Parenting: It Removes a Village In part 1, we talked about parenting as care-giving and values instillation. I went through some major challenges to parenting presented by financial limitations, time constraints, and un-restrained industrialization. In part 2, we talked about the War for Independence that has become an expectation for everyone in the US. Let’s now… Continue reading Parenting (part 3)
Psychology made Conscious
Parenting (part 2)
Parenting in the US: The War for Independence In part 1, we talked about parenting as care-giving or values instillation. I went through some of the major challenges to this in current US society through financial constraints, time constraints, and un-restrained industrialization. Today, I will focus on the biggie: the core American value that has… Continue reading Parenting (part 2)
Parenting (part 1)
The Transformation of Parenting It seems perversely typical for US culture that the hardest job out there is the one we either do for no pay or farm out to strangers. One we cram into brief periods of shuffling off to activities or dinner and bedtime. A job where the people who are most invested… Continue reading Parenting (part 1)
New Fiction: “The Secret of Your Great Strength”
New short story! Hi community! I have recently posted a new work of mine to the FanFic website, Archive of Our Own. Entitled, “The Secret of Your Great Strength,” the story is a modern retelling of the Samson and Delilah story from the Torah (also known as the first five books of the Old Testament… Continue reading New Fiction: “The Secret of Your Great Strength”
The Myth of Finding the “Right” Therapist
Disclosure re: “Right” Therapist Before jumping in, I should note – first, I am a psychotherapist (psychologist). And second, I have a new practice. So yes, some obvious self-interest biases there. On the other hand, as you may have gathered from the title, I am not going to try to prove that I am the… Continue reading The Myth of Finding the “Right” Therapist
Is Psychology a Science? Part 2
Is Psychology a Science recap Last time, we discussed what “science” is, and then the different understandings of what “psychology” is. We recognized that science is not truth but constantly evolving models of truth. We acknowledged that psychology involves so many complex factors at many levels that its predictions are more akin to meteorology than… Continue reading Is Psychology a Science? Part 2
Is Psychology a Science? Part 1
Psychology as a Scientific Discipline While pretty much all psychologists consider their discipline a science, the general US adult population is less certain. (78% view as a science, with 43% viewing as more of a theory; as cited by Prinstein, M., “Is Psychology a Science,” 9/30/2022.) This has many reasons and sources: partly because the… Continue reading Is Psychology a Science? Part 1
What is Mental Health? Part 3
Mental Health: More Assumptions Last time, we explored the assumption that health is a natural state that gets knocked down by illness. Next assumption: there is an “I” separate from a “You.” This is a difficult concept to address. Many of us spend a lot of energy from around 2 years-old defining ourselves as separate.… Continue reading What is Mental Health? Part 3
What is Mental Health? Part 2
Inadequate concepts… What does it mean to be mentally healthy? In part 1, we sifted through some common ideas – being happy, not being sick, not having very uncommon experiences – and none of them adequately identified what we’re looking for. What can we do with that? There’s a basic guideline we can follow. If… Continue reading What is Mental Health? Part 2
What is mental health? Part 1
There’s an obvious answer, right? There isn’t. Many people seem to live by the principle of the 1960s counterculture: ‘If it feels good, it is good.’ (In particular the corollary, ‘If it feels bad, it is bad.’) That would be really convenient, no? If I’m happy, if you’re happy, let’s go with it! Blog post… Continue reading What is mental health? Part 1