Australian psychologists Amy & Hunter nerd out about all things psychology, from Star Wars to Social Anxiety. Listen in for an independent pod with great chemistry between therapists working in oncology (Hunter) & child psychology (Amy). Each episode focuses on a psychological issue, therapy or simply provides an outlet to overanalyse our favourite tv & film characters. @twoshrinkspod
We have decided to call time on Two Shrinks Pod as our personal and professional lives have prevented us from being able to regularly produce the show. As we both care about the quality of the work we put out, we decided that if we couldn’t produce something we were proud of then it was time to end the pod.
Thank you to all of the tens of thousands of listeners who had let us into your ears and minds, and for sharing our nerdy sense of humour. Thanks to our collaborators and interview guests.
It has been an amazing journey to go on with all of you.
We will keep our episodes and website up indefinitely.
If you want to contact us, we will keep monitoring our email twoshrinkspod@gmail.com and our twitter @twoshrinkspod until the end of May 2023.
Irvin Yalom said “life is a spark between two identical voids, the darkness before birth and the one after death”.
Listeners, thanks for making our spark burn that just that bit brighter. We hope yours burned brighter too for having listened to us.
Amy and Hunter.
83 - Coping with Exams
Oct 25, 2022
If you’re a student struggling to cope with exams or a parent supporting one, this episode is for you. Just in time for the year 12 exams, we’ve prepared a crash course on how to cope with anxiety in the lead up, on the morning of and during an exam. Listen for practical tips, how to know when to take a break and ways you can calm down once your in your exam.
In this episode we cover how to cope: During study periods
Analyze This - 2SP on the School of Movies
Oct 13, 2022
Head over to the School of Movies Podcast to listen to Amy and Hunter talk about the comedy mob film Analyze This starring Robert De Niro and Billy Crystal. We talk about anxiety attacks, toxic masculinity, doing therapy at gun point and the ethical issues of receiving gifts from your mobster client.
School of Movies Analyze This : https://www.podbean.com/ew/pb-jbcwc-12d7d2b
School of Movies is a British podcast hosted by Alex and Sharon Shaw who dissect and discuss modern cinema, there is no movie podcast like it and it is well worth a listen.
2SP has previously been on their show discussing Inside Out: https://www.podbean.com/ew/pb-44rqh-b61ed2
and Mary and Max: https://www.podbean.com/ew/pb-mqs5i-eb20ef
Sharon was also a guest on 2SP in last year’s instalment of Shrinks on Film : https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/71-psychs-on-film-3-shrinks-with-a-vengeance/id1236774684?i=1000526171601
82 - Phobias: A Year 12 Psychology Exam Crash Course
Oct 05, 2022
This episode we’ve put together a crash course on phobias. We know phobias are on the VCE psychology exam and we have covered the main topics and theories covered in the course. The episode is pitched at Australian year 12 psychology students (and for their parents wanting to understand what this psychology garbage is).
We don’t assume any prior psychology knowledge so this means that it is good episode for anyone who want to understand about psychological theory and treatment. Understanding phobias and their treatment brings together a lot of core psychological concepts. Listen in for easy to understand definitions, examples and how it all fits together to understand the case of Ron Weasley’s arachnophobia.
We can’t promise we have talked about everything on the exam but it should be a good way to brush up pre exam. Looking for something specific? 01:20 Definitions 13:50 Prevalence 16:20 The 4 P’s & the biopsychosocial model: A case study of Ron Weasley 25:00 Classical conditioning 37:00 Operant conditioning 48:00 GABA dysfunction 51:10 Stress response system 55:45 Cognitive biases 1:01:30 Triggers 1:04:00 Transtheoretical model of change 1:09:00 Treatment If you liked the episode please rate/review us or tell someone about the show.
You can access your free Calabash talk at https://calabash.courses/twoshrinkspod
81 - Psychology of Abortion
Aug 25, 2022
For episode 81 we’re taking a comprehensive, research driven look at abortion: what it’s like making the decision, how it impacts people psychologically and what happens if you can’t have one when you want to? Join us for a discussion of what the research actually says, in all it’s complexity, about how women respond after an abortion. To skip forward to a particular topic:
05:30 Decision making
19:35 Psychological impacts of having a voluntary abortion
40:25 Impacts on sexual functioning
44:45 Psychological impacts of having an abortion for medical reasons
49:12 Outcomes for women who want an abortion but are denied one
Pereira, Pires & Canavarro (2019) Decision-making trajectories leading to termination of an unplanned pregnancy: specificities among adolescent and adult women https://doi.org/10.1080/02646838.2019.1566596
Leithner et al (2021) Three or less? Decision making for or against selective reduction and psychological outcome in forty women with a triplet pregnancy https://doi.org/10.1080/0167482X.2020.1750005
Psychological responses following a voluntary abortion:
O’Donnell, O’Carroll and Toole (2018) Internalized stigma and stigma-related isolation predict women’s psychological distress and physical health symptoms post-abortion https://doi.org/10.1177%2F0361684317748937
Foster et al (2015) A comparison of depression and anxiety symptom trajectories between women who had an abortion and women denied one https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25628123/
Toffol et al (2016) Anxiety and quality of life after first-trimester termination of pregnancy: a prospective study https://doi.org/10.1111/aogs.12959
Biggs et al (2017) Women’s mental health and well-being 5 years after receiving or being denied an abortion: a prospective, longitudinal cohort study https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27973641/
Holmlund et al (2014) Psychological ill-being experienced by first-time mothers and their partners in pregnancy after abortion: a cohort study https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27973641/
Sexual functioning:
Limoncin et al (2017) The effect of voluntary termination of pregnancy on female sexual and emotional well-being in different age groups https://doi.org/10.1080/0167482X.2017.1285901
Psychological responses after an abortion for medical reasons:
Nazare, Fonesca & Canavarro (2013) Adaptive and maladaptive grief responses following TOPFA: actor and partner effects of coping strategies https://doi.org/10.1080/02646838.2013.806789
Nazare, Fonesca & Canavarro (2013) Trauma following termination of pregnancy for fetal abnormality: is this the path from guilt to grief? https://doi.org/10.1080/15325024.2012.743335
Lafarge, Mitchell & Fox (2017) Posttraumatic growth following pregnancy termination for fetal abnormality: the predictive role of coping strategies and perinatal grief https://doi.org/10.1080/15325024.2012.743335
Outcomes for women who want an abortion and can’t have one:
Rocca et al (2013) Women’s emotions one week after receiving or being denied an abortion in the United States https://doi.org/10.1363/4512213
80 - This Episode Could've Been an Email
May 30, 2022
This episode we’re covering our professional gripes with a thin veil of science and talking about work research. Join us for a light-hearted, research based whinge about frictionless spaces for nomadic workers (or hotdesking), how meetings interrupt us, documentation makes us burnt out and just how judgemental we all are about email signatures. To wrap up, Hunter proves a point about windfarms to a random farmer he met on a plane and Amy waxes lyrical about comfort food.
This time on 2SP we’re taking a look at sarcasm through 4 research articles. How does it develop in childhood? Are some cultures really more sarcastic? Can make us more creative? And, can emojis help avoid awkward misunderstandings of sarcasm when we text?
After a delightful break with some sparkling shiraz, Hunter laments the impact of clutter on productivity and Amy talks about whether people feel more safely attached to their pets or their partners.
78 - I Didn't Do the Thing Today: Productivity Guilt with Madeleine Dore
Mar 06, 2022
Struggling to get anything done? Constantly torturing yourself over what you could’ve achieved if only you had a routine, stuck to a schedule, magically became a more productive, focused person? You’re not alone. Join us for a chat with Madeleine Dore: Melbourne journalist, interviewer and creator of the Everyday Routines project.. She takes us through how to approach our days creatively, why we get stuck and how even the most prolific creatives battle with their routines.
