From our Psychologists

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…

Koko the gorilla just died. This happened when I was travelling with my students.  I told them, and it turned out that many of them had never heard of her.  Koko was a western lowland gorilla who was particularly known for having learned over 1000 signs in American Sign Language.  She was a skilled communicator who proved that gorillas are capable of empathy, compassion, and grief.  In her travels, she met many famous people including Robin Williams and Mr. Rogers. …

Psychology has its roots in the upper class of Vienna, in the early 1900s.  Freud famously was one of the first to engage in talk therapy- mostly with upper class, neurotic Viennese women who didn’t have anything to do but spend their money on expensive analysis. I am privileged every year to take a group of mostly American university undergraduates to visit the city and get an immersive experience amongst psychology’s beginnings.  This year, as is usual, we left on…

Many of my clients report difficulties sleeping.  In my psychological travels, I am often on the lookout for apps and programs that assist with sleep.  There are quite a few out there, from the sounds of nature and white noise, to meditation and finally to rambling voices that supposedly take one’s mind off of their own noisy thoughts. The sleep whisperer is a podcast produced and narrated by a delightfully sensitive man who only goes by the name ‘Harris’.  The…

There is a baby boom happening in Denmark right now.   Every other Danish father pushes a stroller that is a cross between a full-sized crib and a Humvee.  Couples that have waited until their late 30s to try and conceive can rely on the government to assist them with their fertility treatment, if they need it.  Many people relate this recent ‘baby boom-let’ to the humorous campaign instituted a few years ago by the Danish government to inspire Danes to…

I thought I would pass this along. I think it’s fairly representative of how things go in real therapy.  Furthermore, it features an old buddy/colleague who currently does training in Nevada. Read it here

In September I took a trip to Houston (post-storm Harvey) and attended a workshop on Gottman-style relationship therapy.   This is something I have had a growing interest in;  the wealth of ultra-useful data grows by leaps and bounds.  This week, I am also teaching my undergraduates about marital therapy which has caused me to update my lecture materials and contemplate again, about what we know and do not know about long term romantic partnerships. As an introduction to what I…