Psychotherapist Allan Clarke hosts a fortnightly podcast with worldwide guests talking all things mental health. The difference with the Straight Talking Mental Health Podcast? It is both informative and informal! Complicated and sensitive subjects are presented in a down to earth and relatable manner.
Episodes
Tuesday Apr 25, 2023
Tuesday Apr 25, 2023
"I don't think the podcast will get the credit it deserves, for what we've done."
For the final time we are Straight Talking Mental Health. The OG hosts return for the final episode - Allan & Peter. We catch up on how Peter is getting on his Morning Show on Midlands 103, we reflect back on all the guests we have had over the last 3 years, the impact the show has had on our listeners and our regrets about the podcast.
Peter is smiling after getting away on a trip with his dad to find the graves of uncles killed in World War 1 and Allan is riled after throwing money away to Ryanair after forgetting to check in for his flight and that's only the start of it!
Thank you for joining us for 3 years and 125 episodes.
Follow Straight Talking Mental Health on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok. You can also now check out our episodes as videos on YouTube.
Feel free to email us hello@stmhpodcast with any of your feedback on the show.. Check us out on www.stmhpodcast.com
Tuesday Apr 11, 2023
Tuesday Apr 11, 2023
"If somebody gaslights you over and over and over again, it does a number on your brain!"
This week we're straight talking having a Narcissistic Husband with Erin Riley. Erin grew up in Mad Men era Manhattan with a model "narcissistic" mother and actor father, before she ran away to California as a teen. Erin tells us her rock n roll stories from being in the rock scene for 40 years, including one about Lou Reed. She discusses the cycle of abuse with narcissists, her husband being a covert narcissist, the love bombing, the gaslighting and the impact it had on her. She also shares the early warning signs to look out for.
Erin's dog Murphy has her smiling but people not doing what they say will has her riled. Allan is smiling seeing former co-hosts Peter & Kamron host a charity mental health event but trying to promote anything on social media has him riled.
In major news Allan has decided to finish the podcast with this episode being the penultimate episode of the show.
Follow Straight Talking Mental Health on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok. You can also now check out our episodes as videos on YouTube.
Feel free to email us hello@stmhpodcast with any of your feedback on the show or if you would like to come on and tell your story as a guest. Check us out on www.stmhpodcast.com
Tuesday Mar 28, 2023
Tuesday Mar 28, 2023
"I've clients that are being diagnosed and medicated at the age of 4!"
This week we're straight talking Parenting ADHD Children with Avigail Gimpel - an educator and very proud Jewish mom to SIX children with ADHD (and a husband). Avigail tells us about her experience of getting her older children diagnosed and why she stopped getting diagnoses, to diagnose or not, the reliance in Israel on medicating children as young as 2, the importance of having more faith in our children as well some excellent parenting and relationship advice.
Avigail is smiling thanks to some great family news (we can't discuss it here) but the American economy has her riled. Allan is riled by the constant rain but Ireland win the grand slam in the 6 nations has him smiling!
Follow Straight Talking Mental Health on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok. You can also now check out our episodes as videos on YouTube.
Feel free to email us hello@stmhpodcast with any of your feedback on the show or if you would like to come on and tell your story as a guest. Check us out on www.stmhpodcast.com
Tuesday Mar 14, 2023
Tuesday Mar 14, 2023
"I didn't want to die but if that was going to be the best alternative, I was ok with it"
This week we're straight talking Losing A Partner with Will Craig. Will tells us about the mental health struggles he had and the suicidal thoughts he experienced even before the death of his girlfriend who was only in her 20's. He also opens up about what it was like to suspect something was wrong on the day she died when he hadn't heard from her, the grief and trauma around her death, his experience of therapy, the hydrocephalus which requires multiple surgeries and we discuss the resilience he has developed after all he has been through.
Will's riled by the need for perfection, why done is better than perfect and his fearless nephew has him smiling. Allan is riled by the recent shooting of a PSNI officer in Omagh, but a romantic "living autopsy" has him smiling.
Follow Straight Talking Mental Health on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok. You can also now check out our episodes as videos on YouTube.
Feel free to email us hello@stmhpodcast with any of your feedback on the show or if you would like to come on and tell your story as a guest. Check us out on www.stmhpodcast.com
Tuesday Feb 28, 2023
Tuesday Feb 28, 2023
"I was so anxious and very, very suicidal... I'd always struggled with depression and that just amplified it completely "
This week we're straight talking Bullying with "Mollie". Mollie tells us about her experience of being bullied in school, the cyberbullying she endured - from group chats being set up about her, anonymous comments online of how to kill herself and the toll it took on her physical and mental health. Mollie also describes the severe anxiety she had as a 6 year old which lead to being homeschooled and the emetophobia she experiences.
Allan is smiling having got back into building scale models but the recent Tiger Woods tampon issue has him riled!
