Myira Khan, founder of the Muslim Counsellor and Psychotherapist Network, joins Kadra and Alethea from Centre for Mental Health to discuss the mental health challenges facing racialised communities, particularly Muslim communities. Myira shares pertinent insights from her own practice about the need for a more representative workforce, and the barriers that stigma and language can create for people seeking mental health support. 

View the full transcript and show notes: https://www.centreformentalhealth.org.uk/blogs/podcast-myira-khan

Enjoy the podcast? We always like to hear from you - contact us at website@centreformentalhealth.org.uk
For more information or to support our work, visit our website at www.centreformentalhealth.org.uk

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Myira Khan: culturally informed approaches

Marsha McAdam, mental health ambassador, speaks to Thea Joshi about being diagnosed with borderline personality disorder. We talked about using her experience of mental health difficulties to create meaningful changes in services, and how those of us living with mental health difficulties can 'bring our whole selves' to work. 

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View the full transcript and show notes: https://www.centreformentalhealth.org.uk/blogs/podcast-marsha-mcadam

Marsha McAdam: Speaking up with borderline personality disorder

Dr Amy Pollard joins Thea Joshi to talk about her new role as the Centre's writer in residence, explaining how she has drawn on painful lived experience to distil ideas which can be shared with others. Amy's first piece as our Writer in Residence focuses on loneliness in mental health, putting it in the context of the Enlightenment, and they discuss how the Enlightenment has shaped our thinking about concepts such as rationality and 'madness'.

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View the full transcript and show notes: https://www.centreformentalhealth.org.uk/blogs/podcast-amy-pollard

Amy Pollard: Field notes on bipolar and the Enlightenment

This episode, we hear from Alex Augustine, one of the Centre’s peer researchers, on what genuine peer involvement and coproduction should look like. He shares his own journey to working for the Centre, how his own experience shapes the way he works, and the corrosive impact racism is having on the mental health of Black men. Alex also highlights the urgent need for organisations to put lived experience centre-stage, and for commissioners to fund community and grassroots organisations who can best meet the needs of people in the Black community.

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View the full transcript and show notes: https://www.centreformentalhealth.org.uk/blogs/podcast-alex-augustine

Alex Augustine: Bringing a unique perspective to peer research

Shuranjeet Singh, founder of Taraki, joins Thea to talk about how his organisation is working with Punjabi communities to reshape approaches to mental health. We discuss what led him to create the organisation, the role of faith centres, and the need for an intersectional approach to mental health inequalities. Shuranjeet reflects on the barriers to accessing mental health support, and the need for health services to engage the communities they seek to serve.

For show notes and full transcript: www.centreformentalhealth.org.uk/blogs/podcast-shuranjeet-singh

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Shuranjeet Singh: Reshaping approaches to mental health in Punjabi communities

For too long, children's mental health has been underfunded. Children face a postcode lottery when it comes to mental health care, despite the clear moral and economic benefits of early intervention. In this episode, Thea hears from Nick O'Shea, the Centre’s Chief Economist, and Charlotte Rainer, Lead of the Children & Young People’s Mental Health Coalition, about our new research, 'Time for action'. It sets out the need for a strategic investment strategy for 0-25 year olds to prevent more young people falling through the gaps. Nick and Charlotte highlight what support is needed at each age, and how we'll be working over the next year to fight for children's mental health.

For show notes and full transcript: https://www.centreformentalhealth.org.uk/blogs/podcast-nick-oshea-and-charlotte-rainer

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Nick O'Shea and Charlotte Rainer: Investing in children's mental health

Thea Joshi chats with Poppy Jaman OBE, CEO of the City Mental Health Alliance, founder of Mental Health First Aid England and trustee at Centre for Mental Health. Reflecting on her own lived experience of mental health problems and growing up in a Bengali Muslim family, Poppy talks about some of the individuals who supported her at pivotal points in her life. Together they discuss the root causes of mental ill-health, and why we need to stop thinking about systems of change as immovable things “out there in the ether”, rather than being made up of people who can make change happen. Poppy also shares the things she does to maintain her mental health and look after herself.

