PsychEd: Educational Psychiatry Podcast

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.

Welcome to PsychEd, the psychiatry podcast for medical learners, by medical learners. This short episode covers harm reduction principles.
Hosts: Dr. Andrew Nguyen, Dr. Zakia Hussain, and Shelly Palchik
Audio editing: Dr. Kate Braithwaite
Episode Evaluation: Dr. Angad Singh
Resources:
Chapter 4: Substance Use and Addictive Disorders. In Kaplan & Sadock’s Synopsis of Psychiatry: Behavioral Sciences

Serving Clients Who Use Substances: A guide for community workers

A Harm Reduction Approach (Alberta Health Services)

References:
Alberta Health Services. A Harm Reduction Approach: Key Principles.

BC Centre for Disease Control (2023). Harm Reduction Services & Supply Guidelines.

Canadian Mental Health Association Ontario. Harm Reduction.

Ontario Ministry of Health (2018). Substance Use Prevention and Harm Reduction Guideline.

NL Centre for Applied Health Research (2020). Harm Reduction 101.

Public Health Agency of Canada. Reducing Stigma Toward People Who Use Drugs.

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 psychiatry and ethics in the Ontario context with Dr. Suze Berkhout, a clinician investigator and practicing psychiatrist working in acute inpatient psychiatry at University Health Network. She is an Associate Professor at the University of Toronto in the department of psychiatry and affiliate faculty with the Institute for the History & Philosophy of Science and Technology. Her research draws on critical creative methods in ethnography, art-science collaborations, and feminist science and technology studies, to consider the politics of diagnosis and social lives of interventions and emerging technologies in biomedicine. She works with artists, service users, clinicians and scientists to understand how serious illness experiences impact our sense of identity and our social roles, and she studies the impacts of novel and emerging technologies on experiences in healthcare settings. Suze loves coffee and finding new ways to think with stories.
The learning objectives are as follows:
1. Gain familiarity with key ethical concepts in psychiatry, including how ethics differs from law and the major ethical frameworks used in clinical reasoning.
2.  Identify and analyze common ethical challenges in psychiatric practice, such as autonomy, confidentiality, boundaries, and justice.
3. Apply practical strategies for ethical decision-making in clinical encounters.
Guest: Dr. Suze Berkhout
Hosts: Dr. Matthew Cho (PGY1), Dr. Annie Yu (PGY4) and Sena Gok (MD)
Audio Editing: Angad Singh (PGY2)
Resources from our guest:
Bioethics for the People Podcast: https://www.bioethicsforthepeople.com/
Mimi Khúc Open in Emergency: https://www.mimikhuc.com/projects/open-in-emergency
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 atpsychedpodcast.org.

Welcome to PsychEd, the psychiatry podcast for medical learners, by medical learners. This short episode covers the basics of sleep hygiene.
Hosts: Jo Kikukawa (MS2) and Grant Yao (MS4)
Audio editing: Grant Yao
Timestamps:
(0:33) - Background
(2:07) - Core principles and strategies
(5:37) - Counselling on sleep
(6:18) - When to get help with sleep
(7:29) - Summary
References:
Centre for Addiction and Mental Health. Sleep disorders. CAMH.
Harvard Health Publishing. Sleep hygiene: Simple practices for better rest. Harvard Health.
Qaseem A, Kansagara D, Forciea MA, Cooke M, Denberg TD. Management of chronic insomnia disorder in adults: A clinical practice guideline from the American College of Physicians. Ann Intern Med. 2016;165(2):125–133.
Sleep Foundation. Sleep hygiene. SleepFoundation.org.
Spielman AJ, Caruso LS, Glovinsky PB. Behavioral treatment of insomnia: A clinical case series. Sleep. 1987;10(1):87–92.
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 short episode covers Types of Substances

Hosts: Sara Abrahamson, Shaoyuan Wang and Kate Braithwaite.

Audio Editing: Kate Braithwaite

References:
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.
CAMH. (2013). Inhalants. Inhalants | CAMH
CAMH. (2010). Cocaine and Crack. https://www.camh.ca/en/health-info/mental-illness-and-addiction-index/cocaine
CAMH. (2012). Amphetamines. https://www.camh.ca/en/health-info/mental-illness-and-addiction-index/amphetamines#:~:text=Chronic%20use%20of%20amphetamines%20can,can%20also%20cause%20amphetamine%20psychosis.
Chae J, Marsden J and Sutherland A. (2024, August 21). Benzodiazepine Withdrawal. Emergency Care BC. Benzodiazepine Withdrawal : Emergency Care BC
ChildHealthBC. (2023, September 21). Common Street names for Substances. https://childhealthbc.ca/mhsu/common_streetnames_substances/printfile
Jauch EC. (2023, January 18) Inhalants Clinical Presentation. Medscape. Inhalants Clinical Presentation: History, Physical, Causes
Kaye, AD, Staser, AN, Mccollins, TS, Zheng, J, Berry, FA, Burroughs, CR, Heisler, M, Mouhaffel, A, Ahmadzadeh, S, Kaye, AM, Shekoohi, S, & Varrassi, G. (2024). Delirium Tremens: A Review of Clinical Studies. Cureus, 16(4), e57601. https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.57601
Long N. (2020, November 3). GHB toxicity. Life in the Fast Lane. GHB toxicity • LITFL • Toxicology Library Toxicant
Medx. (2025, November 26). Understanding What is the MOA of Alcohol: A Pharmacological Perspective. What is the MOA of Alcohol? Explained: Receptors and Effects
Mendelson, J. H., & Mello, N. K. (1996). Management of cocaine abuse and dependence. The New England journal of medicine, 334(15), 965–972. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJM199604113341507
Nichols DE. Hallucinogens. Pharmacol Ther. 2004 Feb;101(2):131-81. doi: 10.1016/j.pharmthera.2003.11.002.
Nickson C. (2024, December 18). Sedative toxidrome. Life in the Fast Lane. Sedative Toxidrome • LITFL • CCC Toxicology
Porter RS, Kaplan JL, Homeier BP, editors. The Merck manual of diagnosis and therapy. 20th ed. Kenilworth (NJ): Merck Sharp & Dohme; 2018.
PsychDB. (2021, March). Opioid Intoxication. Opioid Intoxication - PsychDB
PsychDB. (2023, October). Opioid Withdrawal. Opioid Withdrawal - PsychDB
PsychDB. (2023 February). Cannabis Withdrawal. Cannabis Withdrawal - PsychDB
Roth BL, Gumpper RH. Psychedelics as Transformative Therapeutics. Am J Psychiatry. 2023 May 1;180(5):317-20.
Vollenweider FX, Kometer M. The neurobiology of psychedelic drugs: implications for the treatment of mood disorders. Nat Rev Neurosci. 2010 Sep;11(9):642-51. doi: 10.1038/nrn2884.