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  • Become a psychiatrist

    Become a psychiatrist

    • Choose Psychiatry

      Choose Psychiatry

      • What is psychiatry?
      • How to become a psychiatrist
      • Why choose psychiatry?
      • What next?
      • On a break from training?
      • Choose Psychiatry 2021 video
      • Continuing to choose psychiatry
      • Hear more from the stars of our 2022 film
      • Choose Psychiatry – Guidance for Medical Schools
      • Choose Psychiatry research 2023
    • Sixth formers and school students
    • Medical students

      Medical students

      • Becoming a student associate
      • Psychiatry attachments
      • Awards, prizes and bursaries
      • PsychSocs
      • National Student Psychiatry Conference
      • Summer and autumn schools
      • FuturePsych – the student associate magazine
      • The Student Psychiatry Audit and Research Collaborative (SPARC)
    • Foundation doctors

      Foundation doctors

      • Foundation doctor associates
      • Making the most of your psychiatry placement
      • Opportunities for foundation doctors
      • FuturePsych - the associate magazine
    • Help us promote psychiatry

      Help us promote psychiatry

      • How can I help?
      • Ideas to inspire you
      • Resources to help you promote psychiatry
      • RCPsych Recruitment Strategy 2022-2027
    • Supporting Medical Students: Medical Schools
    • Careers past events
    • Choose Psychiatry
      • What is psychiatry?
      • How to become a psychiatrist
      • Why choose psychiatry?
      • What next?
      • On a break from training?
      • Choose Psychiatry 2021 video
      • Continuing to choose psychiatry
      • Hear more from the stars of our 2022 film
      • Choose Psychiatry – Guidance for Medical Schools
      • Choose Psychiatry research 2023
    • Sixth formers and school students
    • Medical students
      • Becoming a student associate
      • Psychiatry attachments
      • Awards, prizes and bursaries
      • PsychSocs
      • National Student Psychiatry Conference
      • Summer and autumn schools
      • FuturePsych – the student associate magazine
      • The Student Psychiatry Audit and Research Collaborative (SPARC)
    • Foundation doctors
      • Foundation doctor associates
      • Making the most of your psychiatry placement
      • Opportunities for foundation doctors
      • FuturePsych - the associate magazine
    • Help us promote psychiatry
      • How can I help?
      • Ideas to inspire you
      • Resources to help you promote psychiatry
      • RCPsych Recruitment Strategy 2022-2027
    • Supporting Medical Students: Medical Schools
    • Careers past events
  • Training

    Training

    • Exams

      Exams

      • Can I take an exam?
      • Contact the Exams team
      • Preparing for exams
      • Applying for your exam
      • Exam results
      • Special notices
      • Exam FAQs
      • A fair exam
      • Examiners and exam panels recruitment
      • FAQs about applying for exams
      • FAQs about preparing for exams
      • FAQs about the day of the exam
      • FAQs about assessment and results
      • Exams news and updates
    • Curricula and guidance

      Curricula and guidance

      • 2022 Curricula Implementation Hub
      • 2014 GMC approved curricula (ending July 2024)
      • Specialty guides
      • Dual Training
      • Assessment Strategy Review
    • Portfolio Online
    • Your training

      Your training

      • Psychiatric Trainees' Committee: supporting you
      • Time out of training
      • Training resources
      • Run-through training
      • Prizes and bursaries for trainees
      • Training less than full time
      • Routes to Registration
      • Cost of Training
      • Leadership and Management Fellow Scheme
      • Understanding Career Choices in Psychiatry
      • Industrial action FAQs
      • Distribution of medical training posts
    • Medical training initiative (MTI)
    • International Medical Graduates
    • Deanery/LETB Hub
    • Undergraduate education forum
    • Quality Assurance in Training
    • Credentialing
    • CPD eLearning
    • Dean's updates

      Dean's updates

      • Dean's update - 2022
      • Dean's update - March 2023
      • Dean's update - June 2023
    • Neuroscience in training

      Neuroscience in training

      • About the project
      • Neuroscience resources
      • Multimedia learning
    • Building Capacity in Perinatal Psychiatry

