The Honest Psychologist

In the third installment of our trauma series, the docs bring the discussion of trauma into the present. Paige gives us some fascinating research from the world of social psychology. We look at how the term “trauma” gets used in different ways, concept creep, adverse childhood experiences (ACE’s), The Body Keeps the Score , how social media reflects (often inaccurate) representations of trauma, ho...

This week Dr. Graff takes Dr. Hover on a thrilling ride through history, with brief mentions of: The Odyssey and the ancient Greeks, Victorian psychiatric culture, Freud’s contemporaries, hypnosis and suggestibility, the birth of personal injury lawsuits, and the re-emergence of certain ideas in the 1980’s and 1990’s. Mentioned in this episode: The Memory Hole Podcast hosted by Jana Martin: https:...

Welcome to Part 1 of our much anticipated trauma series! This week the docs breakdown what we (psychologists) mean when we say “trauma,” why it’s important to have a definition of this term, what it really means to have a trauma-related disorder, and what the research shows about trauma recovery and resilience. Stay tuned for Part 2, where we look at the origins of the idea of psychological trauma...

We are excited to bring you 3 new episodes, all on the subject of trauma: what the term means and how we define it, how our thinking on trauma has evolved over time, what the current research offers us, and where we see this is media and everyday life. Stay tuned! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit honestpsychpod.su...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit honestpsychpod.substack.com This week the docs take a look at how we treat each other in the fields of mental health and psychology. We want to know why we can be so accepting towards our patients and so harsh towards our colleagues. We notice that there are vastly different ways of practicing, assumptions underlying our practices, and...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit honestpsychpod.substack.com In this episode, the docs take on the history and research support for the chemical imbalance theory of depression. We review a large-scale research article from 2022 and a book based on that article as well as some responses to those publications. Subscribe to hear the last part of the episode where we get i...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit honestpsychpod.substack.com This week the docs are on their own and discussing what’s been on their minds lately. We ask why therapists seem desperate for clients if regular people can’t find therapists, how does anyone know what kind of therapy they need, how big is autism right now, how to think about being a sensitive person, and whe...

This week Whitney shares a little preview of an upcoming talk. The docs dig into functional understandings of behavior: the idea that everything we do has a payoff, even when it looks like it's working against us. Understanding what a behavior does for you is the first step to having more choice about it. We examine our own awkwardness to help YOU! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discus...

Many of us have likely seen the headlines about the vast array of species delineated as Emotional Support Animals (peacocks, snakes, and emus to name a few). Today the docs discuss emotional support animals (ESAs) and the role that mental health providers play, specifically letters of support and evaluations needed for an animal to qualify as an ESA. Since the guidelines about this are currently s...

In this episode, the docs are excited to welcome Dr. Elliott Conklin to unpack a growing trend in mental health: everything getting rebranded as “brain-based.” From polyvagal theory to neuroscience-laced explanations, mental health has become obsessed with the nervous system. But is any of this actually improving care? We dig into what’s driving this shift, where it goes off track, and what gets l...

This week the docs are excited to welcome Dr. Mara Whiteside. She is a board-certified pediatric neuropsychologist who recently made a strong impression at the American Psychological Association conference along with two colleagues presenting insights on mental health-related social media content. Did you know that almost three quarters of the top #autism videos on TikTok displayed information tha...

This week the docs are concerned about trends in how stimulant medication is discussed and used without prescriptions, so we consulted the research. We discuss the actual effects of the medication, investigate whether they will improve your grades, your intelligence, or your problem-solving abilities, the implications for mood, and what all this means for people at different stages of life. Resear...

Today the docs welcome Dr. Monika Sharma, who has spoken and written about her experience as the owner of a group psychotherapy practice participating in insurance networks. She discusses the particulars and behind-the-scenes details of being in-network therapists, including insurance audits, clawbacks, coding, diagnoses, and more. We end on a hopeful note with some new legislative efforts aimed a...

