Two Shrinks Pod

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.

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 periodsThe night before/morning of an examDuring the examAfterwards if you have another exam This episode of Two Shrinks Pod was sponsored by Calabash.Visit https://calabash.courses/twoshrinkspod to access a free talk

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-12d7d2bSchool 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-b61ed2Zombieland: https://www.podbean.com/ew/pb-66pz9-c3c60fand Mary and Max: https://www.podbean.com/ew/pb-mqs5i-eb20efSharon 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

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 Definitions13:50 Prevalence16:20 The 4 P's & the biopsychosocial model: A case study of Ron Weasley25:00 Classical conditioning37:00 Operant conditioning48:00 GABA dysfunction51:10 Stress response system55:45 Cognitive biases1:01:30 Triggers1:04:00 Transtheoretical model of change1:09:00 TreatmentIf you liked the episode please rate/review us or tell someone about the show. You can access your free Calabsh talk at https://calabash.courses/twoshrinkspod

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 making19:35 Psychological impacts of having a voluntary abortion40:25 Impacts on sexual functioning44:45 Psychological impacts of having an abortion for medical reasons49:12 Outcomes for women who want an abortion but are denied one This week's episode was brought to you by Calabash. Access your free talk at:https://calabash.courses/psych-company/ Research (in order of discussion):Introduction:APA Taskforce on Mental Health and Abortion (2008) https://www.apa.org/pi/women/programs/abortion/mental-health.pdf Abortion definition (2019) https://www.bmj.com/company/newsroom/nine-out-of-10-abortions-done-before-12-weeks-in-many-high-income-countries/ Australian abortion rates (2021) https://www.mja.com.au/journal/2021/215/8/estimating-abortion-rate-australia-national-hospital-morbidity-and Decision making:Bracken & Kasl (1975) Delay in seeking induced abortion: a review and theoretical analysishttps://doi.org/10.1016/0002-9378(75)90929-1 Miller (1992) An empirical study of psychological antecedents and consequences of induced abortionhttps://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-4560.1992.tb00898.x Allanson (2007) Abortion decision and ambivalence: Insights via an abortion decision balance sheethttps://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13284200701675767 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 pregnancyhttps://doi.org/10.1080/0167482X.2020.1750005 Psychological responses following a voluntary abortion:Steinberg et al (2016) Psychosocial factors and pre-abortion psychological health: the significance of stigma https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2015.12.007 Horvath & Schreiber (2017) Unintended pregnancy, induced abortion, and mental healthhttps://doi.org/10.1007/s11920-017-0832-4 Rocca et al (2013) Women's emotions one week after receiving or being denied an abortion in the United States https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24020773/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 onehttps://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 Van Ditzhuijzen et al (2018) Long-term incidence and recurrence of common mental disorders after abortion. A Dutch prospective cohort studyhttps://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpsychires.2018.04.001 Biggs et al (2017) Women's mental health and well-being 5 years after receiving or being denied an abortion: a prospective, longitudinal cohort studyhttps://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27973641/ Biggs et al (2018) Five-year suicidal ideation trajectories among women receiving or being denied an abortionhttps://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 studyhttps://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 groupshttps://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 strategieshttps://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 Stateshttps://doi.org/10.1363/4512213 Horvath & Schreiber (2017) Unintended pregnancy, induced abortion, and mental healthhttps://doi.org/10.1007/s11920-017-0832-4 The harms of denying a woman a wanted abortion: findings from the turnaway studyhttps://www.ansirh.org/sites/default/files/publications/files/the_harms_of_denying_a_woman_a_wanted_abortion_4-16-2020.pdf Ludermir et al (2010) Common mental disorders in late pregnancy in women who wanted or attempted an abortionhttps://doi.org/10.1017/s003329170999184x Herd et al (2015) The implications of unintended pregnancies for mental health in later life https://ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/10.2105/AJPH.2015.302973 Concluding remarks:Rebuttal to Coleman's paper https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3699180/ Rebuttal to Reardon's work https://www.bmj.com/rapid-response/2011/10/31/reardon-response-russo-and-schmeige-misleads-omission-and-commission Quote from Surgeon General C Everett Koop https://www.apa.org/pi/women/programs/abortion/mental-health.pdf The following resources supported our understanding of abortion legislation and access but were not cited in the show:Upadhyay et al (2021) Barriers to abortion care & incidence of attempted self-managed abortion https://www.contraceptionjournal.org/article/S0010-7824(21)00385-1/fulltext de Londras et al (2022) The impact of provider restrictions on abortion-related outcomeshttps://doi.org/10.1186/s12978-022-01405-x Faundes & Shah (2015) Evidence supporting broader access to safe legal abortionhttp://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijgo.2015.03.018 Reingold & Gostin (2019) State abortion restrictions and the new supreme courthttps://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31166573/ Pierson (2022) Roe v Wade overturned: what abortion access and reproductive rights look like around the worldhttps://theconversation.com/roe-v-wade-overturned-what-abortion-access-and-reproductive-rights-look-like-around-the-world-184013

