The Abnormal Psychologist

Were the Salem witches bewitched—or was something else haunting them? The true “horror” wasn’t witches or demons—it was how human psychology under stress led to neighbor turning on neighbor.  This is the first of its kind episode-- a live recording with a student! 

This past semester, I taught a graduate-level class in Addictions Counseling.  In this class, I frequently promoted the Transtheoretical Model.  This episode will discuss the Transtheoretical Model (also called Stages of Change) and how the model can be applied to changing a behavior (whether it be quitting an addiction or starting a new habit).

In this episode, I reflect on recently attending the Pearson ADHD Summit, and I discuss ADHD in females, ADHD and social anxiety, and management of ADHD symptoms.  I also respond to listener criticism on my encopresis episode

This episode tries to rapid-fire answer your mailbag questions, including ones on blushing, comorbid autism diagnoses, marijuana as therapy, pornography addiction, and whether you can outgrow a diagnosis.  

Sidenote: It's been so long since I've podcasted, I'm rusty  This episode, recorded on Father's Day, riffs briefly about fatherhood and mental health (while making a cool announcement) before delving into parasocial relationships.  We discuss what parasocial relationships are using diverse examples such as Dora the Explorer, Taylor Swift, and social media influencers. 

This is a snow day episode (meaning I was able to record it since school was cancelled due to inclement weather).  In this episode, I discuss pros and cons of diagnosing yourself with a mental health condition (while also introspectively exploring whether I should self-diagnose with autism).  Please let me know your thoughts!

In this shocking episode, I discuss the history and treatment applications of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT).  I also respond to a mailbag email about borderline personality disorder. 

Special from Washington, D.C., in this episode, we delve into the difference between service animals and emotional support animals (while addressing some common questions related to both)

Let's get controversial in this episode and discuss Sensory Processing Disorder (also known as Sensory Modulation Disorder-- and a host of other names) 

This episode revisits reading and dyslexia and discusses controversial topics-- like the Reading Wars and Visual Processing Disorder-- along the way 

It's back to school time, and many people are feeling anxious, stressed, and a bit depressed.  I decided to dedicate this episode to the "back to school blues" and their close cousin, the "Sunday scaries."   

This episode is comprised of stories documenting my encounters with animals as a psychologist.  Critters encountered clinically include dogs, geckos, spiders, and all sorts of fauna that graduate student definitely didn't prepare me for. 

In this episode, I discuss the somewhat ill-defined topic of executive functioning and how it can be assessed.  We then talk about executive dysfunction and how it can be tied to ADHD.  My own executive dysfunction is on display throughout the episode. 

This episode covers the concept of grit.  It is loosely a book review of Angela Duckworth's Grit: The Power of Perseverance.  Resilience, perseverance, and learned helplessness are also discussed.  

This episode comes as a mailbag request following the Nashville Covenant School shootings which caused confusion and even persecution against sexual minorities.  This episode explores common mental health concerns among individuals in LGBTQ+ communities and also highlights the availability of resources and the importance of future research. 

This episode will introduce ABA, its applications, and its history.  We'll walk through why ABA isn't rocket science and why it's sometimes controversial.  We'll also try to wade through the alphabet soup associated with ABA. 

This episode discusses parenting styles. We'll see if I can weave in psychologist Diana Baumrind with Frank Gallagher from Shameless.  We'll also discuss grandparenting styles. 

This episode is bound to cause some controversy as it discusses what does and does not cause autism (spoiler: the MMR vaccine is not a cause).  We'll explore whether Tylenol usage in pregnancy, high-fructose corn syrup, living near a highway, and advanced parental age are linked to ASD.  We'll also talk about possible neuroanatomical causes of autism.  

I can't believe I haven't published an episode on sleep so far.  This episode will cover sleep related disorders-- and over the course of 30 minutes, I'll discuss a wide variety of topics including sexsomnia and sleep walking.  I'll also work in references to the movies Water Boy and Stepbrothers. 

Happy 2023!  This episode discusses the psychology of New Year's Resolutions and how to make them SMART 

This episode discusses another impulse control disorder, kleptomania, which involves compulsive stealing.  I'll discuss kleptomania-- and also my daughter's own stealing tendencies.

This episode discusses pyromania and arson.  It also touches upon psychogenic vomiting and features a cameo from my dogs. 

Happy Halloween!  This is a special spooky season episode that discusses a wide-range of psychologically relevant Halloween topics-- including fall fetishism, clinical lycanthropy, trick-or-treating, the Salem Witch Trials, and beliefs in ghosts and demons. 

This episode discusses how, Dr. John Fryer, under the pseudonym of Dr. H. Anonymous and with the help of a Halloween mask and a voice modulator, was able to convince the American Psychiatric Association to depathologize homosexuality. 

This episode discusses misophonia-- or when people experience emotions like anxiety, disgust, or rage that is triggered by certain sounds.