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The Thinking Mind Podcast

"If you are interested in your mind, emotions, sense of self, and understanding of others, this show is brilliant."

Learn something new about the mind every week - With in-depth conversations at the intersection of psychiatry, psychotherapy, self-development, spirituality and the philosophy of mental health. 

Featuring experts from around the world, leading clinicians and academics, published authors, and people with lived experience, we aim to make complex ideas in the mental health space accessible and engaging. 

This podcast is designed for a broad audience including professionals, those who suffer with mental health difficulties, more common psychological problems, or those who just want to learn more about themselves and others. 

Hosted by psychiatrists Dr. Alex Curmi, Dr. Anya Borissova & Dr. Rebecca Wilkinson. 

Listeners have also said:

"Every episode is enlightening, the approach, conversations and depth of information is deeply enriching. So refreshing to hear practitioners with this level of insight into human behaviour. Thank you for the work and for sharing."

Podcast related enquiries: thinkingmindpodcast@gmail.com.

If you would like to work with Dr. Curmi: alexcurmitherapy@gmail.com

Disclaimer: None of the information in the podcast is intended as medical advice for any one invididual.

The Thinking Mind Podcast: Psychiatry & Psychotherapy

Gillie is a qualified psychotherapist and counsellor with more than 30 years’ experience. She specialises in working with survivors of coercive, cultic or spiritual abuse, trauma including rape and sexual abuse, thought-reform (brainwashing) and undue influence. She works with former cult members, including those brought up in a cult (second and multi-generation) and those who joined or were recruited (first generation).

Gillie set up Hope Valley Counselling in 2006 after achieving her Masters in Gestalt Psychotherapy. Here she further developed her model for counselling former cult members and survivors of spiritual abuse and undue influence. 

Further resources:

https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/abs/spirituality-and-psychiatry/pathological-spirituality/0F993FFB842601BF7492EFB708EBA769

 https://www.hopevalleycounselling.com/walking-free-workbook

Interviewed by Dr. Alex Curmi. Dr. Alex is a consultant psychiatrist and a UKCP registered psychotherapist in-training.

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 focused behaviour change coaching , you can email - alexcurmitherapy@gmail.com with "Coaching" in the subject line.

Check out The Thinking Mind Blog on Substack: https://thinkingmindblog.substack.com/p/psychedelics-technology-and-love

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

E145 - Surviving a Cult (part 2 of 2 w/ Gillie Jenkinson)

Daniel Månsson is a clinical psychologist and co-founder of Flow Neuroscience, a medical device comapny which produces transcranial direct current stimulation (TDCS) headsets for depression. 

Today we discuss: 

 • What may be happening neurologically in certain cases of depression
 • Different research studies that have looked into the effectiveness of TDCS treatment for depression
 • The ethical challenges of studying, producing and selling medical devices
 • How these devices may complement psychological treatments like psychotherapy 

Studies mentioned:

Transcranial direct current stimulation as an additional treatment to selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors in adults with major depressive disorder in Germany (DepressionDC): a triple-blind, randomised, sham-controlled, multicentre trial - The Lancet - https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(23)00640-2/abstract

Home-based transcranial direct current stimulation treatment for major depressive disorder: a fully remote phase 2 randomized sham-controlled trial | Nature Medicine - https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-024-03305-yHome-Use 

Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation for the Treatment of a Major Depressive Episode: A Randomized Clinical Trial | Depressive Disorders | JAMA Psychiatry | JAMA Network https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapsychiatry/fullarticle/2813623

Northamptonshire NHS study:

https://www.scirp.org/journal/paperinformation?paperid=131358

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Interviewed by Dr. Alex Curmi with Dr. Anya Borissova. Dr. Alex is a consultant psychiatrist and a UKCP registered psychotherapist in-training. Dr. Anya is a academic registrar psychiatrist at the South London and Maudsley trust. 

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 focused behaviour change coaching , you can email - alexcurmitherapy@gmail.com with "Coaching" in the subject line.

Check out The Thinking Mind Blog on Substack: https://substack.com/home/post/p-174371597

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

E144 - Brain Stimulation Headsets for Depression (w/Daniel Månsson)

Jared Moore is a computer science Ph.D. student at Stanford University. There he recently taught a course about AI called on How to Make a Moral Agent. 