      Building Capacity in Perinatal Psychiatry

      • Perinatal 2023 Masterclass Programme application and process details
      • About the Building Capacity Project
    • Exams
      • Can I take an exam?
      • Contact the Exams team
      • Preparing for exams
      • Applying for your exam
      • Exam results
      • Special notices
      • Exam FAQs
      • A fair exam
      • Examiners and exam panels recruitment
      • FAQs about applying for exams
      • FAQs about preparing for exams
      • FAQs about the day of the exam
      • FAQs about assessment and results
      • Exams news and updates
    • Curricula and guidance
      • 2022 Curricula Implementation Hub
      • 2014 GMC approved curricula (ending July 2024)
      • Specialty guides
      • Dual Training
      • Assessment Strategy Review
    • Portfolio Online
    • Your training
      • Psychiatric Trainees' Committee: supporting you
      • Time out of training
      • Training resources
      • Run-through training
      • Prizes and bursaries for trainees
      • Training less than full time
      • Routes to Registration
      • Cost of Training
      • Leadership and Management Fellow Scheme
      • Understanding Career Choices in Psychiatry
      • Industrial action FAQs
      • Distribution of medical training posts
    • Medical training initiative (MTI)
    • International Medical Graduates
    • Deanery/LETB Hub
    • Undergraduate education forum
    • Quality Assurance in Training
    • Credentialing
    • CPD eLearning
    • Dean's updates
      • Dean's update - 2022
      • Dean's update - March 2023
      • Dean's update - June 2023
    • Neuroscience in training
      • About the project
      • Neuroscience resources
      • Multimedia learning
    • Building Capacity in Perinatal Psychiatry
      • Perinatal 2023 Masterclass Programme application and process details
      • About the Building Capacity Project
  • Members

    Members

    • Membership

      Membership

      • Members login
      • Receipts
      • Pay Your Subscription
      • Direct Debit
      • Your subscription
      • Grades of membership
      • Benefits of membership
      • Fellowship and other Honours
      • Applying for Fellowship
      • Nominations for Honorary Fellows
      • Nominations for National Honours
    • Submitting your CPD
    • Workforce Wellbeing Hub

      Workforce Wellbeing Hub

      • Psychiatrists' Support Service
      • How the College supports workforce wellbeing
      • Top 10 tips for wellbeing
      • Mentoring and coaching
      • If a patient dies by suicide
      • If a patient commits homicide
    • Supporting your professional development

      Supporting your professional development

      • New consultants (StartWell)
      • Revalidation
      • Assessing and managing risk of patients causing harm
      • Leadership and management
      • Working less than full time
      • Writing clinic letters
      • If a patient dies by suicide
    • CPD eLearning
    • Your Faculties

      Your Faculties

      • Academic psychiatry
      • Addictions psychiatry
      • Child and adolescent psychiatry
      • Eating disorders psychiatry
      • Forensic psychiatry
      • General adult psychiatry
      • Intellectual disability psychiatry
      • Liaison psychiatry
      • Medical psychotherapy
      • Neuropsychiatry
      • Old age psychiatry
      • Perinatal psychiatry
      • Rehabilitation and social psychiatry
      • Faculty job descriptions
    • Specialty and Specialist Doctors

      Specialty and Specialist Doctors

      • A message from the Chair
      • Who are SAS Doctors?
      • How to enter the SAS grade
      • SAS career development
      • SAS doctors resources
      • College SAS training and events
      • Startwell and Staywell
      • SAS Strategy
    • Devolved Nations

      Devolved Nations

      • RCPsych in Scotland
      • RCPsych in Wales
      • Coleg y Seiciatryddion
      • RCPsych in Northern Ireland
      • Executive Committee job descriptions
    • English Divisions

      English Divisions

      • Eastern
      • London
      • Northern and Yorkshire
      • North West
      • South Eastern
      • South West
      • Trent
      • West Midlands
      • Executive Committee job descriptions
      • NW and NY mentorship
    • International members
    • Special Interest Groups

      Special Interest Groups

      • How to join a SIG
      • Adolescent forensic psychiatry
      • Arts psychiatry
      • Digital psychiatry
      • Evolutionary psychiatry
      • History of psychiatry
      • Neurodevelopmental psychiatry
      • Occupational psychiatry
      • Philosophy
      • Private and independent practice
      • Rainbow SIG
      • Spirituality and Psychiatry 
      • Sport and exercise psychiatry (SEPSIG)
      • Transcultural psychiatry
      • Volunteering and international (VIPSIG)
      • Women and mental health
      • Annual SIG Newsletters
    • Public members list
    • RCPsych Insight magazine

      RCPsych Insight magazine

      • RCPsych Insight Cover Art Exhibition
    • Publications and books
    • Members' eNewsletters
    • Posts for members
    • Jobs board
    • Committees of Council
    • President's lectures

      President's lectures

      • Declaration of competing interests (President's lectures)
      • List of president's lectures competing interests
      • Past President's lectures
    • Retired members
    • eLearning Hub
    • Obituaries

      Obituaries

      • Submit an obituary
      • Remembering Dame Fiona Caldicott
      • Memorial service for Professor Andrew Sims
    • Mindmasters quiz

