Response to NYT Article: Psychology Is Not in Crisis
As a practicing psychotherapist, I am deeply concerned about Barrett’s postulation that psychological science does not need to be replicated or empirically validated. This idea that science can exist for the sake of science, right or wrong, is dubious at best. If science does not need replication and empiric validation, anyone could theoretically say anything, call […]
How Cancer Affects Sexual Intimacy, And How To Fix It
Dissociation, alienation from the body and loss of libido are among the myriad emotions and experiences that are present while living with cancer. While in treatment or remission it is difficult for most, and impossible for some, to maintain healthy sexual relationships. The New York Times sheds light into what these experiences are like for some […]
Chemotherapy Keeps the Brain Disengaged
The mental effects of cancer and cancer treatments last well beyond remission. A fascinating study by the Unviersity of British Columbia was published last week that details how chemotherapy affects the brain’s ability to stay engaged. A normal human brain will engage in a task for awhile before wandering; it splits time between active engagement and wandering. […]
Medicating Women’s Feelings
There was a terrific article in yesterday’s New York Times called Medicating Women’s Feelings by Julie Holland, a NY psychiatrist. She wrote the book Moody Bitches: The Truth About the Drugs You’re Taking, The Sleep You’re Missing, The Sex You’re Not Having, and What’s Really Making You Crazy. This is a topic we’ve already discussed here on this […]
The Importance of Touch to Well-Being
The “right” kind of touch is critical to the emotional, psychological and physical health of every individual…but why? In this interview, David Linden discusses why touch matters, how it helps and hurts, and why some people don’t feel pain at all. If a child is born into a situation where social touch is deprived because there are […]
After PTSD More Trauma
After PTSD More Trauma A terrific article appeared in the New York Times this week on PTSD, called “After PTSD, More Trauma.” It’s about a veteran who came home traumatized and saw a new graduate therapist at the Department of Veterans Affairs. The therapist decided to apply Exposure Therapy to cure him and predictably, it made him much […]
The Truth About Mental Health Reimbursement
Yesterday’s Washington Post featured a poorly written article on The Parity Act of 2008 that painted an inaccurate and unhelpful view on mental health reimbursement policies. The truth is, people need to be savvy in knowing how to get reimbursed for their mental health care. They need to know that a large percentage of out-of-network fees they pay to […]
Healing & Preventing Sexual Assault in the Military
As we know, there is sexual assault in the military. And it isn’t just women who are assaulted, it’s men too. So, what can we do about it? What we do about sexual assault is process it as trauma. Sexual assault is a traumatic event that has to be processed and brought out into the […]
The National Epidemic of Depression
Several brilliant articles have recently brought some true light to what the national epidemic of depression really means, two of which I’d like to discuss. In Dr. Kevin Passero, N.D’s article Depression-A National Epidemic? and Overcoming Depression Without Meds by Rich Simon at Psychotherapy Networker, we learn about the over-diagnosis of depression in the U.S., and are reminded of the inefficacy of anti-depressants—despite how quick […]
Response: NYT “A Natural Fix for A.D.H.D.”
The New York Times published an article entitled “A Natural Fix for A.D.H.D.” in Sunday’s paper that is incredibly compelling and spot-on in terms of what the A.D.H.D./A.D.D. epidemic in this country is really about. The problem isn’t A.D.D.: The problem is boredom, stagnation, lack of any creative or physical outlet. In schools, they’ve cut art, they’ve […]