Rowing the Atlantic in the name of science, psychologists tackling poverty, and the scent of fear makes us more observant.

Claudia Hammond visits HMP Grendon, the only prison in Europe which operates wholly as a therapeutic community. More than nine out of ten prisoners at Grendon are serving indeterminate sentences for murder or serious violent offences. Inmates have to apply for a place and once approved undergo intensive group therapy three times a week for well over a year. Claudia talks to inmates, therapists and prison staff to find out how the prison operates and how its unique environment aims to reduce reoffending rates.

8 Touko 201227min

In April next year changes to the way the NHS in England will make GP groups responsible for 65 billion pounds of health budgets. These groups will decide what services patients need for all clinical services including mental health. But are all GPs confident of their expertise in mental health to do this? And what safeguards are in place to ensure enough good quality mental health is delivered to everyone across the country? Claudia is joined by Paul Burstow, the government minister for Care Services, Claire Murdoch, chief executive of Central and North west London NHS Foundation Trust and Sophie Corlett, Director of external relations at the mental health charity, Mind to discuss the reforms and their impact on mental health. As many as one in five people go online to look for love but what is the psychological of online dating? Is there a right way to write a profile to maximise your chances of romance and do sites that offer to match you with suitable partners actually work? Claudia talks to Eli Finkel, associate professor of psychology at Northwestern university who has recently published one of the largest reviews of what relationship science reveals about the means of finding love online.

1 Touko 201228min

The BBC Stress test was launched in June with BBC Lab UK, with the aim of answering one of the big questions in mental health - what is the cause of mental illness ? More than 32,000 Radio 4 listeners took part, making this one of the largest studies of its kind in the world. The early results are in and Peter Kinderman, professor of clinical psychology at the University of Liverpool, tells Claudia Hammond what the findings reveal about the origins of mental health problems and the most effective coping strategies.Mental Health - Time for a Laugh? We all like a good laugh and there's plenty of evidence that it makes us feel better. But if somebody asked you to a night of comedy and sketches around mental health - if you were honest would your heart sink? Can mental illness ever be funny? Can we poke fun at the absurdities of serious conditions such as schizophrenia or bipolar disorder or even - suicide? Or does a serious message automatically consign it to the unfunny bin? Claudia goes to see Cracking Up, a show that tackles the stigma around mental illness head on. She talks to the show's compere and writer, John Ryan, and the creator, health psychologist, Maya Twardzicki, about whether mental health can ever be funny.Disclosing your mental health history when you apply for a job: There's a lot of confusion about whether you should, or shouldn't reveal to a potential employer your history of mental illness. Employers too, aren't clear about what questions they can ask and when. Claudia asks the experts what the legal situation actually is. Ben Willmott, head of Public Policy for the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development and Emma Mamo who oversees employment work for the mental health charity, MIND, answer listeners' questions on the subject.Producer: Fiona Hill.

20 Joulu 201128min

London Taxi drivers have to learn 25 000 streets and 20 000 landmarks to qualify and get the Knowledge. New research by Professor Eleanor Maguire from University College London has followed trainee taxi drivers over the years they learn the knowledge and found an area of their brains important for memory and navigation grows in response to learning. Does this mean all our brains have this plastic capacity? Should you disclose if you have any mental health problems to your employer? Listeners give their opinion and Seaneen Molloy, author of the Secret Life of a Manic depressive talks about her experiences of going back to work. The Royal Society publishes its latest Brain Waves report on Neuroscience and the Law. Claudia explores what the latest developments in neuroscience could mean for the legal process and asks what kind of new brain based information might be submissible as evidence in court? What are the ethical and legal issues raised by the possibility of predicting criminal behaviour? Could sentencing and probation decisions be influenced by a better knowledge of the brain basis for certain kinds of behaviours? Professor of psychology, Nick Mackintosh and Joanna Glynn, QC discuss what this means for our understanding of decision-making, notions of free will and responsibility and the law. Producer: Pam Rutherford.

13 Joulu 201127min

Zoe from South Wales spent twelve years with undiagnosed Bipolar Disorder. The personal cost to this mother of three was devastating, as, over the years, she was told she had Post Natal Depression and treated with anti-depressants. It's long been recognised that Bipolar Disorder could be both misdiagnosed and under-diagnosed and Dr Nick Stafford describes a new pilot project in Leicester to screen for the condition. Complaints Choirs have sprung up all around the world with members putting their moans and whinges to song. But Guy Winch, a clinical psychologist from New York and author of The Squeaky Wheel, believes that to complain successfully, we need to harness the latest psychological research on the subject. A government study showed just four in ten employers would hire somebody with a mental health problem. And that's despite the fact that the vast majority of unemployed people who experience mental illness want to work. Evidence shows too that working is an important part of recovery. A new scheme, called Individual Placement and Support, is unique in that employment advice and support is embedded within the Community Mental Health Team. Nicola Oliver, IPS Coordinator at the Centre for Mental Health says this approach is now used by almost half of NHS mental health trusts and Rachel describes how this support helped to find her dream job in fashion. Presented by Claudia Hammond.Producer: Fiona Hill.