He has previously been lectured at the University of Washington School of Computer Science where he taught a class on the philosophy of AI.

He is the lead author of a research paper which came out in 2025 examining whether chat gpt and other LLMs could potentially replace mental health professionals safetly and effectively, which was featured in the New York Times.

Research paper referenced:

Should a large language model (LLM) be used as a therapist? - https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3715275.3732039

Interviewed by Dr. Alex Curmi. Dr. Alex is a consultant psychiatrist and a UKCP registered psychotherapist in-training.

Alex's new Guardian article: 

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2025/sep/21/how-modern-life-makes-us-sick-and-what-to-do-about-it

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 focused behaviour change coaching , you can email - alexcurmitherapy@gmail.com with "Coaching" in the subject line.

Check out The Thinking Mind Blog on Substack: https://substack.com/home/post/p-174371597

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

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

E143 | Does ChatGPT Make a Good Therapist? (w/ Jared Moore)

Today Alex discusses the classic 2013 sci-fi romance Her directed by Spike Jonze and starring Joaquin Phoenix, Amy Adams and Chris Pratt. Including themes such as loneliness, attachmement , artifiical intelligence, dating, falling in love, overreliance on technology and the most socially acceptable form of insanity. 

Presented by Dr. Alex Curmi. Dr. Alex is a consultant psychiatrist and a UKCP registered psychotherapist in-training.

Article referenced:

https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2025/jul/12/i-felt-pure-unconditional-love-the-people-who-marry-their-ai-chatbots

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 focused behaviour change coaching , you can email - alexcurmitherapy@gmail.com with "Coaching" in the subject line.

Check out The Thinking Mind Blog on Substack: https://substack.com/home/post/p-170117699

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

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

E142 | Thinking Films: Her (2013)

Professor Viren Swami is an international expert on attraction and body image and has written and edited several books on these topics. He is a chartered psychologist and associate Fellow of the British Psychological Society, and is ranked in the top 2% of the most-cited scientists in the world.

Viren is the author of Attraction Explained: The Science of how we Form Relationships, which deconstructed popular myths about attraction and relationships. 

Interviewed by Dr. Alex Curmi. Dr. Alex is a consultant psychiatrist and a UKCP registered psychotherapist in-training.

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 focused behaviour change coaching , you can email - alexcurmitherapy@gmail.com with "Coaching" in the subject line.

Check out The Thinking Mind Blog on Substack: https://substack.com/home/post/p-170117699

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

E141 | Are Dating Apps Ruining Love? (Modern Relationships w/ Prof. Viren Swami)

Gillie is a qualified psychotherapist and counsellor with more than 30 years’ experience. She specialises in working with survivors of coercive, cultic or spiritual abuse, trauma including rape and sexual abuse, thought-reform (brainwashing) and undue influence. She works with former cult members, including those brought up in a cult (second and multi-generation) and those who joined or were recruited (first generation).

Gillie set up Hope Valley Counselling in 2006 after achieving her Masters in Gestalt Psychotherapy. Here she further developed her model for counselling former cult members and survivors of spiritual abuse and undue influence. 

Today Gillie discusses her experiences being part of an abusive cult in Britain in the 1970s, the impact this had on her psychologically, and how she eventually recovered. 

Interviewed by Dr. Alex Curmi. Dr. Alex is a consultant psychiatrist and a UKCP registered psychotherapist in-training.

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 focused behaviour change coaching , you can email - alexcurmitherapy@gmail.com with "Coaching" in the subject line.

Check out The Thinking Mind Blog on Substack: https://open.substack.com/pub/thinkingmindblog/p/thinking-mind-blog-big-thoughts-edition?r=1cn09u&utm_medium=ios

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

E140 - Surviving a Cult (part 1 of 2 w/ Gillie Jenkinson)

Today Alex and Anya break down mental health studies to deliver fascinating insights from research, discuss the difference between good and bad science, and understand how science can be (for better and worse) leveraged to market products. 

Papers discussed today:

Flow neuroscience for depression:

 https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-024-03305-y

Ozempic and depression:

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-024-75965-2

Hydrogen water and Aging:

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-024-75965-2

With Dr. Anya Borissova and Dr. Alex Curmi. Dr. Alex is a consultant psychiatrist and a UKCP registered psychotherapist in-training. Dr. Anya is a psychiatry registrar and academic trainee at the South London and Maudsley NHS foundation trust. 