For our last episode of the year we’re looking back over 2021. We chat about the episodes of the year with a dash of new research, a new therapy portrayal in Mare of Easttown and a nostalgic look at our favourite episodes. To really get things off our chests, we wrap up with the Gripe List - a random assortment of things that have pissed us off in 2021.
As always, thank you for listening. We’ll be back at the start of 2022
76 - How to help your anxious kid
Dec 22, 2021
This episode we’re giving a crash-course for parents on how to help your child when they’re anxious. Amy talks us through what kids’ anxiety looks like, how to begin to calm things down and when to call in the experts. Listen for practical, doable tips on what to do when your kid’s anxiety is overwhelming them or you. To finish up, Hunter talks about and Amy is inspired by Twitter to talk through drop bear survival.
75 - How to Cope with Burnout and Emotional Exhaustion (For HCW)
Nov 28, 2021
We know how much healthcare workers have been through, are still going through. So for this episode, we wanted to help doctors, nurses and allied health clinicians deal with burn out and when it’s all too much. Join us to hear Hunter talk through how you know when you’re becoming burnt out and what can you do to deal with patients who push your buttons.
Because we’re creatures of habit, we finish with things we came across - Amy talks about why kids stick out their tongues to concentrate and Hunter examines the jealousy of dogs.
It is late October 2021, Melbourne is emerging from a 77 day lockdown and we’ve just earned the dubious title of most locked down city in the world. Throughout, this difficult situation has been made harder by constant media and political pressure to end lockdowns, often with the argument that lockdowns cause suicide.
We wanted to dig into this properly and find out from the data whether this actually was the case? In this episode we take a look at suicide statistics in four Western countries, talk through the factors that can lead to suicide and provide some tips for how to respond if you or someone you care about is feeling suicidal.
Supports (for Australian listeners):
If you are in immediate danger: 000
For crisis support 24/7: Lifeline 13 11 14 or Suicide call back service (24 hour phone & online support): 1300 659 467 or online www.suicidecallbackservice.org.au
To access private psychologists: see a GP for a mental health care plan or contact local private practices. Your GP may know of local clinics with availability or shorter wait times.
This week we’re returning to an everyday psychology topic and pondering why we laugh. In classic Two Shrinks style, we talk through four pieces of research: preschoolers laughing with their friends, personality and laughter, ridicule in family and funeral workers’ use of laughter.
As always we finish up with things we came across: Amy freaks out about robot-human interaction and Hunter delights in a letter to the editor.
We’re back after an unexpected break with a classic Two Shrinks question, why do we cry? Why is it that something painful, emotional or even joyful makes us tear up? How does it help us communicate, share with others, process how we feel? We’ll talk through why music makes us cry, what babies expect to happen when they cry, who cries in therapy and when it helps. To wrap up, we finish with the all important play behaviours of octopuses/octopi/octopodes and some research into whether little Albert actually became scared of white rabbits. Join us next time for an episode on laughter.
Ave Maria - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_5bYNqpEFU Beethoven’s 9th symphony - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hdWyYn0E4Ys Skinny love - Bon Iver On my own - Samantha Banks O children - Nick Cave It’s quiet uptown from Hamilton Someone great - LCD Soundsystem Somewhere over the rainbow - Israel Kamakawiwo’ole Thanks to listeners for contributing their songs - the playlist above includes all of our favourites.
71 - Psychs on Film 3 (Shrinks with a Vengeance)
Jun 20, 2021
In honour of our third instalment of psychs on film, we’re following the trilogy format and introducing a new character, well actually a guest - Sharon Shaw, podcaster and therapist from the School of Movies podcast. Join us for a discussion of 6 film and tv therapists - what we love, how it’s different from real life therapy and issues we can’t stop ranting about.
The shows we talk about are:
Top left - Right: West wing, donnie darko, fleabag Bottom left - right: thomas crown affair, bones, Ozarks
The Breakfast club - five teenagers in detention, each struggling and assuming everyone else has their life together. But what would happen if they were referred for therapy instead? Join us for a Two Shrinks look at Claire, Bender, Principal Vernon, Allison, Andy & Brian as we talk through how we’d make sense of these characters and what they’d need in the therapy room. The Molly Ringwald article we reference can be found at: https://www.newyorker.com/culture/personal-history/what-about-the-breakfast-club-molly-ringwald-metoo-john-hughes-pretty-in-pink
69 - Sexual Assault: How to Respond to a Disclosure
Mar 14, 2021
This episode we’re talking about an unashamedly heavy topic. Given the recent events in Australian Parliament, we wanted to talk about how psychologists, friends and family members of people who have been sexually assaulted can respond. How you can best support someone who’s beginning to share their story, even when you don’t know what to say.
If you’d like to skip to a particular topic: 9:45 Common reactions to media coverage of sexual assault & some basic coping strategies 15:30 Responding to disclosures as a psychologist 47:30 Responding as a friend or family member 53:45 Message to survivors who are considering disclosing for the first time
67 - Podcasting in a Pandemic: The 2020 Review
Dec 29, 2020
We’re trying something revolutionary this year - a 2020 wrap up episode! Join us as we chat about psychs on film; how to cope with things like bushfires, lockdowns and irritations on the holidays and; the little ways the pod has impacted us this year.
Most exciting of all is a return, at about 50 minutes, of the gripe list, with everything from printer issues to uber eats (we know, we’ve been pretty wild this year). To finish it off, we chat about the toxicity of George’s Marvellous Medicine and question whether Hunter or Amy really have a gaming addiction.
TV shows: The Simpsons: Season 5, Episode 9, The last temptation of Homer Miracle Workers: Season 2, episode 7, King Cragnoor in therapy (clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=At3I2qdlJfQ)
This episode we’re excited to be responding to a highly relatable listener question.
Justin Hensley (@EBMgoneWILD) asked us: “How does one take a compliment? In COVID times we get a lot of “thank you for your service” but even regularly I suck at taking them. Is it an upbringing thing?” So we’re pulling it apart in the two shrinks way with a chat about why it’s so hard, what issues can be underlying this & how on earth you’re supposed to accept a compliment graciously.
To wrap up, it’s things we came across focused on insults - hear which musician gets enough negative press to have a whole research paper written about him and try out some medieval insults.
Ever find yourself getting anxious about talking to new people, avoiding speaking in work meetings or overanalysing something you’ve said? Then this episode is for you. We chat about practical ways to start to work on social anxiety - calming yourself, challenging your thoughts and experimenting with new skills.
To wrap up the show Amy has a bone to pick with critics of cryving (driving while crying) and Hunter rhapsodised over the appeal of simple desserts.
64 - Election Emotions: anxiety, catharsis and hope
Nov 08, 2020
This episode, Amy and Hunter talk shit about the US elections. After a long, stressful week anxiously watching, we chat about how we’ve felt, our top gripes from the past 4 years & why it’s ok to let it all out.
We all need to talk, process, feel everything that’s going on right now - hear why it’s important to let loose before we can move on.
For no reason we can think of (COVID, US elections, lockdowns, 2020…), lots of us are struggling with anger at the moment. This episode we take a practical look at anger to help you know when you’re feeling it & what to do when it crops up. We talk about why it’s helpful to understand your anger and some steps to calm down quicker when it does.
As always we wrap up with things we came across, this time looking at just how little intervention is needed to stop cheating & why Hunter is in desperate need of a holiday to the Swiss alps.
62 - Schadenfreude: Is it ok to feel like this?
Oct 06, 2020
This week, in the wake of President Trump being diagnosed with COVID-19, the world has been going through a collective emotional experience. People who ordinarily wouldn’t relish in the misfortunes of others are feeling a pleasurable twinge of schadenfreude. We noticed people talking about how guilty they’ve felt so we wanted to pull apart this complex emotion in the two shrinks way: What is it? Why do we experience it? And is it really ok to feel like this?
