Mastering Change | The trauma, mental health & wellbeing podcast

Can trauma and psychological stress actually influence how quickly our bodies age?
In this episode of Mastering Change, Emma Stapleton and Araminta are joined by Professor of Biochemistry Gordan Lauc to explore the emerging science of glycans – molecules that can provide insight into inflammation, immune function and biological ageing.
Gordan explains why psychological stress may play an important role in accelerated glycan ageing, particularly in younger people and how trauma and chronic stress may become reflected in our biology.
But these biological markers are not necessarily  fixed. Gordan shares striking examples of people's measured glycan age changing following major shifts in their lives and explores whether biomarkers could one day help us understand not only when something is wrong, but whether the interventions we're trying are working.
We explore:
How psychological stress can influence biological ageing
What glycans reveal about inflammation and immune health
Why trauma affects different people differently
How fight-or-flight changes immune, reproductive and digestive function
Whether biological markers could help measure therapeutic progress
Why physiological changes can begin long before disease appears
What this emerging science could mean for more personalised approaches to health
Moment of Care: This episode includes discussion of childhood trauma, serious violence, mental health and other potentially distressing experiences. If you feel triggered at any point, please take care of yourself and seek support if you need it.
Watch this episode on Youtube: https://tinyurl.com/masteringchangepodcast
Follow us on instagram: www.instagram.com/masterseventsltd
Visit mastersevents.com/oxford-2026 for more details.

A major UK trial has just put a radically different approach to mental healthcare to the test.
Open Dialogue puts relationships, collaboration and the individual's own voice at the centre of care. Now, findings from ODDESSI, the first randomised controlled trial of the approach, have been published in The Lancet Psychiatry.
In this episode of Mastering Change, Emma Stapleton and Araminta Jonsson are joined by consultant psychiatrist and Professor of Relational Psychiatry Russell Razzaque to explore what they found and what it could mean for the future of mental healthcare.
ODDESSI followed 494 people presenting to NHS mental health services in crisis over two years. The findings were striking: people receiving Open Dialogue were less likely to be admitted to psychiatric hospital or referred back to crisis services and reported improvements in recovery, quality of life and satisfaction with care. Russell also shares one particularly striking figure: 54% fewer days spent in hospital.
But the conversation goes beyond the numbers. Russell explores what changes when clinicians are no longer the  sole experts in the room, families and support networks become part of care and therapeutic relationships are treated as fundamental rather than an afterthought.
We explore:
What Open Dialogue actually looks like in a mental health crisis
What the ODDESSI trial found and what the results could mean for mental healthcare
Why relationships may be one of the most powerful tools in mental healthcare
What changes when people become active participants in their own care
Why continuity and trust matter when someone experiences another crisis 
The surprising relationship between Open Dialogue and mindfulness
What it could take to implement this approach across the NHS
Moment of Care: This episode includes discussion of childhood trauma, serious violence, mental health and other potentially distressing experiences. If you feel triggered at any point, please take care of yourself and seek support if you need it.
Russell Razzaque at Transform Trauma Oxford 2026
Russell will take this exploration of relationships further at Transform Trauma Oxford this September in Open Dialogue & Mindful Listening: How Healing Happens in Relationship. 
In this experiential session, he will explore how the quality of our attention can help people feel safer, understood and more connected and why learning to listen rather than immediately solve or fix can strengthen the healing potential of relationships.
Through mindfulness, practical teaching and experiential exercises, participants will have the opportunity to practise these skills themselves and explore how they can be brought into therapeutic conversations.
Russell will be speaking alongside leading experts Gabor Maté, Bessel van der Kolk, Kristin Neff, Dan Siegel, Jack Kornfield, Ruby Wax, Rangan Chatterjee and many others.
In-person ticket: £995
Virtual ticket: £395
Get tickets here
Watch this episode on Youtube: https://tinyurl.com/masteringchangepodcast
Follow us on instagram: www.instagram.com/masterseventsltd
Visit mastersevents.com/oxford-2026 for more details.

