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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 [email protected] 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 periods The night before/morning of an exam During the exam Afterwards 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-12d7d2b School 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-b61ed2 Zombieland: https://www.podbean.com/ew/pb-66pz9-c3c60f and Mary and Max: https://www.podbean.com/ew/pb-mqs5i-eb20ef Sharon 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 Calabash 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 making 19:35 Psychological impacts of having a voluntary abortion 40:25 Impacts on sexual functioning 44:45 Psychological impacts of having an abortion for medical reasons 49:12 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.go

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 spaces Settlers, vagrants and mutual indifference: unintended consequences of hot-desking Meetings and more meetings: the relationship between meeting load and the daily well-being of employees The impact of time spent on the electronic health record after work and of clerical work on burnout among clinical faculty How Impactful Is Presentation in Email? The Effect of Avatars and Signatures TWCA: The Pattern of Complaints about Australian Wind Farms Does Not Match the Establishment and Distribution of Turbines: Support for the Psychogenic, ‘Communicated Disease’ Hypothesis Exploring 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 Research The 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) TWCA Romantic 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, Warrior Things 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 dogs Kids’ 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: 000 For 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