Show notes and full transcript: https://www.centreformentalhealth.org.uk/blogs/podcast-poppy-jaman-obe
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Poppy Jaman OBE: Harnessing power to change the system

Thea Joshi hears from Amarno Inai and Androulla Harris about their recent work on Shifting the Dial, evaluating a Birmingham-based project to promote young Black men’s mental health. In light of the risk factors facing Black men’s mental health, they explain how, community-based, culturally informed spaces for young Black men have made a massive difference. They also discuss the way peer research shaped the evaluation, and the need to decolonise research.

Transcript and show notes: https://www.centreformentalhealth.org.uk/blogs/podcast-amarno-inai-and-androulla-harris

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Amarno Inai and Androulla Harris: Promoting young Black men's mental health

Author and campaigner Hope Virgo joins Thea Joshi to discuss her experience of anorexia, her campaigning around BMI and menu calorie labelling, and how she is navigating pregnancy while in recovery from an eating disorder. They also discuss the challenges and frustrations that come with campaigning, and what Hope does to maintain her own wellbeing. 

Full transcript: https://www.centreformentalhealth.org.uk/blogs/podcast-hope-virgo

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Hope Virgo: Driving change in eating disorder care

Thea speaks to independent policy expert Tom Pollard about the fundamental issue of poverty, mental health and the benefits system. They discuss his recent research on how using food banks impacts people's mental health, why he decided to retrain as a mental health social worker, and what is needed to truly address the vicious cycle of poverty and poor mental health.
Show notes and full transcript: https://www.centreformentalhealth.org.uk/blogs/podcast-tom-pollard
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Tom Pollard: Poverty, benefits and mental health

Juliet Snell joins Thea Joshi to discuss how we can better support children's mental wellbeing. Drawing on our evaluation of a BBC Children in Need programme, Juliet talks about the rediscovering the power of relationships, fun, creativity, and self-expression in building children's mental health.

Show notes and full transcript: https://www.centreformentalhealth.org.uk/blogs/podcast-juliet-snell
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Juliet Snell: Reimagining support for children's mental health

Thea Joshi is joined by Ayanda Sibanda (Changemaker Coordinator at The Diana Award), Aaliyah Mulenga (one of our Young Changemakers) and Kadra Abdinasir (Associate Director for Children and Young People’s Mental Health at the Centre). Listen in as we learn about the Young Changemakers programme,  which is equipping young people with the tools to produce social action projects aimed at tackling mental health inequalities in racialised communities. We discuss why this project is so needed, the social action that’s been happening so far, and the impact that being part of this programme is having on the young people involved. 

The Young Changemakers programme is a partnership between Centre for Mental Health, UK Youth and The Diana Award, and is funded by funded by players of the People’s Postcode Lottery. Learn more: https://www.centreformentalhealth.org.uk/young-changemakers-tackling-mental-health-inequalities-racialised-communities

Show notes and full transcript: https://www.centreformentalhealth.org.uk/blogs/podcast-young-changemakers
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Young Changemakers: Reimagining mental health for racialised communities

Thea Joshi hears from Ed Davie, Policy & Public Affairs Lead, about the cost-of-living crisis and the toxic impact poverty has on mental health. He shares some of the evidence on the links between poverty and poor mental health, and on the rising levels of poverty and inequality we're facing in the UK. They discuss the tangible actions Government needs to take to address poverty, as well as what we can all do at a local level.

Show notes and full transcript: https://www.centreformentalhealth.org.uk/blogs/podcast-ed-davie
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Ed Davie: The cost of living crisis and mental health

Thea Joshi sits down with Chantal and Jamie from Off The Record Croydon to discuss the work they do with young people who have experienced youth violence. They discuss the challenges facing the young people they work with, the unhelpful narrative of young people as 'hard to reach', and the distinctive approach Off The Record takes to meet young people where they're at.

