My guest on the podcast this week is Kate Whitehead. Kate is an award-winning journalist and qualified psychotherapist based in Hong Kong. In the podcast we are discussing her most recent book, Pandemic Minds, about the psychological impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on Hong Kongers.

Following a meeting with the publisher for Hong Kong University Press Kate committed to writing about mental health and the pandemic. Half of the book is first person accounts of the pandemic taken from interviews with a wide range of people from all walks of life, a diverse group of experiences. The other half of the book is the psychology of why we behave the way we do in certain situations.

Every chapter in the book ends with strategies for support to ensure there is a therapeutic element to the book. Kate has the firm belief we are going to have another pandemic. It’s not a question of if,  it’s more a question of when and how can we do things next time differently. What has been learnt.

Timings

3:19 I’ve lived in Hong Kong since I was 7…I went to University in UK…I’ve been a journalist for 30 years… I’m also a psychotherapist…

5:27 The book is called Pandemic Minds… about the psychological impact of the Covid-19 pandemic in Hong kong…

7:57 [Overview of Pandemic Minds]… I wrote it in 6 months… half is 1st person accounts, other half is the psychology of how people behave in a pandemic…

10:49 Final Chapter is “Ways Forward”… what have we learnt… each chapter focuses on different elements of the pandemic…

12:33 First person accounts… half of the book… the book then draws on research around the subject…

15:13 [Sourcing the stories]… I have a huge network of contacts… Jeff Rotmeyer (Impact HK), Father John Whetherspoon (Mercy HK) , Aaron Busch @tripperhead….

18:20 [Quarantine] In Hong Kong we had a three week quarantine… isolation was an issue…

20:28 [Story of Su Hang]… easy for fears to escalate… non communication…

25:54 [Doctors and Nurses]… Front line medical professionals

26:28[Pilots] Caught up in a closed loop system… both groups had difficulty accessing support…

29:59 [Chronic Worry] … A whole chapter on “Uncertainty” – closely linked to excessive worry… focus on what we can change… Eating well, exercising well, spending time with friends and family…

33:51 [Silver Linings]… Three happy chapters at the end of the book… Working from home… Three stories in the “Silver Linings”…

37:57 Gratitude Journals… looking for reasons to be grateful…

39:05 [Surprises- Stories]… what is traumatic for one is not necessarily traumatic for another…

44:27 [Personal story ]… 3 trips to the UK… Hiking was my great release/pastime…

45:47 [Book] – How has it been received…

47:00 [Key Message]… We know another pandemic is coming… change communication…

Contact Kate.
Website: http://hongkongkate.com
Email : kate@hongkongkate.com

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