As always, to wrap up we finish with Things We Came Across: why narcissists aren’t wearing masks and odd things that have happened in interviews.
2SP on Meta - a behind the scenes interview
Oct 04, 2020
Amy and Hunter were excited to be on Peter Wells’ podcast Meta, a podcast about podcasts. If you are a Two Shrinks fan and want to know more about how we go about producing the show, who listens and how we got started then head over to the Meta podcast feed (link below) and tune in to hear Peter grill us and perhaps act as a bit of a therapist towards us. Peter writes for the @theage and @smh newspapers about technology and podcasts and recently started Meta, where he is interviewing podcasters about the work they do. His first episode was with the Coronacast Team, the third with none other than former Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard. So we were very pleased to be amongst such great company.
Autism, a fascinating, complex and controversial disorder. Join Amy and Hunter for an overview of Autism, or as it is currently known, Autism Spectrum Disorder. This episode should be a good one stop shop for giving you a) a description of the signs and symptoms of Autism, b) a history of how Autism and Aspergers Syndrome came to be recognised, c) a description about one of the main psychological theories to explain some of the challenges people with Autism have, and d) a discussion of myths about Autism. The episode wraps with Things We Came Across, Hunter discussing fainting in classical paintings while Amy tackles the influence of social anxiety on Pokemon Go behaviour.
This episode is pitched at a high level but should be accessible enough to learn about Autism and it is one of our longer shows because there is a lot to cover (and we didn’t even go into working with people with ASD). Autism is a really interesting topic for clinicians and students of psychology to study given it’s complexity and also the intersection of experimental social cognition research, advocacy, early intervention and the emerging neuro-divergent community and movement.
If there is anything you think we missed or would like us to cover about Autism then email us at twoshrinkspod@gmail.com.
Research & information:
Autism : A New Introduction to Psychological Theory and Current Debate by Francesca Happé , and Sue Fletcher-Watson
Mary and Max - 2SP on the School of Movies
Sep 12, 2020
Head over to the School of Movies podcast feed to hear Amy and Hunter join Alex and Sharon Shaw discuss and reflect on Adam Elliot’s masterpiece Mary and Max.
It is a film about a decades long friendship between an Australian girl Mary living in Melbourne, and adult Max who has Asperger’s and lives in New York. We discuss depression, Asperger’s, loneliness, and how these are portrayed in this unique stop motion movie. It’s not always an easy watch but it is an accurate depiction of these conditions and listeners interested in Asperger’s and Autism will find it rewarding.
A film about the challenges of two people understanding a chaotic and confusing world seems very 2020.
60 - Diagnosing the Skywalkers: Mental Health in the Star Wars Universe
Jul 18, 2020
Presenting the definitive discussion on the mental health of the Skywalker family. Its our 60th episode and for some fun we turned our minds to analysing the characters from Star Wars.
This is an episode for psych nerds and Star Wars fans alike. It is similar to our Harry Potter episode (#41) where we diagnosed the Hogwarts teachers with personality disorders.
We discuss in turn Rey, Kylo/Ben Solo, Luke and Leia. For each we cover what their attachment style is, what early maladaptive schemas they have, and if they meet criteria for a DSM-5 diagnosis.
What does that mean in non psych speak? It means we talk at length about each character’s personality, upbringing, motivation and what problems they are experiencing.
Because Hunter is a the bigger Star Wars fan Amy quizzes him 3 times on how deep his knowledge of the Star Wars Universe actually is, with some interesting results.
The end of the show wraps up with “The Therapist Rises” a psychological/therapy interpretation of the final trilogy. If you are a psychologist or training to be one you need to listen to the last 25 mins.
Any thoughts about the show? twoshrinkspod@gmail.com or on twitter @twoshrinkspod
May the force be with you!
Teaser: Does Anakin Skywalker have Borderline Personality Disorder?
Jun 14, 2020
Ahead of our 60th episode “Diagnosing the Skywalkers: Mental Health in the Star Wars Universe” we decided to give you some pre-listening (reading?) to get you ready (hey don’t judge, we did do a lot of university study). Hunter covers a series of academic articles that discuss whether Anakin Skywalker has Borderline Personality (links below). This is a snippet from our 10th episode recorded way back in 2017 before The Last Jedi was released.
If you want to know more about Borderline Personality we covered symptoms and theory in Episode #25: (listen here through the website or apple podcasts); the treatment of BPD with Dialectical Behaviour Therapy in Episode #26 (website or apple podcasts) and the impact of BPD on family members in Episode #49 (website or apple podcasts)
See you in a couple of weeks to geek out on psychology & Star Wars!
Anakin Skywalker articles :
Part one - Bui et al. (2011) - Is Anakin Skywalker Suffering From Borderline Personality Disorder?
Part two - da Rocha et al. (2012) - Revisiting the Anakin Skywalker Diagnostic: Transcending the Diagnostic Criteria
Part three - Bui & Rodgers (2012) - Response to da Rocha et al.
Part four - Tobia et al. (2015) - Darth Vulcan? In support of Anakin Skywalker suffering from borderline personality disorder.
59 - Healthcare workers’ challenges during COVID-19
May 31, 2020
How are health care workers coping during COVID? On our final episode of the COVID series, we take a look at the issues facing healthcare workers. For the first time in many workers’ careers, we’re dealing with an issue that impacts everyone, including ourselves. Tune in for a discussion about issues like coping under crisis conditions, providing mental health treatment remotely, and what happens when your personal values or worries are different to those you treat.
As always, to wrap up we finish with a lighter chat about things we came across - what we’ll miss from lock down and how we knew we’d been in lock down too long.
Special thanks to the doctors who helped us prepare for this episode by sharing their experiences and concerns: Dr Eric Levi (@DrEricLevi), Dr Vyom Sharma (@drvyom), Dr Andy Tagg (@andrewjtagg) and Dr Lachie Hayes.
58 - Mental health issues during COVID-19: ADHD, OCD, PTSD, Depression, Eating Disorders, Substance Use, Family Issues
May 23, 2020
Feeling like your mental health is suffering during COVID-19? Finding that your attention is worse, you’ve started restricting your eating again or are having more compulsions? Then this episode is for you.
We chat about first steps to getting back on track when symptoms flare up during COVID including: ADHD, OCD, depression, eating disorders and PTSD/trauma. We also brainstorm ways of dealing with family conflict, drug and alcohol use, and parental guilt.
To wrap things up, we finish with what we’ll miss about lockdown and when we knew we’d been in lockdown a little too long.
57 - COVID-19 anxiety with Dr Sherman Lee
May 07, 2020
57 - We’re all worried about COVID-19, but how much worry is unhelpful?
Dr Lee and Lucky
We have a lively chat with Dr Sherman Lee, an Associate Professor researching COVID-19/Corona virus anxiety at Christopher Newport University in the United States. Sherman tells us about two scales he’s developed measuring 1) Corona anxiety and 2) obsessive thoughts about COVID-19 and grilling us on our responses. We chat through how these scales are helpful in identifying who has significant or extreme COVID-19 related anxiety and what problematic thoughts someone might be having. Along the way we draw on how Sherman got into this research, the role of spirituality in mental health and what COVID-19 anxiety can look like day to day. To wrap up we talk about some of the oddities of lock down in things we came across.
Dr Sherman Lee’s links:
Sherman can be contacted at: sherman.lee@cnu if you have any questions about the topic or using the measures for screening.