Show notes and full transcript: https://www.centreformentalhealth.org.uk/blogs/podcast-record

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Off The Record: Meeting young people where they're at

Thea Joshi is joined by Emma Bailey and Hannah Moore from the Equally Well campaign, which we run in partnership with Rethink Mental Illness. They share how Equally Well UK is working to improve the physical health of people with severe mental illness, with the critical aim of reducing the unacceptable mortality gap that people with severe mental illness are faced with. Emma and Hannah discuss how physical health is often neglected in mental health inpatient services, and give examples of good work that is being done to change this.

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Equally Well: Supporting better physical health for people with severe mental illness

Thea Joshi is joined by award-winning mental health activist and anti-racism campaigner António Ferreira. From providing guidance for an Eastenders storyline about a young Black man with schizophrenia, to his campaign to end tokenism in the charity sector, António is a force of nature in using his own lived experience to drive real change in mental health. They discuss António’s journey, how his experience of peer support during his time on an inpatient ward stoked a fire in him to study psychology and work to improve things for people living with a mental illness. António shares what he’s learned from his campaign around tokenism in mental health charities and what meaningful participation would really look like. He also speaks about a new campaign he’s launching about improving the way the police respond to people experiencing a mental health crisis.

António Ferreira: Mental health activism rooted in lived experience

How is children's behaviour in schools linked to their mental health? And what impact are behaviour management approaches having on young people's mental health? This episode, Thea Joshi sits down with Charlotte Rainer from the Children & Young People's Mental Health Coalition and Daisy*, a member of the Coalition's parent-carer advisory team, to discuss the Coalition's new research on behaviour and mental health in schools. They consider how children's behaviour is currently managed, how more punitive processes affect children's mental health, and how schools could better meet the needs of every child. They also do some myth-busting, unpacking the polarised discourse around mental health and behaviour management. 

If you appreciated this episode, we'd love your support to keep our work going - please donate today: https://www.centreformentalhealth.org.uk/donate

*Daisy's name has been changed to protect her privacy

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Show notes:
Read the Coalition's report into behaviour and mental health in schools: https://cypmhc.org.uk/publications/behaviour-and-mental-health-in-schools-report/
Watch this video which explains the key findings: https://youtu.be/HbzkOA7-o5g
Learn more about the Centre's position on behaviour in schools: https://www.centreformentalhealth.org.uk/news/centre-mental-health-responds-call-evidence-behaviour-schools

Behaviour and mental health in schools

Thea Joshi sits down with Centre for Mental Health chief exec and returning guest, Andy Bell. Having been at the Centre for over 20 years, Andy shares the changes that have been forged in mental health in that time, and the distance we have yet to travel to eradicate persisting inequalities. They discuss how to balance frustration at slow progress with a sense of optimism that allows us to continue the hard work of making mental health equality a reality.

Andy Bell: How far have we come on the road to mental health equality?

[Content warning: this episode discusses self-harming and suicide.]

Thea Joshi is joined by ZeZe Sohawon, an award-winning mental health activist who campaigns for better support for people at the intersection of autism and mental health. ZeZe shares her own lived experience of being on a low-secure inpatient unit, and what helped her to get better. She also shares the vision behind her new charity Emotion Dysregulation in Autism which is working to improve the mental health of young people. She discusses what’s needed for more culturally competent mental health support, and the inequalities facing autistic young people who are struggling with their mental health.

If you appreciated this episode, we'd love your support to keep our work going - please donate today: www.centreformentalhealth.org.uk/donate

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Show notes:
Learn more about ZeZe's new charity - Emotion Dysregulation in Autism here: https://www.emotiondysregautism.org/

Check out their Podcast (https://open.spotify.com/show/300fnb414ZS3Mu6xXgMWhk?si=513851a39987437a&nd=1) and follow ZeZe on X, formerly known as Twitter: https://twitter.com/i/flow/login?redirect_after_login=%2FZeZeJonesBoi

Read our blog by Zainab on her own experiences of the difficulties she faced as a Muslim trying to access mental health support in the UK that acknowledged her cultural and religious context: https://www.centreformentalhealth.org.uk/blogs/it-just-me-mental-health-muslim-communities 

Download our Muslim Mental Health factsheet made in partnership with Woolf Institute: https://www.centreformentalhealth.org.uk/publications/fact-sheet-muslim-mental-health