What can childhood trauma tell us about why some people become violent?
In this episode of Mastering Change, Emma and Araminta are joined by forensic psychiatrist and psychotherapist Dr Gwen Adshead, who has spent decades working with both perpetrators and survivors of serious violence.
Gwen explores the significant overlap she has encountered between trauma and violence, while challenging any simple assumption that trauma causes violent behaviour. Instead, she asks what we can learn by looking beyond categories of “victim and perpetrator” or “good and bad" and understanding the complex pathways that can lead someone towards violence.
Drawing on her work in hospitals, prisons and therapeutic groups, Gwen explores what happens when people who have committed serious violence begin to understand their own histories, confront shame and take responsibility for their actions.
We explore:
Why childhood trauma can be one factor on the pathway towards violence – but never tells the whole story 
What people who have committed serious violence actually confront in therapy 
Why understanding someone's history does not mean excusing their behaviour 
Why Gwen believes dividing people into “victims and perpetrators” or “good and bad” can be unhelpful 
How shame, isolation and social exclusion can shape recovery 
Why being able to understand and articulate your own mind may be a privilege we underestimate 
What working with violent offenders has taught Gwen about responsibility and change 
Why preventing future trauma may require supporting the adults who are struggling to care safely for children
Moment of Care: This episode includes discussion of childhood trauma, serious violence, mental health and other potentially distressing experiences. If you feel triggered at any point, please take care of yourself and seek support if you need it.
Gwen Adshead at Transform Trauma Oxford 2026
Dr Gwen Adshead will be speaking at Transform Trauma Oxford this September in her session, Unspeakable: Trauma, Language and Therapy. 
Bringing together neuroscience, narrative identity and psychotherapy, Gwen will explore why trauma can leave people struggling to put their experiences into words, how it can shape autobiographical memory and the stories we tell about ourselves and how the therapeutic relationship can help people discover a new voice.
If you are interested in learning more about Gwen’s work, her Oxford session offers an opportunity to explore the science of trauma and language in greater depth alongside hundreds of practitioners committed to advancing trauma-informed care. 
Gwen will be speaking alongside leading experts Gabor Maté, Bessel van der Kolk, Kristin Neff, Julia Samuel, Shi Heng Yi, Jack Kornfield, Matthias Barker, Rangan Chatterjee, Ruth Cohn and many others.
In-person ticket: £995 
Virtual ticket: £395
Get your ticket here: https://mastersevents.com/oxford-2026/?utm_source=Podcast&utm_medium=description&utm_campaign=GwenAdshead%2FTraumaAndViolence%2FAugust2026
Watch this episode on Youtube: https://tinyurl.com/masteringchangepodcast
Follow us on instagram: www.instagram.com/masterseventsltd
Visit mastersevents.com/oxford-2026 for more details.

Can we really train our brains to respond differently to our thoughts? 
Ccomedian, author and mental health campaigner Ruby Wax joins Emma and Araminta for a characteristically funny and candid conversation about mindfulness, depression and the science of changing our minds. 
Drawing on her own experience or recurring depression alongside her studies in Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy at Oxford, Ruby explores what mindfulness actually looks like in practice and why understanding it intellectually is very different from doing it. 
For Ruby, mindfulness is training. Our attention wanders, we notice it and bring it back. Then we do it again. Or, as she puts it: "Just like you get a six-pack if you keep going to the gym." 
From neuroplasticity and attention to loneliness, compassion and recurring depression, the conversation explores what happens when we stop expecting our minds to behave perfectly and start learning how to work with them. 
We explore: 
Why Ruby's experience of depression led her from comedy to studying the mind at Oxford 
What she has learned about recognising another depressive episode and why she no longer tries to fight it 
Why a wandering mind doesn't mean you're bad at mindfulness 
What neuroplasticity tells us about our capacity to change deeply ingrained patterns 
Why understanding mindfulness intellectually isn't enough, even with a master's degree in it 
What Ruby has learned about loneliness, compassion and our need for genuine human connection. 
Moment of Care: This episode discusses sensitive topics related to trauma, mental health and distressing experiences. If you feel triggered at any point, please take a moment to check in with yourself and seek support. 
Ruby Wax at Transform Trauma Oxford 2026

Ruby Wax will be joining us at Transform Trauma Oxford this September for two sessions exploring mindfulness, trauma and the power of lived experience.
Get tickets here: https://mastersevents.com/oxford-2026/?utm_source=Podcast&utm_medium=description&utm_campaign=RubyWax%2FMindfulness%2FAugust2026
Watch this episode on Youtube: https://tinyurl.com/masteringchangepodcast
Follow us on instagram: www.instagram.com/masterseventsltd
Visit mastersevents.com/oxford-2026 for more details.

What makes someone a great trauma therapist? 
In this episode of Mastering Change, Emma Stapleton and Araminta Jonsson are joined by trauma specialist Dr Sarah Woodhouse for a conversation about what truly supports healing after trauma. 
Drawing on more than twelve years of trauma research and extensive clinical experience, Sarah explains why she believes no single therapeutic approach can meet everyone's needs. She explores the importance of staying curious, understanding different trauma models and building the kind of therapeutic relationship in which healing can take place.  
The conversation also explores the gap between research and clinical practice, why recovery extends far beyond the therapy session, and the often-overlooked role of nature, spirituality, play and connection in supporting recovery and helping people build richer lives beyond trauma. 
In this episode we discuss: 
Why no single therapeutic approach works for everyone 
What research can teach us about effective trauma therapy 
Why the therapeutic relationship matters 
Why healing extends beyond the therapy room 
The role of nature, spirituality and connection 
Why trust, play and everyday practices matter  
Moment of Care: This episode discusses sensitive topics related to trauma, mental health and distressing experiences. If you feel triggered at any point, please take a moment to check in with yourself and seek support. 
Join Dr Sarah Woodhouse at Transform Trauma Oxford 2026 
Dr Sarah Woodhouse will be speaking at Transform Trauma Oxford this September for her session, Reclaiming Inner Knowing & Restoring Self-Trust: Why Intuition Matters in Trauma Healing.
https://mastersevents.com/oxford-2026/?utm_source=Podcast&utm_medium=description&utm_campaign=SarahWoodhouse%2FWhatmakesagreattherapist%2FAugust2026 
Watch this episode on Youtube: https://tinyurl.com/masteringchangepodcast
Follow us on instagram: www.instagram.com/masterseventsltd
Visit mastersevents.com/oxford-2026 for more details.