This blog is a slight departure from my usual posts as a recent news story has raised some thoughts for me that I wanted to write about.

As a therapist, I’m always interested in human behavior, especially when it comes to inequality. I understand that humans often act irrationally, and I think discrimination is often based on learned thinking which can be overcome with time and education.

So I’ve been following the latest debate on whether the Washington Redskins American football team should change its name. This question has been going on for at least the last 30 years and last week, owner Daniel Snyder, publicly came out and proclaimed: ”We’ll never change the name, it’s that simple. NEVER — you can use caps.”

What I’m curious about is why, in 2013, we’re even arguing whether the name should be changed.

It seems clear that the Native American population feels strongly that the use of the name Redskins, coupled with the team logo of a red-skinned Indian, is derogatory and offensive (with which I tend to agree). If that’s how the Native American population thinks and feels, surely the organization has a duty to address their concerns and seriously consider changing the team name, or at the very least hold discussions to understand their concerns?

But to hear Daniel Snyder exclaim “NEVER” seems highly insensitive — and offensive.

I understand there’s history in the name Redskins as it’s been used since 1933, but society has moved on since then. Attitudes toward minorities have changed, and we’re more educated and aware of what constitutes discrimination toward people of all creeds and colors.

So why does the owner of one of the most popular NFL franchises seem to have little empathy or understanding of why the name Redskins is offensive to a section of the population? Unfortunately, my guess is it all comes down to money, and we’re talking big money.

Forbes rates the Washington Redskins as one of the top five sports franchises in the world, worth around $1.6 billion, and my personal guess is Mr. Snyder is worried that a name change will cost him a lot of money in fan recognition around the world.

Interestingly, the Washington Redskins are no stranger in being tardy when it comes to changing with the times. In 1961, the federal government planned to bring a civil suit against the Redskins because they refused to hire black athletes. With the threat of not being able to compete (and make money) with a segregated team, they began hiring black athletes.

Now, 52 years later, they still don’t seem to understand that what they are doing and, more important, what they are saying is offensive to a whole race of people.

It’s not like people can’t change how they think and act towards different races of people, and it’s not as if sports franchises can’t change the team name.

Take the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, a Major League Baseball team. In 2008 they changed their name to Tampa Bay Rays. The New Orleans Hornets, a National Basketball Association team (NBA), will be changing their name to New Orleans Pelicans in 2014. And let’s not forget the Washington Bullets (NBA), who changed their name to Washington Wizards in 1997 because of the negative connotation of the word “bullet” in Washington, which had a high murder rate.

People often find it hard to empathize with something unless it affects them personally, and it’s also difficult to understand the intensity of the hurt that’s caused by using certain words for objectifying a race of people unless you’ve experienced being a victim of hate, abuse and discrimination.

To think words are just words is naive. Words are powerful and have a direct influence on how we think, feel and behave. As George Orwell wrote in his outstanding book 1984, “But if thought corrupts language, language can also corrupt thought.”

My hope for the end of this story is that Daniel Snyder will reflect on his comments and realize that even though the name’s important to him and many sports fans, in 2013 it’s not appropriate and it’s time to change.

 

According to author Laura Vanderkam in her newest e-book What the Most Successful People Do At Work: A Short Guide to Making Over Your Career, the secret to “astonishing productivity” lies in daily disciplines.

In the book Vanderkam outlines seven of these disciplines: mind your hours; plan; make success possible; know what is work; practice; pay in; and pursue pleasure. For each one she shares stories and interviews with successful people who use these disciplines in their own daily lives.

Here are several lessons from Vanderkam’s book on boosting your productivity and being successful at work.

 1. You need to know how you use your time.

For the most part, we tend to be unreliable reporters of our work hours. According to one study, people who estimated that they worked over 75 hours a week were actually off by about 25 hours. People who estimated they worked 55 to 64 hours were still off by 10 hours. Naturally, if you think you work more, you’ll use your time differently.

That’s why successful people know how many hours a week they work. In order to use your time more effectively, you have to know how you’re using it in the first place.

Vanderkam suggests thinking of yourself as an attorney who charges by the hour. Track your time for an entire week and consider how long you spend on email, projects, meetings, planning and other tasks. (Vanderkam created a simple spreadsheet to help track your hours.) Then take a close look at how you’re spending your time.

According to Vanderkam, the most important lesson in keeping a time log is learning how long it takes you to accomplish each task. This gives you insight for creating meaningful changes. For instance, Vanderkam tries not to schedule phone calls before 11 a.m. because the morning is when she’s better able “to turn an idea into words.”

2. Don’t underestimate the power of planning.

In addition to being a writer, Vanderkam also is a speaker. When she asks audiences what they’d like to spend more time on, they say planning. The problem? They also say they’re too busy to plan.

And that is a problem. Vanderkam thinks this is a backward approach.

As she writes, “You hope whoever built your house wasn’t so busy hammering and sawing that he couldn’t look at the blueprint.”

In other words, planning gives you a path. How can you arrive at your destination without directions? “Knowing where you’re going vastly increases the chances that you’ll get there,” she writes.

Successful people build planning into their days, according to Vanderkam, also author of the excellent books All The Money In The World: What The Happiest People Know About Getting and Spending and 168 Hours: You Have More Time Than You Think.

For instance, her personal planning strategy consists of three levels: Every December, she comes up with questions she’d ask in her “performance review” at the end of the year.

Every Sunday she creates a list of what she’d like to accomplish that week, keeping in mind her annual goals. Her to-do list includes tasks toward these goals along with immediate assignments she needs to accomplish.

Come Monday night, she evaluates what she accomplished that day and what needs to be done, and then schedules Tuesday. She does the same on Tuesday night, and so on for the rest of the week. Friday, she might spend planning and wrapping up the week.

3. Many things masquerade as work and can stifle your productivity (and vice versa).

Some tasks may look like work. But “if they’re not advancing you or your organization toward your goals,” they’re not, Vanderkam writes. The key is to figure out what those things are. Vanderkam names email and meetings as two examples.

What successful people do is to calculate the opportunity cost of various tasks. For instance, Traci Bild, of Bild & Company, leaves work at 3 p.m. to take care of her kids. She tells Vanderkam that her number one strategy as a leader is “constantly trying to replace myself…If I give my duties away, it frees me up to go to the next level.”

Other activities that don’t look like work can actually contribute to your success. LeUyen Pham, a prolific illustrator with two small kids, gets up from her desk and stretches every hour. She also peruses bookstores and art blogs.

“Successful people know that astonishing productivity – particularly in creative fields – requires filling the pot,” Vanderkam notes. To fill your pot, she suggests everything from getting a library card and browsing the stacks to visiting art museums to reading journals in a related field.

In her last chapter, Vanderkam talks about the importance of pleasure. She writes, “Successful people constantly look at their days to evaluate what brings them pleasure and what does not, and they figure out how they can spend more hours pursuing pleasure and fewer hours doing what they don’t care about.”

In fact, maybe that’s the biggest secret to productivity: Try to maximize the joyful parts of your work and minimize the miserable.

 

Learn more about Laura Vanderkam’s work and read her informative blog at her website.

Are you thinking about majoring in psychology? For a lot of students, picking a college major can be a difficult decision. It can be particularly tough if you are torn between similar majors (such as psychology and social work) or differing interests. Talking to your academic advisor can help, but one of the best ways to determine if a major is right for you is to spend a lot of time researching your options.

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Definition: Behavioral therapy uses the principles of behaviorism to increase desirable behaviors and reduce or eliminate unwanted ones. Unlike many other forms of therapy, behavioral therapy is focused on taking an action-based approach to changing specific behaviors. Some methods used in this type of therapy including aversion therapy, flooding, systematic desensitization, extinction, and contingency management.

