@drjohnstondclinpsy.bsky.social
British immigrant in France since 2007. Dual nationality children. Clinical Psychologist (UK trained) in private practice. Migrated from X. Not bothered about follower count. Here for info & the occasional giggle.
Reposted
A week is a long time in social media.
Look after your mental health by taking breaks from it.
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/24/h...
Look after your mental health by taking breaks from it.
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/24/h...
Study Finds Mental Health Benefit to One-Week Social Media Break
www.nytimes.com
November 25, 2025 at 9:46 AM
A week is a long time in social media.
Look after your mental health by taking breaks from it.
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/24/h...
Look after your mental health by taking breaks from it.
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/24/h...
Reposted
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre... - my new article, if of interest please share.
I endured an English public school. But that’s not the only reason I’m unsurprised about the Farage allegations |
Let’s put aside the schooldays accusations and look, instead, at the Reform leader’s path since then. I think a pretty clear picture of the man emerges, says author and podcaster Musa Okwonga
www.theguardian.com
November 24, 2025 at 7:03 AM
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre... - my new article, if of interest please share.
Reposted
🌍 42.5m refugees
Over 70% of them are hosted by low- and middle-income countries.
🇬🇧 548k refugees
= 0.78% of the UK population.
It is not refugees who tear our country apart, it is the mainstreaming of far right policies. And that’s a risk to all of us.
My letter to my MP.
#asylum #Mahmood
🧵
Over 70% of them are hosted by low- and middle-income countries.
🇬🇧 548k refugees
= 0.78% of the UK population.
It is not refugees who tear our country apart, it is the mainstreaming of far right policies. And that’s a risk to all of us.
My letter to my MP.
#asylum #Mahmood
🧵
![Dear [my MP’s name],
As the Home Secretary prepares to announce sweeping changes to the UK’s asylum system, I see it as both my duty as a citizen and responsibility as a migration expert to do all I can to urge policymakers to oppose the proposals—not only for what they will do to refugees, though that is the first concern, but also for what they will mean for all of us and the future society we live in.
That is why I am writing to you as my MP. This letter explains why I consider the need to oppose the Home Secretary’s proposals urgent and, at the most fundamental level, in the national and your constituents’ interest.
I was born in Germany, a country whose history taught me how quickly societies can go down dark paths; how quickly our leaders can fail in the choices they make. But the history of the displacement of people that the Nazi regime was responsible for also shaped my understanding of why refugee movements occur—and why our response to any of them can never compromise what are, and must always be, universal human rights.
Which is why what is happening in the UK now is so deeply alarming.
A manufactured crisis
As of June 2025, there were 42.5 million refugees globally. Over 70% of them are hosted by low- and middle-income countries; most of them immediate neighbours. Overall, five countries—Colombia, Germany, Türkiye, Iran and Uganda—host a third of the total number of refugees; Germany is the main host in the EU, hosting 2.7 million.
The UK hosts 548,000 refugees; that is 0.78% of the UK population. About 110,000 people are in receipt of asylum support; that is 0.15% of the UK population.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:bru4h6s37w4hfmwhetu7veye/bafkreidmewc5timbx7nh57qyq7lm7gmhvclzidmloqhwgckpnegnddoicq@jpeg)
November 16, 2025 at 9:25 PM
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I’ve got to wonder if there’s really any point to thinking and arguing about political or moral ideas when there are wealthy people in the world who would literally pay to hunt & kill terrified civilians for sport.
In the face of that it seems like twatting around at the edges. Pissing in the wind.
In the face of that it seems like twatting around at the edges. Pissing in the wind.
November 11, 2025 at 9:41 PM
I’ve got to wonder if there’s really any point to thinking and arguing about political or moral ideas when there are wealthy people in the world who would literally pay to hunt & kill terrified civilians for sport.
In the face of that it seems like twatting around at the edges. Pissing in the wind.
In the face of that it seems like twatting around at the edges. Pissing in the wind.
Reposted
Love being reminded to do this every year. It's a win/win all round
November 11, 2025 at 11:00 AM
Love being reminded to do this every year. It's a win/win all round
Reposted
Childbirth – from fear and uncertainty, to confidence and calm.