Follow Straight Talking Mental Health on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok. You can also now check out our episodes as videos on YouTube.
Feel free to email us hello@stmhpodcast with any of your feedback on the show or if you would like to come on and tell your story as a guest. Check us out on www.stmhpodcast.com
Tuesday Feb 14, 2023
Tuesday Feb 14, 2023
"I didn't fight cancer, I embraced cancer!"
This week we're straight talking Cancer with Angelica Alen. Angelica was diagnosed with stage 3 bowel cancer after an admission to the emergency room. She tells us about the emergency surgery to remove the tumor, how chemotherapy treatment was like being blasted "with an atomic bomb", the impact her cancer had on her husband and children and she stresses the importance of taking an active part in your health recovery.
Angelica is smiling about taking a 3 month cross country drive around Australia with her husband and children, but the stresses that come with that have her riled. Allan is smiling about just chilling out with his partner but a head cold has him riled!
Follow Straight Talking Mental Health on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok. You can also now check out our episodes as videos on YouTube.
Feel free to email us hello@stmhpodcast with any of your feedback on the show or if you would like to come on and tell your story as a guest. Check us out on www.stmhpodcast.com
Tuesday Jan 31, 2023
Tuesday Jan 31, 2023
"I had a baby 7 years ago and I hated it, I felt no connection."
This week we're straight talking Postpartum Depression with Suzanne Yatim Aslam. Suzanne is a former Ms. Arab USA with no history of mental health difficulties, after the birth of her first son she hated being a mother, felt no connection to her son and it wasn't for two more years she found out she was suffering with postpartum depression and anxiety. Suzanne tells us about her book "Post Pardon Me", her anger at being depressed, she has advice for women who may be going through what she went through and Allan discusses his experience of male postpartum depression.
Suzanne is smiling after a beautiful moment with her son but someone who remains nameless in her house leaving the water running has her riled. Allan is smiling after seeing clients make some real progress but the cold weather has him riled again!
Follow Straight Talking Mental Health on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok. You can also now check out our episodes as videos on YouTube.
Feel free to email us hello@stmhpodcast with any of your feedback on the show or if you would like to come on and tell your story as a guest. Check us out on www.stmhpodcast.com
Tuesday Jan 17, 2023
Tuesday Jan 17, 2023
"In my 30s I had my own nervous breakdown and was diagnosed with schizophrenia."
This week we're straight talking Schizophrenia with Bee Baumann. Bee grew up in a strict Christian Baptist home only to find out at 12 she had been fostered and then taken back to live with her birth mother and 7 siblings. Bee tells us about becoming an emancipated child at 15, being hospitalised after a nervous breakdown and being diagnosed with schizophrenia in her 30s and her experience of being an African American woman in small town Germany.
Bee is smiling at the littlest thing like seeing a rainbow but bureaucracy has her riled... well, she is in Germany! Allan is smiling as he gets back to playing golf and he is riled because... he's back playing golf!
Follow Straight Talking Mental Health on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok. You can also now check out our episodes as videos on YouTube.
Feel free to email us hello@stmhpodcast with any of your feedback on the show or if you would like to come on and tell your story as a guest. Check us out on www.stmhpodcast.com
Tuesday Jan 03, 2023
Tuesday Jan 03, 2023
"Darkness consumed me, I believed there was no way out."
Fresh for 2023, we're straight talking Male Depression with Neil Kelders. Neil shares his experience of depression that has been there since childhood after his father left at age 10, the abandonment fears that affected his relationships in later life, the constant suicidal thoughts that consumed him daily and how finally opening up about his mental health struggles helped. You can find Neil's book "The Other Side" on Amazon.
Neil's smiling after finally getting to hand his mother a copy of his book but his own mental health struggles still affecting him have him riled. Allan's riled by man's inhumanity to man after watching documentaries on war photographer James Nachtwey and Emmett Till but meeting up with some old school friends have him smiling.
Follow Straight Talking Mental Health on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok. You can also now check out our episodes as videos on YouTube.
Feel free to email us hello@stmhpodcast with any of your feedback on the show or if you would like to come on and tell your story as a guest. Check us out on www.stmhpodcast.com
Tuesday Dec 20, 2022
Tuesday Dec 20, 2022
"People say 'you should have done better at school' but I tried my hardest."
This week we're straight talking Dyslexia with Rachel. Rachel is a long time listener to the podcast who works in social care for people with mental health difficulties - she shares what that experience is like, working with people who can at times self harm or be violent. She also discusses living with dyslexia, from being screened in school, the cost and requirement of an official diagnosis, difficulties in adult life with numbers and managing money and even down to reading and messaging on online dating apps.
Rachel is riling about the cold weather but a week off from work has her smiling. Allan is smiling with the Brassic TV show but a new client who grew up in a mother and baby home has him riled.
Follow Straight Talking Mental Health on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok. You can also now check out our episodes as videos on YouTube.
