's been nominated by her daughter with anorexia. For years she has tried to help her, staying up at night to check her pulse and as her daughter put it "even when I was a bag of bones, all pointy-edged and cold she'd sit and cuddle me". We hear why she feels she went way beyond her parental duties. Claudia also hears from the man who nominated Maytree, a sanctuary for the suicidal and the only place of its kind in the UK, about why Maytree saved his life. Also in the programme Professor Janet Treasure discusses new research on the so-called love hormone oxytocin and why it can disrupt the way that people with anorexia view food and body shape.

Jun 3, 2014 • 28min
03/06/2014
All in the Mind AwardsOne in Four is a support group for people who have been sexually abused as children. The group offers counselling and advocacy and is a finalist in the All in the Mind Awards.Sporting MemoriesClaudia discovers how remembering sporting events are an important way to trigger memories and we have a report from the Sporting Memories group in Haddington East Lothian.Therapists Dreaming
Professor of Psychology Clara Hill's research on therapists who dream about their clients.

May 27, 2014 • 28min
27/05/2014
Magician Chris Cox tricks Claudia Hammond's attention system and Professor Nilli Lavie explains what is happening in our brains when our visual system is overloaded; Claudia hears from Mike who nominated Pat in the professional category of the All in the Mind Mental Health Awards after she guided him through addiction and mental health problems lasting 15 years; and psychologist Guy Holmes discusses the difficulties of navigating professional boundaries.

May 20, 2014 • 28min
20/05/2014
Claudia Hammond hears from finalists, Andrew and his ex boss Steve in the All in the Mind awards and how Steve went the extra mile to help keep Andrew in a job. Also tips on how to help a friend or family member who has or you suspect has a mental health problem. Also why senior City executives are calling for urgent changes to mental health provision for workers in the Square Mile and beyond.

May 13, 2014 • 28min
13/05/2014
Why does one child become rebellious and another not? Claudia Hammond talks to Mark McDermott from the University of East London about new research into parenting and rebelliousness. She also hears from another shortlisted entry to the All in the Mind mental health awards. Plus, a scheme to fast track mental health social workers. Will this improve the image of the profession? Claudia Hammond reports on the new Think Ahead proposals.

May 6, 2014 • 28min
06/05/2014
Are mental health services in crisis? Claudia Hammond talks to Sue Bailey, president of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, about her fears that mental health is at a tipping point and could be heading towards its own Stafford Hospital style scandal. Martin McShane from NHS England and Minister for Care and Support, Norman Lamb, respond. Claudia talks to historian, Jay Winter about why he believes shell shock in World War One was hugely underdiagnosed. And she hears from Mindout, a support group for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in Brighton and a finalist in the All in the Mind mental health awards.


