Psych With Mike

Communication is the most basic way that humans connect. Good knowledgeable skills are the foundation of good interactions! https://www.inc.com/minda-zetlin/3-things-people-who-are-good-at-conversation-dont-do-according-to-a-research-psychologist.html  

Research is building an indisputable record of evidence supporting the belief that the experience of trauma changes the way the brain is wired. Trauma that is low-level over a long period of time (chronic) can be just as transformative as trauma that is intense and sudden (acute) https://www.sciencenews.org/article/trauma-distorts-time-self-new-therapy  

The introduction of concepts like "mindfulness" and "positive psychology" is only helpful if they can be defined. In science, this is called operational definition. Is Positive Psychology an actual theoretical orientation or just a new-wave fad?  https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-positive-psychology-2794902  

As long-time educators, Brett and I have always accepted the concept that different people learn in different ways. A recent article in Aeon magazine challenges this long-held belief.    https://aeon.co/essays/the-evidence-is-clear-learning-styles-theory-doesnt-work?utm_source=Aeon+Newsletter&utm_campaign=83087b53bc-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2023_01_24_05_07&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_-83087b53bc-%5BLIST_EM...

Heinz Kohut and Self Psychology establish the foundational understanding of the development of emotional regulation. But perhaps his most impressive contribution to the field was his introduction of empathy into the therapy relationship.     https://www.selfpsychologypsychoanalysis.org/about.html  

Clients are often very curious about the private lives of their therapists. But therapists are educated to present themselves as a blank slate. The amount of self-disclosure that a therapist engages in therefore is a balance between what is most therapeutic for the client and the therapist's presentation as genuine and sincere.    https://aeon.co/videos/pondering-the-peculiar-one-sided-intimacy-of...

Breathwork is a core technique in counseling and psychotherapy. It has also been a central tenet of practices as old as Zen meditation. But what are the therapeutic and/or health benefits of breathwork?  https://www.inc.com/jeff-haden/science-says-use-relaxing-breath-method-to-fall-asleep-faster-starting-tonight.html  

Otto Kernberg is one of the most influential theorists responsible for our understanding of Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD)!   https://www.verywellmind.com/borderline-personality-disorder-meaning-425191  

There is a whole vocabulary associated with recovery from alcohol and drugs. For those who are not in the program or do not work professionally with those in recovery, this can be very confusing. Brett recently was talking to a friend about what it means to be a dry drunk and found that even he had many questions.  https://www.webmd.com/mental-health/addiction/what-to-know-dry-drunk-syndrome  

Ketamine is the only psychedelic substance that has been approved by the FDA for the treatment of depression, so far. How does this drug help depression and will other psychedelics get approval in the future?  https://www.washingtonpost.com/wellness/2022/09/12/ketamine-therapy-explained/  

The Enneagram is a personality classification system based on the work and theories of Carl Gustav Jung. 

In early 2023, Brett and I discuss 10 lessons from 2022. https://www.wellandgood.com/best-advice-from-therapists/  

Attachment styles play a huge part in successful and enjoyable relationships. But most of us do not even know what our attachment style is.    https://www.verywellhealth.com/insecure-attachment-5220170

A current buzzword in psychology and also society at large is, entitled child. But before that psychology had a word for those who saw themselves as wonderful and that was narcissism. Are these separate concepts or just opposite sides of the same coin?    https://awarenessact.com/narcissistic-children-are-raised-by-parents-who-do-these-8-things/?fbclid=IwAR1wcd8eu0xHxiY3nW24f3mZ9Dr7zxmg2jo9jwcULvB...

Happy New Year to you and your loved ones from us at Psych with Mike. This is a revisit of a conversation that Brett and I had on making resolutions that work. Enjoy and the best of luck in the new year!

It's been a long two years. Over this holiday season, many of us may be re-evaluating our behavior in the hopes of making better choices and improving our physical and mental health in the new year. But to do this effectively we need to know what behaviors we may have fallen into that are not the healthiest for us.  https://www.forbes.com/sites/travisbradberry/2016/07/26/10-troubling-habits-of-chr...

All of us have past trauma that affects us in the present. It is cliche to hear someone say "you have to let it go". But how do you do this?   https://www.berkeleywellbeing.com/letting-go.html   https://unfoldingtheuniversewithin.com/the-art-of-letting-go-of-the-past/  

Relationships are at the core of being a healthy human being.  We develop attachment styles as a result of our experiences early in our lives. One of these attachment styles is avoidant attachment. Today we discuss the characteristics of this attachment style and how it impacts our relationships.    https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-clarity/202206/what-is-avoidant-self-attachment  

As better ways of exploring the way our brains are connected become available, we are mapping these connections with greater precision. Does a better, more comprehensive map of the way areas of the brain operate make psychology more of a "hard" science?    https://neurosciencenews.com/amygdala-emotion-20969/  

We all have heard someone accuse someone of being passive-aggressive. But how many of us really know what that means or how to identify the behavior?    https://www.cnbc.com/2022/09/25/the-3-biggest-signs-of-passive-aggressive-and-childish-behavior-harvard-body-language-expert.html    

Therapy and mental health are recognized as being in epidemic-like short supply. With the pandemic and political division, people are finding their mental health has taken a big hit over the last couple of years. And yet there is growing dissatisfaction among therapy devotees and unequal availability of therapy services across socioeconomic domains.  https://www.wired.com/story/therapy-broken-ment...

As we move beyond the pandemic we are seeing a significant increase in the number of persons who express that they are feeling lonely. What are the factors that are contributing to this besides the isolation of the pandemic?  https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/understanding-ptsd/202207/how-childhood-trauma-can-lead-adult-loneliness

We could all use a little boost to our self-esteem. You're welcome! https://www.cnbc.com/2022/09/18/want-to-sound-and-feel-more-confident-ditch-these-11-phrases-from-your-vocabulary-say-psychologists.html  

Studies indicate that the human attention span has significantly shortened since the rise of social media. Why is it getting so hard for us to focus our attention?    https://www.ranieriandco.com/post/changing-attention-span-and-what-it-means-for-content-in-2021   https://www.theguardian.com/society/2019/apr/16/got-a-minute-global-attention-span-is-narrowing-study-reveals  

Enlightenment, self-actualization, and, mindfulness are ideal states of being that we are all striving for. But what is the neuroscience that supports the idea that enlightenment is a real phenomenon that has beneficial effects?    https://bigthink.com/the-well/neuroscience-of-enlightenment/