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It's a difficult, yet brave and courageous moment when someone makes the decision to pursue mental health therapy. More difficult than the decision to go to therapy is the decision of who to choose as a therapist.

So, how does someone find a good psychotherapist?


Types of Therapists
First, it is important to think about the type of therapist you think is best for your presenting symptoms and issues. There are many kinds of mental health therapists, but sometimes understanding "who does what" can be confusing. Here is a list to help identify the specialties and degrees therapists can hold.

Psychologists
In the United States, Doctors of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Doctors of Psychology (Psy.D.), or Doctors of Education (Ed.D.) must complete at least four years of post graduate school, however, only those who have been licensed can call themselves Psychologists. Licensed practicing psychologists are specifically trained in the mind and behavior as well as diagnosis, assessment and treatment of mental, emotional, and behavioral disorders. The treatment provided is "talk therapy". It is important to know that not all psychologists are experienced therapists. Some specialize in areas such as statistical research or industrial psychology, and may have little experience treating people. Therefore, it is important to inquire about the caliber of clinical experiences. Generally speaking, most psychologists do not prescribe medication.

Social Workers
Clinical Social Workers (C.S.W.) usually have earned at least a Masters' Degree, which is two years of graduate school, and some Social Workers obtain a doctoral degree (D.S.W. or Ph.D.). Clinical Social Workers credentials may vary by state, but these are the most common: B.S.W. (Bachelor's of Social Work), M.S.W. (Master's of Social Work), A.C.S.W. (Academy of Certified Social Workers), or D.C.S.W. (Diplomate of Clinical Social Work). Although there are exceptions, most licensed clinical social workers generally have an "L" in front of their degree (L.C.S.W.) communicating that they are a Licensed Clinical Social Worker. Clinical Social Workers also receive training in the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of mental, behavioral, and emotional disorders. Their goal is to enhance and maintain physical, psychological, and social functioning in who they treat.

Psychiatrists
A Psychiatrist completes a medical degree (M.D.) like any other physician, followed by a four-year psychiatry specialty. Psychiatrists prescribe medication yet sometimes do psychotherapy with patients. Psychiatrists, unlike Psychologists, have the background and experience to understand how the body and the mind as a whole react when psychiatric medication is given, and have extensively studied the total body including brain biochemistry, tissues, glands, and organs, leading to a fundamental understanding of how these all interact and react to the patient's environment in mental health and mental illness.

Marriage Family Therapists & Professional Counselors
Licensed Marriage and Family Therapists (L.M.F.T.), and Professional Counselors (L.P.C.) usually have two years of graduate school and have earned at least a Masters' Degree such as: M.A. (Master of Arts), M.S. (Master of Science) or M.Ed. (Master of Education). Marriage and Family Therapists have additional specialized training in the area of family therapy.

Certified Counselors
Certified Counselors are typically trained in drug or alcohol abuse specialties. A Certified Addiction Counselor (C.A.C.) or a Certified Alcohol Counselor, (C.A.C.) may have a I, II, or III added to their degree signifying the level of training in counseling (CAC-I, for example). A C.A.C. Counselor may or may not have a master's degree. Counselors are trained for supportive therapy. C.A.C's work within the field of alcoholism and substance abuse, providing education, consultation, counseling, aftercare, recovery and advocacy.

Religious/Theology/Pastoral Counselors
These are counselors who are clergy, pastors or who have a Master of Divinity (M.Div.) degree, or a Doctorate in Theology (Th.D.) from a seminary or rabbinical school, with additional training in therapy. These spiritual counselors are trained in both psychology and theology and thus can address psychological, religious and spiritual issues.

Counseling Nurses
Psychiatric Nurses and Nurse Practitioners comprise a growing segment of mental health treatment professionals. They display the credentials R.N. (Registered Nurse), R.N.P. (Registered Nurse Practitioner) or M.S.N. (Masters of Science in Nursing). A Psychiatric Nurse is a registered nurse with a master's degree who has been trained in individual, group, and/or family psychotherapy. The Psychiatric Nurse and the Nurse Practitioner view individuals from a holistic perspective, taking into account both physical and mental health needs while focusing on human behavior.


From Word of Mouth To Yellow Pages
Now that you know the kind of therapists with which you wish to work, how do you choose one?Here are a few ways that can provide leads to a good therapist.

Word of mouth: Asking a friend or relative that you trust can be a great way of finding a reliable therapist. When a clinician is highly regarded, there is usually a buzz in the community about him or her.

Professional Referrals: Contacting your general physician, or inquiring with school guidance and special service staff if you are looking for someone to work with your child are good ideas. Contacting local psychological, psychiatric or counseling organizations can be very helpful in pointing you in a direction as well.

Online Resources: Many professional organizations and grassroots organizations offer referral resources. There are also mental health websites like Psychology Today's Therapist Directory that can help you narrow down a search.

Insurance Company: If you have an insurance company, another suggestion is to call them directly and ask them to give you a few names of therapists in your area, and ones that specialize in the disorders or issues with which you are experiencing.

Religious Organizations: Many churches and temples have outreach programs where the person in charge can help you find a therapist.

Yellow Pages: Many times I get calls from people who look me up in the Yellow Pages. With nowhere else to turn, people cold-call with the hopes of finding a good therapist. This experience can be frustrating and may lead you down a bumpy road of contacting therapists who do not specialize in what you need. If possible, try one of the other strategies listed above to help you find a good therapist.


The Initial Phone Call
Once you have a few names, find the time to call each one and talk on the phone with him or her. You can get a great feel for a professional during this informal chat. If you make a connection on the phone, arrange for an appointment to consult with the therapist. I call this "the meet and greet" consult where I get to meet the potential patient, assess the symptoms and issues and make sure that my training and expertise are appropriate for the necessary treatment. This is a time where the potential patient gets to know me as well, how I will work and also learns about my approach to treatment and the parameters of therapy. Though comfort and connection are necessary factors, so too are making sure that the therapist of your choice is educated, seasoned and a specialist in what you are seeking.

Questions to Ask: Most therapists will welcome the opportunity to answer any questions that you may have. Here are some of the most important ones to consider:

1. What is your professional training and degree?

2. How much specialized training and experience have you had with what I am seeking help for?

3. What theoretical school of thought do you follow?

4. How long are the sessions?

5. What is the cost of each session?

5. How does insurance work with mental health therapy?

6. What is your policy on cancelled appointments?

7. Have you been in therapy yourself? If so, how long?

8. Is it possible to reach you after hours in the event of an emergency or crisis? If so, how?

9. Do you receive regular supervision on your cases or belong to a peer supervision group?

10. What professional organizations do you belong to?


Good Therapy
Once these bases are all covered, and you settle into treatment, you should slowly begin to feel an expansion within yourself. Your awareness will widen, your feelings may swell, and you may find yourself thinking in new ways about your situations and life experiences.

Therapy may be tough on occasions, but in time, you should start learning techniques to help change, shift or remedy symptoms. That's how the arc of good therapy progresses. Last, but not least, always, ALWAYS, be sure that the professional you choose to work with is a licensed mental health practitioner.

While many students in the U.S. are probably thinking about the upcoming summer break, it will soon be time to start thinking about final exams. While there are no sure-fire shortcuts when studying for a psychology test, there are things that you can do to get the most out of your study time. By following these relatively simple strategies, you can be sure that you'll be ready when test day arrives. Learn more about how to study for a psychology test.

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Marketers utilize a number of different techniques to gain compliance from consumers, including one that is known as the "low-ball" technique. I was recently shopping for a new cell phone plan and experienced this particular compliance strategy first hand. The salesman pitched what sounded like a really great plan for mobile phone service. As we were preparing to sign the two-year service agreement, the salesman suddenly mentioned some additional hidden fees that made what had started out as a great deal turn into a not-so-great deal.

