Dr Priest
@pennypriest.bsky.social
Mum, retired consultant clinical psychologist, singer, songwriter, ironman, writer, one of 5 members of the Midlands Psychology Group http://midpsy.uk
Pinned
Dr Priest
@pennypriest.bsky.social
· Mar 20
More great feedback for my novel, Team Of One, the person having read the article in The Psychologist:
'I’ve just bought and read, Team of One on this recommendation. Could barely put it down over 48 hrs. Thank you Penny Priest.'
www.bps.org.uk/psychologist...
'I’ve just bought and read, Team of One on this recommendation. Could barely put it down over 48 hrs. Thank you Penny Priest.'
www.bps.org.uk/psychologist...
Reposted by Dr Priest
‘And the staff experience started to mirror the patient experience: being monitored and coerced, not supported, by people in positions of power; suffering Learned Helplessness – a depressed state brought on by inability to reduce the toxicity of a lived environment.’
midpsy.uk/2025/11/26/b...
midpsy.uk/2025/11/26/b...
Broken by the system
In the latest issue of Asylum magazine, our colleague and friend, clinical psychologist Guy Holmes, shares his experience of being made ill by the very same system which is supposed to help those i…
midpsy.uk
November 28, 2025 at 5:50 PM
‘And the staff experience started to mirror the patient experience: being monitored and coerced, not supported, by people in positions of power; suffering Learned Helplessness – a depressed state brought on by inability to reduce the toxicity of a lived environment.’
midpsy.uk/2025/11/26/b...
midpsy.uk/2025/11/26/b...
Reposted by Dr Priest
This is so poignant and wise...on the importance of community, to carry us through our darkest times.
But how do we start to build community when many of us are feeling so alone? When it feels so far out of reach?
But how do we start to build community when many of us are feeling so alone? When it feels so far out of reach?
Love, loss, and community
substack.com/home/post/p-...
substack.com/home/post/p-...
November 28, 2025 at 3:52 PM
This is so poignant and wise...on the importance of community, to carry us through our darkest times.
But how do we start to build community when many of us are feeling so alone? When it feels so far out of reach?
But how do we start to build community when many of us are feeling so alone? When it feels so far out of reach?
Reposted by Dr Priest
Can everyone please stop banging on about 'showing up'.
November 28, 2025 at 10:29 AM
Can everyone please stop banging on about 'showing up'.
‘And the staff experience started to mirror the patient experience: being monitored and coerced, not supported, by people in positions of power; suffering Learned Helplessness – a depressed state brought on by inability to reduce the toxicity of a lived environment.’
midpsy.uk/2025/11/26/b...
midpsy.uk/2025/11/26/b...
Broken by the system
In the latest issue of Asylum magazine, our colleague and friend, clinical psychologist Guy Holmes, shares his experience of being made ill by the very same system which is supposed to help those i…
midpsy.uk
November 28, 2025 at 5:50 PM
‘And the staff experience started to mirror the patient experience: being monitored and coerced, not supported, by people in positions of power; suffering Learned Helplessness – a depressed state brought on by inability to reduce the toxicity of a lived environment.’
midpsy.uk/2025/11/26/b...
midpsy.uk/2025/11/26/b...
Reposted by Dr Priest
'The rich don’t just have too much wealth; they have too much power'.
I always go to @graceblakeley.substack.com for the economic analysis.
open.substack.com/pub/gracebla...
I always go to @graceblakeley.substack.com for the economic analysis.
open.substack.com/pub/gracebla...
Rachel Reeves is living on another planet
A country in crisis and a government in denial.
open.substack.com
November 27, 2025 at 4:43 PM
'The rich don’t just have too much wealth; they have too much power'.
I always go to @graceblakeley.substack.com for the economic analysis.
open.substack.com/pub/gracebla...
I always go to @graceblakeley.substack.com for the economic analysis.
open.substack.com/pub/gracebla...
This is so poignant and wise...on the importance of community, to carry us through our darkest times.
But how do we start to build community when many of us are feeling so alone? When it feels so far out of reach?
But how do we start to build community when many of us are feeling so alone? When it feels so far out of reach?
Love, loss, and community
substack.com/home/post/p-...
substack.com/home/post/p-...
November 28, 2025 at 3:52 PM
This is so poignant and wise...on the importance of community, to carry us through our darkest times.
But how do we start to build community when many of us are feeling so alone? When it feels so far out of reach?
But how do we start to build community when many of us are feeling so alone? When it feels so far out of reach?
Can everyone please stop banging on about 'showing up'.
November 28, 2025 at 10:29 AM
Can everyone please stop banging on about 'showing up'.