Chartered Psychologist Dr Katrina Forbes-McKay joins forces with former midwife Mo Tabib to argue that ‘it’s not just knowing what to do, it’s believing you can do it’.
www.bps.org.uk/psychologist...
Chartered Psychologist Dr Katrina Forbes-McKay joins forces with former midwife Mo Tabib to argue that ‘it’s not just knowing what to do, it’s believing you can do it’.
www.bps.org.uk/psychologist...
Childbirth – from fear and uncertainty, to confidence and calm | BPS
Chartered Psychologist Dr Katrina Forbes-McKay joins forces with former midwife Mo Tabib to argue that ‘it’s not just knowing what to do, it’s believing you can do it’.
www.bps.org.uk
November 10, 2025 at 10:04 AM
Childbirth – from fear and uncertainty, to confidence and calm.
Chartered Psychologist Dr Katrina Forbes-McKay joins forces with former midwife Mo Tabib to argue that ‘it’s not just knowing what to do, it’s believing you can do it’.
www.bps.org.uk/psychologist...
Chartered Psychologist Dr Katrina Forbes-McKay joins forces with former midwife Mo Tabib to argue that ‘it’s not just knowing what to do, it’s believing you can do it’.
www.bps.org.uk/psychologist...
Reposted
Brandolini’s Law (also known as the bullshit asymmetry principle):
The amount of energy needed to refute bullshit is an order of magnitude bigger than that needed to produce it.
H/t @unbiasedscipod.bsky.social
The amount of energy needed to refute bullshit is an order of magnitude bigger than that needed to produce it.
H/t @unbiasedscipod.bsky.social
October 10, 2025 at 12:00 AM
Brandolini’s Law (also known as the bullshit asymmetry principle):
The amount of energy needed to refute bullshit is an order of magnitude bigger than that needed to produce it.
H/t @unbiasedscipod.bsky.social
The amount of energy needed to refute bullshit is an order of magnitude bigger than that needed to produce it.
H/t @unbiasedscipod.bsky.social
Reposted
When I was a teenager there was a bus direct from my hometown in Germany to London - we had a British army base, and this direct bus connection was one of the benefits of that. One summer I went on that bus to go volunteer in an old people's home in Southend-on-Sea. I had just turned 18 and was... 🧵
September 29, 2025 at 12:32 PM
When I was a teenager there was a bus direct from my hometown in Germany to London - we had a British army base, and this direct bus connection was one of the benefits of that. One summer I went on that bus to go volunteer in an old people's home in Southend-on-Sea. I had just turned 18 and was... 🧵
Reposted
RELEASE THE EPSTEIN FILES.
August 12, 2025 at 9:39 PM
RELEASE THE EPSTEIN FILES.
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They’re rewriting history.
August 12, 2025 at 5:47 PM
They’re rewriting history.
The stories of older people and people with disabilities being arrested for passively holding up placards supporting 'Palestine Action' are beyond our comprehension about what is fair and just. Ridiculous! We might think. These are clearly not terrorists.
Some thoughts:
Some thoughts:
August 12, 2025 at 12:51 PM
The stories of older people and people with disabilities being arrested for passively holding up placards supporting 'Palestine Action' are beyond our comprehension about what is fair and just. Ridiculous! We might think. These are clearly not terrorists.
Some thoughts:
Some thoughts:
Reposted
1. "'Trusting the experts is not a feature of either a science or democracy," Kennedy said."
It's literally a vital feature of both science and of representative democracy.
I've written a fair bit about trust in expertise as a vital mechanism in the collective epistemology of science.
It's literally a vital feature of both science and of representative democracy.
I've written a fair bit about trust in expertise as a vital mechanism in the collective epistemology of science.
RFK Jr. in interview with Scripps News: ‘Trusting the experts is not science’
HHS Secretary RFK Jr. sat down with Scripps News for a wide-ranging interview, discussing mRNA vaccine funding policy changes and a recent shooting at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
www.scrippsnews.com
August 12, 2025 at 4:48 AM
1. "'Trusting the experts is not a feature of either a science or democracy," Kennedy said."
