Octopus Psychology

22/03/2026

Heal after signing an NDA

Healing after an NDA isn’t linear—and you don’t have to navigate it alone.

Join us for Standing Strong: Healing & Rebuilding After an NDA, a 90-minute virtual workshop designed to support survivors in processing their experiences and moving forward.

🗓 March 24, 2026
⏰ 5:30–7:00 PM ET

Together, we’ll explore coping strategies, self-care, and pathways to healing in a supportive space.

Register now by emailing info@cantbuymysilence.com

12/03/2026

Hungry ghosts drive our leaders—but what happens when they rise to the top wounded? 🚨

This week's Locked Up Living podcast hosted by David Jones and Dr Naomi Murphy dives deep into the making (and breaking) of leaders with Chris Braitch and Piers Cross. From boarding school trauma to compassion at the helm, they unpack why emotional intelligence is more vital than ever in leadership—and what happens when it's missing.

Ready for real talk on leadership, vulnerability, and building organizations fit for the future? Listen now and join the conversation!

Find us wherever you get your podcasts or via the links in the comments

06/03/2026

What can we personally take from Laurence Willis’s brave story on this week’s Locked Up Living Podcast? His honest account of trauma, memory, and recovery is full of insight—not just for those with similar experiences, but anyone seeking self-understanding or supporting others.
A few key takeaways for all of us:
• Self-awareness is a journey. Laurence Willis discovered triggers in his parenting he’d never recognized—reminding us growth often begins with discomfort and feedback.
• Being kind to yourself matters. Healing isn’t linear or logical. Memories return in fragments, and it’s okay if progress feels slow or uncertain.
• You are not alone. Struggling to reach out doesn’t reflect weakness—many people find it almost impossible to ask for help in their darkest moments.
• Rebuilding is possible. Even after immense pain, Lawrence Willis found new purpose, showing that hope can return gradually, sometimes in unexpected ways.
If you, or someone you know, is navigating trauma or supporting survivors, this episode will deepen your understanding and empathy. Let’s normalize real conversations about recovery—so no one feels they have to endure in silence.

🔗 Tune in for the full episode and join the Locked Up Living community as we explore the realities of healing and growth after trauma. Find us wherever you get your podcasts or via the links in the comments

04/03/2026

🎙️ New Episode Alert: Exploring Resilience and Recovery – A Conversation with Laurence Collins-Willis
If you’re interested in real stories of courage, healing, and transformation, this episode of the Locked Up Living podcast is one you won’t want to miss. In an incredibly open and honest conversation, Laurence Collins-Willis shares his personal journey through childhood trauma, the challenges of adoption, and the complex process of coming to terms with, and recovering memories of, abuse.
Hosted by Naomi Murphy and David Jones, this heartfelt episode covers:
• How the experience of adopting children surfaced old wounds and reshaped Lawrence’s understanding of himself
• The difficulty of navigating therapy and the importance of self-awareness in the healing process
• The physical and psychological impact of trauma, and practical reflections on managing triggers and rebuilding a sense of safety
• Insights about the struggle men face in accessing support, and the stigma that can come with being open about one’s experiences
• Gentle, thoughtful advice for anyone else confronting trauma or helping a loved one navigate those painful memories

Whether you’re working in mental health, supporting trauma survivors, or interested in stories of overcoming adversity, you’ll find this conversation both sobering and deeply inspiring. Laurence Collins-Willis’s candour and compassion offer hope, understanding, and practical wisdom for listeners at any stage of their own journeys.

🔗 Tune in for the full episode and join the Locked Up Living community as we explore the realities of healing and growth after trauma. Find us wherever you get your podcasts or via the links in the comments

If you’re also trying to recover from csa, there’s a link to resources to help you heal in the comments too

01/03/2026

I’m delighted to have made it on to the list of 100 Champions for Men and Boys identified by the Centre for Policy Research on Men and Boys.

When I left my position as Clinical Director of the Fens Unit in HMP Whitemoor, I didn’t really expect myself to still be having so many conversations in which I’m advocating for male vulnerability and trauma to be acknowledged. But the reality is:
- Mental health professionals and policy makers still often expect male distress to be manifest in the same way as female distress
- Discussions of perpetrating crime and being victimised by it are still excessively stereotyped and gendered
- Past histories of trauma continue to be under-recognised and the impact unappreciated when we’re discussing male mental health
- Male victims of both s*xual abuse and domestic violence continue to go unnoticed and risk being depicted as the perpetrators if they seek help

There is definitely a shift in the right direction. For instance, it’s much more common these days to see authors of posts pulled up for the assumption that all perpetrators are male and all victims are female. There are many people prioritising interventions tailored to address male vulnerability. But there’s still a lot of work to do.

This is why I’m working with a collective of men – Andy Woodward, Daniel Forester, Joe Sabien, Rafael Viola and Tobi Tarquin to organise a conference for male survivors this year under the banner of What Was Hidden. This span out of Inside the Boys Club (a photo exhibition created by the award winning artistic duo Sane Seven and Marius Jankiauscas). You can find links to both these projects in the comments.

