Piece of Mind – season 4

Two women sit in front of a podcast microphone and an open laptop.

Our podcast returns for 2025 with a new series of episodes covering topics across the field of mental health and neuroscience research.

Episode themes include:

Subscribe on iTunes or Spotify, or listen to our episodes below.

– Episode 15: Not just a party drug: MDMA therapy for people with PTSD

Dr Mat Hoskins joins us to discuss his fascinating work on the carefully controlled clinical use of MDMA as a safe and effective intervention for severe post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

We were thrilled to sit down with Mat to understand what led him to this type of research, why does it work, and what does a session actually involve.

MDMA remains a class A illegal drug and recreational use can carry significant legal and health risks. Please do not try this at home.

– Minisode: Have your voice heard in mental healthcare decisions

Advance Choice Documents (ACDs) give people living with mental illnesses an opportunity to state their wishes and instructions about their treatment and care during future episodes of illness.

We chatted to Professor Tania Gergel about her work to raise awareness of this vital tool for people with severe mental illness.

Tania is the Director of Research at Bipolar UK and a Honorary Senior Research Fellow in the Division of Psychiatry at University College London and here at Cardiff University. She’s also the lead for bipolar research at NCMH.

Links and resources

– Episode 16: Supporting young people with psychosis in Wales

In 2025, we’ve been fortunate to work with NHS Wales to revamp Psychosis Wales, the website for information and resources for young people who are experiencing or recovering from psychosis in Wales.

Psychosis often begins in young adulthood when a person is in their late teens to mid-20s. In this episode, we met with Maleeha Akbar and Eleanor Williams.

Maleeha is based in Cardiff and experienced psychosis when she was at university. She now works for Cardiff and Vale Drug and Alcohol Service and facilitates the Headroom peer support group for young people who have experienced psychosis in Cardiff. Maleeha has kindly shared her experience of recovering from psychosis and how she got involved with the peer support group.

Eleanor is the Clinical Team Leader for Headroom, the service supporting people with psychosis in the Cardiff and Vale University Health Board.

Links and resources

– Episode 17: What it’s really like to experience psychosis

Psychosis can be a difficult thing to explain. It is a term used when people experience a ‘loss of touch’ with reality. Around 3% of people will have a psychotic episode during their lifetime.

Leading the discussion for us today is Maleeha, a member of the peer support group at Headroom Cardiff, who support young people in Wales that have experienced psychosis. Joining Maleeha are Bekah and Hezron, both of whom have experienced an episode of psychosis and became friends through the peer support group.

Maleeha, Bekah and Hezron, kindly share their experiences of psychosis which they went through as young adults at university. They also share what they found helpful during this time and the difference the support services and peer support group made to their recovery.

Links and resources

– Episode 18: How mental illness impacts our memory and concentration

On this episode, we’re chatting about to Dr Amy Lynham and Anthony Cope about research investigating how memory, concentration, and problem-solving skills, also known as cognition, are impacted by mental illness, and how online tools can be used to treat more people. 

Dr Amy Lynham is a researcher at the NCMH and has developed the Cardiff Online Cognitive Assessment, or CONCA, an online tool to assess cognitive difficulties that are often associated with mental health diagnoses such as psychosis and depression. 

Anthony Cope, member of NCMH’s Partnership in Research group, also known as PÂR, and a public contributor to research happening at Cardiff University and beyond. Tony shares his experience of mental ill-health and how he’s been involved in developing CONCA.

Links and resources

– Episode 19: Reducing the risk of suicide for people with bipolar disorder

Content warning: in this episode we discuss suicide. If this could be at all upsetting, please stop here and maybe give another episode a try. 

Professor Tania Gergel and Professor Ian Jones discuss the increased risk of suicide for people living with bipolar disorder, and what research is needed in this area.

A difficult but important topic, suicidal thinking is a recognised symptom of bipolar. Globally, approximately 15-20% of people with bipolar disorder die by suicide, with another 30-60% making at least one attempt. Attempts amongst those with bipolar experiencing suicidal episodes are also more lethal than attempts among the general population.

Tania is the director of research at Bipolar UK, and has various other roles, including being an Honorary Visiting Professor in the Division of Psychological Medicine and Clinical Neurosciences at Cardiff University and national lead for bipolar in NCMH.

Ian is a professor of perinatal psychiatry for the Division of Psychological Medicine and Clinical Neuroscience at Cardiff University, and, at the time of recording, director of NCMH (Ian has since retired and Professor Jon Bisson has now stepped into his rather large shoes). His research interests relate to bipolar spectrum disorders, in particular the relationship of mood disorders to childbirth. 

Links and resources

If you or someone you know is in crisis, please contact the Samaritans on 116 123 or text FRONTLINE to 85258. In an emergency, please call 999. You can also access crisis support through your General Practitioner (GP).