This time I welcome Simona Stokes, Counselling Psychologist and the Founder of Menopause CBT Clinic, an independent psychology practice which aims to support the psychological wellbeing of women going through the perimenopause and menopause. Based on her extensive clinical experience in this area, Simona has developed EMBERS® Menopause CBT Model which is centered around the psychological principles supported by the best evidence-based research and interventions in the field of mental and emotional wellbeing. She holds professional registration and accreditation with several bodies including the BPS, BABCP, and BACP and has been working in the mental health field for over 20 years.

We begin with an explanation of what CBT is and how it works for anyone who is not familiar with Cognitive Behavioural Therapy. Simona explains little more on the different types of CBT, and her experience is that ‘third wave’ CBT approaches seem to work best with those experiencing perimenopause symptoms.

The draft NICE guidelines issues at the end of 2023 caused quite a media stir with the increased focus on CBT as a treatment for menopause. We discuss why the headlines were misleading and how CBT can help with hot flushes and sleep disturbances, as well as psychological and emotional symptoms. As Simona outlines, even individuals who are taking HRT sometimes struggle with their mental health and access to CBT can be helpful. Medication alone cannot address struggles with confidence, self esteem, self-worth, and identity.

We delve deeper into menopause as a psychological developmental stage - just as pregnancy and puberty (see Lisa Mosconi’s book The Menopause Brain for more on this). In all these life stages our brains are remodelling themselves - we are updating who we are and our perspective on the world…a process some of us will navigate on our own or with support of our own networks of support, and some of us may need a little extra help and support from professional - space where we can safely explore these topics.

Simona explains that the way we think about physical symptoms can amplify the symptoms themselves…CBT helps us look at the kinds of stories we tell ourselves and write new ones. It can support us to make meaningful change in areas that help us regulate our bodies and thereby mitigate symptom severity.

Unfortunately as Simona highlights, the types of CBT available on the NHS are not always tailored to the needs of women going through the menopause and that can lead to sub-optimal experiences when people do choose to pursue CBT as an option. We end by agreeing that there is certainly scope for more practitioners to be trained in menopause-informed CBT practices.

You can find Simona at https://www.menopausecbtclinic.co.uk/ and https://www.instagram.com/menopausecbtclinic

If you enjoy the podcast and would like to help me keep it running (on a shoestring!) please consider buying me a ‘virtual coffee’ at Ko-fi.com/middlingalong - or you can support me in a non-monetary way by sharing this episode, or writing a short review online!

If your workplace wants to become more ‘menopause friendly’ then please let them know about the work I do at http://www.managingthemenopause.com

You can also find me over on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/middlingalong_podcast/ and https://www.instagram.com/managingthemenopause

Join our newsletter, The Messy Middle, for fortnightly(ish) goodness into your Inbox: https://dashboard.mailerlite.com/forms/323784/90772270045202190/share

We’re delighted to be listed as one of the Top 25 podcasts for midlife and menopause here: https://www.lattelounge.co.uk/podcasts-about-the-menopause/

In this episode of the podcast I welcome back author and health coach Susan Saunders - Susan’s first appearance on the podcast back in November 2022 focused on preventing Alzheimer’s disease and has been one of our most popular episodes.

Susan’s latest book The Power Decade published soon after that and will be out in paperback on 8th June (link below). The book takes us through how to thrive after menopause, and focuses on the ‘window of opportunity’ we have in, and soon after, menopause to take action to prevent the chronic diseases of aging – such as osteoporosis, cardiovascular disease and dementia.

In countries where the average age of menopause is 51, and the average life expectancy is 83, we’re potentially living half our adult lives in a post-menopausal state. The Power Decade explains the impacts of the menopause transition on our metabolic health, heart health, bone health, and brain health.

Susan talks about the ‘protective cloak’ that our reproductive hormones wrap us in pre-menopause, and how the drop in those hormones impacts all areas of our health, helping us understand the changes that happen in the body and what we need to do to remain healthy. She quotes The Lancet as calling menopause “a cardiometabolic turning point for women” - so I ask her to explain more about cardiometabolic health and why it becomes so important to keep top of mind post-menopause.

Her book is peppered with interviews with postmenopausal women who are thriving, explaining what they have done to get there, providing a sense of hope and renewal, and showing us that post-menopause can be a positive time where we experience a ‘rebound’ and renewed energy.

You can find Susan at www.susansaundershealth.com and on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/susansaundershealth/

The Power Decade:

https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/the-power-decade-how-to-thrive-after-menopause-susan-saunders/7644592?ean=9781472291615

If you enjoy the podcast and would like to help me keep it running (on a shoestring!) please consider buying me a ‘virtual coffee’ at Ko-fi.com/middlingalong - or you can support me in a non-monetary way by sharing this episode, or writing a short review online!

If your workplace wants to become more ‘menopause friendly’ then please let them know about the work I do at http://www.managingthemenopause.com

You can also find me over on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/middlingalong_podcast/ and https://www.instagram.com/managingthemenopause

Join our newsletter, The Messy Middle, for fortnightly(ish) goodness into your Inbox: https://dashboard.mailerlite.com/forms/323784/90772270045202190/share

We’re delighted to be listed as one of the Top 25 podcasts for midlife and menopause here: https://www.lattelounge.co.uk/podcasts-about-the-menopause/

This time on Middling Along I chat to novelist Tracy Bloom about her latest book The Time of Her Life, which follows midlife heroine Kim through the disintegration of her marriage and her subsequent reinvention.

We discuss the increase in midlife female protagonists - that TV is doing so well with the likes of Sarah Lancashire in Happy Valley. Fiction has been somewhat catching up over the last five years, showcasing the issues facing women in midlife for Gen X who have grown up on Bridget Jones novels. Midlife as a time of re-evaluation and reinvention, opportunities and change, is fertile pasture for novelists…

Tracy talks through her process of learning to become an author, and gives us some tips for anyone listening who is thinking about writing a book. We also discuss Tracy's recent favourite reads and what she is looking forward to delving into next.

The Time of Her Life is out now in paperback (https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-time-of-her-life/tracy-bloom/9780008619114) if you’re looking for your next holiday read, and Tracy’s next book, The Secret Santa Project will be out later in 2024 (available to preorder at https://www.amazon.co.uk/Secret-Santa-Project-heartwarming-friendship/dp/000861914X)

If you enjoy the podcast and would like to help me keep it running (on a shoestring!) please consider buying me a ‘virtual coffee’ at Ko-fi.com/middlingalong - or you can support me in a non-monetary way by sharing this episode, or writing a short review online!

If your workplace wants to become more ‘menopause friendly’ then please let them know about the work I do at http://www.managingthemenopause.com

You can also find me over on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/middlingalong_podcast/ and https://www.instagram.com/managingthemenopause

Join our newsletter, The Messy Middle, for fortnightly(ish) goodness into your Inbox: https://dashboard.mailerlite.com/forms/323784/90772270045202190/share

We’re delighted to be listed as one of the Top 25 podcasts for midlife and menopause here: https://www.lattelounge.co.uk/podcasts-about-the-menopause/