      Mindmasters quiz

      • Attend Mindmasters 2023
      • Who won in 2022?
      • The rules of the quiz
      • Sample quiz questions 
    • RCPsych ceremonies

      RCPsych ceremonies

      • New Members Ceremonies
      • Fellowship ceremonies
      • Specialist Registration Ceremonies
    • 2021 membership survey
    • Membership
      • Members login
      • Receipts
      • Pay Your Subscription
      • Direct Debit
      • Your subscription
      • Grades of membership
      • Benefits of membership
      • Fellowship and other Honours
      • Applying for Fellowship
      • Nominations for Honorary Fellows
      • Nominations for National Honours
    • Submitting your CPD
    • Workforce Wellbeing Hub
      • Psychiatrists' Support Service
      • How the College supports workforce wellbeing
      • Top 10 tips for wellbeing
      • Mentoring and coaching
      • If a patient dies by suicide
      • If a patient commits homicide
    • Supporting your professional development
      • New consultants (StartWell)
      • Revalidation
      • Assessing and managing risk of patients causing harm
      • Leadership and management
      • Working less than full time
      • Writing clinic letters
      • If a patient dies by suicide
    • CPD eLearning
    • Your Faculties
      • Academic psychiatry
      • Addictions psychiatry
      • Child and adolescent psychiatry
      • Eating disorders psychiatry
      • Forensic psychiatry
      • General adult psychiatry
      • Intellectual disability psychiatry
      • Liaison psychiatry
      • Medical psychotherapy
      • Neuropsychiatry
      • Old age psychiatry
      • Perinatal psychiatry
      • Rehabilitation and social psychiatry
      • Faculty job descriptions
    • Specialty and Specialist Doctors
      • A message from the Chair
      • Who are SAS Doctors?
      • How to enter the SAS grade
      • SAS career development
      • SAS doctors resources
      • College SAS training and events
      • Startwell and Staywell
      • SAS Strategy
    • Devolved Nations
      • RCPsych in Scotland
      • RCPsych in Wales
      • Coleg y Seiciatryddion
      • RCPsych in Northern Ireland
      • Executive Committee job descriptions
    • English Divisions
      • Eastern
      • London
      • Northern and Yorkshire
      • North West
      • South Eastern
      • South West
      • Trent
      • West Midlands
      • Executive Committee job descriptions
      • NW and NY mentorship
    • International members
    • Special Interest Groups
      • How to join a SIG
      • Adolescent forensic psychiatry
      • Arts psychiatry
      • Digital psychiatry
      • Evolutionary psychiatry
      • History of psychiatry
      • Neurodevelopmental psychiatry
      • Occupational psychiatry
      • Philosophy
      • Private and independent practice
      • Rainbow SIG
      • Spirituality and Psychiatry 
      • Sport and exercise psychiatry (SEPSIG)
      • Transcultural psychiatry
      • Volunteering and international (VIPSIG)
      • Women and mental health
      • Annual SIG Newsletters
    • Public members list
    • RCPsych Insight magazine
      • RCPsych Insight Cover Art Exhibition
    • Publications and books
    • Members' eNewsletters
    • Posts for members
    • Jobs board
    • Committees of Council
    • President's lectures
      • Declaration of competing interests (President's lectures)
      • List of president's lectures competing interests
      • Past President's lectures
    • Retired members
    • eLearning Hub
    • Obituaries
      • Submit an obituary
      • Remembering Dame Fiona Caldicott
      • Memorial service for Professor Andrew Sims
    • Mindmasters quiz
      • Attend Mindmasters 2023
      • Who won in 2022?
      • The rules of the quiz
      • Sample quiz questions 
    • RCPsych ceremonies
      • New Members Ceremonies
      • Fellowship ceremonies
      • Specialist Registration Ceremonies
    • 2021 membership survey
  • Events

    Events

    • Conferences and training events

      Conferences and training events

      • Register your interest - CESR in Psychiatry Training
      • MHA Section 12 and Approved Clinician Training
      • Register your interest - Present State Examination Course 2022
      • Subscribe to receive the Events eNews
      • Register your interest - ICD-11 events
      • RCPsych Certification Courses
      • Grand Rounds
    • International Congress 2023

      International Congress 2023

      • Register your interest - Congress 2023 exhibitors
      • Travel and accommodation guidance 
      • Registration
      • Congress 2023 FAQs
      • Poster Presentations 2023
      • Programme
      • Social Media
      • Exhibition opportunities 2023
      • Your guide to Congress
      • Social and Fringe Events
      • Congress 23 Webinar Package
    • International Congress 2024
    • In-house training

      In-house training

      • In house training: working with us
      • Health of Nation Outcome Scales
      • Competing interests
    • Events held by other organisations
    • Free webinars