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. Work Research:The demands and resources arising from shared office spacesSettlers, vagrants and mutual indifference: unintended consequences of hot-deskingMeetings and more meetings: the relationship between meeting load and the daily well-being of employeesThe impact of time spent on the electronic health record after work and of clerical work on burnout among clinical facultyHow Impactful Is Presentation in Email? The Effect of Avatars and SignaturesTWCA:The Pattern of Complaints about Australian Wind Farms Does Not Match the Establishment and Distribution of Turbines: Support for the Psychogenic, ‘Communicated Disease' HypothesisExploring comfort food preferences across age and gender

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. Sarcasm ResearchThe highest form of intelligence: Sarcasm increases creativity for both expressers and recipients (Huang et al, 2015)Saying what you don't mean: a cross-cultural study of perceptions of sarcasm (Blasko et al, 2021)Emoji as a tool to aid the comprehension of written sarcasm: evidence from younger and older adults (Garcia et al, 2022)Development of children's ability to distinguish sarcasm and verbal irony (Glenwright & Pexman, 2010)TWCARomantic partners and four-legged friends: an extension of attachment theory to relationships with pets (Beck & Madresh, 2015)The impact of office clutter on remote working: “I can't work with all this stuff!” (Ferrari et al, 2021)

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.Want to hear more from Madeleine? We loved her book, I Didn't Do the Thing Today: On Letting Go of Productivity Guilt:https://www.murdochbooks.com.au/browse/books/other-books/I-Didnt-Do-The-Thing-Today-Madeleine-Dore-9781922351500 You can find her interviews, podcast & other work at:https://extraordinaryroutines.com/ Her instagram is: @extraordinary_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

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. Parent resources:Best bubble solution with a wand that's attached to the lid: https://www.bigw.com.au/product/ultra-premium-amazing-bubbles-6-pack/p/789862 Books: The Whole Brained Child, Parenting from the Inside OutAustralian parenting programs: Tuning in to Kids, Bringing up Great KidsACF free parenting booklets: Connected Parenting, Mindful ParentingA book for kids about anxiety & what's happening in their brain: Hey, WarriorThings we came across:Holiday spendingDrop bear tracking

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. TWCA:Jealousy of dogsKids' tongue out concentration

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: 000For crisis support 24/7: Lifeline 13 11 14 or Suicide call back service (24 hour phone & online support): 1300 659 467or online www.suicidecallbackservice.org.au To access local crisis team support, call your state's contact number: https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/crisis-management 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. Research and data:Australian Institute of Health and Welfare data: https://www.aihw.gov.au/suicide-self-harm-monitoring/data/suspected-deaths-by-suicide/data-from-suicide-registers Victorian coroner's court data: https://www.coronerscourt.vic.gov.au/sites/default/files/2021-01/Coroners%20Court%20Monthly%20Suicide%20Data%20Report%20-%20December%202020.pdf NZ coroner: https://coronialservices.justice.govt.nz/assets/Documents/Publications/Chief-Coroner-Suicide-Stats-2020-Media-Release.pdf NZ symptoms: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34313158/ UK suicide rates: https://www.ons.gov.uk/releases/deathsfromsuicidethatoccurredinenglandandwalesbetweenaprilandjuly2020 US suicide minorities: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33290944/ US suicide data: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2775359 America's health rankings (data from all states): https://www.americashealthrankings.org/explore/annual/measure/Suicide/state/ALL?edition-year=2020

