Blog

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 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…

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…

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,…

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…

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…

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…