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Definition: Self-concept is the image you have of yourself, including your physical appearance and personality characteristics. Many factors can influence our self-concept, including our childhood experiences, how other people respond to us, and how we relate to other people. Psychologists have suggested that there are a number of different components of self-concept, including our social behavior, physical condition, emotional awareness, family relationships, and academic performance.

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Humanist psychologist Carl Rogers is perhaps best known for his non-directive approach to therapy, which is known as client-centered therapy. While earlier approaches tended to focus on abnormal behavior, Rogers instead shifted his focus toward healthy behaviors and helping people fulfill their individual potential.

Rogers is also known as one of the most eminent psychologists of the twentieth-century. In one survey, Rogers was cited as the most influential figures in psychology by therapists working today. You can learn more about his views on psychology through selections from his many writings by browsing this collection of Carl Rogers quotations

Today marks 157th anniversary of the birth of Sigmund Freud. Or at least, today marks the day most frequently identified as the day Freud was born. The day on which Freud himself believed he was born. The traditional date differs from the one given in town records where he was born, which list March 6, 1856 as the correct birth date.

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If you have ever spent any time browsing forums devoted to psychology, you have probably noticed that there are a few common questions that people ask on a regular basis. In many cases, students interested in a career in psychology are the ones posing such questions. Fortunately, we have some of the answers to these frequently asked questions. Check out the links below to learn more:

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Definition: Authoritative parenting is one of the parenting styles that was first described by psychologist Diana Baumrind during the 1960s. Also known as democratic parenting, this style is characterized by parents who are responsive and nurturing, but still hold high expectations for behavior. These parents encourage their children to express themselves and share their opinions. While these parents want their children to develop a sense of independence, they still have limits and consequences.

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Psychologist and educational theorist David Kolb developed a four-stage learning cycle designed to describe how learning by experience takes place. This experiential learning cycle contains four different phases: concrete experience, reflective observation, abstract conceptualization, and active experimentation. According to Kolb, we can begin at any point in this cycle. Learning, he suggests, is essentially a process that involves looping around and around this cycle.

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May is Mental Health Month. Through media, local and national events, the hope is to reduce stigma about mental illness and promote well-being for children and adults. 

This year's theme is "Pathways to Wellness" — and calls attention to strategies and approaches that help  achieve wellness and good mental and physical health. Take a look at what wellness really is about:

• Wellness is essential to living a full and productive life. It’s about keeping healthy as well as getting healthy. 
• Wellness involves a set of skills and strategies that prevent the onset or shorten the duration of illness and promote recovery and well-being. 
• Wellness is more than an absence of disease. It involves complete general, mental and social well-being. 
• Steps that build and maintain well-being and help us all achieve wellness involve a balanced diet, regular exercise, enough sleep, a sense of self-worth, development of coping skills that promote resiliency, emotional awareness, and connections to family, friends and community.
• Just as we check our blood pressure and get cancer screenings, it’s a good idea to take a periodic reading of our emotional well-being.
• Fully embracing the concept of wellness not only improves health in the mind, body and spirit, but also maximizes one’s potential to lead a full and productive life. 
• Using strategies that promote resiliency and strengthen mental health and prevent mental health and substance use conditions lead to improved general health and a healthier society: greater academic achievement by our children, a more productive economy, and families that stay together. 

Recently my advice column for The Telegraph answered a question from a woman who wasn’t sure about receiving oral sex. She’d tried it in the past and hadn’t really enjoyed it and wasn’t sure whether to try it with her new partner – or how to discuss with them she didn’t like it that much.

The question and my reply is here. I also had the following feedback to the column that focused on the importance of oral and if it constituted a relationship ‘deal breaker’.

One person pointed out I hadn’t talked about whether her reluctance to give oral sex related to her desire to give it. While the original question didn’t make reference to this, it was a relevant question that could have been posed to the person with the problem. It also highlights one of the ways we generally focus on oral sex – which is the belief often shared in popular culture/advice giving that if you get it you have to give it. This can be particularly problematic if someone is keen on one but not the other, and some advice that suggests you have to do both even if you dislike one. This might be a more nuanced point for those offering advice/education on relationships to think about further. Why do we see oral as something that has to be given in order to be received? What other ways are there of thinking about pleasure that don’t rehearse a narrative that oral sex is only ‘fair’ if you give and get in return.

More feedback stated that I hadn’t focused much on her asking him how important oral sex was. The letter describes a partner who wants to do it but gives no indication of how much of a desire this is. So it would have been more useful to detail how to have a conversation to identify early on if this is something very important to a partner or not.

A colleague (who wishes to be anonymous) gave me some more detailed pointers around the approach I had taken in my reply. They said:

“Every time I go to read something you’re written, I’ve done so with excitement, and I always have a satisfying experience and can say, “She speaks my words better than I can.” I think this article misses something. I think the article pussyfoots around.

I understand all the loveydovey stuff and the idea of not trying to talk someone into doing it. I think you miss the point that the bottom line is that relationships, long term relationships, disparity of “eager willingness” to participate is a killer, and that needs to be said, without compromise.

The world changes. Oral sex today IS yesterday’s handshake. While oral sex may not have been de rigueur in earlier centuries, it is so today. If a couple are mismatched on the inclusion of erotic oral sex in the bed dance, people who desire it somehow seem to find other partners with whom to share it. That’s common reality, without judgment, but to avoid discussing it simply misses the point that I’m surprised you didn’t include.

Yes, for some people in some places it is important, but it is important to find out this distinction prior to “I do.” Rarely are cock or tit size deal breakers, though they may have been part of the overall process of mate selection. The oral sex trip doesn’t equate with those other factors. For those to whom it matters, it matters, and if that is not addressed early, disaster will occur. Note I say will.

By the way. the word “cocksucker” has changed considerably in its meanings over the past number of decades, from epithet to award. Taboo can work in many ways, as CA Tripp and Jack Morin have written.

I still like equating oral sex with the handshake. When you talk about other options, I think about other directly sexual options, and there is a generally, but not rigid, observable order to the inclusion of other directly sexual options. Thus, in either order, usually first coitus or first oral, followed by anal. I think that anal is the crossover behaviour, that once anal sex is part of the equation or has been discussed/evaluated as not being part of their sexual package, then all other possibilities follow from that. It is my bet, though, that disparity in desire for mutuality of oral sex in a relationship, will behaviourally be a deal breaker.

Ya see, I think that for most couples, the birthday blowjob with attitude is not what most men like, nor do most women want a guy to go down on them with a close-pin on his nose. ( I know it’s a het assumption.) Quid pro quo sex ain’t never gonna work, and in our culture, in this time, I think it is foolhardy to think that it won’t matter. Yes, I’d equate it with the porn/anti-porn couple, it’s that much of a barometer.”

The problem, my reply and the above responses to it may be useful for those who are questioning about oral sex, or who offer therapy or work in psycho/sexual health. Not least to explore some of the values we have about oral. About its changing importance in relationships and popular (Western) culture, about how this may impact in different relationships (particularly lgb ones), and how therapists and educators may internalise values about oral that in turn affect their practice.

Sexual Assault Awareness Month is observed in April in the United States, and is dedicated to making a concerted effort to raise awareness about and prevent sexual violence. In the time it takes to read this paragraph, three individuals somewhere in the United States will have become a victim of sexual violence.

The first observation of Sexual Assault Awareness Month occurred in 2001, where the National Sexual Violence Resource Center provided resources to advocates nationwide to help get the word out about sexual assault. This awareness day has gained momentum over the years, especially on high school and college campuses.