Papers:
Lee, S. A. (in press). Coronavirus Anxiety Scale: A brief mental health screener for COVID-19 related anxiety. Death Studies. doi: 10.1080/07481187.2020.1748481
Lee, S. A., Jobe, M. C., & Mathis, A. A. (2020). Mental health characteristics associated with dysfunctional coronavirus anxiety. Psychological Medicine. https://doi.org/10.1017/S003329172000121X
56 - Coping in the time of COVID-19 (part two)
Apr 29, 2020
56 - Join us as we continue chatting about ways to cope with COVID-19. In this episode, Hunter and Amy talk about coping with information overload, how to self-care in the time of covid, managing expectations of yourself and home schooling. How can we take the pressure off ourselves but still do enough to keep going? We discuss why everyone is feeling so moody and what things you can do to lift your mood and feel a little more connected. To finish up, Hunter asks about what we appreciate more in isolation. Any topics that were missed and you to be covered message twoshrinkspod@gmail.com and let us know.
55 - Coping in the time of COVID-19 (part one)
Apr 19, 2020
55 - In our first episode recorded COVID style, we have a chat about common issues and questions coming up for people. Tune in for ideas on how to manage anxiety, dealing with uncertainty and coping with the flow on effects of COVID. We also talk about how to talk to people in your life who are more or less anxious than you about COVID. To finish up, we talk about what’s new in isolation - Hunter talks about his obsession with the Falklands War and Amy rants about the problems of doing jigsaws with cats.
Join us next time as we finish off part two of our COVID chat with self-care, feeling overwhelmed and coping with isolation.
54 - Surviving a bushfire and coping after - with Danielle Graber
Mar 25, 2020
In this episode Hunter & Amy interview Danielle Graber, clinical psychologist based in Melbourne who has been working with people impacted by the bushfires. We recorded this episode a month ago but our chief editor (Hunter) has been unwell so we’ve been delayed with the release. Stay tuned for an episode on COVID and a light one for some distraction.
Danielle and her three therapy dogs
The bushfires over the Australian summer were devastating and have left many communities without their homes, businesses and safe spaces. We wanted to chat to a psychologist with experience working with bushfire survivors and helping in the recovery process. Danielle gives a great description of people’s responses to bushfires, talks us through treatment at different stages of response and speaks about the importance of community led recovery. She also gives an easy to understand overview of EMDR and runs us through how she integrates animal assisted therapy into her work.
In the midst of everything that’s happening globally, people are still recovering from the fires and could use some help. If you’re interested, please visit the links below. Danielle’s practice is also offering up to 6 free sessions without a mental health care plan for people impacted by fires on Thursday afternoons until the end of April. Contact 12 points psychology for more information.
53 - Sports psychology and helping athletes perform - with Michael Inglis
Feb 09, 2020
How do you help a professional athlete perform at their best? How do you help them cope with performance anxiety or failure? What is the role of a psychologist in a football club and how can you work with coaching staff to help the whole team? Hunter chats to Michael Inglis about his work as a sports psychologist. Michael is working with Western United Football Club (that’s soccer for you AFL followers), he has also worked with AFL Players association, Australian Cricketers Association, Rugby Union Players Association, Professional Footballers Association, as well as with tennis players, cyclists - so you know like every sport. This is an episode that is all about improving performance and so will be interesting even if you aren’t crazy into sport.
You can follow Michael on twitter : @M_InglisSpoPsyc
If you liked this episode don’t forget to rate/review the show and you can check out more about 2SP at www.twoshrinkspod.com
52 - A day in the life of a psychologist working in cancer or paediatrics
Jan 26, 2020
Ever wanted to know what it is like to work as a psychologist who works with cancer patients? Or are you interested in how a psychologist works with children? Continuing on with the relaxed 2SP summer programming Amy and Hunter decided to interview each other and ask questions about the work that they do and expand on discussions that they have touched on in previous episodes. Clinically Amy and Hunter see eye to eye and are behavioural in approach but they work in different fields, Amy works with kids and Hunter with cancer patients in a hospital (psycho-oncology).
In the first half of the episode Amy asks Hunter all the questions she has wanted to know about working with death anxiety and seeing patients for brief interventions. Then at about 33 minutes the roles are flipped and Hunter grills Amy on how exactly she gets children to talk to her and other aspects of play therapy. So a good episode to listen to in parts, especially if your travel to work is 33 mins each way. Or if you only really like one host - then just listen to that part.
51 - Psychs on film - the second part
Jan 11, 2020
51 - So Amy and Hunter decided to do another episode of therapists on film and television. In part because they realised that there was an over representation of male therapists in the previous episode and mostly because it is the holidays and they really enjoyed doing something a bit lighter.
In this episode they play and talk about clips of therapists from Web Therapy, Pure, Lars and the Real Girl, Newsroom, Blades of Glory, The Sopranos (including Dr Melfi’s supervisor), the Sixth Sense (for the obligatory child psych content), Kath and Kim (for an Australian angle), Two and a half men (because Hunter’s brother loves that show) and of course the excellent Good Will Hunting. Hear Amy and Hunter discuss what is good therapy and what is not, including diatribes about CBT for OCD and whether ACT is appropriate, as well as the best way to engage a child in therapy.
50 - Ever wondered if the therapists you see on TV or film are doing the right thing? Or why they are doing what they do? Then this is the episode for you, Amy and Hunter play eight scenes from television and film of therapists doing what they do and break down what is going on. They go through, Grosse Point Blank, Frasier, Analyze This, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, The West Wing, In Treatment, M*A*S*H* and Harriet the Spy.
Did we miss anything? Let us know via twoshrinkspod@gmail.com or on twitter @twoshrinkspod
49 - When a family member or partner has Borderline Personality Disorder
Dec 10, 2019
What’s it like living with a family member or partner with Borderline Personality Disorder? On this episode, we take a look at the experiences of carers and the supports available to them. We start with the diagnostic criteria for BPD and a discussion of how the dynamic of worry and monitoring can have a negative impact on family members. Hunter then takes us through the impact of BPD on parenting before Amy talks about the experiences of partners. As always, we finish with TWCA, chatting about whether public shaming works to change behaviour and provide scientific evidence for why Hunter’s kids wouldn’t eat their dinner (food neophobia)
“If you were to look at me you’d see a single person…but when we look in the mirror we see us, fragmented identities living in the same body” Carol Broad (via Caitlyn)
This episode Two Shrinks take a look at Dissociative Identity Disorder (Multiple Personality Disorder) and what it can be like living life with a fragmented sense of self. Join us for a chat about how it’s shown in media vs the diagnosable symptoms, the structure of hosts and alters and, how treatment can begin. We also squeeze in a crash course on dissociation and some recent research on distinguishing those with DID from those feigning it using a memory task. As always we wrap up with TWCA where Hunter laments the perils of daylight saving and Amy rationalises her foggy cognition when hungover
Zombieland - 2SP on the School of Movies
Oct 19, 2019
Head over to the School of Movies podcast feed to hear Amy and Hunter discuss, dissect and devour the psychological themes of control, trauma and attachment in the movie Zombieland. It is a black comedy action film about the Zombie apocalypse and is one of 2SP favs. Amy and Hunter were on the School of Movies earlier this year discussing the Pixar film Inside Out and fortunately were asked back. What better psychological topic to choose than discussing how people cope with the end of the world.
47 - Munchausen’s syndrome (Factitious Disorder) - why some people fake being sick
Aug 09, 2019
47 - Factitious disorder, better known as Munchausen’s syndrome, is when someone fakes being sick for no apparent reason aside from the benefit of assuming the sick role. Factitious disorder imposed on another, or Munchausen’s by proxy, is when a caregiver (usually a mother) claims their child is sick, in many cases causing the child to be sick through poisoning. We take a deep dive into the literature about these disorders, discussing the extreme lengths used to pretend they are sick, including lying about symptoms, falsifying medical tests and causing illnesses in themselves. Both disorders are fascinating, rare, and result in unneeded investigations and procedures (eg. surgery). The mortality rate is high ~10% and for those who survive often are disfigured.
