New From CPD Online

The eLearning resource for mental health professionals

CPD Online offers a range of learning modules and podcasts that provide a flexible, interactive way of keeping up to date with progress in mental health. During the pandemic, there will be no limit on eLearning that can be counted for CPD; it will be possible for ALL 50 CREDITS to be obtained in this way. Access to the modules and podcasts is through annual subscription, but we also offer a series of free publications for you to trial first.

For more information, visit the CPD Online website: https://elearning.rcpsych.ac.uk

Recent modules and podcasts

Podcast What is life? Bridging the disciplines to solve unanswered questions

For generations, scientists have struggled to make sense of the fundamental question: ‘what is life?’. Can life be explained by known physics and chemistry, or do we need something fundamentally new? In this podcast, Dr Raj Persaud discusses these thought-provoking questions with renowned physicist Professor Paul Davies – author of the 2019 book ‘The Demon in the Machine’. CPD credits: 0.5

Module Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS): a cutting-edge neuropsychiatric therapy

Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) is an innovative, non-invasive and well-tolerated therapy that may be used as a treatment option for a variety of neuropsychiatric disorders. A large number of studies spanning more than 30 years have shown it to be a powerful neuroscience tool for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes. This module aims to provide a brief introduction of rTMS therapy and its use in neuropsychiatry. CPD credits: 1.5

Podcast Are you ignorant about the pandemic?

In this podcast, Professor Renata Salecl discusses her new book, ‘A Passion for Ignorance: What We Choose Not to Know and Why’, with Dr Raj Persaud, examining the human tendency to ignore what is inconvenient or traumatic. They also consider the relationship between ignorance and psychotherapy, and question whether ignorance is in fact the central problem at the heart of the COVID-19 pandemic. CPD credits: 0.5

Module Vitamin D in schizophrenia and depression – is it all about the sunshine?

This module looks at the role of vitamin D in mental health. Vitamin D deficiency is a global phenomenon and has been associated with a wide range of physical and mental disorders. People with mental disorders, especially those with psychotic disorders, are an at-risk population for this deficiency. CPD credits: 1.5

Podcast Lost in thought: can intellect save you in a pandemic?

In this podcast, Dr Raj Persaud talks to Dr Zena Hitz about her 2020 book ‘Lost in Thought’, in which she argues that ‘learning for its own sake’ is a key ingredient of human happiness, vital for the circumstances we currently live in. CPD credits: 0.5

Podcast How to think like Shakespeare: lessons from a Renaissance education

In this podcast, Dr Raj Persaud speaks to Professor Scott Newstok about his 2020 book, ‘How to Think like Shakespeare’ – an enlightening guide to the craft of thought which demonstrates what's been lost in education today and how we might begin to recover it. CPD credits: 0.5 Other recently published CPD Online podcasts (each worth 0.5 CPD credits and freely accessible) include: • The psychology behind mathematical modelling of epidemics • Managing alcohol withdrawal in acute in-patient psychiatry • Coping with the ‘pointless suffering’ of COVID-19 • Re-reading Camus's ‘The Plague’ in pandemic times • Obedience to authority – lessons from Milgram applied to COVID-19 • Mental Health Tribunals: response to the COVID-19 emergency • How do we lead effectively through the COVID-19 pandemic? • Working with patients remotely • Ethical considerations arising from COVID-19 • COVID-19: Isolation and loneliness – is there a ‘social cure’? • Psychosocial response to epidemics – lessons from Ebola applied to COVID-19 • Surviving the trauma: post-traumatic stress disorder in relation to COVID-19 • The psychology of the virus ‘super-spreader’ • The psychology of coping with quarantine • The psychology and psychiatry of pandemics.