With many of Locked Up Living’s former guests also featuring in the CPRMB 100 Champions – Elizabeth Bates, Duncan Craig, Ally Fogg, Ben Hine, Sophie King-Hill, I’m in good company. You can access the full list via the link in the comments

Discover the CPRMB Champions - postively impacting on the lifes of boys and men in the UK.

01/03/2026

As headlines from Iran continue to dominate the global news cycle—with stories of protest, resilience, and complex geopolitics—the impact of reporting from conflict zones feels particularly urgent. In our latest episode of Locked Up Living, we welcome Crispin Thorold, a British-Canadian former BBC foreign correspondent and international communications specialist, whose career has spanned more than 40 countries including 6 war zones.
Drawing on his time in the Middle East and regions marked by trauma and violence, Crispin Thorold offers candid insights into what it means to bear witness in times of conflict, the emotional toll on journalists, and the challenge of telling human stories when the world’s attention is both fleeting and polarized. The episode also explores how today’s news landscape—from traditional reporting to algorithm-driven feeds—shapes our collective response to crisis, and what happens when ‘news’ becomes overwhelming.

Whether you’re following the situation in Iran with a heavy heart or seeking to understand how international reporting truly works behind the scenes, this conversation—hosted by Dr Naomi Murphy and David Jones—offers perspective on trauma, duty, and the cost of staying informed.

Tune in for a timely conversation about journalism’s role in crisis and why sometimes, stepping back from the news may be the healthiest move of all.

Listen now and join the conversation! Find us wherever you get your podcasts or via the links below.

25/02/2026

What's it like to be sharing news from a war zone?

This week, Naomi Murphy and David Jones are joined by Crispin Thorold, former BBC foreign correspondent turned trauma-focused psychotherapist-in-training. Dive into his extraordinary journey covering global conflicts and his honest reflections on the impact of trauma—both on those in war zones and the journalists who report from them.

Highlights:
• Life inside war zones like Northern Ireland, Afghanistan, and Iraq
• The psychological toll of frontline reporting (and why news can be "sugar for the brain")
• Learning to heal: From field producer to mental health professional

This episode is a must-listen for anyone interested in journalism, trauma, or what it really takes to tell the world’s toughest stories.

Listen now and join the conversation! Find us wherever you get your podcasts or via the links below.

22/02/2026

Does this preoccupation with titles and succession demonstrate the performative nature of leadership regret?

Latest blogpost by Des McVey - link in comments as well as a link to our new podcast focused on coping with Epstein files

21/02/2026

19/02/2026

🔒 New Podcast Episode! 🔓
We’re excited to share our latest Locked Up Living episode where David Jones and Dr Naomi Murphy sit down with Kate Eves—a leader with 25 years’ experience investigating deaths and violence in prisons across the UK and US.
If you’ve ever wondered what really happens behind closed doors in prisons or how society deals—or doesn’t—with tragedy and loss, this episode is for you. Whether you work in criminal justice, care about social issues, or just have an interest in how systems (and people) cope with life’s toughest moments, you’ll take something away from this conversation.
Kate Eves sheds light on:
• The unseen emotional impact of investigating deaths in custody—not just for staff, but the hidden toll on admin teams and family members.
• How society, the media, and individuals try (and sometimes fail) to make sense of death behind bars.
• Why learning lessons from tragedies is complex and what it really takes for change to happen.
• Honest tips on caring for your own mental health when your work deals with grief, trauma, or high-stress environments.
This isn’t just a talk about prisons—it’s a powerful discussion about compassion, responsibility, and resilience. If you’re interested in how institutions can be more humane—or if you want to better understand your own response to difficult topics—tune in.
🎧 Listen now and join us in rethinking how we deal with the hardest things in life, inside and outside the walls. Find us wherever you get your podcasts or via links in comments

13/02/2026

Are we all at risk of being traumatised right now?

Two weeks ago today, the USA government released 3 million of the apparent 6 million Epstein files held by the FBI. And it feels like the world is reeling. Along with shocking allegations of paedophilia and s*x trafficking, we are beginning to see the deep layers of corruption at the heart of our governments and many of the organisations we’ve come to rely on collectively. And the journalists and independent podcasters are only just getting started. This is going to get much deeper.

In the 1990s, clinical psychologist, Jennifer Freyd coined the term Betrayal Trauma to describe the impact of being deceived or manipulated by a person or institution that you rely upon. Collectively, we now all face this. We see how those with power have betrayed us. Freyd arrived at her theory when reflecting on the harm caused by her s*xually abusive parents. Parents who subsequently formed the False Memory Society to act as a defensive shield. Gaslighting, denigration and counteraccusation as key weapons of defence. Whilst taking zero accountability. This is what we are facing now.

Octopus Psychology staff have spent decades working with people who’ve experienced betrayal trauma. We’re on the verge of launching a new podcast to help us all navigate the months ahead. Follow here to catch links to the first episode when it lands.



Daniel Forester