Research states that prevention programs and awareness days help educate the public about sexual assault and sexual violence. For those who want more information, link here.

A few weeks ago I answered a problem in The Telegraph from a woman whose moods were getting in the way of her marriage. You can read the full question and my reply here.

I asked colleagues and friends for feedback on the advice given – including what information was shared and the tone/approach taken. Their thoughts on how I could improve the reply are below:

Ronete Cohen
“The information you give is very good. I think though that, if she’s depressed, for instance, she could find that number of questions at once a bit overwhelming. It might be better to break up such blocks of questions and intersperse them with an illustration of what could possibly be going on, or what you’re trying to get to, or recognition of how difficult things must be for her. All of these things could help make her feel seen and heard and make it easier for her to absorb what you’re writing and act on it. Things are undoubtedly also difficult for her husband, but we don’t know what’s going on there, what the state of the relationship is or whether or not he’s contributing to the situation in a way she’s unable to spot. I personally would find out what was going on with her (i.e. individual therapy) before I went the route of couple therapy.

Also, I suspect that telling you what kind of help she would like and what barriers are in the way would be too difficult a question for her to answer or she wouldn’t be writing to you. I’m not sure though that all this is possible within the limitations of your word count. One more comment: NHS mental health services are being cut so badly, that anyone needing treatment for a serious problem is not very likely to find it. Even when you’ve survived the waiting lists, often the number of sessions available is inadequate to deal with the problem, plus the type of therapy offered can be unsuitable. I hear this all the time from NHS colleagues, and from clients who end up going private (often referred by an NHS therapist).”

Laura Davies
“I might also ask whether she has girlfriends or other outlets to talk about her problems. I would be suspicious of prior sexual or physical abuse, though that would be hard to target in a newspaper column– why is she identifying her husband as the target? And of course I would want to know if there are children witnessing this and then patterning their own relationships after this.”

•  “They help with psychoeducation, which is a hallmark first step in understanding illness,” she says. “Books and websites explain information in easy to understand terms and can be accessed at any time, helping to make people feel less alone in their struggle.”

•  “They aid in reducing stigma by addressing the myths of mental illness, thereby allowing a depressed person to not feel shame about having this illness. It also invites readers to find global, local or online resources and support should they want to be part of a self-help community.”

•  “They also provide hope, especially when self-help books and websites detail personal stories of children or adults, and even high profile celebrities, who've moved through their depression successfully." 

What do Singer, Fiona Apple; Comedian, Russell Brand; Actress, Drew Barrymore; Actor, Johnny Depp; Actor, Colin Farrell; Actress, Megan Fox; Actress, Angelina Jolie; Singer, Demi Lovato and Princess Diana have in common?

Deanne Bray stars in an informative video produced by Deaf Hope, outlining the basics of domestic violence. Learn about the war zone of domestic violence, reflect on the sad truth that every year more women die from domestic violence than soldiers die in the Mideast, and commit to educating your own daughters about domestic violence.

The holiday season is not just a time for traditional festivities, merry making, good will and celebrating with loved ones. For some, it's the loneliest time of the year. For others, sadness of missing a loved one or recovering from a life-changing trauma tinges the season. Many fall into despair as self-reflection takes hold, measuring the year's past accomplishment and failures. And then there are those who begin a downward spiral into the depths of a clinical depression.

My award-winning book "Living with Depression" offers tips and recommendations, as well as my own dual perspective of being a professional who specializes in depression and also being a person who lives successfully with this mental illness.

You can pick up the new paperback edition of "Living with Depression" online and in retail bookstores. Remember, depression is a serious, but treatable illness. 

I am loving this short video from NAMI about heroes who lived with depression.

Reminds me of the video I made a few years ago highlighting over 400 high profile people who live with mental illness in my book "Living with Depression."

Every year on the Saturday before Thanksgiving, the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention sponsors National Survivors of Suicide Day - reaching out to thousands of people who have lost a loved one to suicide. This Saturday, November 17th, is the 14th year of raising awareness and providing support.

Over 200 conferences for survivors of suicide will take place throughout the U.S. and across the world. Connecting on this day allows survivors to know that they're not alone in this experience.

To find a city worldwide where a conference is being held link here. Read more on suicide outreach and about the 10 common myths about suicide here

Every 40 seconds. someone dies by suicide. Every 41 seconds, someone is left to make sense of it.

Studies in happiness also show that happy people use positive social events, like meeting up with a close friend or talking with a cherished loved one after a bad experience.

Depressed individuals, however, tend to use positive monetary events like shopping or gambling as buffers against negative events, rather than social ones.

This study offers great insight into the everyday experience of how we choose to order painful and pleasurable experiences. For depressed people, take the bad first, then the good second, and make sure you surround yourself socially with others. This three-fold process will help you find greater well-being.

Resource: Sul, S.; Kim, J. & Choi, I. (2012). Subjective well-being and hedonic editing: How happy people maximize joint outcomes of loss and gain. Journal of Happiness Studies, DOI: 10.1007/s10902-012-9379-6

 

Shira Grabelski Opens Up: Take a few minutes to watch this video straight from the heart of a Deaf woman who is also a Little Person. Shira’s forthrightness and honesty about how she identifies herself will pull you right in and remind you that whatever identities define us, the bottom line is, we are all human and the same. Thank you for your candid and open words, Shira. You have brightened more people’s days than you may realize!

Grief is a powerful emotional experience that results from loss - be it from death, divorce, trauma or disaster. By the age of 16, over 5.4 million children will suffer the death of a parent, 50% of children will experience loss of a parent to divorce, and more than 68% of children will endure a traumatic event.
 
In an effort to bring awareness to this subject, Children's Grief Awareness Day is observed every year on the third Thursday of November. This awareness day helps bring light to the unique experience children have when losing someone they love - and an opportunity for all of us to recognize and support the millions of grieving children.
 
The National Alliance for Grieving Children offers some helpful facts about grief in childhood.
 

• Grief is a normal reaction for a child to the death of someone in his or her life or a significant loss.
• Grieving children can handle the truth, so be honest and open when talking about things.
• Each child’s grief is as unique to him or her as was their relationship with the person lost.
• Children who are grieving often feel alone and misunderstood.
• Grieving children feel less alone when they can be with other children who have experienced the death of a parent or a similar loss.

Link here for tips on how to help your child or student deal with grief and here for more ways to comfort your child.  And if these tools aren't helping to ease the pain, consider contacting a professional therapist who specializes in trauma and loss.

So happy to be announcing that today, October 16th 2012, is the paperback launch of my award-winning book "Living with Depression."

To celebrate, I'm giving away one autographed copy here to my blog fans, so please leave your name in the comment section. The winner will be announced Tuesday, October 23rd. 

Entrees can be world-wide and contest closes one tick before midnight, October 23rd.

Depression is a serious, but treatable illness. Get help and live life. If I can, so can you!