      Free webinars

      • Free webinars for members
    • Recruitment events
    • Claiming expenses
    • Terms and conditions
    • Speaker guidance for online events
    • Conferences and training events
      • Register your interest - CESR in Psychiatry Training
      • MHA Section 12 and Approved Clinician Training
      • Register your interest - Present State Examination Course 2022
      • Subscribe to receive the Events eNews
      • Register your interest - ICD-11 events
      • RCPsych Certification Courses
      • Grand Rounds
    • International Congress 2023
      • Register your interest - Congress 2023 exhibitors
      • Travel and accommodation guidance 
      • Registration
      • Congress 2023 FAQs
      • Poster Presentations 2023
      • Programme
      • Social Media
      • Exhibition opportunities 2023
      • Your guide to Congress
      • Social and Fringe Events
      • Congress 23 Webinar Package
    • International Congress 2024
    • In-house training
      • In house training: working with us
      • Health of Nation Outcome Scales
      • Competing interests
    • Events held by other organisations
    • Free webinars
      • Free webinars for members
    • Recruitment events
    • Claiming expenses
    • Terms and conditions
    • Speaker guidance for online events
  • Improving care

    Improving care

    • College Centre for Quality Improvement (CCQI)

      College Centre for Quality Improvement (CCQI)

      • What we do in the CCQI
      • Quality Networks and Accreditation
      • National Clinical Audits
      • Multi-source feedback
      • CCQI resources
      • CCQI Who we are
      • Research and evaluation
      • CCQI news
    • Campaigning for better mental health policy

      Campaigning for better mental health policy

      • Five Year Forward View
      • Integrated care and mental health
      • Children and young people's mental health Green Paper
      • Cross-government mental health and wellbeing plan 
      • RCPsych in Parliament
      • Join our Research Panel
      • College Reports
      • Position Statements
      • Process for College publications
      • Other policy areas
      • Mental Health Watch
      • Reforming The Mental Health Act
      • Don't overlook mental health campaign
      • The Mental Health Policy Group (MHPG)
    • Planning the psychiatric workforce

      Planning the psychiatric workforce

      • About workforce
      • Job planning and recruitment
      • Our workforce census
      • Campaigning for the mental health workforce of the future
      • Workforce strategy
      • Job description approval process
    • Public Mental Health Implementation Centre

      Public Mental Health Implementation Centre

      • Our partners and first partnership activity 
      • How to work with the Public Mental Health Implementation Centre
      • Who's involved in the Public Mental Health Implementation Centre?
      • Aims and objectives
      • Reports
      • About public mental health
      • PMHIC Parliamentary Launch 
    • National Collaborating Centre for Mental Health

      National Collaborating Centre for Mental Health

      • About NCCMH and our work
      • Clinical guideline development
      • Competence frameworks
      • Quality improvement programmes
      • Reports and research
      • Service design and development
      • Work with us
    • Physician Associates

      Physician Associates

      • About Physician Associates
      • Employing Physician Associates
      • Becoming a Physician Associate
      • Support for Physician Associates
      • Physician Associates network
      • The Competence Framework for Physician Associates in Mental Health
    • Act Against Racism

      Act Against Racism

      • Tackling racism in the workplace
      • Adopt the guidance and join our network
      • Act Against Racism: a toolkit to support the campaign
      • If you're experiencing racism at work
      • Allies: information and signposting
      • FAQs about the campaign
      • Act Against Racism campaign films
    • Sustainability and mental health