At about the 60 minute mark we have an extended Things We Came Across segment. We have two listener TWCA articles and ponder what makes someone cool and ask the question ‘what is art?’ (Thanks to Andy Tagg and Laura Finlayson-Short). Amy reveals the true reason psychs are called shrinks and Hunter discusses important research on gin consumption.
If you like the show then it’d be great if you could rate and review the show on apple podcasts, and if you have a pet send us a pic of it to twoshrinkspod@gmail.com
Where does ‘shrink’ come from? Season 16, episode 13 of QI - https://qi.com/
46 - Dark Tetrad of personality - Psychopathy, Narcissism, Machiavellianism & Sadism
Jul 04, 2019
This week on Two Shrinks Pod we’re returning to the darker side of humanity and taking a look at the Dark Tetrad: psychopathy, narcissism, machiavellianism and sadism. We chat through the rationale for adding sadism into the mix and examine the ways it can play out in romantic relationships, responses to grief and online trolling. As always, we wrap up with Things We Came Across - Hunter explains judgement of people who make spelling errors and Amy makes yet another argument for why cats are awesome (i.e. how other animals are more fear and disgust inducing than them).
Inside Out - 2SP on the School of Movies podcast
Jun 29, 2019
Exciting news listeners - Two Shrinks recently guested on the School of Movies podcast where Amy and Hunter were asked to come on and help discuss Pixar’s masterpiece that explores the function of emotions - Inside Out. This is a movie that therapists frequently refer people to watch to help them understand emotions. School of Movies is hosted by the fabulous Alex and Sharon Shaw and they do super in-depth analysis of films (check out their Good Will Hunting episode for a great discussion of therapy and trauma). In the Inside Out episode we have a really good discussion on the function of core emotions shown in the film : Joy, Anger, Disgust, Fear and Sadness - and of course we make sure that we relate things back to therapy and therapy processes.
45 - Don't stand so close to me: understanding interpersonal distance
Jun 12, 2019
45 - This ep we are talking about the ins and outs of interpersonal distance - that is how close you like to be to other people. Amy talks about cross-cultural differences and attachment (surprise surprise) whilst Hunter takes us on a journey of age related differences and discusses the impact of psychopathy on interpersonal distance. Spoiler: psychopaths don’t respond to your angry expression. TWCA we have a first for 2SP, a listener TWCA from Sahra O’Doherty on Pervasive Labelling Disorder, Amy talks taste perception whilst listening to music and Hunter talks about a survival analysis of the characters in Game of Thrones.
44 - Men's responses to a miscarriage or still-birth - with Kate Obst
May 14, 2019
44 - How do men respond to pregnancy loss? What is their experience? What supports do they need? And is it different to how women respond? This episode Hunter interviews Kate Obst whilst at that APS Health Psychology conference in Adelaide in April 2019 and she talks about men’s responses to a miscarriage or still-birth. This will be of interest to anyone (not just men) who is interested in grief and how we respond to the loss of a baby. Kate was awarded the prestigious Westpac Future Leaders Scholarship in 2018 and at the conference presented on her honours research. She is currently completing a combined PhD/Master degree where she is continuing to research this topic. In this interview Kate discusses her research findings and highlights the variability in response to pregnancy loss, the barriers men face to accessing support and some possible paths to improve the response of the health system for grieving parents.
The interview was recorded on location at the conference in what turned out to be a room that was a little noisy - there is a slight hum in the background - but it shouldn’t detract from the content of the episode.
Bears of Hope 24 hour grief support line: 1300 11 HOPE
Red Nose grief and loss 24 hour support line: 1300 308 307
Miracle Babies 24 hour NurtureLine for families with a baby currently in the NICU/SCN: 1300 622 243
Pillars of Strength (Australian-first organisation supporting bereaved dads to stillbirth, neonatal death and infant loss): http://pillarsofstrength.com.au/
Pink Elephants Support - they focus on infertility and miscarriage specifically. They are also rolling out a service called Fertility in the Workplace, encouraging organisations to better support staff RTW post loss. They also offer peer support. https://pinkelephantssupport.com/
Hunter on location at the APS Health Psych conference (in the noisy IT room) with Kate Obst
43 - Self-forgiveness as a therapeutic strategy - with Dr Grant Dewar
May 07, 2019
43 - This week Hunter brings you an interview whilst on location at the Health Psychology conference in Adelaide. He interviews Dr Grant Dewar who use self-forgiveness as a therapeutic strategy in particular using it to lessen the impacts of adverse traumatic events that have occurred earlier in our lives. His approach has its roots in ACT (acceptance and commitment therapy) and is easy to understand. Grant has conducted a number of studies into this approach and uses it in his clinical practice. This should be of interest to therapists and also to people who are struggling with the effects that trauma and other negative experiences.
42 - What makes us laugh? The psychology of humour
Apr 14, 2019
This week, Two Shrinks tackle humour. Hunter and Amy agree with toddlers that wearing underpants on your head is indeed hilarious, snort over funny words and discuss the role of feedback in enjoyment of cartoons. We also chat about the role of humour in therapy - where can it help and when does it go too far? As always, we wrap up with things we came across. Hunter justifies his recent earworm and reads a perfectly ‘p’ preoccupied proposal to the APA before Amy finishes up with the tragedy of rabbit auricular amputation.
41 - Harry Potter & the Pathological Personalities
Feb 18, 2019
41 – Ever wondered what Voldermort’s attachment style is? Does Bellatrix Le Strange meet criteria for Borderline Personality Disorder? What about Snape? Is his behaviour schizoid, obsessive or best explained by complex grief?
If you are a fan of Harry Potter then this is the Two Shrinks Pod episode for you. In this episode Amy and Hunter go through each of the ten personality disorders discussed in the personality disorder series last year and discuss which characters from J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter books could have personality disorders. They also discuss possible differential diagnoses and ponder the use of words starting with P in the DSM-5 diagnostic categories. For a bit of fun Hunter gives Amy the Two Shrinks equivalent of her O.W.L.s, quizzing her on her Harry Potter knowledge at the end of each personality cluster.
40 - You can't ask a psychologist that
Dec 30, 2018
40 - Are you psychologising me right now? Do you think about me when I’m not here? Can I be the only one that sees you next time? Do you think I’m crazy? Why would I come and see if you if you’ve never had this problem? My kid has the problem so why are you telling me I need to change? How do you cope with everything I tell you? Should I leave my partner/job? Where do you live and can I touch your hair?
Yep - these are some of the questions psychologists get every day - so we decided to run through these and talk about how we respond to them and why. This is the ep for anyone who is super curious about psychologists and why we act the way we do - it should also be good for other psychologists to know they aren’t crazy and their experiences are normal (also see question four). For this episode we got Liz Daff (from the forensic episode) to join us in this discussion to give us an additional perspective on these questions.
We finish off with “Pods We Came Across” - pods we’ve been listening to this year.
39 - Improving the performance of professional athletes. Sports psychology and mental conditioning with Michael Inglis
Dec 10, 2018
39 - Ever wondered how athletes improve their mental game and stop cracking under pressure? Or would you like to know how you could improve your own performance in sport (or anything else)? Then this is the episode for you. Hunter chats to Michael Inglis, sports psychologist and co-founder of The Mind Room https://themindroom.com.au/ about a mental conditioning program he runs for athletes. Michael has worked with professional athletes from many different sports including AFL, rugby, soccer and cycling and has a wealth of experience. The episode wraps with a food orientated Things We Came Across discussion of being “hangry” and orthorexia.
38 - Social Stigma and Welfare with Dr Timothy Schofield
Nov 16, 2018
For the final interview of psychology week, Amy talks to Dr Timothy Schofield, research fellow at Melbourne University. They chat about Tim’s research into the stigma associated with welfare benefits, what makes a group vulnerable to stigma and the challenges of a research career. We wrap up with a Things We Came Across that soothes Amy’s doubts and riles up Tim with references to embodied cognition.