It's literally a vital feature of both science and of representative democracy.
I've written a fair bit about trust in expertise as a vital mechanism in the collective epistemology of science.
It's literally a vital feature of both science and of representative democracy.
I've written a fair bit about trust in expertise as a vital mechanism in the collective epistemology of science.
@mrjamesob.bsky.social and listeners....
Can we stop with words, JoB, that nobody ever uses in modern english. 'Quidity'. Nobody uses that word, yet you used it 4 times. You explained the meaning the 1st time u used it, tbf. Just stop though!
Can we stop with words, JoB, that nobody ever uses in modern english. 'Quidity'. Nobody uses that word, yet you used it 4 times. You explained the meaning the 1st time u used it, tbf. Just stop though!
July 16, 2025 at 4:37 PM
@mrjamesob.bsky.social and listeners....
Can we stop with words, JoB, that nobody ever uses in modern english. 'Quidity'. Nobody uses that word, yet you used it 4 times. You explained the meaning the 1st time u used it, tbf. Just stop though!
Can we stop with words, JoB, that nobody ever uses in modern english. 'Quidity'. Nobody uses that word, yet you used it 4 times. You explained the meaning the 1st time u used it, tbf. Just stop though!
Reposted
BREAKING: Six leading medical organizations filed a lawsuit on Monday against Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the health secretary, and the health dept, charging that recent decisions limiting access to vaccines were unscientific and harmful to the public.
(Gift link)
www.nytimes.com/2025/07/07/h...
(Gift link)
www.nytimes.com/2025/07/07/h...
Medical Societies Sue Kennedy and H.H.S. Over Vaccine Advice
www.nytimes.com
July 7, 2025 at 4:30 PM
BREAKING: Six leading medical organizations filed a lawsuit on Monday against Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the health secretary, and the health dept, charging that recent decisions limiting access to vaccines were unscientific and harmful to the public.
(Gift link)
www.nytimes.com/2025/07/07/h...
(Gift link)
www.nytimes.com/2025/07/07/h...
Please explain to me how the UK has reached centre right. It's so depressing. Why did anybody vote for Labour?
July 5, 2025 at 4:25 PM
Please explain to me how the UK has reached centre right. It's so depressing. Why did anybody vote for Labour?
I am an immigrant. I didn't flee my birth country. I didn't take a boat. My country wasn't at war. I wasn't scared for my life. I wasn't a refugee. I am Priviledged.
Please, have some compassion to those less fortuanate than me.
Please, have some compassion to those less fortuanate than me.
July 5, 2025 at 3:44 PM
I am an immigrant. I didn't flee my birth country. I didn't take a boat. My country wasn't at war. I wasn't scared for my life. I wasn't a refugee. I am Priviledged.
Please, have some compassion to those less fortuanate than me.
Please, have some compassion to those less fortuanate than me.
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Thanks for the reminder @janemunday.bsky.social. Every summer, I repost this article DROWNING DOES NOT LOOK LIKE DROWNING. To date, I know of FOUR kids who were saved after someone who'd clicked on the link learnt how to spot actual drowning. Take time to read and pass on.
slate.com/technology/2...
slate.com/technology/2...
Drowning Doesn’t Look Like Drowning
Drowning is not the violent, splashing call for help that most people expect.
slate.com
June 19, 2025 at 4:22 PM
Thanks for the reminder @janemunday.bsky.social. Every summer, I repost this article DROWNING DOES NOT LOOK LIKE DROWNING. To date, I know of FOUR kids who were saved after someone who'd clicked on the link learnt how to spot actual drowning. Take time to read and pass on.
slate.com/technology/2...
slate.com/technology/2...
Reposted
I’m convinced this is how a bay leaf would talk
![Cartoon by Stephen Collins for the Guardian, here's the script:
[Scene is the inside of a SOUP. Some CARROTS and BITS OF BROCCOLI are floating around and a STOCK CUBE and a BAY LEAF have just been dropped in.]
1
STOCK CUBE:
Alright lads - this is Bay Leaf.
My colleague from the spice rack.
2
BROCCOLI:
Hi Bay Leaf
BAY LEAF:
Yuh yuh hi
3
CARROTS:
You up for getting proper blended with us later, Bay Leaf?