Friends and family can be a lifeline for someone with depression. You can be a critical factor in their recovery. Depending on the severity of the depression, there are many things you can do to help.
1)  Listen Compassionately: One of the most important is talking with and listening to your loved one. Ask how they are feeling but don’t force them to talk if they aren’t interested. Allowing these conversations to be easy and open can show them that you are there to help. It is also good to ask them what is most helpful for them when they are feeling depressed. Listen to what they have to say. Tell them that you are there to listen when they need to talk.
2) Understanding Depression: It is also important for you to understand depression, its symptoms, possible course and treatments. This will help you understand your loved one and how he or she is feeling. It will also help you know if your loved one is getting better, needs more treatment or requires more assistance.
3)  Supporting Their Treatment: One critical area of support for someone with depression is working with them to maintain their treatment plan, including taking their medications as prescribed, seeing healthcare practitioners as recommended, and seeking additional support as necessary. You may need to be the person to remind your loved one to take their  medication every day. You may also help by setting up and/or taking them to their healthcare appointments. If they are not getting better, you may also need to encourage them to seek additional or alternative support.
4) Help with Day-to-Day Living: Often, people with depression have difficulty with some of the basics of day-today living. If severe enough, depression can leave you feeling immobilized, unmotivated and unable to do many of life’s simplest tasks. During these times, a person with depression will need support in ordinary activities —you may need to encourage them to shower, to eat, or to get some fresh air. And sometimes people might need help going to the grocery store, cleaning the house and paying bills.
5)  Supporting Regular Activities: Try to encourage your loved one to maintain the activities they do when they are not depressed. Be it work, school or activities. Don’t force them to do things if they aren’t ready, but do try to help them stay involved in their lives.
6) Recognizing Warning Signs for Suicide:  It is important to know that people with  depression are more likely to attempt or commit suicide. Take seriously any comments about suicide or wanting to die. Even if you do not believe they really want to hurt themselves, the person is clearly in distress. Reach out and call emergency services if necessary.



Reference:
Depression: A Global Crisis by the World Federation for Mental Health

 

I love when high profile people come out and talk openly about living with a mental illness. Take a look at some famous names who have lived with unipolar, bipolar and postpartum depression.

Remember, depression is a serious, but treatable illness.

      The news that innocent people have been hurt and killed by the hand of a violent, angry man once again grabs the news. This time, in a movie theatre as the latest blockbuster, The Dark Knight Rises, opens. 
      Trauma is an unexpected, derailing experience. For those who are in its direct line, it crushes the mind, body and soul. For those of us who witness it, we reel in waves of horror – helpless and saddened by it all. One of the ways to restore a sense of security after a mass tragedy is to understand why things like this happen, and then move into action mode to help yourself and loved ones heal. 


Understanding Evil 
      The conscious motives of anyone who acts with terrifying violence is to destabilize society and evoke mass reactions. Unable to discharge needs of control and aggression by conventional means, a terrorist chooses a chilling and merciless way to get the recognition he seeks. 
      Equally important to the effectiveness of the violent act are those who witness its wake. In this age of technology and 24 hour news programming, the accounts of shocking happenings are delivered with immediacy, and can be viewed, re-viewed, and revisited at the push of a button. Through the horror, the terrorist hopes that your basic security is jarred, that your identity to community is shattered, and that you’re belief system will be shaken. 
      Deeply aggrieved by a world he feels is cruel, loads the gun - but it is the added sense of entitlement that pulls the trigger. This aggrieved entitlement inspires the terrorist to revenge against those who have wronged him. It is a phenomenon that fuses the humiliating loss of manhood and the moral obligation to avenge it to get it back. Often, the targets he rages against are collective innocents, individuals not directly responsible for his perceived misery. 
      The unconscious motive of an act of terror is to destroy objects and people because they are sources of unbearable feelings of envy. The violence emerges from historical rage, grief, dread and pain, congealing into the need to annihilate others. It is a dangerous, bitter brine. When murderous rage is acted out - and victims are put through horror, cruelty and unspeakable loss - he transcends his own pain. 


Understanding Trauma 
      Well-being begins with education. Understanding what psychological trauma is and how it bears down on your biological, chemical and psychological makeup is the first step toward recovery. Psychological trauma is a unique individual experience where you feel emotionally, cognitively, and physically overwhelmed. Some people freeze, needing to rest or detach from the tragedy. If that's what you works best for you, unplug and do so. Others feel the need to be active and busy to move through the horrifying event. Be it resting or moving, the goal here is to keep you from shifting into hyperarousal (a series of extreme anxiety reactions). 
       Once the traumatic event is over, doesn’t mean your reaction to it is over as well. The intrusion of the past into the present is one of the main problems confronting anyone who witnesses or experiences trauma. This is often referred to as re-experiencing. The re-experiencing may present as distressing intrusive memories, flashbacks, nightmares, or overwhelming emotional states. It's also important to know that witnessing crimes against humanity may raise anticipatory anxiety, where you're not only reeling from the trauma that just occurred, but are perched in a state of anxiety of what may come next. "Could this happen in my hometown?" 
      Though many of these symptoms are normal in the recovery process, if your trauma reaction doesn't reduce within a few days, it would be wise to seek a health professional for consultation. 


Tips for You and Your Family 
      Now that you have some understanding about trauma and violent aggression, learn how to keep your children and yourself tethered to the good things in the world. 

1. Model calm and control. Children take their emotional cues from the significant adults in their lives so make sure you ground yourself with a sense of stability regarding this issue. 
2. Reassure children that they are safe and so are the other important adults in their lives. Show them the added police presence and other factors that are being used to provide safety and security in your neighborhood – as well as at the crime scene. 
3. Remind them that the percentage of people in the world are kind and trustworthy – and that only a small number of individuals are violent in this way. 
4. Tell children the truth. Don’t try to pretend the event hasn’t occurred or that it’s not serious. Children are smart. They’ll be more worried if you avoid the subject or gloss over it. 
5. Stick to the facts. Don’t embellish or speculate about the mass trauma. Don’t dwell on the scale or scope of the tragedy, particularly with young children. Early school age children will need brief, simple information that should be balanced with reassurances that the daily structures of their lives will not change. Middle school children will be more vocal in asking questions about whether they truly are safe and what is being done in their cities and towns. High school students will have strong and varying opinions about the causes of violence and threats to safety in their community. 
6. Let children know that it’s okay to feel upset. Explain that all feelings are okay when a tragedy like this occurs. Let children talk about their feelings and help put them into perspective. Let them know that you’re struggling with sadness about this event too. 
7. Limit your child’s television viewing of these events. If they must watch, watch with them for a brief time; then turn the set off. Don’t sit mesmerized re-watching the same events over and over again. Maintain a “normal” routine. 
8. Stick to your family’s normal daily routine. This predictability grounds everyone and doesn’t allow the trauma to break your resiliency. 
9. Monitor your own stress level. Don’t ignore your own feelings of anxiety, grief, and anger. Talk with your partner, friends, family members. Make sure you get appropriate sleep, nutrition, and exercise too. 
10. Remind yourself of the goodness in life. It’s important to remember that while darkness may rise, it will never, ever triumph. 

For more, link here at Psychology Today

Your Healthiest Habit is Practicing Moderation

You don't think that anything can kill you in small amounts. You believe it's all about balance. You are willing to engage in unhealthy habits occasionally. After all, they are a lot of fun! Some may criticize your moderate approach, but it's very sustainable. You're into being healthy for the long haul, and you know that extremes only lead to trouble.

Facebook is the millennium’s new water cooler. Though virtual in its design, it serves as a way for us to catch up on the latest trends, share milestones, learn about juicy gossip, or live vicariously through the experience of others. And not only is it a way to keep up with the Joneses, but it’s a way to keep track of the Joneses.

Facebook provides us with social capital – and these valuable social experiences make us feel connected. But bear in mind that not everyone feels Facebook is an upbeat and pleasing social past time. Reading stories or viewing photos of friends’ activities could cause a user to feel left out or question the value of his or her own social status. Though Facebook can elicit warm feelings of nostalgia and connectedness, it can also spur jealousy and feelings of inadequacy too. With all these things going on, it’s wise to learn the psychological reasons for using social networking. When you understand what they are, you’ll be able to judge for yourself if Facebook is meeting the social expectations you hold.

Research reports two distinct ways people use Facebook. One is bonding with others – to reconnect with old friends and family or to explore new relationships. The other is bridging as a means of strengthening your identity. Think of bridging as a kind of network that links you to other colleagues, businesses, contacts and organizations that share your political, social and community interests, or your career or professional pursuits.