Reposted by Dr Priest
'I wrote reports and attended meetings where I tried my
utmost to prevent or reverse policies that were damaging
to patient care, but nothing I said had any impact.'
My interview with Guy Holmes about his experience working in mental health services in decline.
midpsy.uk/2025/11/26/b...
utmost to prevent or reverse policies that were damaging
to patient care, but nothing I said had any impact.'
My interview with Guy Holmes about his experience working in mental health services in decline.
midpsy.uk/2025/11/26/b...
Broken by the system
In the latest issue of Asylum magazine, our colleague and friend, clinical psychologist Guy Holmes, shares his experience of being made ill by the very same system which is supposed to help those i…
midpsy.uk
November 27, 2025 at 4:31 PM
'I wrote reports and attended meetings where I tried my
utmost to prevent or reverse policies that were damaging
to patient care, but nothing I said had any impact.'
My interview with Guy Holmes about his experience working in mental health services in decline.
midpsy.uk/2025/11/26/b...
utmost to prevent or reverse policies that were damaging
to patient care, but nothing I said had any impact.'
My interview with Guy Holmes about his experience working in mental health services in decline.
midpsy.uk/2025/11/26/b...
Reposted by Dr Priest
Sometimes the world outside the therapy room is too overwhelming even for those trying to help.
My interview with my friend and former colleague, clinical psychologist Guy Holmes, about his experience working in mental health services in decline.
midpsy.uk/2025/11/26/b...
My interview with my friend and former colleague, clinical psychologist Guy Holmes, about his experience working in mental health services in decline.
midpsy.uk/2025/11/26/b...
Broken by the system
In the latest issue of Asylum magazine, our colleague and friend, clinical psychologist Guy Holmes, shares his experience of being made ill by the very same system which is supposed to help those i…
midpsy.uk
November 27, 2025 at 7:29 AM
Sometimes the world outside the therapy room is too overwhelming even for those trying to help.
My interview with my friend and former colleague, clinical psychologist Guy Holmes, about his experience working in mental health services in decline.
midpsy.uk/2025/11/26/b...
My interview with my friend and former colleague, clinical psychologist Guy Holmes, about his experience working in mental health services in decline.
midpsy.uk/2025/11/26/b...
'The rich don’t just have too much wealth; they have too much power'.
I always go to @graceblakeley.substack.com for the economic analysis.
open.substack.com/pub/gracebla...
I always go to @graceblakeley.substack.com for the economic analysis.
open.substack.com/pub/gracebla...
Rachel Reeves is living on another planet
A country in crisis and a government in denial.
open.substack.com
November 27, 2025 at 4:43 PM
'The rich don’t just have too much wealth; they have too much power'.
I always go to @graceblakeley.substack.com for the economic analysis.
open.substack.com/pub/gracebla...
I always go to @graceblakeley.substack.com for the economic analysis.
open.substack.com/pub/gracebla...
'I wrote reports and attended meetings where I tried my
utmost to prevent or reverse policies that were damaging
to patient care, but nothing I said had any impact.'
My interview with Guy Holmes about his experience working in mental health services in decline.
midpsy.uk/2025/11/26/b...
utmost to prevent or reverse policies that were damaging
to patient care, but nothing I said had any impact.'
My interview with Guy Holmes about his experience working in mental health services in decline.
midpsy.uk/2025/11/26/b...
Broken by the system
In the latest issue of Asylum magazine, our colleague and friend, clinical psychologist Guy Holmes, shares his experience of being made ill by the very same system which is supposed to help those i…
midpsy.uk
November 27, 2025 at 4:31 PM
'I wrote reports and attended meetings where I tried my
utmost to prevent or reverse policies that were damaging
to patient care, but nothing I said had any impact.'
My interview with Guy Holmes about his experience working in mental health services in decline.
midpsy.uk/2025/11/26/b...
utmost to prevent or reverse policies that were damaging
to patient care, but nothing I said had any impact.'
My interview with Guy Holmes about his experience working in mental health services in decline.
midpsy.uk/2025/11/26/b...
Sometimes the world outside the therapy room is too overwhelming even for those trying to help.
My interview with my friend and former colleague, clinical psychologist Guy Holmes, about his experience working in mental health services in decline.
midpsy.uk/2025/11/26/b...
My interview with my friend and former colleague, clinical psychologist Guy Holmes, about his experience working in mental health services in decline.
midpsy.uk/2025/11/26/b...
Broken by the system
In the latest issue of Asylum magazine, our colleague and friend, clinical psychologist Guy Holmes, shares his experience of being made ill by the very same system which is supposed to help those i…
midpsy.uk
November 27, 2025 at 7:29 AM
Sometimes the world outside the therapy room is too overwhelming even for those trying to help.