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.Research:Social Facilitation of Laughter and Smiles in Preschool ChildrenDo extraverts ‘like to laugh'︁?: An analysis of the Situational Humor Response Questionnaire (SHRQ)An Initial Study on How Families Deal with Ridicule and Being Laughed at: Parenting Styles and Parent–Child Relations with Respect to Gelotophobia, Gelotophilia, and KatagelasticismI Nearly Died Laughing: Humor in Funeral Industry OperatorsTWCA:Robot Humor: How Self-irony and Schadenfreude Influence People's Rating of Robot LikabilityNarratives with Robots: The Impact of Interaction Context and Individual Differences on Story Recall and Emotional UnderstandingDevelopment and Testing of Psychological Conflict Resolution Strategies for Assertive Robots to Resolve Human–Robot Goal ConflictDesigning Social Interactions with a Humorous Robot PhotographerHunter's book recommendation: In Moonland by Miles AllinsonLetter 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. If you need to take the time for a good cryve (cry while driving), let us set the mood we have a Cryving playlist up on Spotify. Songs to Cryve to (Spotify playlist) :https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2qBqylXVS9QddK5gDR1wwF?si=75bdb78ec9c74dcc Crying Research:Feeling Like Crying When Listening to Music: Exploring Musical and Contextual FeaturesYoung Infants Expect an Unfamiliar Adult to Comfort a Crying Baby: Evidence from a Standard Violation-of-Expectation Task and a Novel Infant-Triggered-Video TaskPatient Crying in Psychotherapy: Who Cries and Why?Patients' Crying Experiences in Psychotherapy and Relationship with Working Alliance, Therapeutic Change and Attachment StylesWhen and for Whom does Crying Improve Mood? A Daily Diary Study of 1004 Crying EpisodesTWCA:When Do Octopuses Play? Effects of Repeated Testing, Object Type, Age, and Food Deprivation on Object Play in Octopus VulgarisDid Little Albert Actually Acquire a Conditioned Fear of Furry Animals? What the Film Evidence Tells usMusic featured in the episode: Ave Maria - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_5bYNqpEFU Beethoven's 9th symphony - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hdWyYn0E4Ys Skinny love - Bon IverOn my own - Samantha BanksO children - Nick CaveIt's quiet uptown from HamiltonSomeone great - LCD SoundsystemSomewhere over the rainbow - Israel Kamakawiwo'oleThanks to listeners for contributing their songs - the playlist above includes all of our favourites.

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, fleabagBottom left - right: thomas crown affair, bones, Ozarks The Thomas Crown Affair (1999)The Ozarks (2020). Season 3, episode 5. Clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xSWwltmJUEk The West Wing (2000). Season 2, episode 10Donnie Darko (2001). Clip: https://youtu.be/GPOjr_z3Wn4 Fleabag (2019). Season 2, episode 2. Clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yy6kbVptkRY Bones (2007) Season 2, episode 13Listen to Sharon Shaw on the School of Movies podcast: https://schoolofmovies.podbean.com/

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

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 strategies15:30 Responding to disclosures as a psychologist47:30 Responding as a friend or family member53:45 Message to survivors who are considering disclosing for the first time Supports in AustraliaLifeline: 13 11 141800 Respect: 1800 7377 328ReachOut list of supports: https://au.reachout.com/articles/sexual-assault-support CASA: https://casa.org.au/ Australian Statisticshttps://www.aihw.gov.au/getmedia/0375553f-0395-46cc-9574-d54c74fa601a/aihw-fdv-5.pdf.aspx?inline=true https://e2epublishing.info/statistics Music River by Leon Bridges