6 Tips for Using Facebook

When you live with depression, it’s important to put yourself in a positive environment. Toxic people and negative experiences only serve to worsen depressive symptoms. So, understanding the reasons why you use Facebook will help determine if this social media is a thumbs up experience – or if you should consider other social avenues.

1) Ask yourself why you’re on Facebook. Is it to bond or to bridge? Once you determine what you’re looking for – connection or networking– then you can set realistic expectations.

2) Explore your “user pattern” - or how you are using Facebook. Are you spending time too much time reading the news feeds of others? Do you only just cue into your own profile to look for connections - or do you venture beyond to connect with others? Do you leave comments? Do you invite others to respond to your wall status? How about direct messages, do you like using that feature? Do you like being in the app or game community? Are your bridging connections creating support, or are the conversations provocative, challenging or taunting?

3) Once you realize how you’re using Facebook, ask yourself what each of these activities does for you. The goal is to discover what gratifies you not only socially, but emotionally. Essentially, you’ll be cluing yourself into what Facebook activities work or don't work for you.

4) Next, redefine your Facebook experience. If it makes you feel left out to read about others' daily lives, consider editing your subscriber list. Want to have more connection? Consider direct messaging than commenting on a community level. Personalizing your social media experience will help you feel good about yourself and the others you're choosing to share your online time with. If you discover that using Facebook isn’t as valuable a tool for you, bow out. It’s just as cool to bump the trend as it is to be part of a trend.

5) Now that you know the how, what and why reasons that you use Facebook, give yourself permission to be an extrovert or an introvert. Facebook should be a place that *you* design for *your* social needs. Find your comfort self-disclosing zone and work within it.

6) Last but not least, remember to interface beyond the virtual world. Make sure you spend quality time socializing in real time with real people.

HASH: 677dc43b423b9a26d5fb6fc93c1111b4c52ade04
*Kool Ade Acid Test - Geraldine Penny.zip
+01 - Kool Ade Acid Test - Doggies wiggle.mp3
+02 - Kool Ade Acid Test - Dr. Brain is back.mp3
+03 - Kool Ade Acid Test - Sugar bliss.mp3
+04 - Kool Ade Acid Test - Ms. Peaches.mp3

Here are the deception-related crimepsychblog tweets from last month.

Technology-facilitated deception detection (brain scans and machines that go ping):

• Thermal Imaging as a Lie Detection Tool at Airports http://retwt.me/1QhzC
• New research on fMRI-based deception detection measures’ vulnerability to countermeasures http://retwt.me/1QbCJ
• Article on fMRI in court is one of Nature News top stories of 2010. Well worth a (re)read. http://retwt.me/1QfBJ
• New research: Improving efficacy of Concealed Information Test? “Denoised P300 & machine learning-based CIT method” http://retwt.me/1QbCC
• Psychophysiological Response Pattern in Symptom Validity Testing Arch Clin Neurology http://retwt.me/1QbDE
• Great write-up of a rare study of fMRI countermeasures (via @ResearchBlogs) How To Fool A Lie Detector Brain Scan http://goo.gl/fb/7oNFv
• Free access: The Polygraph and Forensic Psychiatry (Don Grubin) J. American Academy of Psychiatry & Law http://retwt.me/1QggR
• Beliefs, predictions and shortcuts in the deceitful brain (Uni of Cambridge article): http://bit.ly/eK1rVw
• Ocular motor deception detection technology http://secprodonline.com/articles/2010/09/01/seeing-through-the-lies.aspx
• Frequent truth telling makes lying more difficult, but frequent lying makes lying easier. http://is.gd/hQeIM
• Articles on cognitive neuroscience of confabulation, free access til Feb 28 (scroll down ->symposia) http://ht.ly/3qYl8
• “When volunteers suspected they were being lied to activity levels rose in dorsomedial prefrontal cortex” New Scientst http://retwt.me/1Qcgj

Interviewing (deception detection the good ole fashion’d way):

• Eliciting Cues to False Intent: A New Application of Strategic Interviewing http://retwt.me/1QhzA
• Influence of Investigator Bias on the Elicitation of True & False Confessions http://retwt.me/1QhzB
• Looks & Lies: Physical Attractiveness in Online Dating Self-Presentation and Deception. Communication Research 37(3) http://retwt.me/1QgIz

And some other deception-related stuff that caught my eye:

• From Scientific American: What Makes An Honest Smile Honest? http://bit.ly/hkX7HN
• Can deception be a life skill? http://bit.ly/e4jYYk
• @evbasedmummy discusses how and why parents lie to their children http://is.gd/ivosZ
• Cricket’s old boys are proposing lie detectors as a way to combat corruption: http://ht.ly/3q4KH Sigh
• Great summary of the DWP ‘Lie Detector’ trials from @Unity_MoT http://tinyurl.com/2366dlg. Big sigh.

A round-up of December tweets from crimepsychblog

New Journal Issues

• Women & Criminal Justice 20(4), articles on IPV, life sentences and risk http://retwt.me/1Qjtd
• Justice Qtrly 27(6), articles on transgender prisoners, gangs, social learning theory, self-control, in-reach http://is.gd/jtBjs
• Dec 10 issue of Learning & Individual Differences 21(1) has special section on education of children in detention http://retwt.me/1QjrH
• Violence Against Women 16(12), includes special section on false allegations of sexual assault http://retwt.me/1QceY

See also:

• Law Journal of the Month – Oxford Journals offer free access to all content for one journal for one month http://retwt.me/1QcYq

Deception and interviewing

Scholarly articles:

• Thermal Imaging as a Lie Detection Tool at Airports http://retwt.me/1QhzC
• Influence of Investigator Bias on the Elicitation of True & False Confessions http://retwt.me/1QhzB
• Eliciting Cues to False Intent: A New Application of Strategic Interviewing http://retwt.me/1QhzA
• Looks & Lies: Physical Attractiveness in Online Dating Self-Presentation and Deception. Communication Research 37(3) http://retwt.me/1QgIz
• New research on fMRI-based deception detection measures’ vulnerability to countermeasures http://retwt.me/1QbCJ
• New research: Improving efficacy of Concealed Information Test? “Denoised P300 & machine learning-based CIT method” http://retwt.me/1QbCC
• Psychophysiological Response Pattern in Symptom Validity Testing Arch Clin Neurology http://retwt.me/1QbDE
• Free access: The Polygraph and Forensic Psychiatry (Don Grubin) J. American Academy of Psychiatry & Law http://retwt.me/1QggR
• Great write-up of a rare study of fMRI countermeasures (via @ResearchBlogs) How To Fool A Lie Detector Brain Scan http://goo.gl/fb/7oNFv

See also:

• Spotting liars: The Law of Sufficient Motivation, in Psychology Today http://retwt.me/1QgI9
• Article on fMRI in court is one of Nature News top stories of 2010. Well worth a (re)read. http://retwt.me/1QfBJ
• Cricket’s old boys are proposing lie detectors as a way to combat corruption: http://ht.ly/3q4KH Someone plse tell them it doesn’t work
• From Scientific American What Makes An Honest Smile Honest? http://bit.ly/hkX7HN
• RT @vaughanbell ” Fascinating @evbasedmummy piece on how and why parents lie to their children http://is.gd/ivosZ “
• RT @psypress Can deception be a life skill? http://bit.ly/e4jYYk
• RT @NeuroCog Beliefs, predictions and shortcuts in the deceitful brain (Uni of Cambridge article): http://bit.ly/eK1rVw
• RT @researchdigest Articles on cognitive neuroscience of confabulation, free access til Feb 28 (scroll down ->symposia) http://ht.ly/3qYl8
• RT @vaughanbell Frequent truth telling makes lying more difficult, but frequent lying makes lying easier. http://is.gd/hQeIM
• RT @readinglies Ocular motor deception detection technology http://secprodonline.com/articles/2010/09/01/seeing-through-the-lies.aspx
• Great summary of the DWP ‘Lie Detector’ trials from @Unity_MoT http://tinyurl.com/2366dlg
• “When volunteers suspected they were being lied to activity levels rose in dorsomedial prefrontal cortex” New Scientst http://retwt.me/1Qcgj