      Sustainability and mental health

      • Why is sustainability important?
      • In your community
      • In your practice
      • In your trust
      • Sustainability at RCPsych
      • Nature matters
      • Sustainability scholars
      • Sustainability resources
      • College position on sustainability
      • RCPsych at COP26
      • The eco-crisis and CAMHS
    • Invited Review Service
    • Public Health and its role in mental heath
    • RCPsych Course Accreditation
    • Using quality improvement
    • Net Zero Mental Health Care Research, Resources and Education
    • Mental Health Awareness Week
    • College Centre for Quality Improvement (CCQI)
      • What we do in the CCQI
      • Quality Networks and Accreditation
      • National Clinical Audits
      • Multi-source feedback
      • CCQI resources
      • CCQI Who we are
      • Research and evaluation
      • CCQI news
    • Campaigning for better mental health policy
      • Five Year Forward View
      • Integrated care and mental health
      • Children and young people's mental health Green Paper
      • Cross-government mental health and wellbeing plan 
      • RCPsych in Parliament
      • Join our Research Panel
      • College Reports
      • Position Statements
      • Process for College publications
      • Other policy areas
      • Mental Health Watch
      • Reforming The Mental Health Act
      • Don't overlook mental health campaign
      • The Mental Health Policy Group (MHPG)
    • Planning the psychiatric workforce
      • About workforce
      • Job planning and recruitment
      • Our workforce census
      • Campaigning for the mental health workforce of the future
      • Workforce strategy
      • Job description approval process
    • Public Mental Health Implementation Centre
      • Our partners and first partnership activity 
      • How to work with the Public Mental Health Implementation Centre
      • Who's involved in the Public Mental Health Implementation Centre?
      • Aims and objectives
      • Reports
      • About public mental health
      • PMHIC Parliamentary Launch 
    • National Collaborating Centre for Mental Health
      • About NCCMH and our work
      • Clinical guideline development
      • Competence frameworks
      • Quality improvement programmes
      • Reports and research
      • Service design and development
      • Work with us
    • Physician Associates
      • About Physician Associates
      • Employing Physician Associates
      • Becoming a Physician Associate
      • Support for Physician Associates
      • Physician Associates network
      • The Competence Framework for Physician Associates in Mental Health
    • Act Against Racism
      • Tackling racism in the workplace
      • Adopt the guidance and join our network
      • Act Against Racism: a toolkit to support the campaign
      • If you're experiencing racism at work
      • Allies: information and signposting
      • FAQs about the campaign
      • Act Against Racism campaign films
    • Sustainability and mental health
      • Why is sustainability important?
      • In your community
      • In your practice
      • In your trust
      • Sustainability at RCPsych
      • Nature matters
      • Sustainability scholars
      • Sustainability resources
      • College position on sustainability
      • RCPsych at COP26
      • The eco-crisis and CAMHS
    • Invited Review Service
    • Public Health and its role in mental heath
    • RCPsych Course Accreditation
    • Using quality improvement
    • Net Zero Mental Health Care Research, Resources and Education
    • Mental Health Awareness Week
  • Mental health

    Mental health

    • Mental illnesses and mental health problems

      Mental illnesses and mental health problems

      • ADHD in adults
      • Alcohol and depression
      • Alcohol and older people
      • Anorexia and bulimia
      • Anxiety and generalised anxiety disorder (GAD)
      • Avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID)
      • Bereavement
      • Bipolar disorder
      • Cannabis
      • Catatonia
      • Club drugs
      • Cocaine dependence
      • Coping after a traumatic event
      • Debt and mental health
      • Delirium
      • Depression
      • Depression in older adults
      • Feeling overwhelmed
      • Gambling disorder
      • Heroin dependence
      • Hoarding
      • Learning disabilities
      • Medically unexplained symptoms
      • Memory problems and dementia
      • Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)
      • Perinatal OCD
      • Perinatal OCD for carers
      • Personality disorder
      • Physical illness and mental health
      • Postnatal depression
      • Postnatal depression key facts
      • Postnatal depression: information for carers
      • Postpartum psychosis
      • Postpartum Psychosis in Carers
      • Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) 
      • Schizoaffective disorder
      • Schizophrenia
      • Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
      • Self-harm
      • Shyness and social phobia
      • Sleeping well
    • Support, care and treatment

      Support, care and treatment

      • Alzheimers drug treatments
      • Antidepressants
      • Antipsychotics
      • Antipsychotics in pregnancy
      • Being sectioned
      • Benefits, financial support and debt advice
      • Benzodiazepines
      • Caring for someone with a mental illness
      • Children's social services and safeguarding
      • Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT)
      • Complementary and alternative medicines: herbal remedies
      • Complementary and alternative medicines: physical treatments
      • Depot medication
      • Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards
      • Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT)
      • Guide to mental health tribunals
      • Hypnosis and hypnotherapy
      • Liaison psychiatry services
      • Lithium in pregnancy and breastfeeding
      • Mental capacity and the law
      • Mental health in pregnancy
      • Mental health rehabilitation services
      • Mental health services and teams in the community
      • Mother and baby units (MBUs)
      • Neuromodulation
      • Perinatal mental health services: what are they?
      • Planning a pregnancy
      • Psychotherapies and psychological treatments
      • Social prescribing
      • Spirituality and mental health
      • Stopping antidepressants
      • Valproate in women and girls who could get pregnant
      • What to expect of your psychiatrist in the UK
      • COVID-19: for patients and carers
      • Veterans' mental health
    • Young people's mental health

      Young people's mental health

      • Bipolar disorder for young people
      • Cannabis and mental health: for young people
      • Club drugs
      • Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) for young people
      • Coping with stress for young people
      • Depression in children and young people
      • Drugs and alcohol for young people
      • Eco distress: for young people
      • Physical activity, exercise and mental health for young people
      • OCD for young people
      • Psychosis in young people
      • Schizophrenia: for young people
      • When a parent has a mental illness
      • When bad things happen
      • Who is who in CAMHS?: for parents, teachers, young people and carers
      • Anxiety: for young people
      • Weight, exercise and eating disorders in young people
      • Preparing for a blood test or vaccine for young people
      • Use of digital media for young people
    • Translations

