Home
Head Talks aims to inform, inspire and engage those interested in mental health and wellbeing.
Find people speaking from the heart and from their own experience, as well as a wide range of experts and healers sharing their tips and insights to help us work towards better mental health and wellbeing.
Video highlights
Busy Doing Nothing?, Claudia Hammond
Claudia Hammond’s new book, The Art of Rest, looks at how we can learn to rest better and use rest to recharge ourselves more effectively. As an author, broadcaster and psychology lecturer, Claudia is undoubtedly a busy person. She’s learnt that taking breaks to do something you enjoy, such as gardening in her case, can […]
Paws for thought, Professor Jo Williams (and Boomer)
An estimated 10% of youngsters in the UK have had an official diagnosis of a mental health condition. “The complexities of modern life add further cognitive strain and we are seeing a rise in these diagnoses,” says Professor Jo Williams from the University of Edinburgh. She has been researching the impact of pets on the […]
Finding the rational space, Jess Phillips MP
The Labour MP for Birmingham Yardley, Jess Phillips, says that she often wakes up anxious about the day ahead. Some of her anxieties are all too real as she is often the target of vicious online abuse and has experienced the effects of terrorist attacks. But as Jess says, having gone through eating disorders and […]
Letting the fizz out, Lou Lebentz
Lou Lebentz is a therapist and trauma specialist. She came to her work through her own experiences of trauma, addiction and eventually psychosis. Lou says that years of trauma are like a shaken-up bottle of fizzy drink — at some point it will explode. She sees her role as helping clients to open the bottle […]
Quieting the active mind, Owen O’Kane
Owen O’Kane is a psychotherapist with a medical background. He’s the author of Ten to Zen, a guide to meditation and mindfulness that he says anyone can use to calm their mind. Owen grew up amid the Troubles in Northern Ireland and has seen how anxiety affects a place and its people. He has also […]
The Healing Power of Nature, Bruno Hansen
Surfing Champion “You’re paralysed and you’ll never walk again.” Those were the words Bruno Hansen heard after his spine was snapped. A broken shell of a human being, Bruno tried to drown himself before a wave hit him and, as he says, “the joy kicked in”. Bruno is now three-time ISA World Adaptive Surfing Champion. […]
Being Friends with Your Own Mind, Matthieu Ricard
Buddhist Monk Matthieu Ricard is a French writer, photographer and Buddhist monk. His life is divided between the seclusion of a hermitage in the Himalayas and the whirlwind of modern life. Matthieu says that our state of mind can override our circumstances, whether good or bad. He says that our mind can be our best […]
You Can’t See Mental Pain, Mim Shaikh
Radio Host Broadcaster Mim Shaikh grew up with his mother suffering from severe mental health issues. It wasn’t until he went to school that he realised his family was different from others. However, today he feels this experience has helped him to become more sensitive and empathetic towards others going through mental pain. It’s also […]
MASTERCLASSES
Dive even deeper into the world of mental health and wellbeing by signing up to our Masterclasses. Delivered by today’s leading voices, HeadTalks’ Masterclasses will give you exclusive access to insight, exercises and lifestyle tips – taking you deeper into the beautiful realm of what it means to be human.
Elif Shafak,
Famous Turkish author
Postnatal depression and how to heal
see video and read more
Sadhguru,
Yogi, mystic and visionary
How to make sense of today‘s world
see video and read more
Will Young,
Singer, songwriter and actor
Living with Fame and PTSD
see video and read more
Headtalks blog
Raw and Real
Uncategorized
Instead of writing about others, Head Talks’ editor Emma Price shares some of her own struggles with mental health. What is my story? It is a different one depending on when you ask. Had you asked me two years ago, or even a year and a half ago, I would have told you a positive […]
From university dropout to inspiration
Izzy Radford In November 2018, I dropped out of University after six weeks. I aim to help young people at highly academic schools realise that going straight to university isn’t the only option. I want to encourage people to think critically and evaluate their options rather than just following the crowd, and how to navigate the real world […]
The mind makes you sick
Feed your mind
In this short talk Burgs investigates the relationship between body and mind. He invites us to understand how the coherence of consciousness is in fact one of the most significant conditioning factors determining our physical well-being as well as how we actually feel at a mental level. By learning to meditate we learn to enter […]
Podcast highlights
The Value of Happiness,
Richard Layard is an Emeritus Professor at the London School of Economics where he is also Director of the Wellbeing Programme, as well as a member of the House of Lords and the co-founder of Action for Happiness. His books include Happiness: Lessons from a New Science, and Thrive. Lord Layard began his career as […]
Love, Hope and Cancer, Lucy O’Donnell
Cancer Wellness Advisor When Lucy was diagnosed with Stage 4 metastatic breast cancer in November 2011, she spent most of the next eighteen months in radical cancer treatment. Through her continuing treatment and experience, Lucy channels her energies into helping other people in and outside the cancer world. She is a Cancer Counsellor, Holistic Therapist, Inspirational […]
Call Back Your Power, Stephanie Kazolides
Founder of The Quarter Life Health Project Like many of her generation — particularly young women — Stephanie Kazolides found herself at a loss after university. She felt overwhelmed with the pressures of what to do next and suffered from panic attacks and depression. Yoga, meditation, a healthy diet and physical practices began to help […]
A Bridge to the Future, Jonny Benjamin MBE
Mental Health Campaigner Ten years ago, Jonny Benjamin was at a low point. He was talked out of a suicide attempt on Waterloo Bridge. His quest to find the man who rescued him, Neil Laybourn, became famous. Jonny’s now written a book about his story, his illness and his progress towards recovery. Jonny talks to […]