Two old psychologists look back at 2025

In this episode Rich and Ray welcome psychologist, author, and renowned ACT trainer, Rikke Kjelgaard, to explore what makes a good therapist. They discuss this in terms of the head, heart, hands, and home of ACT — the importance of theory, therapeutic stance, practical skills, and why therapists must ‘‘walk the talk.’’ The conversation covers a range of issues, including therapists' use of self‑disclosure and the kinds of mistakes that therapists could usefully avoid making. The trio trade personal anecdotes to illustrate how emotional experience deepens professional empathy and clinical competence, and offer some advice to early career therapists as well as people who might be considering seeing a therapist for the first time.More information and Rikke's practice can be found on her website.If you want to send feedback, suggest topics for future episodes or make contact for any other reason, you can do so at [email protected]

In this episode, Rich and Ray are joined by Paul Edwards, a retired police detective with lived-experience of seeking psychological therapy for PTSD. In an informative and often poignant discussion, Paul describes what really matters in therapy from the perspective of the person seeking help. The conversation covers the attributers of a good therapist, the small human moments that make therapy accessible, the emotional cost of sessions, and why honesty and willingness to engage in therapy matter more than anything. And, in a first for this podcast, our guest turns the tables and poses a 'Let's Ask Ray' question.If you want to send feedback, suggest topics for future episodes or make contact for any other reason, you can do so at [email protected]

Dr Duncan Gillard joins our two old psychologists to map how acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) and contextual behavioural science (CBS) translate into work with children, adolescents, parents and schools. They unpack developmental adaptations to ACT's psychological flexibility model, why the some of the most effective interventions often happen through parents, and how flexibility skills can become teachable behaviours. Duncan outlines practical school-based approaches, notably the Connect curriculum, and how mundane conversations can target psychological flexibility in the moment. The episode balances big-picture educational policy with concrete classroom and parenting guidance for building resilience and wellbeing.Duncan's article in The Psychologist on creating psychologically flexible school communities is here, while the evidence-based, and completely free Connect curriculum can be found here.The are many more resources on using ACT with children and young people available at DNA-V International.If you want to send feedback, suggest topics for future episodes or make contact for any other reason, you can do so at [email protected]

Rich and Ray are joined by Dr Freddy Jackson-Brown, a clinical psychologist whose work straddles the fields of contextual behavioural science and artificial intelligence. Freddy speaks about how he has contributed to making psychological support more accessible to people in need through the use of AI, and we talk through some of the pros and cons of living in a world that is increasingly reliant on this new technology. This episode will help you figure out where you stand in relation to AI - are you an accelerationist, a scout, or a doomer? You'll also get to find out the answer to that question that we've all been pondering - would Ray listen to AI jazz?The Sylva family support app mentioned by Freddy can be found here. Also, you can read the Sylva validation study here.His papers on modelling RFT in neural networks are here and here.Freddy has written a couple of ACT books: Supporting the Wellbeing of Autistic Children and Young People: An Acceptance and Commitment Therapy Approach and When Young People with Intellectual Disabilities and Autism Hit Puberty: A Parents' Q&A Guide to Health, Sexuality and RelationshipsWhilst we would not normally encourage listeners to commit 'podultery' by going off and listening to other shows, if you want a deep dive into the world of AI, 'The Last Invention' is an excellent series that covers the growth of AI and many of the potential costs and benefits for society.If you want to send feedback, suggest topics for future episodes or make contact for any other reason, you can do so at [email protected]

In the first episode of the new 'invite a guest' season, Rich and Ray speak to Dr Dawn Johnson about how she applies Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (ACT) to her experience of living with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome. Dawn speaks about her journey toward diagnosis, the impact of that diagnosis upon her, and how she has made use of ACT personally, as well as in her role as a psychologist working with other people with long-term health conditions.For anyone interested in seeking more information about Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, the Ehlers-Danlos Society is a reliable source of information and a great place to start.In the episode, we briefly touch on Ray's self-help book for people living with long-term health conditions, 'Living with the Enemy'.We also talk about the ACT Matrix, which is a way of using ACT to help make sense of a difficult situations. There is a great video introduction here, and a blank template for you to complete your own ACT Matrix here.If you want to send feedback, suggest topics for future episodes or make contact for any other reason, you can do so at [email protected]

In the final episode of Season Two, Rich and Ray discuss a core component of the Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (ACT) approach to unwelcome thoughts, known in the trade as 'defusion'. They cover some of the reasons why our unwelcome thoughts seem so convincing and hard to ignore, and some techniques for responding to such thoughts more effectively. Our two old psychologists discuss techniques for manipulating language, for undermining the literal interpretation of thoughts, and for creating some distance from troublesome thoughts.One of the techniques discussed in this episode is an old ACT classic commonly referred to as 'Passengers on the Bus'. If you fancy seeing a somewhat more youthful Rich, together with some colleagues, doing a video demonstration of that technique, you can find that here.If you want to send feedback, suggest topics for future episodes or make contact for any other reason, you can do so at [email protected]

So how are you settling in to 2026? How are you feeling about world events and the future prospects of our societies and our species? Unfortunately, there is a lot of data suggesting that anxiety is on the rise, and that many people are increasingly uneasy about the state of the world. Against a backdrop of polarised opinion, political tension, and rapid technological advances, it can be hard to find peace and purpose, and many of us are feeling it. In this episode, our two old psychologists wrestle with some of these issues and discuss what Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) might tell us about how to navigate life in the context of these external challenges, as well as our internal reactions to them.If you want to find out more about our chosen charity for Podcasthon 2026, you can do that at the wonderful Level Water.If you want to send feedback, suggest topics for future episodes or make contact for any other reason, you can do so at [email protected]

So, there goes 2025. Was it a vintage year or one we would rather consign to the dustbin of history? In this episode, Rich and Ray round off Season Two by picking over the bones of 2025, selecting their noteworthy moments of the year in terms of their professional lives, the news, wider culture, entertainment, and sport. As always, there is a psychological angle and a sprinkle of good humour over everything. It's surely the only podcast episode you can find that covers U.S. politics, prog rock, women's rugby, and risotto all in one hour. Go on...give it a listen!If you want to send feedback, suggest topics for future episodes or make contact for any other reason, you can do so at [email protected]

It can seem deeply counter-intuitive to work on accepting the discomfort that comes from the presence of unwanted thoughts or feelings. Nevertheless, there is a significant amount of psychological research pointing to the benefits of acceptance, rather than other common responses like avoiding or fighting such experiences. In this episode, Rich and Ray dive into the concept of acceptance, defining it, discussing how it can help in a range of situations, and demonstrating some quick and easy acceptance practices that listeners can take away and make use of. Along the way, you can learn why 'Inside Out' just might be the best movie ever made (aside from the original Star Wars film, obviously).If you want to send feedback, suggest topics for future episodes or make contact for any other reason, you can do so at [email protected]

Rich and Ray are joined by Dr Dawn Johnson, President of the UK and Ireland chapter of the Association for Contextual Behavioural Science (ACBS), to discuss the forthcoming conference in Manchester on 14-16 November 2025. It is the major meeting place for anyone interested in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and we would love to meet some our listeners there. Please do come and say hello!You can find out more and book tickets for one, two, or all three days of the conference at www.acbsukandireland.comIf you want to send feedback, suggest topics for future episodes or make contact for any other reason, you can do so at [email protected]