To kick off 2021, two shrinks is getting sinful. Thanks to a suggestion from psychiatrist Dr Jackie Rakov (@psychwrite on twitter), we’re taking a look at the psychology behind the seven deadly sins. Do we find people more attractive when we’re primed with lust? Does envy make us more likely to harm others? Is pride different from straight-up narcissism? Listen in to for a light-hearted but in depth look at whether the sins really are that bad.Timepoint/Articles:05:30 Envy https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0146167219897660 14:30 Pride - https://europepmc.org/article/med/33180528 26:25 Gluttony - https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24411760/ 40:58 Sloth - https://www.prdb.pk/article/prevalence-of-academic-procrastination-and-reasons-for-acade-8348 47:30 Lust - https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00224545.2014.933158 58:51 Wrath - https://bpspsychub.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/bjso.12357 01:14:27 Greed - https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0191886918305130 Media clips drawn from: Se7en (sins), Winnie the Pooh (gluttony), The Simpsons (Sloth), U2 (pride) Pride & Prejudice (pride), How I Met Your Mother (lust), Wallstreet (greed) and Star Trek II: Wrath of Khan (wrath)Hunter’s bonus I can’t believe it’s not sloth articles:(from 35:00-40:58 mins)Sloth bears: https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2019-05979-001 Bridges: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1369847820304125

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.We talked about episodes 51 - 66. Find them on:Our website: www.twoshrinkspod.com/podcasts Apple: https://tinyurl.com/Apple2SP Google: https://tinyurl.com/Google2SP TV shows:The Simpsons: Season 5, Episode 9, The last temptation of HomerMiracle Workers: Season 2, episode 7, King Cragnoor in therapy (clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=At3I2qdlJfQ) Gripe letters: www.twoshrinkspod.com/lettersTWCA:Personality & internet gaming disorder: https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s11469-019-00081-6.pdf Toxicity of George’s Marvellous Medicine: https://www.bmj.com/content/371/bmj.m4467

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.Articles:Imposter syndrome: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5869760/ A conceptual model of compliments: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/344508037_New_perspectives_on_the_praise_literature_towards_a_conceptual_model_of_compliment Self-esteem: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0022103116302943 Backhanded compliments: https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Publication%20Files/18-082_f96a8202-ccfe-409b-a8ba-0f187bf678e4.pdf Culture: https://benjamins.com/catalog/lic.17.1.06mir/fulltext/lic.17.1.06mir.pdf andhttps://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Thanks!-You-look-rather-dashing-yourself.-%3A-A-of-Melin/edf4b2a346016b846e69850eeba85e4a3c1e3dbf TWCAInsulting James Blunt: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0271530920300884 Medieval insult generator: https://fungenerators.com/random/insult/medieval-insult/

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. Clark’s cognitive model of social anxiety Social anxiety resources:Social awkwardnessInternational Handbook of Social Anxiety by Crozier & AldenCognitive-Behavioral Group Therapy for Social Phobia by Heimberg & BeckerThings we came across:Don’t cry while you’re driving by JeonThe commonness fallacy (predicting dessert choices) by Reit & Critcher

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. Art installation of Trump’s 20,000 lies: https://www.timeout.com/newyork/news/a-massive-mural-featuring-20-000-of-trumps-lies-has-been-installed-in-soho-102920 Rudy Giuliani at Four Seasons Total Landscaping: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/nov/08/the-other-four-seasons-trump-team-holds-press-conference-at-suburban-garden-centre

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.Info on anger:A stress inoculation approach to anger management by Novaco https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED141673 A volcano in my tummy: helping children to handle anger by Pudney & Whitehousehttps://books.google.com.au/books/about/A_Volcano_in_My_Tummy.html?id=YF3xihsrvUwC Starving the anger gremlin: A CBT workbook on anger management for young people by Collins-Donnellyhttps://www.google.com.au/books/edition/Starving_the_Anger_Gremlin/fHf2f2TBDmcC?hl=en&gbpv=0 TWCA:Do real & imagined barriers reduce cheating? https://www.researchgate.net/publication/343256328_The_moral_barrier_effect_Real_and_imagined_barriers_can_reduce_cheating Movie induced tourismhttps://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10548400802092866

