Brain training for mental illness

Brain training for mental illness

Curious about how others navigate their sobriety journey? This conversation on All In The Mind zooms in on brain training and how sharpening social and emotional skills can ease the psychotic symptoms of mental illness. Host Lynne Malcolm speaks with clinicians and one young man in recovery to show how simple, game-based exercises can reshape everyday life.

Associate Professor Melissa Green explains that people with psychotic illnesses such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder often experience lifelong problems with attention, memory and social understanding. These issues can lead to isolation and difficulty holding jobs or maintaining relationships, and medication alone doesn’t always touch them. Clinical psychologist Alana Doby and researcher Dr Pamela Marsh share how their "social cognitive" training helps people recognise emotions, understand humour, spot white lies and avoid social faux pas.

Board games like "social trivia" and computer programmes such as "Fix My Face" turn tricky social situations into practice rounds, with humour and feedback built in. As Marsh notes, "So I think this program is so useful because it gives them permission to talk about and access their emotions." Nineteen-year-old participant Nikita Rukankin brings the human side to the science.

After a tough history with drugs, legal trouble and family conflict, he uses these brain training sessions to rebuild his attention, memory and people skills. He talks about learning to read his mum’s expressions, not jumping to conclusions and feeling that "the whole world's not against you". For him, the games aren’t just fun; they’re a stepping stone towards work, reconnection and a more stable future.

If you’ve ever felt misunderstood, isolated or stuck in unhelpful patterns, this episode offers a fresh look at how small, regular mental workouts might help shift social struggles bit by bit. Could practising these skills be one more tool in your own recovery kit?