Two Old Psychologists Talking About Stuff

podcast artwork

Podcast by Dr Richard Bennett and Dr Ray Owen

Two Old Psychologists Talking About Stuff

Between them, Richard Bennett and Ray Owen have accumulated over 70 years of experience working in healthcare. As clinical psychologists, they have a long history of helping people navigate the many challenges of life, providing both therapy for individuals and psychological support for organisations. In a departure from their more academic pursuits of teaching, training, and writing books, (and, let's face it, in one last desperate attempt to try and remain current) they have decided to make a podcast to share their personal and professional reflections on life. If you're interested in wellbeing, psychotherapy, or just looking at life through a psychological lens, then there may be something here for you, especially if you're the wrong side side of fifty (or the right side, depending on your perspective). The show will publish episodes on a monthly basis. If you want to send feedback, suggest topics for future episodes or make contact for any other reason, you can do so at 2oldpsychspod@gmail.com

Latest episodes

episode artwork

29 August 2025

Who am 'I', and what is 'the self'?

In this episode, Rich and Ray take on the tricky problem of trying to understand what psychologists mean they talk about 'the self'. Is there really a 'me' in here or is it all just an illusion? You can hear what Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) has to say about it all.

00:00

01:00:06

episode artwork

28 July 2025

What are values and why do they matter?

In this episode, Rich and Ray discuss the concept of values, which is a core component of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). They explore how to define personal values, and demonstrate how to clarify values using a range of experiential exercises.

00:00

54:43

episode artwork

02 June 2025

Fans, fanaticism, and fandom

Our hosts, Rich and Ray, take a psychological angle on what it means to be a fan of something? Where does the word come from? What does it really mean? This episode dives into the function of fan behaviour and the wider context of fandom.

00:00

54:35

episode artwork

17 April 2025

That 'free will' episode

Are you interested in understanding why you have no control over what you do and why that might even be a good thing? This episode explores the age old philosophical and scientific question regarding to what extent human beings are able to exercise free will.

00:00

01:02:00

episode artwork

17 March 2025

Why it's important to talk about death

Rich and Ray join Podcasthon 2025, focusing on Winston's Wish, a charity centered on supporting children childhood through grief. Drawing particularly upon Ray's extensive experience of working as a clinical psychologist with people at the end of their life, this episode explores the psychological themes around mortality, dying, and grief. Our hosts discuss why these issues can be so difficult for people to talk about, and just why it is so important for people to do so. As ever with this podcast, this episode filters the issues of loss and grief through the lens offered by Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT).

Here are links to the books mentioned in the episode:

The End in Mind by Kathryn Mannix

Healthy Habits Suck by Dayna Lee Baggley

If you want to send feedback, suggest topics for future episodes or make contact for any other reason, you can do so at 2oldpsychspod@gmail.com

00:00

59:51

episode artwork

26 February 2025

It's the end of the world as we know it...

Rich and Ray catch up on recent developments in world politics, most notably, the apparent rise of populism and the re-election of Donald Trump to the US presidency.

00:00

55:19

Copyright © Two Old Psychologists Talking About Stuff. All rights reserved.

Powered by