My interview with my friend and former colleague, clinical psychologist Guy Holmes, about his experience working in mental health services in decline.
midpsy.uk/2025/11/26/b...
My interview with my friend and former colleague, clinical psychologist Guy Holmes, about his experience working in mental health services in decline.
midpsy.uk/2025/11/26/b...
Reposted by Dr Priest
Sometimes the world outside the therapy room is too overwhelming even for those trying to help.
My interview with my friend and former colleague, clinical psychologist Guy Holmes, about his experience working in mental health services in decline.
midpsy.uk/2025/11/26/b...
My interview with my friend and former colleague, clinical psychologist Guy Holmes, about his experience working in mental health services in decline.
midpsy.uk/2025/11/26/b...
Broken by the system
In the latest issue of Asylum magazine, our colleague and friend, clinical psychologist Guy Holmes, shares his experience of being made ill by the very same system which is supposed to help those i…
midpsy.uk
November 26, 2025 at 6:33 PM
Sometimes the world outside the therapy room is too overwhelming even for those trying to help.
My interview with my friend and former colleague, clinical psychologist Guy Holmes, about his experience working in mental health services in decline.
midpsy.uk/2025/11/26/b...
My interview with my friend and former colleague, clinical psychologist Guy Holmes, about his experience working in mental health services in decline.
midpsy.uk/2025/11/26/b...
Sometimes the world outside the therapy room is too overwhelming even for those trying to help.
My interview with my friend and former colleague, clinical psychologist Guy Holmes, about his experience working in mental health services in decline.
midpsy.uk/2025/11/26/b...
My interview with my friend and former colleague, clinical psychologist Guy Holmes, about his experience working in mental health services in decline.
midpsy.uk/2025/11/26/b...
Broken by the system
In the latest issue of Asylum magazine, our colleague and friend, clinical psychologist Guy Holmes, shares his experience of being made ill by the very same system which is supposed to help those i…
midpsy.uk
November 26, 2025 at 6:33 PM
Sometimes the world outside the therapy room is too overwhelming even for those trying to help.
My interview with my friend and former colleague, clinical psychologist Guy Holmes, about his experience working in mental health services in decline.
midpsy.uk/2025/11/26/b...
My interview with my friend and former colleague, clinical psychologist Guy Holmes, about his experience working in mental health services in decline.
midpsy.uk/2025/11/26/b...
Reposted by Dr Priest
🔥 Rachel Reeves says there’s a “hole” in the public finances.
A new decade-long Brexit study quantifies it:
A 6–8% hit to GDP
That's £180bn-£240bn a year
It means less tax revenue and so less money for everything.
Brexit made Britain MUCH poorer.
A new decade-long Brexit study quantifies it:
A 6–8% hit to GDP
That's £180bn-£240bn a year
It means less tax revenue and so less money for everything.
Brexit made Britain MUCH poorer.
New: Boris Johnson’s ‘Brexit Titanic success’ was half right
Nearly ten years on, the first full assessment of Brexit confirms what millions warned: Britain made itself poorer
eastangliabylines.co.uk
November 25, 2025 at 6:56 AM
🔥 Rachel Reeves says there’s a “hole” in the public finances.
A new decade-long Brexit study quantifies it:
A 6–8% hit to GDP
That's £180bn-£240bn a year
It means less tax revenue and so less money for everything.
Brexit made Britain MUCH poorer.
A new decade-long Brexit study quantifies it:
A 6–8% hit to GDP
That's £180bn-£240bn a year
It means less tax revenue and so less money for everything.
Brexit made Britain MUCH poorer.
Barney Ronay's right.
Maybe humans just prefer evil stuff on some level.
Maybe humans just prefer evil stuff on some level.
Ronaldo: now the most abject regime fluffer of all time
www.theguardian.com/football/202...
www.theguardian.com/football/202...
Ronaldo dines with Donald for glamour portion of grotesque Saudi-funded spectacle | Barney Ronay
A pension-pot World Cup is looming for CR9 and with Donald Trump in the White House and Mohammed bin Salman at his back, it seems this is now a safe space
www.theguardian.com
November 22, 2025 at 6:51 PM
Barney Ronay's right.
Maybe humans just prefer evil stuff on some level.
Maybe humans just prefer evil stuff on some level.
Definitely worth watching.
Responsible Child has just appeared on Netflix.
November 19, 2025 at 8:07 PM
Definitely worth watching.
Reposted by Dr Priest
'For you [psychologists] to help people, you’ve got to understand them, and to understand them you’ve got to know where they’re coming from.’
midpsy.uk/2025/11/14/m...
midpsy.uk/2025/11/14/m...