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. We learnt about schadenfreude in:Schadenfreude: Understanding Pleasure at the Misfortune of Others: www.cambridge.org/9781107017504 The relationship between schadenfreude & sadism: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0191886916300071 Schadenfreude & ingroup outgroup bias:http://www.people.fas.harvard.edu/~banaji/research/publications/articles/2017_Lehr_GPIR.pdf Integrating multiple perspectives on schadenfreude: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11031-012-9331-4 TWCAWhy narcissists aren’t wearing masks & how to approach them: https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/wellness/narcissism-mask-covid-psychology/2020/09/25/d3de1b32-fe9c-11ea-9ceb-061d646d9c67_story.html

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.Apple:https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/amy-donaldson-and-hunter-mulcare-two-shrinks-pod/id1530887036?i=1000492719906Meta webpage:https://pod.link/meta/episode/ODdiMmNmNTEtYzk5MC00MGViLWIwNTItZjlkMjJjN2YxOTZl

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.

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.

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. Resources mentioned in the show:Two shrinks pod COVID page: www.twoshrinkspod.com/coping-with-covidBessel van der Kolk & trauma during COVID: https://www.besselvanderkolk.com/blog/how-we-can-nurture-our-mental-health-during-the-covid-19-pandemic Dr Karen Treisman resource page (for people of all ages, links to ways to manage your mental health & trauma responses to COVID): http://www.safehandsthinkingminds.co.uk/covid-anxiety-stress-resources-links/ Free online CBT programs:https://moodgym.com.au/ https://mindspot.org.au/ https://thiswayup.org.au/how-we-can-help/courses/ (free during COVID-19)

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: 10.1080/07481187.2020.1748481Lee, 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 Lee, S. A. (2020). How much “Thinking” about COVID-19 is clinically dysfunctional? Brain, Behavior, and Immunity. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbi.2020.04.067 For more links, including to copies of the Corona Anxiety Scale (CAS) and the Obsessions with Covid-19 scale (OCS) go to the Coronavirus Anxiety Project: https://sites.google.com/cnu.edu/coronavirusanxietyproject/home

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. ResourcesTwo shrinks’ COVID-19 resource pages: www.twoshrinkspod.com/coping-with-covidBessel van der Kolk on coping with COVID & why it triggers anger: https://www.besselvanderkolk.com/blog/how-we-can-nurture-our-mental-health-during-the-covid-19-pandemic It’s crisis schooling, not home schooling: https://ethics.org.au/this-isnt-home-schooling-its-crisis-schooling/ How long kids can work for: https://www.popsugar.com/family/homeschool-hours-by-grade-chart-47384958

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. Mentioned this episode:Two Shrinks Pod collated resources: www.twoshrinkspod.com/coping-with-covid Bessel Van der Kolk video: https://www.besselvanderkolk.com/blog/how-we-can-nurture-our-mental-health-during-the-covid-19-pandemic Stuff you should know, Falkland’s War: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/what-was-the-falkland-islands-war-all-about-anyway/id278981407?i=1000468859584

54 - 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. Resources:www.12pointspsychology.com - information about psychological responsesHow to access mental health support (including 10 sessions with a psychologist) if impacted by the fires - https://www.servicesaustralia.gov.au/individuals/subjects/how-get-mental-health-support Neighbours in recovery facebook group - https://www.facebook.com/groups/neighboursinrecovery/ - Get in touch with the group to be involved in coordinated, community based responsesWhere to donate:www.redcross.org.au www.wildlifevictoria.org.au www.wires.org.au www.cfa.vic.gov.auwww.rfs.nsw.gov.au

53 - 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. Michael works at www.themindroom.com.au and they have a sports focused program there: https://themindroom.com.au/what-we-do/sport/You can follow Michael on twitter : @M_InglisSpoPsycIf you liked this episode don’t forget to rate/review the show and you can check out more about 2SP at www.twoshrinkspod.com

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. Hunter mentions these things: Understanding adjustment to cancer by Brennan in the journal Psycho-Onclogy: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/1099-1611%28200101/02%2910%3A1%3C1%3A%3AAID-PON484%3E3.0.CO%3B2-TStaring at the Sun - self help book on death anxiety (excellent - yes you should read it): https://www.amazon.com.au/Staring-Sun-Overcoming-Terror-Death/dp/0470401818