      Translations

      • Arabic عربى
      • Bengali বাঙালি
      • Chinese 中文
      • French Français
      • German Deutsch
      • Greek Ελληνική
      • Gujurati ગુજરાતી
      • Hindi हिंदीहिंदी
      • Italian Italiano
      • Japanese 日本語
      • Kurdish Kurdî
      • Lithuanian Lietuvių kalba
      • Pashto پښتو
      • Persian (Farsi) فارسی
      • Polish Polski
      • Portuguese (Brazil) Português (Brasil)
      • Punjabi ਪੰਜਾਬੀ
      • Romanian Română
      • Russian Pусский
      • Sindhi سنڌي
      • Somali
      • Spanish Español
      • Swahili Kiswahili
      • Tamil தமிழ்
      • Turkish
      • Ukrainian украї́нська
      • Urdu اردو
      • Welsh Cymraeg
    • Order mental health resources

      Order mental health resources

      • Order mental health packs for schools
    • About our mental health information
    • Mental health information disclaimer
    • Mental health and psychiatry FAQs
    • Mental illnesses and mental health problems
      • ADHD in adults
      • Alcohol and depression
      • Alcohol and older people
      • Anorexia and bulimia
      • Anxiety and generalised anxiety disorder (GAD)
      • Avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID)
      • Bereavement
      • Bipolar disorder
      • Cannabis
      • Catatonia
      • Club drugs
      • Cocaine dependence
      • Coping after a traumatic event
      • Debt and mental health
      • Delirium
      • Depression
      • Depression in older adults
      • Feeling overwhelmed
      • Gambling disorder
      • Heroin dependence
      • Hoarding
      • Learning disabilities
      • Medically unexplained symptoms
      • Memory problems and dementia
      • Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)
      • Perinatal OCD
      • Perinatal OCD for carers
      • Personality disorder
      • Physical illness and mental health
      • Postnatal depression
      • Postnatal depression key facts
      • Postnatal depression: information for carers
      • Postpartum psychosis
      • Postpartum Psychosis in Carers
      • Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) 
      • Schizoaffective disorder
      • Schizophrenia
      • Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
      • Self-harm
      • Shyness and social phobia
      • Sleeping well
    • Support, care and treatment
      • Alzheimers drug treatments
      • Antidepressants
      • Antipsychotics
      • Antipsychotics in pregnancy
      • Being sectioned
      • Benefits, financial support and debt advice
      • Benzodiazepines
      • Caring for someone with a mental illness
      • Children's social services and safeguarding
      • Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT)
      • Complementary and alternative medicines: herbal remedies
      • Complementary and alternative medicines: physical treatments
      • Depot medication
      • Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards
      • Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT)
      • Guide to mental health tribunals
      • Hypnosis and hypnotherapy
      • Liaison psychiatry services
      • Lithium in pregnancy and breastfeeding
      • Mental capacity and the law
      • Mental health in pregnancy
      • Mental health rehabilitation services
      • Mental health services and teams in the community
      • Mother and baby units (MBUs)
      • Neuromodulation
      • Perinatal mental health services: what are they?
      • Planning a pregnancy
      • Psychotherapies and psychological treatments
      • Social prescribing
      • Spirituality and mental health
      • Stopping antidepressants
      • Valproate in women and girls who could get pregnant
      • What to expect of your psychiatrist in the UK
      • COVID-19: for patients and carers
      • Veterans' mental health
    • Young people's mental health
      • Bipolar disorder for young people
      • Cannabis and mental health: for young people
      • Club drugs
      • Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) for young people
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A Life On Tour: Niall Connolly

Cultural blog, Minds in music

18 April, 2016

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Biography

Niall Connolly is a modern troubadour.Over the last 15 years, he has toured extensively throughout Europe and the USA, playing hundreds of concerts in a wide variety of venues.

Performing

He has played house concerts in Holland, folk festivals in Germany and cafes in rural Belgium. He has also taken the stage at prestigious events and venues such as CMJ in New York, the Olympia theatre in Dublin and Glastonbury.

He has played support to some of Ireland’s most successful modern music acts, including Mick Flannery, John Spillane and Declan O’Rourke.

His admirers include Lambchop’s Kurt Wagner (“I cannot remember when I heard such a moving collection of songs”) and Glen Hansard of The Frames/Swell Season fame, who recently tweeted his support.