Watch our Festival of Ideas event on Children and Young People, where ZeZe Sohawon was a guest speaker: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VaAwF4kgPl8&feature=youtu.be

ZeZe Sohawon: The reality for young people at the intersection of autism and mental health

Thea Joshi is joined by Centre for Mental Health’s Associate Director for Policy, Kadra Abdinasir, to discuss the way racial trauma affects multiple generations of a family. They discuss A Constant Battle, a collaboration between the Centre and King’s College London, which investigates how the experiences of racism towards both parents and children affect their mental health and parent-child interactions. Kadra shares insights from the research and unpacks the concept of trauma, pointing us to actions that could address the severe impact of racism on mental health in the UK.

If you appreciated this episode, we'd love your support to keep our work going - please donate today: www.centreformentalhealth.org.uk/donate

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Show notes:

Learn more about our recent briefing, A Constant Battle: https://www.centreformentalhealth.org.uk/publications/briefing-62-constant-battle

Check out Living While Black by Gilaine Kinouani, recommended by Kadra during the episode: https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/442992/living-while-black-by-kinouani-guilaine/9781529109436

Read our report, A Mentally Healthier Nation: https://www.centreformentalhealth.org.uk/publications/mentally-healthier-nation 

Check out the Leaders Unlocked network, mentioned by Kadra during the episode: https://leaders-unlocked.org/

Kadra Abdinasir: The intergenerational impacts of racism on mental health

Thea Joshi is joined by Centre for Mental Health’s current Writer in Residence, Andrew K Kauffmann. Together they discuss OCD and its battles, from diagnosis and labels, to therapy and everyday life.

If you appreciated this episode, we'd love your support to keep our work going - please donate today: www.centreformentalhealth.org.uk/donate

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Show notes:

Read Andrew's Writer in Residence piece on OCD 'Life with OCD: an anti memoir' here: https://www.centreformentalhealth.org.uk/life-with-ocd-an-anti-memior/

Check out Andrew's most recent Writer in Residence piece on men's mental health here: https://www.centreformentalhealth.org.uk/a-sermon-that-no-one-will-hear-the-clarion-call-to-act-urgently-on-mens-mental-health/

Useful contacts for OCD resources: https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/types-of-mental-health-problems/obsessive-compulsive-disorder-ocd/useful-contacts/

Andrew Kaye Kauffmann: Living with obsessive compulsive disorder

Thea Joshi is joined by Claudia Turbet-Delof, a local councillor in Hackney, Mental Health Champion, person centred therapist and human rights campaigner. Claudia shares her experience of growing up in poverty in Bolivia, moving to the UK and facing depression and racism. She tells us how these experiences, and witnessing the power of collective struggle by indigenous people in her country, have driven her ambition to make mental health a fundamental human right. Please note that this conversation does make reference to racist language and sexual abuse.

If you appreciated this episode, we'd love your support to keep our work going - please donate today: www.centreformentalhealth.org.uk/donate

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Claudia Turbet-Delof: Fighting for mental health to be a human right

Thea Joshi sits down with David Woodhead, our Associate Director of Research, to hear about what LGBT+ History Month means to him. He shared how his experiences as a gay man have affected his mental health, for good and ill, and about his journey from addiction to recovery. It was a really moving conversation, and it exemplified the way that lived experience, albeit painful, brings a depth and a richness to our fight for better mental health.

If you appreciated this episode, we'd love your support to keep our work going - please donate today: www.centreformentalhealth.org.uk/donate

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David Woodhead: 'The personal is historical' - mental health & LGBT+ history

Thea Joshi is joined by Frederico Cardoso, the Centre's Senior Economist, to hear about a major new report calculating the economic and social costs of mental ill health. While a £ sign is an imperfect measure of the toll that mental health problems can take on people's lives, this economic analysis has broken new ground in assessing the scale of the problem and the consequences for our economy and society of failing to act. Frederico breaks down and contextualises the figures in the new report and shares some of the solutions that would support better mental health and reduce costs in tandem.