Video games and aggression

• How interacting with aggressive virtual characters in video games affects trust and cooperation of players http://retwt.me/1QhBJ
• Press release: “New study shows that depression, not video games, could be to blame for youth violence” http://retwt.me/1QbDr

Elsewhere in the forensic research literature

• Howard Zonana & the Transformation of Forensic Psychiatry J. American Academy Psychiatry & Law 38(4) http://retwt.me/1QggM
• Free access, explores propensity to blame female rape victims. Social Justice Research 23(4) http://retwt.me/1QggK
• Free access, investigating psychological dynamics underlying demonizing (seeing others as pure evil) http://retwt.me/1QggH
• Intelligence-led & traditional policing approaches to drug markets – comparison of offenders http://retwt.me/1QcYs
• Free research article on traumatic brain injury in male young offenders in Neuropsychological Rehabilitation 20(6) http://is.gd/iCayc
• Press release: link between an individual’s sensitivity to testosterone and aggressive behaviour http://retwt.me/1QbDp
• Press release: Preteen conduct problems leads to teenage serious violence and delinquency http://retwt.me/1QbDw

And:

• In December’s APA Monitor: Researchers disagree about whether violent video games increase aggression http://retwt.me/1QdVa
• Study fr Berkeley Ctr fr Crim Justice: Increasing Employment Opportunities for People with Prior Convictions http://retwt.me/1QbDD
• Online interactions involving suspected paedophiles who engage male children http://tinyurl.com/3ygu8ls
• ‘Impulsivity gene’ found in violent offenders. New Scientist 23 December 2010 http://retwt.me/1QgIB

See also:

• Compendium of reoffending statistics & analysis – selection of papers summarising analysis by Ministry of Justice http://retwt.me/1QbDo
• Call for chapter proposals – Police and Protesters: Motives and Responses http://retwt.me/1PZzP
• “Scared Straight not only doesn’t work, it may actually be more harmful than doing nothing” via World of Psychology http://retwt.me/1PUpf
• RT @vaughanbell Excellent @chriscfrench piece on how UK prosecutions have been based entirely on ‘recovered memories’ http://is.gd/hLwgP
• New (to me) blog on false Confessions (HT to @cjprof) http://retwt.me/1Qhzu

If you've seen the photos of crumbling Detroit buildings that are being circulated lately, you'd probably expect the whole city to be full of miserable, despairing people, a place where a suicide rate of zero is unthinkable. Think again! Detroit is struggling but not nearly as badly as those photos suggest, and this Crain's article on the Henry Ford Health System that serves southeast Michigan suggests that "perfect" depression care is entirely possible even in an area that's going through tough times:

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As Christmas and New Year's draw closer, many of us are bracing for changes to our routines that could shake anyone's mental health. Travel and jetlag, a break from the rigid schedule of work or school, meals at unusual times, and the distractions of family can all contribute to forgetting to take medication. Many therapists and other mental health providers are out of reach while they enjoy their own celebrations (and hard-earned rest). Holiday stress may worsen mental health conditions, and while holiday joy is a wonderful thing, January can be a real let-down.

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The news that made me happiest in the last few weeks is here: Government abandons lie detector tests for catching benefit cheats (The Guardian, 9 Nov):

The government has dropped plans to introduce controversial lie detector tests to catch benefit fraudsters after trials found that the technology is not sufficiently reliable. The Department for Work and Pensions has given up on “voice risk analysis” (VRA) software after spending £2.16m on trials to assess whether the technology can identify people who are trying to fiddle the system when it eavesdrops on their telephone calls to benefit offices.

Though obviously it would have been good if they hadn’t had to spend £2.16 million to find that out.

Freebies

Open access to Springer journals means you can grab some good deception research for free, but only until 30 November (so hurry) :

• Interviewers outperform thermal imaging technology in identifying liars & truth-tellers. Great study, FREE til 30/11 http://is.gd/hxePN
• Police Lie Detection Accuracy: The Effect of Lie Scenario from Law & Human Behavior 33(6) Free access til 30 Nov http://retwt.me/1Pl5J
• The Reliability of Lie Detection Performance in Law & Human Behavior 2009, currently free access til 30 Nov PDF: http://retwt.me/1Pl6M
• Outsmarting the Liars: The Benefit of Asking Unanticipated Questions in Law & Human Behavior 2009, currently free access PDF: http://retwt.me/1Pl6l

You can also bag a free copy of new research on trust and deception courtesy of Sage Publishing:

• Carter, N., & Mark Weber, J. (2010). Not Pollyannas: Higher Generalized Trust Predicts Lie Detection Ability Social Psychological and Personality Science, 1 (3), 274-279 http://retwt.me/1PyQX

Not free (as far as I can tell) but looking interesting:

• Jo Are You Lying to Me? Temporal Cues for Deception — Journal of Language and Social Psychology http://retwt.me/1PORv
• In press: Role of dorsolateral prefrontal cortex in deception when remembering neutral & emotional events Neurosci Res http://is.gd/hxdN4
• Neat new study on deceptive groups: Extracting Concealed Information from Groups in J. of Forensic Sciences. http://retwt.me/1PO2N
• Aw, bless. New research in Psychol Science 21(10) shows 3-yr-olds have highly robust bias to trust what people say. http://is.gd/g5hB2
• Fascinating in press article on how honesty is rewarded and deception punished across cultures, in Pers Soc Psychol Bull http://is.gd/g5h3s
• Articles on reality monitoring, deceptive handwriting (ok, this one is free) & false memory in latest issue of Applied Cog Psy 24(8) http://is.gd/g5iAc

And some other miscellaneous articles and blog posts:

• In The Job Hunt, People Do Lie, But Honesty Pays Off, Study Finds http://retwt.me/1PyQd
• Misguided: Polygraphs provide false reassurance. Sigh. “Polygraph Testing Against Border Corruption” via Secrecy News http://retwt.me/1Pr4k
• To detect lies it’s equally as important to be able to detect when someone is being truthful. http://retwt.me/1Pr3Q via @humintell
• Blog post from @humintell on interesting new research: Are Children Good Liars? http://retwt.me/1Pr3k
• Is It Always Bad To Lie? Review of a new book on deception, via http://retwt.me/1POR5

A month’s worth of tweets in one post (I know, I know, but I’ve been away).

