Neuromyths in schools; psychosis and prisons; the case of HM

In the first of a new series, presenter Claudia Hammond reports on the latest developments in neuroscience, mental health and psychology. Anna Freud was the daughter of Sigmund Freud who pioneered child psychotherapy. She set up the Hampstead War nurseries during the Second World War, which became the Anna Freud Centre after her death in 1982. The Centre is now celebrating its 60th anniversary and Claudia investigates how it has changed and asks what the founder would think of its many new projects, including neuroscience and teenage brains. Claudia talks to the new Minister with responsibility for mental health, Norman Lamb. And Rebecca Shaumberg explains why she thinks guilt is a positive characteristic in a leader.

30 Loka 201227min

Richard MabeyThe man described as "Britain's greatest living nature writer", Richard Mabey, talks to Claudia Hammond about "the lost years" of his depressive illness. The author of Food for Free, Flora Britannica and Nature Cure admits that a symptom of his clinical depression was that he lost his connection with the natural world.Allotment "Young at Heart"The Young at Heart Project in Barking and Dagenham works to improve the mental and physical health of socially isolated men by bringing them together for regular growing sessions down at the allotment.EcotherapyMental health professionals join Andy McGeeney in ancient woodland, Thorndon Park, in Essex, to learn about ecotherapy.Lisa on Horticultural TherapyAfter many years of illness, Lisa, a former mental health nurse, tells Claudia about the part making a garden played in her recovery."Green Therapy": the evidenceDr Rachel Bragg from the "Green Care Research Team" at the University of Essex describes the evidence behind nature-based therapies and argues they should be part of a "toolkit" of care for patients.Producer: Fiona Hill.

26 Kesä 201228min

The well respected mental health campaigner, Janey Antoniou, died in hospital in 2010 while detained under the Mental Health Act. Her husband, Dr Michael Antoniou, talks to Claudia Hammond about the circumstances of his wife's death and why he believes it's wrong that hospitals, when a patient dies, can investigate themselves.Also in the programme Claudia talks to psychologist, Sonja Lyubomirsky, about new research which shows that parents are happier than non-parents but surprisingly, the effect is greatest for men.Claudia visits Europe's largest club drug clinic, part of Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust, a year after it opened to find out about a growing use of so- called legal highs and the problems associated with legal and illegal club drug use. Producer: Pam Rutherford.

19 Kesä 201228min

StalkingIn an exclusive interview for All in the Mind, a woman who was harassed and threatened over four years by a female member of staff, calls for employers to take stalking in the workplace seriously. This former high-flying executive, who ran an organisation with thousands of staff with a multi million pound budget, tells Claudia Hammond about the death threats, abusive mails and harrassment that amounted to "four years of hell".How Infants Know MindsParents are always amazed by how much their babies seem to understand, but the traditional view of psychologists, studying child development, has been in conflict with this. Psychologists' "Theory of Mind", suggests that until a child is 2 or 3, it's impossible for them to understand certain things, because they don't have an idea of their own mind, and by extension, can't possibly have an idea of somebody else's.But Vasu Reddy, Professor of Developmental and Cultural Psychology at the University of Portsmouth, has, for twenty years, been challenging these assumptions, with research demonstrating that babies can tease, joke and even play with our expectations, long before they can speak. Sports Participation after Major Sporting EventsThis week the government launched their Games4Life campaign with the aim of inspiring the nation to get active during this year's summer of sport. But does watching big sporting events like the Olympics encourage people take part in more sport or even just to take a bit more exercise?Claudia talks to Ken Fox, Emeritus Professor of Exercise and Health Science at Bristol University, about the psychology behind what motivates us to exercise and whether one of the common assumptions about the legacy of the 2012 games of a sportier, healthier nation stands up to the evidence. Producer: Fiona Hill.

12 Kesä 201227min

Claudia Hammond talks to Jacopo Annese, director of the San Diego brain observatory about his mission to create what he calls 'a Hubble space telescope for the brain'. He is recruiting people who will be willing to donate their brains to his laboratory. By interviewing them regularly to record their detailed life histories and interests and by doing psychological tests he aims to provide a brain archive for neuroscientists in the future. But what sort of links can be established between brain anatomy and personality and what sort of people are willing to donate their brains to his lab? Producer: Pam Rutherford.