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. Don’t forget to check out the excellent episode discussing Good Will Hunting on the @schoolofmovies podcast feed for a great discussion of trauma and therapy : https://player.fm/series/school-of-movies-2361951/good-will-hunting

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

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)Research:Expressed emotion and wellbeing for families are carers: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25195577Comprehensive review of the impact of BPD on parenting and subsequent impacts on offspring: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27261413 Parenting intervention for BPD: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/18387357.2018.1464887Systematic of review of partner experiences and supports: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29975337TWCA:Food neophobia: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25862982Public shaming: https://digest.bps.org.uk/2019/11/13/the-paradox-of-viral-outrage-public-shaming-inspires-further-outrage-but-also-increases-sympathy-for-the-offender/Resources for family members:Spectrum information sheet: https://www.spectrumbpd.com.au/images/PDFs/WHEN_A_FAMILY_MEMBER_OR_FRIEND_HAS_BORDERLINE_PERSONALITY_DISORDER_brochure__29_Sept_2016.pdf MIND information sheet: https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/types-of-mental-health-problems/borderline-personality-disorder-bpd/for-friends-and-family/#.Xe9HUbE7ZPY For partners: https://www.verywellmind.com/understanding-romantic-bpd-relationships-425217Supports in Australia:Support for kids and teens looking after parents with mental health issues in Victoria, Australia: https://www.bouverie.org.au/support-for-services/fapmi www.bpdfoundation.org.au Free, 12 week Family Connections course for family members, Australia wide:https://www.bpdaustralia.org/about-family-connections/ Supports internationally:Links and resources: https://www.projectairstrategy.org/mpalinks/index.html Free, 12 week Family Connections course for family members, USA: https://www.borderlinepersonalitydisorder.org/family-connections/family-connections-pre-registration-form/Free, 12 week Family Connections course for family members, Canada: https://sashbear.org/en/family-connections/family-connections-2

“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 hungoverSources:Above quote from chapter 8 of Living with the reality of Dissociative Identity Disorders, edited by Lady Xenia Bowlby https://books.google.com.au/books/about/Living_with_the_Reality_of_Dissociative.html?id=uO9gBAAAQBAJ&redir_esc=yUnited States of Tara https://www.sho.com/united-states-of-taraFight Club https://www.foxmovies.com/movies/fight-clubDiagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders, 5th edition https://www.psychiatry.org/psychiatrists/practice/dsmCase study https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1078390317705448?journalCode=japaDissociation https://www.researchgate.net/publication/319914410_Dissociation_as_a_Trauma-Related_PhenomenonAn interview with Steven Porges about Polyvagal theory - fight, flight, freeze & flop http://www.hartfocus.nl/UserFiles/Nexus%20interview.pdfAttachment, Trauma and Multiplicity https://www.crcpress.com/Attachment-Trauma-and-Multiplicity-Working-with-Dissociative-Identity/Sinason/p/book/9780415195560Understanding and Treating Dissociative Identity Disorder https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2012-24057-000Understanding and Treating Dissociative Identity Disorder: A Relational Approach https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2010-10294-000Detecting DID with memory testing https://www.researchgate.net/publication/327639745_Detecting_Clinical_and_Simulated_Dissociative_Identity_Disorder_With_the_Test_of_Memory_Malingering Measuring fragmentation https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3880957/Things We Came Across:Daylight saving and workplace injuries https://www.apa.org/pubs/journals/releases/apl9451317.pdfImpacts of a hangover on mood and cognition https://www.researchgate.net/publication/333807036_Cognitive_performance_and_mood_after_a_normal_night_of_drinking_A_naturalistic_alcohol_hangover_study_in_a_non-student_sample

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. School of MoviesPodbean:https://schoolofmovies.podbean.com/e/zombieland-1571387338/Apple:https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/school-of-movies/id388751599?i=1000453964295Twitter : @schoolofmovies