He has performed for movie stars (Gabriel Byrne and Daniel Day Lewis at The New York Irish Arts Centre Gala) and heads of state (including recently as a ‘warm up’ act for Bill Clinton). His recent tour blog offers a witty insight into some of these adventures.

After beginning his career in his hometown of Cork, Niall moved to Brooklyn, New York, in 2006. There he formed the Big City Folk Collective, providing a forum for a community of songwriters and musicians to perform and to hone their craft.

During his time in New York, he has been instrumental in maintaining a live folk music scene throughout the city’s boroughs. The respect his fellow musicians and songwriters have for him is evident in their recording of a tribute album of his songs released in 2012.

Niall’s impassioned, vibrant and humour-laden performances have received wide critical acclaim, including from the Chicago Tribune and ‘No Depression’ magazine. He is also a respected recording artist.In 2001, his impressive debut album ('Songs from a corner') received warm praise from Hot Press magazine.

Musical style

Over time, his musical style evolved from the folk-infused lyrical songwriting of his 2003 album ‘As Tomorrow Creeps from the East’ to incorporate a fuller indie-rock sound, demonstrated on recordings such as 2010’s ‘Brother the Fight is Fixed’ and 2013’s ‘ Sound’.

A great admirer of Leonard Cohen, Niall’s songs exhibit a similar poetic fluency and emotional honesty. They also demonstrate a political awareness which calls to mind Billy Bragg and Steve Earle, a short story writer’s gift for condensed narrative, and a taste for spikey social commentary in the vein of Loudon Wainwright.

While his songs are skilfully written and intelligent, they, like his live performances, are also warm and inclusive. His latest release, ‘All We Have Become’ (2015) is perhaps his most well-rounded album to date, incorporating songs from across his range of styles.

Niall is also a good friend of mine. I know him to be a robust and resourceful person who has carved out a career in a very competitive environment.

I was interested in what he would have to tell us about the strains that life as a touring musician place on his mental health, and his experience in coping with the demands of such a lifestyle.

Following his recent tour of the UK and Ireland, Niall took some time out to speak to me about his life on the road, and in music.

Interview

JT: You have toured widely in many countries over 15 years. One of your early songs was called ‘Kindness of a Stranger’, about one of the encounters you had.

How important has it been to you that strangers or relative strangers have lent a helping hand on your many journeys? Aside from practical help, how does this make a difference for you?

NC: I’d forgotten about that song! Touring for me is something of a tightrope walk. The safety net appears when I get on the rope. People are generally very open and kind to musicians.

I wonder if it stems from people's respect for the gamble of a life less ordinary. It is such an unlikely way to live and in my experience of touring, people often connect with that and want to help.

People often tell me I am lucky or I am brave. I think it isn’t solely either of those things. Though the kindness of strangers certainly makes me braver and I know I am lucky. Still, it does take a lot of work to stay lucky.

Touring and consistently finding the kindness of strangers does give me a great lust for life. I so frequently get to see people at their best. In these dark times, I keep my eyes open to the everyday, random acts of kindness that people offer each other.
 
You have also spoken to me about the many stresses and strains of touring. A recent Guardian article made reference to this (though I felt somewhat conflated mental health problems with career dissatisfaction/existential angst!).

What in your experience are the main problems that arise from being on the road? What are the best ways to deal with them? And the not so good ones?

The problems of touring are similar to those present in everyday life for everyone. But they are exacerbated by the nomadic aspects of life on tour.

Poor diet, lack of exercise and sleep, too much drinking, loneliness, and financial stress can easily join forces and cause issues on tour. And the adrenaline of performance and the comedown that comes with it are additional factors. 

Any combination of these can cause mental discomfort, if not mental health problems.

I try to be aware of all of these aspects. I try to be as prepared and as well researched as I can for tours, though of course there are aspects of tour, as with life, that are out of my control.

A key issue is that I need to be ‘on’ when I am on stage. So much effort has gone into getting myself to the gig on time in any given city, that I do try to make sure that my mind is sharp while on stage.

I plan my tours in as much detail as possible before I leave. I try to drink less than I want to. I walk as much as I can.

I spend money on accommodation- sleep is not a luxury! I also pack (and sometimes use) a pair of running shoes- running serves the double purpose of providing exercise and also an opportunity for some time alone to reflect during the tour.

Does it get harder or easier over time?

I’ve gotten better at recognising where problems arise for me. For example, hangovers and travel are a horrible mix.

I try to make reasonably healthy choices along the way.So physically, touring has actually become easier as I have gotten older, as I have become a bit more organized and developed a small bit more "sense". 

A small bit! The hardest aspect of touring for me is being away from my wife. I hate being away for prolonged spells.

You have met many accomplished musicians from many different backgrounds. Have you noticed any common personality traits?