5 Kesä 201228min

At the 2000 Sydney Paralympics ten members of the Spanish basketball team were stripped of their gold for pretending to have a learning disability. For the first time since that scandal athletes with learning disabilities can compete again in this year's games. British psychologist, Professor Jan Burns is the Head of Eligibility for the International Sports Federation for Persons with Intellectual Disability. She tells Claudia which sports and which athletes will be eligible. In 2007 the Harvard political scientist, Robert Putnam published a paper stating that ethnic diversity in a community is associated with more mistrust. His paper was influential with governments, both in the UK and the US. Claudia is joined by one of Britain's leading social psychologists, Professor Miles Hewstone from Oxford University, about his new research which finds Putnam's bleak conclusions about society are wrong. Clinical microbiologist, Graham Rook from University College London is hopeful that one day there might be a vaccination against depression. He's basing his ideas on two things: the finding that some people with depression are found to have higher levels of inflammation in the body and the idea that inflammation could be controlled by our exposure to contact with certain worms and bacteria - the so-called hygiene hypothesis. Professor Rook tells Claudia why he thinks with more research there could one day be a vaccine. The link between depression and inflammation in a proportion of people with depression is established, but is a vaccine for all really possible and would it be a useful avenue to explore for preventing the condition? Nick Craddock is Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Cardiff and explains why he is critical of the idea. Producer: Pam Rutherford.

29 Touko 201227min

Airport Scanners to help with Distorted Body ImagePeople with eating disorders often have a distorted view of their own bodies. Researchers at Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen are now using 3-D body scanners to test whether giving this accurate feedback of body shape could help in the treatment of life-threatening illnesses like anorexia and bulimia.Chit-Lit, Scandi-Lit...now Neuro-Lit !Why neuroscience is taking a leading role in the modern novel. Claudia Hammond talks to science writer, Jonah Lehrer, and to academic psychologist and writer, Charles Fernyhough, about the emergence of brain science in literature and considers whether new understanding of the brain can enrich fiction in the same way that Darwinism or Psychoanalysis did. Teenagers' Brains and Social RejectionIt's long been known that adolescents are particularly vulnerable to being left out. They get hurt and feel the rejection very keenly. Research by Dr Catherine Sebastian at the Developmental Risk and Resilience Unit at University College London suggests this response could be explained by the developing teenage brain. Producer: Fiona Hill.

22 Touko 201227min

Money and Motivation: how do high pay and bonuses affect performance ?Barclays chief, Bob Diamond, was the first high profile company head to be caught up in the "shareholder spring", when investors criticised his multi-million pound pay and bonus package. The Aviva boss has resigned after his pay and bonus was criticised, similarly Sly Bailey of Trinity Mirror has also stood down. The opposition is based on the argument that there should be no payment for failure, but what is the evidence that payment for success is a primary motivation for top business leaders ? Dr Stian Reimers, a psychologist at the City University in London, discusses money and motivation and uncovers a complex picture of how bonuses and incentives affect performance.Taking mental health care into the community: "Street Therapy"Clinical Psychologist, Charlie Alcock, took months to get young gang members on a London estate to trust her. But after being spat at and having stones thrown at her head, she finally succeeded in making contact with this hardest of all hard-to-reach groups. Determined to make mental health services available to these young people - most of whom were involved in extreme anti-social behaviour - she and her team developed "street therapy", a new model of treatment moulded around the often chaotic lives of their clients. Claudia Hammond sees for herself "street therapy" in action, and talks to the former gang members who are now key members of MAC-UK, the charity delivering this new kind of "care in the community".Reforming the Law on InsanityIn 1843 a man called M'Naghten attempted to murder the British Prime Minister, Sir Robert Peel. He got the wrong man, killing his secretary by mistake. Our current laws on insanity are rooted in that case, from nearly 200 years ago. Not surprisingly, pressure to reform "Not Guilty By Reason of Insanity" is growing and the Law Commission is due to consider updating and modernising the rules. Professor Ronnie Mackay from De Montfort University in Leicester discusses his research on how the plea of insanity has been used, in practice. While Dr Tony Maden, Professor of Forensic Psychiatry and Imperial College, London and Dr Lisa Claydon, Associate Professor in Criminal Justice at the University of the West of England debate why and how the law should be changed.Producer: Fiona Hill.

15 Touko 201228min