Piece of Mind: Mental Health & Psychiatry

Thinking about getting involved in mental health research? We caught up with Dave, one of our NCMH Research Champions, after he'd taken part in our UKMinds survey and provided a blood sample with NCMH Psychology Assistant Emily. Dave and Emily take us through each part of the process to let you know what you can expect.UKMinds is a new study from NCMH which aims to find the causes and triggers of mental ill-health and cognitive disorders, such as dementia. If you have experienced schizophrenia, psychosis, depression, bipolar disorder or dementia, help us make a difference by registering your interest at ncmh.info/sign-up.Hear more about Dave's experience of finally receiving a bipolar disorder diagnosis at age 57 in Minisode: Mental health and dementia research.

In this episode of the Piece of Mind podcast, we're joined by co-director of the Wolfson Centre for Young People's Mental Health, Professor Frances Rice, and Catrin, a member of the Centre's Young Person's Advisory Group to discuss a new study for young people who have a parent with a history of depression.The Wolfson Centre for Young People's Mental Health has a focus on reducing anxiety and depression in young people, which includes finding ways to prevent depression in young people before it develops.To learn more about the Skills for Adolescent WELLbeing (SWELL) study, visit https://www.cardiff.ac.uk/wolfson-centre-for-young-peoples-mental-health/take-part/ws3-clinical-trial.

In this episode we're joined by Dr Joanna Martin and Ellie, a non-binary young person, to discuss how research at Cardiff University is aiming to learn more about ADHD. Ellie also kindly shares their experience of being diagnosed with ADHD as an adult.Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is one of the most common neurodevelopmental conditions, affecting around 1 in 20 young people. However, in clinics only one girl will receive an ADHD diagnosis for every seven or eight boys. This gap in diagnosis is something that Joanna is investigating in her research into ADHD in girls, young women, and non-binary people at Cardiff University.Recruitment for young people, parents and carers, and healthcare professionals in this research has now closed. However, if you are an education professional the team are still looking to hear from you. To learn more, visit www.ncmh.info/adhd 

We're back and thrilled to be sitting down with Holly and Dave from the UKMinds project. UKMinds is a new study hosted by the National Centre for Mental Health which is looking to recruit thousands of volunteers to learn more about the causes of conditions like schizophrenia, psychosis, bipolar disorder and dementia. Take part today by registering your interest with UKMinds.Following his bipolar disorder diagnosis at 57, Dave volunteered with NCMH sharing his story and later became involved in the UKMinds team, helping to shape research by sharing his experience of bipolar as well as his skills from his background in project management. Read more about Dave's experience on the NCMH website.We're looking forward to sharing more on our latest research and lived-experience stories in the coming months.This episode was recorded at Cardiff University and features NCMH Research Champion Dave, NCMH Project Manager Holly Pearce and NCMH Communications Manager Catrin Hopkins.We hope you enjoy, and if you have any feedback please get in touch at info@ncmh.info or on social media:Twitter - @ncmh_walesInsta - @thencmhFacebook - /walesmentalhealth

Schizophrenia is a contentious diagnosis and source of often heated debate across the various professions and stakeholders associated with mental health. Some argue that it has outlasted its usefulness as a single diagnosis and should instead be viewed as the extreme end of a 'psychosis spectrum disorder'.To unpick the issues, we're delighted to be joined by award-winning author Nathan Filer, who is in conversation with Professor James Walters, deputy director at NCMH to discuss his latest book - The Heartland: Finding and Losing Schizophrenia.This episode was recorded live at Bigmoose Coffee Co. in Cardiff. They're a fantastic bunch and do great work in the community, so if you're in town make sure you pop in for a coffee and try some of their amazing cakes.We hope you enjoy, and if you have any feedback please get in touch at info@ncmh.info or on social media:Twitter - @ncmh_walesInsta - @thencmhFacebook - /walesmentalhealth

Autism is a lifelong developmental disability that affects how people perceive the world and interact with others. There are around 700,000 autistic people in the UK, and while it is usually diagnosed in childhood, some autistic people grow up without their condition being recognised until later in life.In this episode, we’re joined by Kat Williams, who was diagnosed as autistic when she was 32. In this episode she shares her experience of growing up without a diagnosis and parenting an autistic child, and discusses the impact of labels like ‘high functioning’.She’s joined by Professor Jeremy Hall, Director of Cardiff University’s Neuroscience and Mental Health Research Institute. He discusses some of the latest research into autism and how autistic people are more likely to experience mental health problems like depression and anxiety.For links and resources mentioned in this episode, visit http://www.ncmh.info/videos-and-podcasts/podcast/autism/We hope you enjoy, and if you have any feedback please get in touch at info@ncmh.info

We’re delighted to be joined by Dr Sophie Legge and Dr Antonio Pardiñas for our latest minisode to discuss their latest research study.Sophie, Antonio and colleagues at Cardiff University’s MRC Centre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics and Genomics examined genetic data from more than 500 people of African descent taking clozapine, an anti-psychotic medication prescribed to people with treatment resistant schizophrenia.Clozapine is currently the most effective treatment for people with treatment-resistant schizophrenia, but it can cause a rare side effect called neutropenia. In the most extreme cases, this can develop into agranulocytosis; a severe and potentially life-threatening condition.These side-effects are characterised by lower neutrophil levels, a type of white blood cell, and these lower levels appear to be more common in people of African descent. The team were interested in learning whether genetic factors were at play, and in this minisode Sophie and Antonio explain what they found and how their results could help improve the management of clozapine treatment.For links and resources mentioned in this episode, visit https://www.ncmh.info/podcastWe hope you enjoy and we would be really grateful if you could leave us a review and help others find our podcast! If you've got any questions about this episode, get in touch at info@ncmh.info.

22q11.2 deletion syndrome, or 22q for short, is a genetic syndrome affecting between 1 in 2000 and 1 in 4000 people.There are a wide range of health issues associated with the syndrome, such as heart conditions and immune problems, palatal defects and speech delays. It can also cause developmental problems and learning disabilities, and increased risk of a range of mental health problems, including schizophrenia, ADHD and depression.To tell us more about 22q, we're joined by Professor Marianne van den Bree, a Principal Investigator at Cardiff University's MRC Centre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics and Genomics.We also get a parent perspective from Katie and Jon, whose daughter Ivy was diagnosed with 22q last year.For links and resources mentioned in this episode, visit www.ncmh.info/videos-and-podcast…deletion-syndrome/We hope you enjoy, and if you have any feedback please get in touch at info@ncmh.info

Getting enough sleep is important for your health and happiness. Generally, if you sleep better you feel better. On the other hand, poor sleep can make you feel low and have a negative impact on your mood. But does poor sleep increase your chances of experiencing a mental health problem or is it a symptom?In this episode we’re joined by Dr Ajay Thapar, a GP who recently travelled to the USA on a Winston Churchill Memorial Fellowship to learn more about insomnia and different treatments, and Dr Katie Lewis, whose work investigates the relationship between sleep disruption and mood disorders like bipolar and depression.For links and resources mentioned in this episode, visit www.ncmh.info/videos-and-podcast…st/sleep-insomnia/We hope you enjoy, and if you have any feedback please get in touch at info@ncmh.info