6 Joulu 201128min

In May this year All in the Mind featured an intriguing Dutch study which reported that when there's a lot of rubbish in the street we're more likely to stereotype other people. Earlier this year it was found that the co author, Diederik Stapel had made up the data. As well as fooling us, he fooled the journal Science. Now the three Dutch universities involved have published their interim report on the extent of his fraud. Claudia talks to Martin Keulemanns, Science Editor at the Dutch broadsheet, the Volkskrant to ask why Stapel was able to get away with it for so long and what questions does his case raise about the way psychological research is conducted. Also in the programme, Claudia reports on an innovative mentoring project in Manchester where people with social phobia, agoraphobia or other anxiety disorders are matched up with volunteer mentors who've been through, and are mostly recovered from their own experiences of anxiety. Claudia meets the mentors and mentees who meet once a week for six months and finds out how successful the scheme has been so far. That catchy tune in your head - or earworm - might help to uncover some of the workings of memory. Dr Vicky Williamson who lectures on Music, Mind & Brain at Goldsmiths University of London is studying hundreds of earworms to try to come up with strategies for banishing them. She also explains why her research could help get rid of more intrusive and troubling memories like those resulting from post-traumatic stress disorder.

29 Marras 201128min

Riots started in Tottenham in London on August 6th this year and spread to 35 different locations across the Capital and towns and cities across England, including Birmingham, Bristol, Leeds, Liverpool and Nottingham. Parliament was recalled and there was a rapidly growing consensus among politicians and the media, that the riots were the result of pure criminality. The riots were criminal, the rioters were criminals and their behaviour was motivated by criminality. A popular explanation for the cause came down to "mob mentality", that in the heat of the moment, individuals lose their identity and act emotionally and irrationally, with little sense of self. But three months after the riots, two psychologists of international reputation, Steve Reicher and Clifford Stott, both experts in crowd behaviour and crowd psychology, are challenging that interpretation in a new e-book, "Mad Mobs and Englishmen". They say that not only is the criminality consensus wrong, but it's also dangerous. Claudia speaks to Professor Reicher, about what their research uncovered. "Anchoring" and the Minimum Payments on Credit Cards: The British have the second highest use of credit cards in the world; only Americans make greater use of their flexible friends. And in the UK, our cards are loaded with debt. The minimum payment printed, by law, on the bottom of the monthly bill, is supposed to stop us getting into further debt by ensuring that we always pay off at least some of the balance every month. But new research by Professor Neil Stewart from the University of Warwick has discovered that the minimum payment could be having the opposite effect. Because of the impact of a well-established psychological effect called "anchoring", it appears that simply reading the suggested minimum payment makes us pay off less of the debt that we would otherwise have done. Counterintuitive ? Yes. Bullying and Borderline Personality Disorder: The links between childhood bullying and mental health problems in later life are well established, and new research suggests that the impact could also include increased rates of Borderline Personality Disorder. BPD is quite rare and little is known about its causes, but it's a condition which can feature emotional instability, impulsivity, paranoia and difficulties in relationships. In a huge study over time, 6000 children in all, the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC), researchers discovered that children who experienced long term or very severe bullying by their peers are seven times more likely to show symptoms of BPD at the age of 11. Producer: Fiona Hill.

22 Marras 201127min

Daniel KahnemanWidely regarded as the world's most influential living psychologist, Daniel Kahneman, reflects on his lifetime's research on why we make the "wrong" decisions. He won the Nobel Prize for Economics for his pioneering work with Amos Tversky on the irrational ways we make decisions about risk. He directly challenged traditional economic orthodoxy that we are rational, logical and selfish in the choices we make, laying the foundations for behavioural economics. And his research quantified how real people, rather than textbook examples, consistently make less than rational choices, prey to the quirks of human perception and intuition. Claudia Hammond talks to him about "anchoring" and "priming" and why he fears for the behaviour of people motivated by money. Conjoined Twins: Could conjoined twin girls, joined at the head have two brains but share a mind? One girl is pricked for a blood test, her sister cries. Or one watches TV, the other laughs at the images her sister sees. What does the connection of these young girls' brains reveal about the difference between brain and mind? Producers: Fiona Hill & Pam Rutherford.

15 Marras 201128min