37 - Neuroscience of Social Anxiety - with Laura Finlayson-Short
Nov 15, 2018
In our next interview for psychology week, Amy chats with Laura, a PhD candidate who’s researching the parts of our brains that are active in social anxiety. We talk about what happens when we think about ourselves and others at the same time, how they might be skewed in social anxiety and what it’s like being a PhD candidate.
36 - Psychological treatment of chronic pain - with Dr Kathleen Leach
Nov 13, 2018
36 - for the second psychology week 2018 interview Hunter talks to Dr Kathleen Leach about chronic pain and the role psychologists play in the treatment and management of chronic pain. Kathleen has extensive experience working with patients who have chronic pain. Our usual experience of pain is that pain means damage but this is not the case in chronic pain which is different to acute pain. Some of the topics covered include the risk factors for developing chronic pain as well as why the best practice treatment of chronic pain is done with team of a physiotherapist, occupational therapist and psychologist, in additional to medical staff. Kathleen talks about some of the psychological approaches to help patients improve quality of life and management of their pain, such as countering unhelpful boom/bust cycles.
35 - How to get better sleep - with Dr Lyndel Shand
Nov 13, 2018
35 - Want to know how to get better sleep? Then have a listen to this episode which is our first in the series of interviews for psychology week 2018. Hunter talks to Dr Lyndel Shand on how to get better sleep, they talk the ins and outs of sleep hygiene, why it is important to understand sleep cycles and stages of sleep if you are to improve sleep. As sleep problems can mean different things to different people they then talk through several cases examples exploring how psychologists (and you can) resolve sleeping issues. Topics include struggling to get to sleep, struggling to get back to sleep after waking, not going to bed, and hyper-somnia.
Hunter and Lyndel finish up with segment Things We Came Across, discussing the important topics of whether knuckle cracking does give arthritis, and the correlates of binge watching television.
Psychology Week 2018 and 2SP is having a podathon! We have conducted four interviews and we will release one each day this week.
Topics:
How to get better sleep - with Dr Lyndel Shand. Hunter and Lyndel talk about understanding sleep cycles and then discuss several case examples (trouble getting to sleep, trouble getting back to sleep etc) to illustrate different problems and how psychologists work to overcome them
Psychological treatment of chronic pain - with Dr Kathleen Leach - Hunter interviews Kathleen who has extensive experience working with people with chronic pain. They discuss the role of psychology in the treatment of chronic pain and how psychologists work in to improve the lives of chronic pain patients.
Neuroscience of Social Anxiety - with Laura Finlayson-Short - Amy has a great chat with Laura, who is a psychology PhD candidate about what our brains do when we are socially anxious, and discuss what it is like being a PhD candidate.
Understanding Stigma - with Dr Timothy Schofield - Amy talks to Tim who is a research fellow about his work on understanding stigma towards the self and others (eg. towards those on welfare payments), and have a candid discussion about what it is like working as an academic.
For each we also got our guests to join in on the Things We Came Across section - with interesting results.
Know someone who likes to have things neat and tidy, sticks rigidly to the rules and appears tightly wound? This week we’re talking about the characteristics of Obsessive Compulsive Personality Disorder. In the last of our personality disorders series, we cover diagnosis, theory and treatment of this PD. We attempt to avoid self-diagnosis (Hunter), outwardly reject prior misdiagnosis (Amy) and barely refrain from diagnosing the entire psychology profession with OCPD. Wrapping up the show, Hunter talks about medical journal articles from the 1800s and Amy ponders if she’s got what it takes to survive an apocalypse.
33 - Dependent Personality Disorder - "Please look after me"
Oct 23, 2018
Pod 33 - The penultimate episode of our personality disorder series takes a look at Dependent Personality Disorder - when someone has an excessive need to be taken care of, is submissive, clingy and fears separation. Whilst it is a rare PD (<1%) all of us have dependent elements and Amy and Hunter also compare it to some of the other personality disorders discussed in the previous pods. There is, as usual, good discussion about different theories to explain this disorder (hear Hunter get frustrated about psycho-dynamic theories) and finishes up with talking about how to do therapy to address the problems of this disorder. For TWCA Hunter spends a moment talking about Dr Christine Blasey Ford and her research, then pivots to discussing what your resume photo really tells others, whilst Amy succumbs to more research about the tv show Survivor (hey we have a brand and we are sticking to it).
32 - Avoidant Personality Disorder - Sensitive, Vigilant and Socially Anxious
Oct 04, 2018
This week, Two Shrinks is leaving behind cluster B personality disorders and launching into cluster C, taking a long look at Avoidant Personality Disorder. We’ll chat about the people who seem shy, quiet and invisible, hanging out on the the fringes of social interactions. Continuing our PD series, we’ll take you through diagnosis, theories and treatment. As always, we wrap up with things we came across - Hunter discloses he has been binging on a Survivor podcast (Oz survivor). and ponders the effects of watching reality tv on aggression? Then they discloses Are Amy’s phantom vibrations normal?
31 - Forensic psychology with Liz Daff : working in prisons, working with anti-social personality disorder and psychopathy.
Sep 16, 2018
31 - Finishing up our mini-series on Anti-Social Personality Disorder and psychopaths we thought we’d talk to our colleague Liz Daff about working as a forensic psychologist. That is, a psychologist who works in prisons or forensic settings with people convicted of crimes or about to go to trial. This interview was so interesting and gripping. It is for anyone fascinated by crime shows (Midsomers Murders anyone?) or wondered what it’d be like to work with someone convicted of a serious crime. Liz is completing her clinical and forensic training through Swinburne University and gives a great description of some of the challenges working in this area.
We of course finish of with ‘Things we came across’ which Liz joins us for, with a discussion on the lack of evidence base for parachutes, Amy talks about anti social personality disorder and Survivor (the tv show), Hunter meanwhile talks about the psychological processes behind why his honey, lemon, cloves and ginger drink helps with head colds (ie. the placebo effect).
30 - More about psychopaths. Children with psychopathic traits, successful people who have psychopathic traits, & treatment of psychopathy
Aug 28, 2018
This episode we decided to continue on from pod 29 and chat more about psychopathy. Amy takes us through a discussion of how psychopathy does and does not manifest itself in children and adolescent. Spoiler – it does and doesn’t. Hunter then talks (at length) about ‘successful’ or non-incarcerated psychopaths, think nasty politicians, corporate CEO, that kind of thing. At about 47 minutes we jump to a discussion about treatment of psychopaths and anti-social personality disorder which is really interesting. For TWCA Hunter ponders the number of Subway stores by country and talks about white-coat hypertension, whilst Amy finds comfort in knowing chimps fake laugh to improve social standing.
29 - Anti-Social Personality Disorder, Psychopaths and Sociopaths - description and theory
Aug 08, 2018
This week on Two Shrinks Pod we're looking at the darker side of human nature. Hunter & Amy chat about the diagnosis of Anti-Social Personality Disorder, psychopaths and sociopaths. Lump Hannibal Lector and The Grinch (pre-heart growth) into the same camp and get nerdy over theory. We lighten things up at the end with a chat about the (perfectly normal) brain reasons Amy sees faces in things and blame Hunter's snacking on social influence. Join us next time for a chat about ASPD treatment!
28 - Schema therapy for Narcissistic Personality Disorder - with Chris Hayes
Jun 30, 2018
In this week's pod we chat with Chris Hayes, clinical psychologist and advanced schema therapist. Chris talks us through common schemas and modes in Narcissistic Personality Disorder, therapeutic approaches and the challenges of this work. He also answers our varied questions about schema therapy for personality issues. As always, we finish up with things we came across - Hunter chats about emotional expressions and the World Cup and Amy confirms that clowns are creepy. Was anyone questioning that?