If you appreciated this episode, we'd love your support to keep our work going - please donate today: www.centreformentalhealth.org.uk/donate

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Frederico Cardoso: The economic and social costs of mental ill health

Has mental health culture gone too far? Thea Joshi welcomes Andy Bell to unpack recent comments from government ministers and proposed plans to reduce access to benefits for people taking time off work for their mental health. They discuss what's driving this backlash, and explore where we're actually at on our journey from mental health awareness to mental health literacy.

If you appreciated this episode, we'd love your support to keep our work going - please donate today: www.centreformentalhealth.org.uk/donate

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Andy Bell: What's driving the backlash against mental health awareness?

Thea is joined by Thahmina Begum, an artist and art psychotherapist based in Leeds. Thahmina talks us through some amazing projects she's led, using art as a vehicle for communities to process racial and intergenerational trauma.

If you appreciated this episode, we'd love your support to keep our work going - please donate today: www.centreformentalhealth.org.uk/donate

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Thahmina Begum: Healing racial trauma through art psychotherapy

Thea Joshi sits down with Venus Madden. An Occupational Therapist by background, Venus shares her experiences of miscarriage and postnatal depression, as well as the impact of moving to the UK from Hong Kong as a teenager. We discuss how facing inequalities in health care have shaped her and how she's using her story to call for change in maternal mental health.

If you appreciated this episode, we'd love your support to keep our work going - please donate today: www.centreformentalhealth.org.uk/donate

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Venus Madden: Navigating maternal mental health across cultures

What does the new government mean for mental health? Kadra Abdinasir, the Centre's Associate Director of Policy, sits down with Thea to discuss the impact of new announcements and what the Government needs to prioritise to build a mentally healthier nation.

Show notes and full transcript can be found here: https://www.centreformentalhealth.org.uk/podcast-kadra-abdinasir/

If you appreciated this episode, we’d love your support to keep our work going – please donate today: www.centreformentalhealth.org.uk/donate

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Kadra Abdinasir: What does the new government mean for mental health?

Thea is joined by Penny East, External Relations Director at Think Ahead which runs a training programme for mental health social workers. They talk about the role of social workers in providing mental health support and how that often tends to be overlooked, both in policy and in public awareness. They also discuss why we need to build a more diverse range of skills into the mental health workforce to properly meet people's needs.

Show notes and full transcript can be found here: https://www.centreformentalhealth.org.uk/podcast-penny-east/

If you appreciated this episode, we’d love your support to keep our work going – please donate today: www.centreformentalhealth.org.uk/donate

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Penny East: Why we need mental health social workers

Thea sits down with Chris Frederick, an expert by experience who has been charting a unique course in his work on suicide prevention. Chris's experience of poor mental health led him to set up Project Soul Stride, through which he is collecting people's stories and building knowledge around Black mental health and suicidality. With this evidence, he's been challenging systems and services to improve mental health support and suicide prevention to better meet the needs of Black people.

Show notes and full transcript can be found here: https://www.centreformentalhealth.org.uk/podcast-chris-frederick/

If you appreciated this episode, we’d love your support to keep our work going – please donate today: www.centreformentalhealth.org.uk/donate

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Chris Frederick: Bringing Black mental health and suicidality out of the shadows

In our second Centre for Mental Health podcast episode, Sarah Hughes chats to Nathan Dennis, Founder Trustee of First Class Foundation, a Birmingham-based charity working to tackle youth violence and build mental health resilience.

With his usual wisdom and honesty, Nathan discusses racial inequality and mental health, his own journey to founding First Class Foundation, the apprehension in some racialised communities about the Covid vaccine, the role faith plays in his life, and how the Dennis family manage their own wellbeing.

View the full transcript: https://www.centreformentalhealth.org.uk/blogs/podcast-nathan-dennis

Enjoy the podcast? We always like to hear from you - contact us at website@centreformentalhealth.org.uk 
For more information or to support our work, visit our website at www.centreformentalhealth.org.uk

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Hopeful journey

Nathan Dennis: chasing purpose, not profit

Speaking up for social justice in mental health

Centre for Mental Health

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