The Academy by Psych Scene

Are "Feelings" and "Emotions" the Same Thing?

Linguistically, we use these terms interchangeably, assuming the difference is merely semantics.

However, studies revealed that they are distinct physiological events occurring in two different "theatres" (Damasio, 2003).

• Emotion = Theatre of the Body (unconscious physiological arousal)

• Feeling = Theatre of the Mind (conscious interpretation)

Here’s the neurobiological breakdown of the distinction between the two and why it matters clinically.

To further bridge the gap between the physiology of “emotion” and the psychology of “feeling,” hit the link below and check out our deep dive on Psych Scene Hub, “The Neuroscience of Emotions”:

psychscene.co/3MTbdnf

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12 hours ago | [YT] | 1

The Academy by Psych Scene

There are no ‘silver bullets’ in psychiatry…

Knowing that a treatment exists is not the same as knowing when to use it, how to explain it, or where it fits in a patient’s journey.

Here are 10 clinical insights from The Academy to take into 2026 🧵👇

(Prof Michael Berk) (Prof David Barton)

1. Formulation is not reflective writing, it is the architecture of care.

Formulation must directly guide what you do next and why. If a formulation cannot be operationalised into a management plan, monitoring strategy, and review points, it has failed its primary clinical function.

2. Clinical expertise is the art of what you choose to weigh.

The clinical skill is not information gathering, but relevance filtering, identifying which detail meaningfully shifts diagnostic probability and treatment direction.

3. Recovery in psychiatry is usually additive, not dramatic.

Meaningful improvement often comes from stacking small, targeted interventions. Sleep, physical health, adherence, psychosocial support, and pharmacology. Rather than chasing a single transformative treatment.

4. When pain is reduced to tissue damage alone, patients are misunderstood and outcomes worsen.

Pain is not equivalent to nociception. It is shaped by emotional, cognitive, developmental, and cultural factors, all of which fall squarely within psychiatric expertise.

5. Good prescribing is structured follow-up, not a one-off decision.

For example, In peri/menopause-related presentations (mood, sleep, cognition, irritability), the job is not to “start HRT”—it’s to select, monitor, and revise while holding psychiatric differentials in mind (and avoiding diagnostic overshadowing in either direction).

6. Speed without translation produces transient gains.

For example, Esketamine creates a window of reduced symptom burden, but functional recovery depends on how that window is used—therapy re-engagement, behavioural activation, and relapse prevention planning.

7. Advanced treatments fail not because they are weak, but because they are mispositioned. Timing is a therapeutic variable.

For example, TMS requires algorithmic placement—not desperation referral. Its value depends on patient phenotype, illness chronicity, prior treatment exposure, and how success is defined (symptom reduction vs. functional recovery).

8. Lithium is avoided less because of evidence and more because it demands long-term stewardship.

Lithium remains foundational for patients with a history of mania because it provides true mood stabilisation, not just suppression of acute symptoms.

Antipsychotic monotherapy may reduce manic behaviour but does not confer the same long-term protection against relapse or suicide.

9. The ethical quality of care improves when values are made visible.

Many “clinical” conflicts are value conflicts in disguise: autonomy vs. safety, immediate risk reduction vs. long-term agency, individual rights vs. systemic fear. Naming values explicitly improves team alignment and reduces coercive drift.

10. The most important diagnostic skill is recognising when your frame is too narrow.

Re-run first principles: pain, physical illness, trauma, environment, communication mismatch, medication effects, sleep, mood, and psychosis—and make reasonable adjustments to your assessment style.

These insights represent the distilled collective wisdom from The Academy over the past year, the specific 'relevance filters' that differentiate clinical information from clinical expertise.

As psychiatric treatment interventions grow more complex, our ability to deconstruct, understand, and strategise becomes the only safeguard against clinical stagnation.

Access these insights in an interactive format, plus 150+ hours of material with The Academy from $1.64/day. Find out more:


psychscene.co/45pEWKN

22 hours ago | [YT] | 4

The Academy by Psych Scene

Why Do Clinicians Often Miss Dissociative PTSD?

Most associate PTSD with autonomic hyperactivity: elevated startle response and amygdala-driven panic.

However, research indicates that for 30% of patients (Wolf et al., 2012), trauma manifests as silence, detachment, and numbness.

This refers to the Dissociative Subtype (PTSD-DS), a pathology of regulatory rigidity, where the brain severs connectivity to survive.

Here’s the neurobiological breakdown of this PTSD mechanism clinicians often miss.

To further understand the nuances of the Dissociative Subtype of PTSD and how to tailor interventions for complex trauma presentations, hit the link below and check out our article on Psych Scene Hub, “Advances in Understanding PTSD”:

psychscene.co/490dVzX

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1 day ago | [YT] | 4

The Academy by Psych Scene

Happy New Year! We want to say a sincere thank you to our Academy community. 💚

This year was a big one for The Academy by Psych Scene, and it simply wouldn’t be possible without the people behind it — our members, educators, and wider YouTube community.