27 - Narcissistic Personality Disorder - His Majesty, The Baby
Jun 07, 2018
This week we take a look at Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD) and answer our own burning questions: What is it like interacting with someone with NPD? How can you tell the difference between traits and diagnosable NPD? What are the theories about how it develops? And of course, which politicians meet criteria and what are the ethics of labelling them as such?
As always, we wrap up with Things We Came Across – Amy chats about why healthy food tastes better if you've prepared it yourself and Hunter chuckles about scanning salmon. Join us next time for an interview with a psychologist using schema therapy with clients with NPD!
NPD background reading - Diagnosis, theories on development and interpersonal experiences:
We're back after a short break with a discussion about DBT for BPD. Hunter takes us through the key components of Dialectical Behavior Therapy which is used to treat Borderline Personality Disorder and we chat about the processes and challenges of this work. The pod goes into the weeds of this treatment so to speak - it is a long conversation but stick with it as it is some really interesting parts. It should be of interest to anyone who is interested in learning about therapy, should be good for psychologists who don't know much about DBT and for anyone with loved ones who have BPD. The episode finishes up with a chat about music through the seasons and Hunter using research to rationalise his holiday butter consumption. Join us next time as we continue to talk about cluster B personality disorders.
25 - Borderline Personality Disorder - I hate you, don't leave me
Mar 20, 2018
This ep we are talking about Borderline Personality Disorder - one of the most interesting, challenging and controversial personality disorders. We chat about the symptoms, aetiology, controversies and issues in therapy when working with someone who has BPD. it was recorded at the same time as the last ep (Histrionic PD) and so it's essentially part two of our discussion about Histrionic and Borderline PDs so in the the reverse of last week Amy will be doing most of the talking. Hunter wraps this week up discussing some research on knitting - what's driving us to pick up the yarn? Join us next week for a discussion about BPD treatment.
This week we got a little carried away talking about cluster B personality disorders so instead of discussing two PDs we've split the episode in two and just talk about one. First up, Hunter talks us through Histrionic PD: what are the symptoms, how do clients with this disorder present and what do we know about the theoretical background? Amy wraps it up with a things we came across about aesthetic goosebumps, inspired by the great pod, Every Little Thing. Next week Amy will take us through Borderline Personality Disorder and Hunter will do TWCA. Hunter's resources:
More specific reading on HPD : Personality Disorders in Modern Life. (2000). Millon & Davis. Wiley. If you google the title of this book there seems to be downloadable pdfs of it available at no cost.
23 - Schizoid, Paranoid & Schizotypal Personality Disorders. The Odd & Eccentric Cluster.
Feb 19, 2018
This week we're back from our summer holiday & digging into personality disorders. Join us in the first episode of our mini series on personality disorders. We are starting off with Cluster A personality disorders, namely Schizoid, Paranoid and Schizotypal PDs. This cluster is known as the Odd & Eccentric cluster. We'll chat about the main features of each diagnosis, some theory, what it is like to work with clients who have traits or full blown PDs and the complexity of treatment. As always, we wrap up with things we came across: Amy talks about how a picture of a sun can make us tip more and Hunter is inspired by the Slow Burn podcast to talk about the Martha Mitchell effect.
22 - Aviophobia (Fear of Flying): why are so many of us afraid of flying?
Jan 02, 2018
To kick off the new year, Hunter and Amy take a quick look at aviophobia. We talk about how a fear of flying develops and the way your sensitivity to body anxiety symptoms influences fear. To wrap up, Hunter muses over why we (used to) send Christmas cards and Amy rants about the Tooth Fairy's inequitable behaviour.
We are going to take a few weeks off at the start of January (2018) but will be back with new pods at the end of Jan so check your feed and make sure you follow us on twitter.
21 - All I want for Christmas...is subjective well-being & to be crowned king of the bon bons
Dec 20, 2017
This week, Two Shrinks Pod is getting ready for Christmas! Amy takes us through the role of cognitive development in believing Santa and how to guarantee the best chance of winning a Christmas cracker. Hunter talks about subjective well-being - what makes some of us feel better after Christmas and others worse? We finish off with two things we came across. This week it's the practice habits of Peppa Pig's Dr Brown Bear and a new diagnostic criteria. Do you have Bond Adequacy Disorder (BAD)?
20 - Ten things: Middle children, yoga or aerobics, partners look like your mum, Barbie dolls, cat personality, dancing, diagnosing Gollum, swearing, sleeping positions & city disorders.
Dec 06, 2017
20 - This pod is a 10 item Things We Came Across Special to celebrate our 20th episode (like what we did for the 10th episode - but with less Star Wars). We talk about 10 different and unusual psychology research papers. Hunter's papers run the gamete of asking whether middle children are socially more advanced, which parent physical characteristics do we find attractive in potential partners (creepy), discusses cat personality traits, what diagnosis Gollum from Lord of the Rings has (nerd alert), and what predicts couples initial sleeping positions. Meanwhile Amy tackles the topics of which type of exercise is best for mood (seeking confirmatory bias for yoga), the depressing research on what playing with Barbie does to girls career aspirations, why theory of mind and dancing are linked, why is it good to swear when socially excluded, and finishes with a discussion on disorders named after cities.
19 - Do you worry in social situations? A look at social anxiety disorder
Nov 22, 2017
19 - This week we have an in-depth chat about social anxiety disorder - which is when people find social situations difficult and worrying, so much so that people avoid them. Social anxiety disorder is a really interesting problem that is surprisingly common. The discussion on this pod illustrates many key concepts in how psychologists understand and treat anxiety (and mood) problems. So it should be a good pod to listen to if you are generally interested in what psychologists do. We talk about social anxiety in adolescents, how it relates to feeling shame and being self-critical in adults, the relationship between anger suppression and social anxiety, and finish up talking about CBT and mindfulness as treatments for social anxiety. In Things We Came Across Hunter continues with his discussion about mortality rates in hospitals - this time asking the question what happens when cardiologist go to a conference, Amy ends by discussing magic and cognitive ability.
18 - Lettuce talk about vegetarians and vegans
Nov 15, 2017
18 - This week, Two Shrinks Pod is going green with a chat about the psychological aspects of following a meat free diet. We talk about eating disorders, anxiety and how smarter kids tend to be vegetarians in adulthood. We also ponder whether eating meat is associated with masculinity and question how prejudiced Western culture is towards vegans and vegetarians. To wrap up, Amy blames Hunter for her current earworm and soothes herself with research about how other people experience songs stuck in their heads. Then Hunter talks us through the most dangerous month to visit a hospital in the US.
17 - Continuing with our mini-series of non-clinical topics we discuss five articles on creativity. We focus on 'little c' creativity - that is - creativity in everyday situations. Looking at how emotions, personality, brain organisation, bipolar disorder and children's play are all related to creativity. In Things We Came Across we discuss whether left handers remember dreams and digest the science behind food cravings.
16 - Sorry it's late - our pod on procrastination
Oct 17, 2017
16 - For this week's pod we read five articles on procrastination - and in the process had our own procrastination activated which delayed the episode being completed by a week (#irony). We talk about procrastination which is something we have all struggled with. Discussing it in various settings and how it relates to personality, our estimates of time, and how it interferes with doing aversive and pleasurable tasks. We finish with a discussion of academic spam emails and ponder the relationship between smells and memories.
15 - This week we talk about people who hoard things (objects, animals) so much so that it causes them distress and disrupts their day to day lives. Hoarding disorder has only recently been recognised as a distinct disorder and so we discuss some of the research into what makes someone more likely to hoard, as well as how to treat this disorder. As usual we end up with our "Things we came across" segment, Amy goes dark with discussion about Trolling on Tinder, whilst Hunter goes light by talking about psychologists and reality tv (as well as a lot of discussion of Survivor).
