
Show Notes
Welcome to PsychEd, the psychiatry podcast for medical learners, by medical learners. This is our second book club episode centered around the novel Healing: Our Path from Mental Illness to Mental Health by Thomas Insel, MD. This book is a part memoir / part manifesto written by one of our generation’s most important leaders in neuroscience and psychiatry, Dr. Thomas Insel. Dr. Insel served as the director of the NIMH for 13 years from 2002-2015. Healing is replete with his reflections on personal and clinical experiences as well as epidemiological data, research, and policies related to mental health. Dr. Insel argues that medicine’s failure to significantly reduce the mortality and morbidity of psychiatric illnesses is less due to a lack of scientific progress, and more a result of poor implementation of existing interventions that are already well supported by the evidence. Guest: Dr. Thomas Insel Hosts: Dr. Gaurav Sharma - Staff psychiatrist working in Nunavut, Canada Dr. Kate Braithwaite - Family doctor from South Africa Ahmad Khan - MS4 at Western University Dr. Sophie Gregoire-Mitha - PGY1 Psychiatry resident in Manitoba Audio editing: Dr. Gaurav Sharma Episode Evaluation: Dr. Angad Singh Our discussion is divided into 3 main sections: (2:48): Main themes from the book (15:58): Clinical application of strategies discussed in the book (41:30): Reflections on the book in the current Psychiatric landscape For more PsychEd, follow us on Instagram (@psyched.podcast), Facebook (PsychEd Podcast), X (@psychedpodcast), and Bluesky (@psychedpodcast.bsky.social). You can email us at [email protected] and visit our website at psychedpodcast.org.
More from PsychEd: Educational Psychiatry Podcast
Welcome to PsychEd, the psychiatry podcast for medical learners, by medical learners. This short episode covers medical considerations in eating disorders. Hosts: Dr. Shelly Palchick (PGY1) and Dr. Angad Singh (PGY3) Audio Editing: Dr. Angad Singh (PGY3) For more PsychEd, follow us on Instagram (@psyched.podcast), Facebook (PsychEd Podcast), X (@psychedpodcast), and Bluesky (@psychedpodcast.bsky.social). You can email us at [email protected] and visit our website at psychedpodcast.org.
Welcome to PsychEd, the psychiatry podcast for medical learners, by medical learners. This episode covers homelessness and mental illness with Dr. Vicky Stergiopoulos, senior scientist with the General Adult Psychiatry and Health Systems Division at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH). She is also a full professor in the Department of Psychiatry and the Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation at the University of Toronto. She has served in several administrative roles, including vice-chair, clinical and innovation (2017-2022) and co-Director of the Division of Adult Psychiatry and Health Systems (2012-2017) in the Department of Psychiatry, as well as physician-in-chief at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (2016-2022), psychiatrist-in-chief at St. Michael’s Hospital (2011-2016) and medical director, Inner City Health Associates (2017-2011). Dr. Stergiopoulos completed her medical training at Dalhousie University and residency training in psychiatry at the University of Toronto. She holds a MHSc in health administration from the University of Toronto’s Institute for Health Policy, Management and Evaluation and completed director’s education training at the Rotman School of Management. The learning objectives for this episode are as follows: Define homelessness and housing insecurity and identify key social determinants that shape health outcomes in this population
Welcome to PsychEd, the psychiatry podcast for medical learners, by medical learners. This short episode covers the basics of CYP450 metabolism as it applies to psychotropic medication. Hosts: Dr. Celine Prell (PGY4), Dr. Angad Singh, (PGY3) Audio Editing: Dr. Celine Prell (PGY4), Dr. Angad Singh, (PGY3) For more PsychEd, follow us on Instagram (@psyched.podcast), Facebook (PsychEd Podcast), X (@psychedpodcast), and Bluesky (@psychedpodcast.bsky.social). You can email us at [email protected] and visit our website at psychedpodcast.org.
Welcome to PsychEd, the psychiatry podcast for medical learners, by medical learners. This episode covers Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) with Dr. Kenneth Fung and Dr. Iline Guan. Dr. Kenneth Fung is Staff Psychiatrist at the Toronto Western Hospital, University Health Network. He is Professor and Director of Global Mental Health with the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Toronto. His research, teaching, and clinical interests include both cultural psychiatry and psychotherapy, especially ACT, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), and mindfulness. He is the Block Co-coordinator of the Cultural Psychiatry Core Seminars for psychiatry residents, and the seminar co-lead and psychotherapy supervisor in CBT at the University Health Network. Dr. Guan is a psychiatrist who practices outpatient general psychiatry at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto, where she works in the Mood and Anxiety Ambulatory Services and the Northern Psychiatric Outreach Program. She also works with Inner City Health Associates in downtown Toronto. She has had training across various psychotherapy modalities, including psychodynamic therapy, CBT, DBT, IPT, MBSR/MBCT, and ACT. She is involved in resident teaching and psychotherapy supervision at the University of Toronto, and has implemented a pilot ACT group program in the Mood and Anxiety clinic at CAMH. The learning objectives for this episode are as follows: Describe the theoretical model and core processes underlying ACT
Welcome to PsychEd, the psychiatry podcast for medical learners, by medical learners. This short episode covers factitious disorder. Hosts: Jo Kikukawa (MS3), Dr. Kate Braithwaite Audio editing: Dr. Kate Braithwaite References: 1. American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders: DSM-5, text revision (DSM-5-TR). 5th ed. Washington, D.C.: American Psychiatric Association Publishing; 2022. 2. Irwin, M. R., Bursch, B., & Solomon, D. (2025, July 21). Factitious disorder imposed on self (Munchausen syndrome). UpToDate. https://www.uptodate.com/contents/factitious-disorder-imposed-on-self-munchausen-syndrome?search=factitious+disorder&source=search_result&selectedTitle=1~90&usage_type=default&display_rank=1&searchCorrelationId=681d447e-f8e6-4338-b905-ff937cad5972&searchCorrelationTerm=factitious+disorder#H368608737 3. PsychDB. (2021, December). Factitious Disorder. Factitious Disorder - PsychDB 4. Roesler, T. A., & Jenny, C. (2026, June 12). Medical child abuse (Munchausen syndrome by proxy). UpToDate. https://www.uptodate.com/contents/medical-child-abuse-munchausen-syndrome-by-proxy?search=factitious+disorder&source=search_result&selectedTitle=3~90&usage_type=default&display_rank=3&searchCorrelationId=681d447e-f8e6-4338-b905-ff937cad5972&searchCorrelationTerm=factitious+disorder#H90255160 5. Yates, G., & Bass, C. (2017). The perpetrators of medical child abuse (Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy) - A systematic review of 796 cases. Child abuse & neglect, 72, 45–53. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2017.07.008 For more PsychEd, follow us on Instagram (@psyched.podcast), Facebook (PsychEd Podcast), X (@psychedpodcast), and Bluesky (@psychedpodcast.bsky.social). You can email us at [email protected] and visit our website at psychedpodcast.org.