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.comArticles:Incidence article : https://www.hindawi.com/journals/bn/2019/3891809/Online support groups: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0165178114002613Perpetrators of Munchausen’s by Proxy: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28750264TWCACool status (thanks Dr Andy Tagg) - https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0140197119301083?via%3DihubGin & context - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29136090The brain on art (thanks Laura Finlayson-Short) - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3330757/Where does ‘shrink’ come from? Season 16, episode 13 of QI - https://qi.com/

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). Hunter’s articles:Subclinical sadism and the Dark Triad - https://econtent.hogrefe.com/doi/abs/10.1027/1614-0001/a000284The Dark Tetrad and callous reactions to mourner grief - https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0191886918304677 Amy’s articles:Predicting short- and long-term mating orientations - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29373049Trolls just want to have fun - https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0191886914000324Things We Came Across:Spell checker - https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02702710500400495Scary and revolting animals - https://digest.bps.org.uk/2019/06/25/psychologists-have-created-a-league-table-of-scary-and-revolting-creatures/

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. The episode can be found at the following places:Podbean: https://schoolofmovies.podbean.com/e/inside-out-1561733314/ Apple podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/inside-out/id388751599?i=1000443062210On twitter: @SchoolOfMovies

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. Hunter’s articles:Age differences - https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.02479/full Psychopathy - https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/2167702618788874 Amy’s articles:Cultural difference - https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0022022117698039 Attachment - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15513270 TWCA:Pervasive labeling - https://gsep.pepperdine.edu/content/faculty/pld.pdf Game of thrones - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30535868 Sourness and music - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27311296

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. Some relevant links:Heartfelt foundation (photography for grieving families): https://www.heartfelt.org.au/Sands Australia (miscarriage, stillbirth and neonatal death support) 24 hour support line: 1300 072 637Sands men's support line appointments: https://www.sands.org.au/male-parent-supportersBears of Hope 24 hour grief support line: 1300 11 HOPERed Nose grief and loss 24 hour support line: 1300 308 307Miracle Babies 24 hour NurtureLine for families with a baby currently in the NICU/SCN: 1300 622 243Pillars 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/For psychologists looking to do CPD there is a conference coming up in Melbourne in October 2019. Hosted by the centre for perinatal psychology. https://www.centreforperinatalpsychology.com.au/perinatal-loss-conference/?fbclid=IwAR33xyaalPdw535qvcbz994JBJexZ0NJX79qZTPaGmd3lcwHaTqYje4kUs0Kate’s research: Australian men's experiences of support following pregnancy loss: A qualitative study https://www.midwiferyjournal.com/article/S0266-6138(18)30343-7/fulltextAustralian heterosexual women’s experiences of healthcare provision following a pregnancy loss https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1871519217301142?via%3DihubMedia articles about Kate’s research and supporting scholarship: https://rubyconnection.com.au/insights/social-responsibility/pregnancy-loss-understanding-the-whole-familys-grief.aspxhttps://familyincluded.com/category/pregnancy-loss/Research profile : https://researchers.adelaide.edu.au/profile/kate.obst Hunter on location at the APS Health Psych conference (in the noisy IT room) with Kate Obst

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. Research:https://www.adelaide.edu.au/directory/grant.dewar#Other links:http://www.vitallivingpsychologyservices.comhttps://www.facebook.com/Grant.M.Dewarhttps://www.facebook.com/vitallivingpsychology/ Tim Gordon on youtube:https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL-QVJ0oJH-XNvMb9wOjRZZ7OHsxB-yKC-

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. Hunter’s articles:What makes some words funny?Humour and psychotherapyAmy’s articles:Toddler humour productionFacial feedback and enjoyment in children with autismTWCA:Positive and negative earwormsAuricular amputations in rabbitsA perfectionistic proposal to the APA

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 - 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. Liz: Malcolm Gladwell’s Revisionist History http://revisionisthistory.com/Hunter: Trumpcast with the wonderful Virginia Heffernan http://www.slate.com/articles/podcasts/trumpcast.htmlAmy: Susan Calman’s Mrs Brightside - https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0683q6p/episodes/downloads

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.TWCA:Feeling Hangry : https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29888934Orthorexia : https://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/learn/by-eating-disorder/other/orthorexia

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.TWCA:Bitter preference and psychopathy - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26431683

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.