This week, the docs tackle a deceptively big question: what even is therapy? The duration of therapy in many ways depends on what the point of it was in the first place. Is it treatment? Personal growth? Life improvement? We dig into the ethics of long-term therapy, the incentive structures that can make clients (and clinicians!) uneasy, how therapists can support a thoughtful and ethical terminat...

This week the docs are in it to help you find a good therapist. Where should you start? How do you know who’s a good fit? Does the brand of therapy matter? When you reach out, does no one call you back? We have ideas. Also discussed: dogs and zoomies, books we’re reading right now, favorite biopics and memoirs, why you should go to the movies, and Whitney is working on a couple upcoming podcast to...

The docs are enjoying a casual new years episode, filled with predictions for the next year based on our shared expertise and sometimes vibes. We consider a different model of making resolutions, discuss what actually works in behavior change, lean into the seasons, dream up some new business opportunities (we’re feeling entrepreneurial), embrace authenticity and in-person events, and look at othe...

The docs are stoked this week to have as our guest Dr. Dean McKay! Our second guest ever and another extremely accomplished psychologist. Dr. McKay is a board-certified clinical psychologist working in both research and clinical practice, and his work focuses on anxiety, OCD, disgust, and the treatments for these conditions. We discuss where newer treatments fit (or don’t fit) in the historical fo...

The docs this week have tons to say about this article recently published in The Atlantic about rising rates of mental health disability accommodations in college. We talk ADHD, anxiety, depression, testing and assessment, the ADA and functional impairment. We’re snowed in and stir crazy from the extreme temps and ready to discuss this emotionally loaded issue. This is a public episode. If you'd l...

This week, the docs take a closer look at masking, also known as camouflaging, an experience often linked with autism and a frequent topic across social media. But is masking limited to autism, or can it also show up in other mental health conditions, like OCD? We unpack the research on OCD and autism, exploring how the two overlap, how they differ, and why so many people see themselves reflected...

This week the docs are pretty confused about a recent internet meme going around, probably because of their advanced age. We take a scenic tour of the history of meme theory and how internet trends reflect aspects of our psychology. Mentioned in this episode: The Meme Machine by Susan Blackmore Research by Berger & Milkman: What makes online content go viral? Other research: What message features...

We’re talking all our favorite brands, brands, brands, brands. This week the docs do a deep dive on the origins of psychotherapy. We look at how different forms of therapy emerged in the 20th century, the assumptions underlying different therapeutic approaches, and what you might expect depending on the style of treatment your therapist uses. It’s a solid, if slightly “informal” (as Mary Berry wou...

The docs tackle this “diagnosis” running rampant on social media. We talk about what this term means clinically, what it might mean in everyday conversation, and why it seems to be getting so much play. Also discussed: the aches and pains of middle age (this is truly ground-breaking stuff - we await our Peabody nominations!) Leaving this here, juuuuust in case: National Domestic Violence Hotline 1...

What is personality and are we stuck with what we’ve got? This week the docs get personal about personality. We talk about what this concept is, the “Big 5” traits, how we ourselves measure up on these traits, what we might want to change, and how that might be possible. We’re pretty honest about ourselves in this one, so buckle up, but we’re hoping to inspire that same kind of unflinching introsp...

We are all familiar with scrolling, more notably doom-scrolling, but have you ever heard of dopamine scrolling? Today, Paige shares excerpts from an article from University of Chichester and interviews with social psychologist Jonathan Haidt about the role of dopamine in scrolling. While the information is a bit concerning at first, there is hope to change these habits. The docs meander their way...

The docs read that one article about Selena Gomez and her mom starting a mental health media company. We refrain from getting into celebrity gossip but one part, the bit about diagnoses of bipolar and ADHD and PTSD, caught our attention. We deep dive on what bipolar is, whether or not diagnosing it and differentiating it from other disorders is actually hard, and finally the current trends in diag...