Behind the Stigma

Hosted and produced by Seiara Imanova, a PhD student from University of Birmingham, Behind the Stigma is a pioneering podcast that bridges the gap between the general public and the fields of Psychology, Psychiatry and Mental Health. Each episode offers a deep dive into cutting-edge research, featuring conversations with leading experts and top researchers in the field. Take a listen, as we uncover the science, challenge misconceptions, and bridge the crucial gap between academia and the everyday.

Behind the Stigma is a health podcast hosted by Unknown Host, with 96 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80. PitchCentric scores this show on Booking Probability, Listen Score, and live audience signals refreshed every 24 hours.

Unknown Host hosts Behind the Stigma, a health show with 96 episodes published.

Our AI reads these to draft pitches. Use them as grounding for a pitch that cites a real guest and a specific topic.

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  Episode #28

  The Conscious Universe: Exploring Panpsychism with Professor Philip Goff

  Jul 19, 20261h 6mS2

  Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Professor Philip Goff, philosopher and professor at Durham University, explores the nature of consciousness, panpsychism, and the profound insights from his recent 5-MeO-DMT journey. We discuss some of his ideas, and how panpsychism challenges our understanding of reality and the universe. About Philip Goff Professor Goff is a British author, panpsychist philosopher, and professor at Durham University whose research focuses on philosophy of mind and consciousness. Specifically, it focuses on how consciousness can be part of the scientific worldview. ‘Why? The Purpose of the Universe’: https://www.amazon.com/Why-Purpose-Universe-Philip-Goff/dp/0198883765/ ‘Galileo’s Error: Foundations for a New Science of Consciousness’: https://www.amazon.com/Galileos-Error-Foundations-Science-Consciousness/dp/1524747963 Philip’s channel: https://www.youtube.com/@philipgoffphilosophy Substack: https://philipgoff.substack.com/ X: https://twitter.com/Philip_Goff Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/philipgoff.bsky.social Website: https://philipgoffphilosophy.com/ The Beliefless Spirituality Project: https://www.belieflessspirituality.com/ Key Topics: What is consciousness Panpsychism as a theory of consciousness The relationship between physicalism, dualism, and panpsychism Physics' limitations in explaining intrinsic nature Significance of neural correlates of consciousness Role of mystical experiences in understanding reality Ego dissolution Philosophical implications of psychedelic experiences The moral significance of panpsychism Future directions in Goff's research

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  Episode #27

  The plants are always speaking with Dr. Rebekah Senānāyaka

  Jun 18, 202639 minS2

  Send us Fan Mail In this week's episode, I'm joined by Rebekah Senānāyaka, ethnobotanist and PhD graduate in Cultural Anthropology, whose research takes us deep into the Amazonian rainforest. Rebekah spent 27 months immersed in indigenous plant medicine traditions, including her own experiences with ayahuasca and sanango and her work introduces the concept of extended multispecies liminality , exploring what happens when the boundary between human and plant consciousness begins to dissolve. We discuss what it really means to do embodied fieldwork, why the psychedelic renaissance may be missing the point, and what plant medicine traditions can teach us about healing. About: Rebekah Senānāyaka is a cultural psychologist and Ph.D. candidate in Cultural Anthropology, specializing in traditional Amazonian knowledge systems. With extensive fieldwork in the Amazon Rainforest, she examines how Indigenous practices inform modern understandings of altered states of consciousness. Rebekah is the founder of the Student Association of Psychedelic Investigation and a key advocate for integrating traditional and scientific perspectives in psychedelic research. Instagram LinkedIn Papers It Was the Plants that Told Us: An Ethnographic Analysis into Amazonian Knowledge Transmission S ubscribe to the Behind the Stigma podcast on YouTube , Apple Podcast or Spotify. Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/behindthestigmapodcast/

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  Episode #27

  The plants are always speaking with Dr. Rebekah Senānāyaka

  Jun 18, 202639 minS2

  <p>Send us Fan Mail</p><p>In this week's episode, I'm joined by Rebekah Senānāyaka, ethnobotanist and PhD graduate in Cultural Anthropology, whose research takes us deep into the Amazonian rainforest. Rebekah spent 27 months immersed in indigenous plant medicine traditions, including her own experiences with ayahuasca and sanango and her work introduces the concept of extended multispecies liminality, exploring what happens when the boundary between human and plant consciousness begins to dissolve.</p><p>We discuss what it really means to do embodied fieldwork, why the psychedelic renaissance may be missing the point, and what plant medicine tr...

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  Episode #26

  Enactivism in Psychiatry with Professor Sanneke De Haan

  Apr 15, 202650 minS2

  <p>Send us Fan Mail</p><p>This week on Behind the Stigma, Professor Sanneke de Haan joins us to discuss how we define mental disorders and what the enactive approach to psychiatry reveals about the relationship between mind, body, and world. We talk about how this perspective challenges the biomedical model, what it means to see disorders as disorders of sense-making, and how it changes the way we think about treatment. Finally, Professor de Haan shares her thoughts on self–illness ambiguity, mental disorder classifications as helpful or harmful and what studying the philosophy of psychiatry can teach us ab...

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  Episode #25

  Mental Disorder as a Harmful Dysfunction with Dr. Jerome Wakefield

  Feb 20, 20261h 29mS2

  <p>Send us Fan Mail</p><p>In this episode of Behind the Stigma, I sit down with Jerome Wakefield, NYU Professor and originator of the influential “harmful dysfunction” theory of mental disorder. We explore what makes something truly pathological, the fuzzy boundary between normal suffering and disorder, and the philosophical foundations shaping modern psychiatry.</p><p>We also discuss the DSM and it's removal of the bereavement exclusion in depression, evolutionary perspectives on neurodiversity movements and his work on harmful dysfunction. This conversation asked a central question: when does human distress become a mental disorder, and does that distinction matt...

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