BAY LEAF:
Nuh mate, getting scooped out before soup stage.
4
CARROTS:
Oh! So… you’re not being eaten then?
BAY LEAF:
Eaten! Haha
5
BAY LEAF:
Not allowed mate.
I’m afraid I’m a lil’ bit *toooo intense*...
6
BAY LEAF:
Just here for the flavour hit.
Special forces, y’know.
That’s why there’s just one of me.
7
BAY LEAF:
Over-deploy and you’d have this whole soup stiiinking of bay leaf…
8
BAY LEAF:
You might wanna stand back actually.
This place is about to get preeetty bay leafy...
9
[Silent pause]
10
CARROTS:
Are you doing something
BAY LEAF:
Sure am mate.
11
BAY LEAF:
Suuuuure am.
12
BAY LEAF [Getting scooped out by chef’s spoon]:
You need training to perceive it.
CARROTS:
OK](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:4m3we4apbjayclzcnhwe3pfp/bafkreibguu2d74i7v7yrkx2z5vsiluhrnkp2uayri2gmcm4gpl4d3dvlgq@jpeg)
June 17, 2025 at 4:02 PM
I’m convinced this is how a bay leaf would talk
So while the USA citizens are protesting in huge numbers against the Trump administaration, the 250th Anniversary of the USA military is happening, with soldiers ambling along infront of nobody looking. Great look USA!
June 15, 2025 at 11:56 AM
So while the USA citizens are protesting in huge numbers against the Trump administaration, the 250th Anniversary of the USA military is happening, with soldiers ambling along infront of nobody looking. Great look USA!
Reposted
The President is threatening US scientific credibility and global cooperation, reports Paul Dempsey
How Trump's 'Gold Standard Science' is Dangerously Undermining Global Research Integrity
www.bylinesupplement.com
June 11, 2025 at 4:17 PM
The President is threatening US scientific credibility and global cooperation, reports Paul Dempsey
Reposted
Jon Stewart is a legend & the way this show is trying to explain to a mainstream audience the gravity what is happening in the US is amazing. It was both thrilling & terrifying to be part of it. Thank you @TheDailyShow 👏
www.youtube.com/watch?v=vG7C...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=vG7C...
Carole Cadwalladr - Broligarchs, AI, and a Techno-Authoritarian Surveillance State | The Daily Show
YouTube video by The Daily Show
www.youtube.com
June 3, 2025 at 9:46 AM
Jon Stewart is a legend & the way this show is trying to explain to a mainstream audience the gravity what is happening in the US is amazing. It was both thrilling & terrifying to be part of it. Thank you @TheDailyShow 👏
www.youtube.com/watch?v=vG7C...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=vG7C...
I do understand why pple I follow close their accounts to responses from pple they don't know.
I just can't be bothered to follow you anymore.
I just can't be bothered to follow you anymore.
May 30, 2025 at 4:16 PM
I do understand why pple I follow close their accounts to responses from pple they don't know.
I just can't be bothered to follow you anymore.
I just can't be bothered to follow you anymore.
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Love this! The power of play! #ScotEduSky #EduSky
May 27, 2025 at 3:24 PM
Love this! The power of play! #ScotEduSky #EduSky
Reposted
Thank God for immigrants open.substack.com/pub/iandunt/...
Thank God for immigrants
This week, of all weeks: Thank God they came here and chose to make it their home.
open.substack.com
May 16, 2025 at 7:11 AM
Thank God for immigrants open.substack.com/pub/iandunt/...
WTAf
Starmer and Trump "trust eachother"!
I'm lost for words.
I'm sorry but I think Starmer is as delusional as Trump.
Starmer and Trump "trust eachother"!
I'm lost for words.
I'm sorry but I think Starmer is as delusional as Trump.
May 8, 2025 at 3:39 PM
WTAf
Starmer and Trump "trust eachother"!
I'm lost for words.
I'm sorry but I think Starmer is as delusional as Trump.
Starmer and Trump "trust eachother"!
I'm lost for words.
I'm sorry but I think Starmer is as delusional as Trump.