Here’s what we achieved together in 2025:

📚 27,595 course enrolments
✅ 4,860 completions
⏳ 22,023 hours of learning
🏆 18,108.5 CPD credits awarded
🌍 Reached learners in 48 countries

Our viewers make this community what it is.

Our educators bring depth, clarity, and real-world experience to every course.

And together, you allow us to keep investing back into education — including growing this YouTube channel so more people can access thoughtful, high-quality learning.

Whether you’re a clinician, an educator, or someone here simply to learn and think more deeply — thank you for being part of the Academy.

Here’s to an even bigger 2026, built on people, ideas, and shared learning.

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1 day ago | [YT] | 0

The Academy by Psych Scene

Why is BPD Systematically Misdiagnosed in Men?

Traditionally, Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) is perceived through a female-centric lens of "internalised" distress that leads to a gendered-diagnostic blindspot.

Research suggests that BPD is equally prevalent in men.

However, because the male phenotype manifests as "externalising" aggression, symptoms are misattributed to externalising disorders.

Here’s the neurobiological breakdown of why male BPD diagnosis is often missed.

To learn more about the neurobiological drivers and phenotypic variations of BPD, click the link below and check out our article on Psych Scene Hub, “Borderline Personality Disorder – Deconstructing the Diagnosis from a Neurobiological and Psychodynamic Lens”:

psychscene.co/3YJbYlo

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3 days ago | [YT] | 6

The Academy by Psych Scene

We’re proud to share a major milestone for The Academy.

Three years after launching, we’re excited to welcome our first large European medical university to The Academy.

To put this into perspective:

This institution alone represents 30 clinicians engaging in structured, evidence-based learning.

This matters because it reflects what the Academy was built for:

practical, clinically relevant education that translates directly into real-world practice grounded in evidence, not theory alone.

If you or your organisation are looking for education that bridges research and day-to-day clinical decision-making, we’d love to talk.

Get in touch using the link below:

psychscene.co/4auUkcj

4 days ago | [YT] | 8

The Academy by Psych Scene

Are women more vulnerable to anxiety and depression than men?

Statistics show women are 2x as likely to develop anxiety and depression than men.

Some attribute this disparity to gendered societal strain.

However, neuroscience reveals the female brain is simply biologically wired that way: primed for vigilance, having denser stress receptors that consolidate threat data more intensely than the male equivalent.

Here’s a breakdown of the neurobiological differences 👇🧵

To understand the full scope of female-specific psychiatric nuances and their clinical implications, visit the link below and check out our article on Psych Scene Hub, “Navigating Female-Specific Complexities in Psychiatry”:


psychscene.co/3N1MgG6

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5 days ago | [YT] | 6

The Academy by Psych Scene

Why Do Antidepressants Often Fail in BPD?

Treating BPD with antidepressants often yields poor remission rates.

While standard practice assumes BPD as serotonin deficiency, a landmark study reveals the core issue is a dysregulation of the Endogenous Opioid System (EOS).

This creates a state of "interpersonal pain" that SSRIs are simply not equipped to modulate (Prossin et al., 2010).

Here’s the neurobiological breakdown of this pharmacological mismatch.

To fully understand the nuances of BPD diagnosis and move beyond the "one-size-fits-all" monoamine-centric pharmacological model, hit the link below and check out our comprehensive guide on Psych Scene Hub, “Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD): Diagnosis and Management Strategies”:

psychscene.co/3YdFyiL

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6 days ago | [YT] | 5

The Academy by Psych Scene

Is Depression a “Mental” or a “Metabolic” Disorder?

For decades, depression has been framed as a disorder of neurotransmitters.
Low serotonin. Faulty signalling. Chemical imbalance.

But for a clinically meaningful subset of patients, the primary driver may sit upstream of neurotransmission.

The problem isn’t the signal.
It’s the energy required to generate it.

Here’s how brain insulin resistance (BIR) can drive a hypometabolic depressive state 👇🧵

To further your understanding of the physiological link between insulin and the brain, hit the link below and check out our article on Psych Scene Hub, “Brain Insulin Resistance”:

psychscene.co/4s3lg9g

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1 week ago | [YT] | 9

The Academy by Psych Scene

Do you think you’ve heard it all in mental health?


Depression, anxiety, schizophrenia maybe even OCD…


What if I told you these are just the surface?


Here are 5 ‘uncommon’ psychiatric syndromes you won’t believe are real 🧵👇


For a deeper look at these syndromes, watch “5 Bizarre Psychiatric Syndromes You Won’t Believe Are Real” by Dr Sanil Rege:


psychscene.co/4b9ZCdk

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1 week ago | [YT] | 5