Why We Should All Go to the Park More Often

Why We Should All Go to the Park More Often

By Heidi Hoppe, Little White House intern When was the last time you have been at the zoo? Do you remember, how it was divided into different climate zones, equivalent to the different parts of the world the animals would naturally inhabit? You would have the lions, giraffes and elephants running around in huge enclosures that are supposed to imitate the African Savannah – with big rocks, sandy grounds and native plants. The penguins and polar bears would have settled…

Losing the grip on who we are as we move abroad

Losing the grip on who we are as we move abroad

By Claudia Carrara, Ph.D., M.Sc. Psychologist Your friends, your sport club, your favorite restaurant, your family, your home. As we move to a new country, we leave behind many of the core elements that shape our identity. And the shift is rarely painless. In 1995, I moved from Italy to Denmark: I was 26 years old, had both professional and academic accomplishments on my back, and my plan was to move my life in the new country. With hindsight, my…

The Little White House Masters level Psychology Internship

Internship positions are open every semester at The Little White House.  In conjunction, we run a ‘student clinic’ that provides low cost therapy to individuals in the community.  Find more information here. We typically select two students per semester after application and interview. The internship is for people proficient in English, and consists of total immersion in an international private practice setting including having 2-3 therapy clients, participating in individual and group supervision, and staff meetings. Interns will also have signifant…

Divorce and breakups

When individuals meet and fall in love, most people do not imagine that they will ever break up.  Yet, statistics show that fifty percent of first marriages eventually end in divorce.  Divorce is typically an extremely stressful and painful time for families and may require the help of a professional to get through. I have many years of experience working with families going through a divorce transition, in the US.  I conducted numerous custody evaluations, and have had psychotherapy with…

An epidemic of Burnout recognized by the World Health Organization

An epidemic of Burnout recognized by the World Health Organization

The following post was inspired by this article. Archaeologists have found evidence of farming that dates as far back as 9500 BCE.  Since that time,  humans have been toiling and to ensure that they could feed themselves and care for their families.  The Industrial Revolution saw a shift whereby workers largely moved from agriculture jobs located in the country and in villages to manufacturing jobs located in the city.  The ability to measure time, according to some historians, led to…

Mindfulness in Frederiksberg

Mindfulness in Frederiksberg

Mindfulness and mindfulness meditation are concepts that have been well integrated into our modern day psychology vocabulary.  Blame the Buddhists or blame Marsha Lenihan, but mindfulness is here to stay at it seems to be a modern-day cure all– an elixer for all of your emotional woes.  In my experience however, some of the people who need these techniques have the most difficulty utilizing them.   For the most agitated of people, it can feel like utter hell to sit still…

On the perils of rumination

On the perils of rumination

Since ancient Greece have humans valued our ability to manipulate concepts in our mind.  Numerous courses exist these days that teach people how to think logically and ethically.  However, thinking is not always a helpful endeavor.  Sometimes it can even lead to pain and suffering.  Excessive thinking about a worrisome topic can create anger and depression.  This kind of thinking has been labelled ‘rumination’ by psychologists.  Many people who ruminate do so obsessively with the hope that the thinking will…

To assimilate or not to assimilate– a psychologist’s thoughts about acculturation

To assimilate or not to assimilate– a psychologist’s thoughts about acculturation

Donald Winnicott stipulated the presence of a ‘true self’.  Our true selves are, according to Winnicott, the most spontaneous and authentic parts of who we are.   His idea was not a new one, and it even dates back to the Danish philosopher, Kierkegaard who referenced ‘the self which truly is’.  If there is a ‘true self’, then how does this concept fit in with the process of acculturation and assimilation?  For those of us who are immigrants to another country,…

Meanderings about telepsychology– Two things I have learned

Meanderings about telepsychology– Two things I have learned

I started doing telepsychology several years ago, before most people were using teleconferencing or other forms of online psychotherapy.  I am a devout technophile and admittedly like to incorporate technology into my life in whatever ways I can.  I have also had the opportunity to conduct some research online that examined virtual reality therapy and also the way people form relationships online.  I am a virtual positivist and have high hopes that technology, for all of its downfalls, will ultimately…

Psychological scientists could be their own worst enemies

Psychological scientists could be their own worst enemies

Some political pundits have noted that we now live in a ‘post fact’ society where the brash assertions of politicians are given the same weight as scientifically backed facts.  Kellyanne Conway, advisor to US president Donald Trump famously referred to the phenomenon of an ‘alternative fact’.  Also famously, despite the fact that most scientists argue that climate change is real, there exists a vocal number of politicians who deny it is so. This is why it is particularly disheartening when…

Post- Postmodernism and Psychology

Post- Postmodernism and Psychology

I teach two college classes every semester.  My students are typically bright, curious, and motivated.  In a weekly assignment associated with the course materials,  I have them provide an analysis and critique of the assigned readings. They are brilliant at this.   They seem to be well trained, by their home universities, in the criticism and deconstruction of other peoples’ works.  Often times the critiques are the predictable and uninspired:  Freud was misogynistic and only relied on case studies.  The researchers…

Review of the book ‘And Baby Makes Three’

Review of the book ‘And Baby Makes Three’

I wrote a post several months ago about the Danish baby boom of the 2010s.  Click here if you have missed it.  I have a number of 30-somethings who are having babies.  They tend to be educated and aware, and relatively high achievers.  Adding a baby to a marriage changes it significantly.  A great deal of research has been conducted about this already.  If you are familiar with my work, you know that I rely on the Gottman’s contributions to the…

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