I did a first illustrated interview of Lauren Laverne and Caitlin Moran a while back and thought it was a format worth continuing – and as I’m an avid 6music fan, it made sense for me to keep going there.

Stuart Maconie was talking to Tanya Byron today, someone that I find very inspiring. She’s a clinical psychologist who has made successful forays in the UK media with TV shows about dealing with toddlers and has a column in The Times. I used to watch Little Angels and House of tiny tearaways when I didn’t have kids! And a lot of what she said, with such kind directness, has wormed its way in. I often think back of some of her comments in times of trouble. As her kids have grown, so has her subject matter and she seems to be dealing more with teenage mental health these days, which will no doubt come in very handy in a few years for me. Mainly, parents are at the heart of their kids behaviour – if you want them to change something, you’ll have to look at your own behaviour and amend accordingly. It takes away the culture of blame and forces a 

She’s just released a new book, ‘the Skeleton Cupboard‘, an autobiographical account of her years of training, looking not just at her cases but also as her own evolution, not sparing herself either from a certain youthful arrogance, anxiety and naivety. It outlines that there’s no such thing as sanity or insanity, but rather a spectrum that we all figure on. I think she has a real knack for bringing up issues that can sometimes seem taboo in an open, inclusive way that can truly help change people’s perceptions.  You can watch this video of Tanya talking about the book.

So thanks Tanya for being such an inspiration…