New episodes of Beyond Madness podcast series offer valuable insights into Psychiatry and mental health

In October 2021 the first of 15 weekly podcast episodes aired on CliffCentral. After a short break, 14 new podcast episodes of Beyond Madness hosted by Professor Christopher Szabo will begin airing on CliffCentral from Tuesday, 3^rd May – in association with Adcock Ingram OTC Sponsors of Brave.

Mental health issues and psychiatry have, until relatively recently, been subjects which were not discussed openly. Thanks to the advent of forums focused on lifting the ‘shroud’ around understanding mental health issues – such as the Beyond Madness podcasts – vital information has become accessible, empowering not only mental health professionals but also the community at large. Knowledge is after all power but without true understanding it can be meaningless.

Why name a podcast Beyond Madness? Professor Szabo sheds light on the rationale behind this: “These episodes are not about ‘madness’ per se, however one understands and defines ‘madness’. Certainly, psychiatry would refer to ‘mental illness’ whereas madness might be seen as somewhat pejorative in describing someone who is indeed ill, and the term might be better suited to someone whose behaviour, whilst disturbed, is not the product of mental illness. And yet, there is madness in mental illness and maybe one should be less sensitive to the use of the term. It captures a quality that the term ‘mental illness’ does not. In a sense the title is not explicit in what it means, maybe a little provocative, but whatever it might mean it is likely associated with some degree of discomfort or suffering so it is not a term used frivolously. This is a serious podcast, one that takes you ‘beyond madness’ by delving into issues that are beyond the immediate clinical reality of psychiatry but integral to its practice. In a sense, it will take you behind the scenes through the voices of selected individuals, and whilst their work may appear to have specific relevance to psychiatry, each issue raised will ultimately be understood to have broader societal implications.”

Beyond Madness began as a natural extension of a publication founded in November 2014 by Professor Szabo, South African Psychiatry www.southafricanpsychiatry.co.za, with the goal of reaching beyond patient care and in a sense converting the written word of the publication into the spoken word of the podcast. The interactive and easily accessible format of the podcasts highlights the intention to provide content not only for psychiatrists and other mental health professionals but the families, friends and colleagues of those who are impacted by emotional difficulties and mental illness. Psychiatry is complex. As a bio-psycho-social discipline it is the only medical discipline that has such an ethos embedded in its practise. These podcasts are intended to humanise psychiatrists, and psychiatry, and what they do beyond diagnosing or treating in a one-dimensional way.

The initial Beyond Madness podcasts were so well-received, that it made perfect sense to continue making them and in these new episodes some topics which were covered previously will be explored once again, with the intention of creating greater awareness and understanding about the discipline of psychiatry.

Beyond Madness Podcast Schedule

Episode 1: 3 May – Smart Food for the Brain

Episode 2: 10 May – Living with Eating Disorders

Episode 3: 17 May – Photographers in war zones

Episode 4: 24 May – Living with Dementia

Episode 5: 31 May – Pregnancy and Psychiatry

Episode 6: 7 June – Divorce and Child Custody

Episode7: 14 June – Social Media: Youth and emotional well-being

Episode 8: 21 June – The Psychology of Serial Killers

Episode 9: 28 June – Trauma of Loss

Episode 10: 5 July – Living with ADHD

Episode 11: 12 July – Assisted Dying

Episode 12: 19 July – Living with learning disabilities

Episode 13: 26 July – Ketamine: depression and beyond

Episode 14: 2 Aug – What’s in a Dream?

New episodes are available every Tuesday at 10am from the 3^rd of May on cliffcentral.com and are also available on Spotify as well as the Apple and Google podcast platforms.