What do you think are the characteristics that make it more likely a musician, particularly a touring musician, will endure or succeed?

Nearly all of the very successful people I have met are genuinely very nice people. They are shielded by confidence and belief in their work. This is not to be confused with arrogance- the belief is more in creating music rather than in themselves.

Many of them seem very aware, and wary, of the more tenuous aspects of success.  They tend to be very interested and invested in their creativity. Most also chose their battles wisely.

They are not afraid to say no to inappropriate gigs. Learning to know when to say ‘no’ is an ongoing lesson for me.

What about the life of a full-time musician in Brooklyn/New York?

What are the main changes that have happened in the last 10 years do you think? Have any of them been for the better?

We would be interested in the role you feel the internet has played.

Venues are closing and changing hands with alarming frequency.

Despite its reputation as a centre for creativity- or perhaps alongside this- the city seems to also have an endless appetite for banks, coffee chains and chemists. For example, Greenwich Village in Manhattan is now littered with chain stores.

The internet has certainly made booking and promoting gigs easier, but it has made the gigs themselves harder.

We live in the age of distraction.In Brooklyn, like in any big city, people have so many options to choose from in every aspect of their lives. Even when people do choose to go out, and come to a gig, so many appear chained to their devices.

In my experience, this is markedly worse in the US than in Ireland or Germany, for example. While video never quite killed the radio star, the smartphone seems intent on killing or at least maiming live performance.

The internet has also made it easier for people to record and distribute music, but it has also devalued it immensely.

At one point, I had stern words with a friend for giving away CDs on tour. I used the argument that if it is not with $10 or $15 to you, the artist, why would anyone listen to it?

We, the musicians, have to put a value on our work.

The internet has changed all industries. The music industry has changed and continues to change, so I need to be industrious, and become my own industry.

Many of our readers are interested in the link between mental health and inspiration/creativity.

The cliché of the perpetually tortured artist doesn’t always hold up to scrutiny when examined closely: Will Oldham made some interesting points on this, and Van Morrison has said he rarely feels inspired to create unless he has peace of mind.

I know you are a big admirer of Tom Waits, who made arguably his best work when his personal life was most stable. Can you give us your perspective on this topic?

What are the ideal conditions in which to write or compose, or is it different for each song?

I think it is certainly true that our experience of the world is different when we are at our wit's end, even exhausted, and it is certainly possible to create something different in that frame of mind.

However, I don't ever seek that out, for it is equally true that I will experience the world differently when I am fully rested! Or after reading a great book, seeing a great film, or having a great conversation with an old friend.

As for writing- I gather ideas constantly. I eavesdrop. I keep my eyes open. I take notes. I write a lot on trains. The songwriting itself, the music part, well for that I need privacy or the illusion of privacy. Even my best songs are awful till they are good.

My wife and I rent a railroad apartment in Brooklyn- it is long and narrow, so I can go to one end of it and pretend she can't really hear me strangling a song into shape.

I know you listen to an impressively broad range of music. How did your own tastes develop?

I started deliberately seeking out and listening to music at about 13. I liked REM, Nirvana, James, the Frank and Walters, the Sultans of Ping, indie pop, grunge and some of the more melodic punk stuff.

My sister had some Dylan, Cohen, Waits, and I started delving into that too. Later, I worked in the music library in Cork for a spell. I broadened my listening somewhat there but I was, and still am, essentially drawn in by melody and words.

Can you select a few songs, ideally from different genres, which have been inspirational to you over the years?

Ahhhh... where to start?  This is an almost impossible task. So I won't overthink it and will just type what comes to mind.

  • Gillian Welch- Everything is Free Now
  • King Creosote and Jon Hopkins- Bubble
  • PJ Harvey - Sheela Na Gig
  • The Frank And Walters - Landslide
  • Ger Wolfe - the Curra Road/ She Scattered Crumbs/ One Star Left in the Window
  • Avro Pärt - Spiegel im Spiegel
  • We/Or/Me - The Dusty Roads
  • Will Oldham - I see a Darkness
  • Leonard Cohen - Famous Blue Rain Coat/ Alexandra Leaving
  • The Straight Story - Soundtrack
  • The Pixies - Where is My Mind?
  • Hawksley Workman - Safe and Sound
  • John Spillane- Who Will Burn Brightly?
  • E.W. Harris - Only Wind Up Dead

What do you listen to most on the road?

I've been listening to a lot of podcasts lately. Those are great for solo travel. As I can switch off and still learn something.

I actually listened to my first Audiobook in its entirely on the last tour. "Deep Down Dark: The Untold Stories of 33 Men Buried in a Chilean Mine". That was good for perspective!

Blog Author
Dr John Tully

Forensic psychiatrist and researcher at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, London

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