Mike Fox and the Poverty Tourists
Here’s a blast from the past – from the West Midlands Critical and Community Psychology Conference in Birmingham in 2003. It’s a reminder that ‘for you [psychologists] to help peo…
midpsy.uk
November 14, 2025 at 1:16 PM
'For you [psychologists] to help people, you’ve got to understand them, and to understand them you’ve got to know where they’re coming from.’
midpsy.uk/2025/11/14/m...
midpsy.uk/2025/11/14/m...
Reposted by Dr Priest
For me, Dark Heart is one of his greatest pieces of work. The promo babble says it 'is bound to raise controversy and demands for change'. But things have got far worse, if anything. So somebody needs to serialise Dark Heart now. As well as Team Of One, obviously.
Who is Nick Davies? We go back to Sussex Bylines 2020 interview to find out more about the investigative journalist played by David Tennant in The Hack
#TheHack @sussexbylines.co.uk
#TheHack @sussexbylines.co.uk
Defenders of Democracy: Nick Davies
Nick Davies is a journalist and documentary maker well known for his campaigns to expose injustice and the misuse of power
sussexbylines.co.uk
November 11, 2025 at 10:51 AM
For me, Dark Heart is one of his greatest pieces of work. The promo babble says it 'is bound to raise controversy and demands for change'. But things have got far worse, if anything. So somebody needs to serialise Dark Heart now. As well as Team Of One, obviously.
I've been chatting with Chatgpt this afternoon. I didn't disclose my professional background. At one point, it commented:
'Your writing captures these truths with more precision than most therapists could extract.'
It all feels kind of weird.
'Your writing captures these truths with more precision than most therapists could extract.'
It all feels kind of weird.
November 17, 2025 at 5:22 PM
I've been chatting with Chatgpt this afternoon. I didn't disclose my professional background. At one point, it commented:
'Your writing captures these truths with more precision than most therapists could extract.'
It all feels kind of weird.
'Your writing captures these truths with more precision than most therapists could extract.'
It all feels kind of weird.
The politics of gratitude.
And nice reminder at the end about the excellent work of Barbara Ehrenreich.
And nice reminder at the end about the excellent work of Barbara Ehrenreich.
November 16, 2025 at 6:05 PM
The politics of gratitude.
And nice reminder at the end about the excellent work of Barbara Ehrenreich.
And nice reminder at the end about the excellent work of Barbara Ehrenreich.
'For you [psychologists] to help people, you’ve got to understand them, and to understand them you’ve got to know where they’re coming from.’
midpsy.uk/2025/11/14/m...
midpsy.uk/2025/11/14/m...
Mike Fox and the Poverty Tourists
Here’s a blast from the past – from the West Midlands Critical and Community Psychology Conference in Birmingham in 2003. It’s a reminder that ‘for you [psychologists] to help peo…
midpsy.uk
November 14, 2025 at 1:16 PM
'For you [psychologists] to help people, you’ve got to understand them, and to understand them you’ve got to know where they’re coming from.’
midpsy.uk/2025/11/14/m...
midpsy.uk/2025/11/14/m...
Reposted by Dr Priest
Increase in productivity since 1979: 87%
Increase in hourly pay since 1979: 32%
Just so happens that ~25% of workers were unionized in 1979. Today? 10%.
As unions declined, the super-rich have taken a larger share of wealth generated by labor. We must build back union power.
Increase in hourly pay since 1979: 32%
Just so happens that ~25% of workers were unionized in 1979. Today? 10%.
As unions declined, the super-rich have taken a larger share of wealth generated by labor. We must build back union power.
November 14, 2025 at 12:31 AM
Increase in productivity since 1979: 87%
Increase in hourly pay since 1979: 32%
Just so happens that ~25% of workers were unionized in 1979. Today? 10%.
As unions declined, the super-rich have taken a larger share of wealth generated by labor. We must build back union power.
Increase in hourly pay since 1979: 32%
Just so happens that ~25% of workers were unionized in 1979. Today? 10%.
As unions declined, the super-rich have taken a larger share of wealth generated by labor. We must build back union power.
Great analogy.
It's like the crocodile story Ken Clarke once told me. You can feed buns to the crocodiles until the cows come home.
Once you run out of buns, they'll eat you anyway.
They'll never stop.
Once you run out of buns, they'll eat you anyway.
They'll never stop.
Two heads rolling won’t stop rot at the BBC
The corporation’s mindset is hermetically sealed and cannot cope with any dissenting view
www.thetimes.com
November 12, 2025 at 8:40 AM
Great analogy.