The Thinking Mind: Mental Health & Personal Growth

This is a shorter Thinking Mind update on a developing story - our usual long-form episodes will continue as normal.
Dr Alex discusses reports that a forthcoming government review could significantly change how ADHD is assessed and supported in England. He explains the proposed shift toward a more "needs-based system", why it is being considered, and the potential implications for people seeking diagnosis and treatment.
Dr Alex also highlights three concerns about how such a system might work in practice, including how need would be judged, the risk of overlooking “high-functioning” patients, and the uncomfortable overlap between clinical decision-making and healthcare rationing.

The final review has not yet been published, so the details may still change.

Presented by Dr. Alex Curmi. Dr. Alex is a consultant psychiatrist and a UKCP registered psychotherapist. Website: alexcurmitherapy.com

Check out The Thinking Mind Substack: https://thinkingmindblog.substack.com/

If you would like to invite Alex to speak at your organisation please email alexcurmitherapy@gmail.com with "Speaking Enquiry" in the subject line.

Alex is not currently taking on new psychotherapy clients, if you are interested in working with Alex for psychological coaching , you can email - alexcurmitherapy@gmail.com with "Coaching" in the subject line.
Give feedback here - thinkingmindpodcast@gmail.com Follow us here: Twitter @thinkingmindpod Instagram @thinkingmindpodcast

Why does watching the 70 Up documentary feel like years of therapy? Watching lives unfold over six decades can make you reconsider your own: what you’re chasing, what you’re postponing and what really matters.
In this episode Dr. Alex explores ITV’s 70 Up from his perspective as a psychiatrist and therapist. Through the participants’ ambitions, relationships, disappointments and everyday joys, we examine four uncomfortable questions:
• Why don’t we always prioritise what matters most?
• How much of our life do we choose, and how much do we remain the children we once were?
• What actually makes a successful life, and who gets to decide?
• If life never becomes what we hoped, can we still be happy?
Along the way, we discuss childhood, personality, agency, family, regret and the balance between ambition and acceptance.
Heartbreaking, funny and sometimes unexpectedly profound, 70 Up offers a rare opportunity to step back and see a whole life (and perhaps our own) with greater perspective.
Which participant’s story stayed with you most? Let us know in the comments.
Presented by Dr. Alex Curmi. Dr. Alex is a consultant psychiatrist and a UKCP registered psychotherapist. Website: alexcurmitherapy.com
Check out The Thinking Mind Blog on Substack: https://thinkingmindblog.substack.com/
If you would like to invite Alex to speak at your organisation please email alexcurmitherapy@gmail.com with "Speaking Enquiry" in the subject line.

Alex is not currently taking on new psychotherapy clients, if you are interested in working with Alex for psychological coaching , you can email - alexcurmitherapy@gmail.com with "Coaching" in the subject line.

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

The Lindsay Clancy case has prompted an enormous debate about postpartum psychosis, criminal responsibility, psychiatric treatment and whether severe mental illness can ever be reliably predicted.
In this episode Dr. Alex examines the case not to deliver a verdict on Lindsay Clancy, but to explore what it reveals about the realities and limitations of psychiatry.
The episode looks at Lindsay Clancy’s psychiatric deterioration after the birth of her third child, her treatment for anxiety, depression and insomnia, her admission to McLean Hospital, the unusually complicated sequence of psychiatric medications she was prescribed, and the competing claims surrounding the case.
It also explores some of the most difficult questions in mental healthcare: How accurately can psychiatrists predict suicide or violence? Can someone appear organised while experiencing psychosis? How difficult can postpartum psychosis be to detect? Can starting and stopping psychiatric medications destabilise someone’s mental state? 
Presented by Dr. Alex Curmi. Dr. Alex is a consultant psychiatrist and a UKCP registered psychotherapist. Website: alexcurmitherapy.com
Check out The Thinking Mind Blog on Substack: https://thinkingmindblog.substack.com/
If you would like to invite Alex to speak at your organisation please email alexcurmitherapy@gmail.com with "Speaking Enquiry" in the subject line.

Alex is not currently taking on new psychotherapy clients, if you are interested in working with Alex for psychological coaching , you can email - alexcurmitherapy@gmail.com with "Coaching" in the subject line.
Give feedback here - thinkingmindpodcast@gmail.com Follow us here: Twitter @thinkingmindpod Instagram @thinkingmindpodcast

How do you arrive at your beliefs?
In this clip from E182 of the podcast, Dr Alex speaks with consultant neuropsychiatrist Dr Tom Pollack about what AI-associated delusions may reveal about human belief itself. Rather than treating belief as something purely rational (a simple matter of evidence, logic or facts) they explore how beliefs are also shaped by emotion, meaning, charisma, relationships and narrative. They also discuss how psychiatry should adapt to the arrival of this revolutionary technology. 
Interviewed by Dr. Alex Curmi. Dr. Alex is a consultant psychiatrist and a UKCP registered psychotherapist in-training. 
Check out The Thinking Mind Blog on Substack: https://thinkingmindblog.substack.com/
If you would like to invite Alex to speak at your organisation please email alexcurmitherapy@gmail.com with "Speaking Enquiry" in the subject line.

Alex is not currently taking on new psychotherapy clients, if you are interested in working with Alex for psychological coaching , you can email - alexcurmitherapy@gmail.com with "Coaching" in the subject line.

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

In this update to last week’s episode,  Dr Alex reflects on the response to Channel 4’s The Great ADHD Myth? and on an important new development. He also discusses what that means for the documentary, the wider ADHD debate, and the importance of discussing complex mental health issues without stigma, contempt or oversimplification.

Presented by Dr. Alex Curmi. Dr. Alex is a consultant psychiatrist and a UKCP registered psychotherapist. Website: alexcurmitherapy.com

Check out The Thinking Mind Blog on Substack: https://thinkingmindblog.substack.com/

If you would like to invite Alex to speak at your organisation please email alexcurmitherapy@gmail.com with "Speaking Enquiry" in the subject line.

Alex is not currently taking on new psychotherapy clients, if you are interested in working with Alex for psychological coaching , you can email - alexcurmitherapy@gmail.com with "Coaching" in the subject line.
Give feedback here - thinkingmindpodcast@gmail.com Follow us here: Twitter @thinkingmindpod Instagram @thinkingmindpodcast