Feel free to email us hello@stmhpodcast with any of your feedback on the show or if you would like to come on and tell your story as a guest. Check us out on www.stmhpodcast.com
Tuesday Dec 06, 2022
Tuesday Dec 06, 2022
"I thought I was fucked, I thought I was broken, I thought I was different."
This week we're straight talking Dissociation with Erik DaRosa. Erik, a former Wall Street trader, tells us about his experience of intrusive thoughts about harming other people related to the OCD & anxiety he experienced since a child, the imposter syndrome he felt working on Wall St and the stress that lead to his first experience of dissociation. Allan (in therapist mode) discusses attachment, helps Erik track a pattern around the time of year he dissociated and we discuss Kanye's mental health.
Erik is smiling after seeing a friend for the first time in years but returning to the cold weather of Colorado from Hawaii has him riled. Allan is smiling whilst catching up on The Crown but the attitudes towards men's mental health have him riled.
Follow Straight Talking Mental Health on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok. You can also now check out our episodes as videos on YouTube.
Feel free to email us hello@stmhpodcast with any of your feedback on the show or if you would like to come on and tell your story as a guest. Check us out on www.stmhpodcast.com
Tuesday Nov 22, 2022
Tuesday Nov 22, 2022
"It was clear I wasn't going to make it through college without a formal diagnosis."
This week we're straight talking ADHD with Eric Allan. Eric tells about his OCD as a child, how a fever as a child may have contributed, how ADHD was a difficulty for him throughout life and why he doesn't know if would have wanted to be diagnosed as child. We also discuss the different manifestations of ADHD (inattentive/ hyperactive/ combined) and the diagnostic criteria for children and adults.
Ordinarily this would be our check in episode, however they will be no more, as Allan explains how him and Aisling have parted ways on podcast and life.
Follow Straight Talking Mental Health on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok. You can also now check out our episodes as videos on YouTube.
Feel free to email us hello@stmhpodcast with any of your feedback on the show or if you would like to come on and tell your story as a guest. Check us out on www.stmhpodcast.com
Tuesday Nov 15, 2022
Tuesday Nov 15, 2022
"I learned a lot about myself and my sexuality through sex work"
This week we're straight talking Being An Escort/ Sex Worker with "Hannah". Hannah tells us about why she chose to be an escort, being "outed" to her mother, her experience from working in a brothel to being "independent" and paying tax on a profession that is legal where she lives. Hannah also opens up about her previous mental health experiences, getting officially diagnosed with ADHD, being "stealthed" by a client and how much she has learned about herself from her work.
Unfortunately due to technical issues we have no check in before Hannah's interview this week.
Follow Straight Talking Mental Health on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok. You can also now check out our episodes as videos on YouTube.
Feel free to email us hello@stmhpodcast with any of your feedback on the show or if you would like to come on and tell your story as a guest. Check us out on www.stmhpodcast.com
Tuesday Nov 08, 2022
Tuesday Nov 08, 2022
"Your desire to hurt your ex is greater than your love for your kids."
This week, at the request of a listener, we're straight talking Parental Alienation & Loving Your Kids. We discuss the 5 factors involved in parental alienation, not just stopping the children seeing their parent but also bad mouthing them in front of the children, the impact it has on children when they become adults and the common issues with the alienating parent. Allan shares his own experience of having had to go to court as a single father and Aisling shares her experience of everything she went through to ensure the kids weren't affected after her break up.
Aisling is smiling after getting some family time with her children but Allan interrupting her to do the podcast has her riled. Allan is riled when Aisling doesn't want the anniversary gift he thought was on to a winner with and he's smiling after watching The Banshees of Inisherin.
Follow Straight Talking Mental Health on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok. You can also now check out our episodes as videos on YouTube.
Feel free to email us hello@stmhpodcast with any of your feedback on the show or if you would like to come on and tell your story as a guest. Check us out on www.stmhpodcast.com
Tuesday Nov 01, 2022
Tuesday Nov 01, 2022
"One partner has the higher libido, or the other partner doesn't want to have sex as much, there can be frustration, feelings of resentment."
This week we're straight talking Sex with sex therapist Lyndsey Murray CST. Allan & Lyndsey share their clinical experience and discuss desire discrepancy (when one partner has a higher sex drive), religious beliefs and how they change our view of sex, what's the "normal" amount of times to have sex a week, masturbation, pornography and if sex addiction is real or not.
The constant rain is getting to Allan & Aisling this week. Aisling is smiling watching Helena Bonham Carter in The Cleaner but Allan isn't impressed with her breath after her latest obsession with garlic prawns and both of us are smiling after checking out the new O'Dooles restaurant in Kildare Town.
Follow Straight Talking Mental Health on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok. You can also now check out our episodes as videos on YouTube.
Feel free to email us hello@stmhpodcast with any of your feedback on the show or if you would like to come on and tell your story as a guest. Check us out on www.stmhpodcast.com