14 - The new normal post cancer treatment
Sep 07, 2017
14 - This week's pod is a talk that Hunter gave at Leukaemia Foundation Day in 2013. The talk is about some of the challenges people face when diagnosed, being treated for and recovering from cancer. The core principles of this talk should be applicable to most people as Hunter talks about how to deal with anxiety, changes life circumstances, and how to get the most out of the short time we have. It will also be of interest to anyone who has or had cancer, or knows someone who has, it should also be interesting to listen too to understand how psychologists think about and tackle complex problems that life throws up.
If you or anyone you know has a blood cancer and would like to receive support please call 1800 620 420 or visit www.leaukaemia.org.au. If you or someone you know would like to support the Leukaemia Foundation in raising much needed funds please call 1800 500 088 – it is always the right time to donate to a cancer charity.
13 - For lucky number 13 we thought we'd take a look at some of the research into superstitions and how these manifest in various areas of our lives. We talk about how having someone tell you something is lucky increases your performance, discuss superstitious behaviours of top European sportspersons, ponder superstitious and paranormal beliefs, marvel at the differences in superstitions of gamblers in South Korean casinos, and see how superstitions affect the Russian real estate market.
We finish up with a rather relaxed discussion (thanks Artemis Gin http://www.artemisgin.com.au) on the effects of alcohol references in music on drinking behaviour and argue about whether men or women assemble Ikea furniture better.
12 - "You won't be back" - Terminating therapy (what happens at the end of therapy)
Aug 17, 2017
12 - This pod we discuss ending therapy - which is referred to as 'termination' in the literature (insert your own Schwarzenegger joke here). We discuss three articles that peel back some of processes that go on when therapy ends and talk about some of the difficulties that are encountered during this time. When done properly terminating therapy can be a positive experience for both client and therapist, but it is not always easy to do. Hunter finishes up discussing whether spoilers impact on your enjoyment of stories (spoiler alert - they do and don't), and Amy searches for a definitive answer as to what a Heffalump looks like.
11 - What's it like working in oncology? with Dr James McCracken
Jul 26, 2017
Pod 11 - Hunter talks to Dr James McCracken a medical oncologist about the unique aspects of working in oncology. James tells us how he got into medicine and then we discuss what it is like working in oncology and how both doctors and psychologists cope and manage with the stresses of working with cancer patients. The pod finishes off with a medical focused 'Things we came across' section. This pod should be of interest to anyone who wonders what the other side of the medical/psychological curtain looks like. Also - there is a slight sound issue that gets worse towards the end of the pod - sorry about that - unsure as to what was causing it.
Articles:
Mastering resilience in oncology https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28561649
Spectre of cancer (pdf of article) http://researchonline.nd.edu.au/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1124&context=health_article
Chocolate survival times http://www.bmj.com/content/347/bmj.f7198
James Bond's drinks http://www.bmj.com/content/347/bmj.f7255
10 - Ten things we came across
Jul 19, 2017
10 - To celebrate our 10th episode, we're going rogue this week (while maintaining a secure attachment to psychological research) and sampling an assortment of weird and wonderful papers with 10 things we came across. Hear Hunter talk about the controversial diagnosis of Anakin Skywalker, try to convince Amy her cat is not exhibiting attachment behaviour and consider why people like spicy food. Amy finds out why she's sure she's always right, makes Hunter insecure about his unusual first name and talks about children's imaginary friends. Join us for more!
09 - Are you obsessive? Obsessive Compulsive Personality Disorder (OCPD)
Jul 12, 2017
09 - This week we obsess about Obsessive Compulsive Personality Disorder and have a rigid, ordered and controlled discussion about being, well, rigid, controlled, and pre-occupied with order. OCPD is a very interesting disorder, it is one of the most common personality disorders and many people (ie. psychologists) seem to have traits of it. Hunter finishes up discussing learning theory and My Fair Lady, whilst Amy talks about celebrity admiration.
08 - Talking about stalking (of psychologists)
Jul 05, 2017
08 - This week we're taking a look at stalking - how have Australian psychologists been stalked and is this something we're trained to manage? We also chat about the attachment styles of people who stalk and consider the treatment implications. Before wrapping up, Amy ponders the theatre of reading and Hunter quotes untranslatable words. Tune in and find out if you have a touch of sisu or have ever felt heimat
07 - Why Are Doctors in Training Stressed?
Jun 28, 2017
This week we talk at length about doctors in training and the high rates of stress that they experience. We've tried to give an overview of the literature and so it is a grab bag of articles looking at resilience factors, prevalence of distress, emotional coping strategies as well as emerging treatments. We then take a lengthy detour (or perhaps more aptly termed a cul de sac) into a discussion about what doctors and psychologists/psychiatrists wear in our segment 'things we came across'.
06 - We take a look at anxiety in childhood. Amy takes us through some common symptoms before Hunter chats about using play in exposure therapy. We finish our anxiety segment with some research exploring the changes in children’s anxiety by supplementing their treatment with a brief parental anxiety intervention.
Plus, ever wondered if you’ve got the right traits to make it into Big Brother? Or considered building your own functioning spider man suit? Tune in for some handy hints.
05 - Do You Want it Darker? The Dark Triad of Personality
Jun 12, 2017
05 - This week we're taking a look at the Dark Triad - psychopathy, narcissism and machiavellianism. Amy provides some definitions before we compare notes on a collection of interesting articles. From cyber aggression to succeeding at work, the Dark Triad has been linked to a variety of behaviours, relational patterns and characteristics. We end the episode with some highly rigorous in-house research by Hunter on his Harry Potter house, self-diagnose a touch of misophonia and consider the relational impact of phubbing.
04 - Attachment Theory as it Relates to a) Parenting & b) Distress in Cancer Patients
Jun 04, 2017
04 - This episode we talk about attachment theory which is one of the dominant theories in psychology. We give background about the theory, Amy then talks about a parenting intervention based on attachment theory, Hunter talks about how attachment influences emotional support and distress in cancer patients. We finish with some fun articles in 'things we came across' discussing wedding reality tv watching, and the personality traits of Hogwarts house members.
03 - Identity & How it Changes in Relation to a Psychological Disorder (Schizophrenia, PTSD)
May 25, 2017
03 - On this pod we discuss identity and how it changes when someone develops schizophrenia or when they are traumatised and develops Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. We talk about the ways identity can change and how this can be related to symptoms/outcome. We have a pretty in-depth discussion that should be of interest to anyone who knows someone with schizophrenia or who has been traumatised, or if you have worked with anyone experiencing these problems. We finish up with our segment 'things we came across'.
The sound levels are a little off in this one - we got a second mic and in the excitement of setting it up we didn't adjust the levels properly.
02 - Therapeutic Alliance when Working with Adults & Children, Dog & Cat People, Astronauts
May 18, 2017
Pod 02 - We discuss two articles looking at the therapeutic alliance between client and therapist. Hunter talks about a study with adults and how the alliance impacts on therapy outcomes. Amy talks about the differences/challenges in therapeutic alliance when working with children. We finish up with some interesting articles in 'things we came across'.
01 - OCD & Disgust Proneness, Cancer Patients' Beliefs About Causes of Cancer, Analysing the Death Star for Weaknesses
May 08, 2017
Episode one - Amy talks about a study on Obsessive Compulsive disorder and proneness to feeling disgust; Hunter talks about cancer patients use of alternative cancer treatments and their beliefs about cancer causes. We finish up talking about the Death Star from Star Wars and procedures the Rebels could have used to analyse it's weaknesses.
It's our first pod - so we are still working out how best to record using the one mic we have - you may have to fiddle with the volume at times.
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