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 focused behaviour change coaching , you can email - alexcurmitherapy@gmail.com with "Coaching" in the subject line.

Check out The Thinking Mind Blog on Substack: https://open.substack.com/pub/thinkingmindblog/p/thinking-mind-blog-big-thoughts-edition?r=1cn09u&utm_medium=ios

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

E139 - Can Ozempic Cause Depression? (Talking Science with Dr. Anya Borissova)

Pim Cuijpers. Ph.D. is professor emeritus of Clinical Psychology at the Department of Clinical, Neuro and Developmental Psychology, Amsterdam Public Health research institute, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, The Netherlands. He is also director of the WHO Collaborating Centre for Research and Dissemination of Psychological Interventions in Amsterdam.

Professor Cuijpers is specialised in conducting randomised controlled trials and meta-analyses on prevention and psychological treatments of common mental disorders.

Today, we focus on what is known about the psychological treatment of depression. We start off a little technical - so that you hopefully can come away with an initial understanding of what a meta-analysis is and how they are useful. Prof Cuijpers then tells us about what is known about how effective psychological therapies are in depression, where we’re at with personalising and what his vision for the future is.

Get in touch or read more from with Prof Cuijpers here: https://www.pimcuijpers.com/blog/

Interviewed by Dr. Anya Borissova - Give feedback here - thinkingmindpodcast@gmail.com Follow us here: Twitter @thinkingmindpod Instagram @thinkingmindpodcast Tiktok - @thinking.mind.podcast 

Check out The Thinking Mind Blog on Substack: https://substack.com/home/post/p-170117699

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

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

E138 What Does Science Reveal About Therapy? (w/ Prof. Pim Cuijpers)

Dr. Paul Eastwick is a Professor at UC Davis where he runs the Attraction and Relationships Research Laboratory. Dr. Eastwick’s research investigates how people initiate romantic relationships and the psychological mechanisms that help romantic partners to remain committed and attached. He is one of the hosts of the Love Factually podcast. 

https://www.lovefactuallypod.com/

Interviewed by Dr. Alex Curmi. Dr. Alex is a consultant psychiatrist and a UKCP registered psychotherapist in-training.

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 focused behaviour change coaching , you can email - alexcurmitherapy@gmail.com with "Coaching" in the subject line.

Check out The Thinking Mind Blog on Substack: https://open.substack.com/pub/thinkingmindblog/p/thinking-mind-blog-big-thoughts-edition?r=1cn09u&utm_medium=ios

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

E137 - How do Romantic Relationships Work? (w/ Dr. Paul Eastwick)

We're on holiday this week! Today we briefly mention some recent episode recommendations, future episodes and other announcements. 

The Thinking Mind Podcast is hosted by Dr. Alex Curmi. Dr. Alex is a consultant psychiatrist and a UKCP registered psychotherapist in-training.

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 focused behaviour change coaching , you can email - alexcurmitherapy@gmail.com with "Coaching" in the subject line.

Check out The Thinking Mind Blog on Substack: https://open.substack.com/pub/thinkingmindblog/p/thinking-mind-blog-big-thoughts-edition?r=1cn09u&utm_medium=ios

Alex's TedX talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5JvG10zQups&t=52s

The Thinking Mind Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@thinkingmindpodcast

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

We're on Break this week! Announcements, Future Episodes & Housekeeping

Dr Quinton Deeley is Senior Lecturer in Social Behaviour and Neurodevelopment at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology, and Neuroscience (IOPPN), King’s College London. He is also Consultant Neuropsychiatrist in the National Autism Unit and Neuropsychiatry Brain Injury Clinic at the Maudsley and Bethlem Hospitals. Dr Deeley also chairs the Maudsley Philosophy Group, and Social and Cultural Neuroscience Group at the IOPPN.

Questions comments and feedback - thinkingmindpodcast@gmail.com

Interviewed by Dr. Alex Curmi. If you would like to enquire about an online psychotherapy appointment with Dr. Alex, you can email - alexcurmitherapy@gmail.com

If you find the show valuable here's how you can support it: https://buymeacoffee.com/podcast8

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

Interview #1 Culture and Psychiatry, Religious Experiences and Psychedelics with Dr. Quinton Deeley

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