New journal issues

Free:

Others:

• • Journal of Quantitative Criminology, Volume 26, Number 4 http://retwt.me/1PORx
• Journal of Family Violence, Volume 25, Number 8 http://retwt.me/1PORw
• Critical Criminology 18(4). Special Issue on Green Criminology. http://retwt.me/1PORt
• International Journal of Law and Psychiatry 33(5-6) http://retwt.me/1PORs
• Policing 4(4). Special issue on police corruption. http://retwt.me/1PORg
• Psychology, Public Policy, and Law 16(4) http://retwt.me/1PORf
• Homicide Studies November 2010, 14 (4) http://retwt.me/1PySs
• Special Issue of Journal of Experimental Criminology [6(4)]: Experimental Studies of Violence Against Women http://retwt.me/1PyQI
• Crime, Law & Social Change 54(2). Special Issue: The Present and Future of Left Realism http://retwt.me/1PrU6
• Violence Against Women 16 (10) http://retwt.me/1PrU2
• Journal of Offender Rehabilitation 49(7) http://is.gd/gwiwL
• Aggression & Violent Behavior 14(6). Ethics, female offenders, child abuse, IPV, PTSD, & athletics (rly) http://retwt.me/mvdD

Journal articles that caught my eye

• New research on traumatic brain injury in youth offenders – balanced press release here: http://retwt.me/1POQI
• Psychological science & sound public policy: Video recording of custodial interrogations American Psychologist 65(8) http://is.gd/hwocg
• In press: social status of drug procurers & their social distance from drug dealers affects sales, fraud & gift-giving http://retwt.me/1PyRR
• Interactional norms in the Australian police interrogation room Discourse & Society 21(6) http://retwt.me/1PyQH
• Women’s testimony on domestic violence in India & legal implications. Indian J of Gender Studies 17(3) http://retwt.me/1PyQg
• Forensic evidence: Materializing bodies, materializing crimes. European J of Women’s Studies 17(4) http://retwt.me/1PyQf
• Child abuse victims who blame themselves & families present higher rates of PTSD http://retwt.me/1Pr3i

New deception research and commentary:

• Sanity at last. “Government abandons lie detector tests for catching benefit cheats” http://is.gd/gXtqI
• Jo Are You Lying to Me? Temporal Cues for Deception — Journal of Language and Social Psychology http://retwt.me/1PORv
• Is It Always Bad To Lie? Review of a new book on deception, via http://retwt.me/1POR5
• Interviewers outperform thermal imaging technology in identifying liars & truth-tellers. Great study, FREE til 30/11 http://is.gd/hxePN
• In press: Role of dorsolateral prefrontal cortex in deception when remembering neutral & emotional events Neurosci Res http://is.gd/hxdN4
• Neat new study on deceptive groups: Extracting Concealed Information from Groups in J. of Forensic Sciences. http://retwt.me/1PO2N
• “Trusting people make better lie detectors” from SAGE Insight. Includes link to free PDF of journal article http://retwt.me/1PyQX
• In The Job Hunt, People Do Lie, But Honesty Pays Off, Study Finds http://retwt.me/1PyQd
• Misguided: Polygraphs provide false reassurance. Sigh. “Polygraph Testing Against Border Corruption” via Secrecy News http://retwt.me/1Pr4k
• To detect lies it’s equally as important to be able to detect when someone is being truthful. http://retwt.me/1Pr3Q via @humintell
• Blog post from @humintell on interesting new research: Are Children Good Liars? http://retwt.me/1Pr3k

Research and resources on terrorism and counter-terrorism

• Methods to Detect and Characterize Terrorist activity, report from Institute for Homeland Sec Solutions http://retwt.me/1POQO
• Deradicalization: Literature review and comparison with research on anti-cult and anti-gang initiatives http://retwt.me/1POQN
• The Impact of Emotion in the American Public’s Assessments of and Reactions to Terrorism, summary and link to full txt http://retwt.me/1POQL
• via Resource shelf: Chicago Project on Security and Terrorism Suicide Attack Database http://retwt.me/1Pr42

Retweets and other miscellaneous links

• @PhilipBecnel’s article in Pursuit Magazine called “A Private Investigator’s Take on Social Media”: http://bit.ly/cqfz0r
• RT @vaughanbell What makes a psychopath? http://is.gd/hq2f9 The Economist on recent findings.
• @navarrotells Four opportunities to detect deception in an interview: http://bit.ly/braLm1 in Psychology Today
• Mental illness in US prisons – video via @channelNvideo http://retwt.me/1Pr41
• The awesome @kfranklinphd explains what it takes to become a forensic psychologist at her new Psychology Today blog http://retwt.me/1Pr3l

The American Psychiatric Association (not to be confused with the American Psychological Association) has released new treatment guidelines for depression. According to Medscape Today, the guidelines include:

• A clinician- and/or patient-administered rating scale for psychiatric symptoms to help with treatment strategies;
• A recommendation for the use of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT or "shock therapy") to treat depression if many other treatments have been tried unsuccessfully, along with monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs), transcranial magnetic stimulation, and vagus nerve stimulation as other potential options;
• Aerobic exercise or resistance training to improve mood symptoms, especially in older adults with other physical or mental illness; and
• Consideration of long-term maintenance treatment, especially for patients at risk for recurrence.

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Toxoplasma gondii is a parasite that infects mice and makes them less afraid of cats. The fearless mice are more likely to be eaten by cats, and the parasite reproduces in the cats' digestive tract. Toxoplasma's ability to alter mouse behavior has led to a bit of evidence and a lot of theories about how human brains might be affected by the parasite. Since about a third of adult humans worldwide have toxoplasmosis, this is a pretty important question.

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May is Mental Health Month.

Across the country the National Alliance on Mental Illness will be hosting walks and other events to address the need for an improved mental health treatment program.

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Thirteen people were killed and several more wounded in a shooting in Fort Hood, Texas, on Thursday.

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‘ ONE in five people say they would not work with someone suffering depression, a new survey shows. The survey of more than 6000 Australians showed that men, the less-educated and migrants were more likely to attach stigma to depression. The survey in the Journal BioMed Central was part of research by Kathy Griffiths and Helen Christensen of [...]

‘Puerto Ricans 59 and older have higher rates of depression than other Hispanics living in the United States, researchers said. “Our findings support the hypothesis that the assumption of homogeneity of the prevalence of depression across Hispanic groups is not tenable,” said study researcher Dr. Yang of Hebrew SeniorLife’s Institute for Aging Research in Roslindale, Mass. [...]

‘The ancient art of tai chi is helping bring peace and harmony in a place you would least expect it - Outback NSW. For the past decade the drought has put pressure on farmer’s livelihoods and well-being. So much so, that some farmers’ wives are afraid to leave their husbands amid fears of suicide. But Mate Helping Mate, [...]

The Watercooler Diaries has just released this story on Therapeutic Lifestyle Change (TLC) for depression. See what you think.

Update:

Here are some additional links to TLC-related content you may find of interest:

1) Los Angeles Times story

2) In-depth piece in KU Alumni Magazine

3) Neuroscene podcast interview with Dr. Ilardi

4) Kansas City Star story on TLC, picked up by national newswires

5) Radio interview with Dr. Ilardi

According to a sweeping epidemiological survey, roughly one in four Americans will now succomb to debilitating depressive illness by the age of 75. Sadly, the risk of depression is even higher among young adults (see chart below); it now looks like over half of all 18-29 year-olds will become clinically depressed at some point!

Over the years, I've treated a few patients who were convinced that a sinister, unseen entity was trying to seize control of their minds. Such a delusional belief - usually regarded as clear evidence of psychosis - strikes us as obviously out of touch with reality. And yet straight from the front lines of scientific research comes evidence of a parasite that can exert its own version of mind-control . . .

The villain in this story is Toxoplasma gondii, a microscopic parasite that likes to take up temporary residence inside the brain and muscle tissue of warm-blooded animals. Once safely lodged inside the brain, Toxoplasma orchestrates a series of subtle neurological changes in the host. This process has numerous effects on the infected animal's behavior - effects that are especially pronounced in rodents. Afflicted mice and rats become fearless and disinhibited, and they exhibit particular boldness around housecats. Instead of avoiding cats at all costs (as any sane rodent would do), infected mice and rats will charge straight at a feline nemesis. It's a sure-fire strategy for winding up as cat chow, especially given the parasite's annoying tendency to induce slowed reaction times in its host.

If we didn't know any better, we might guess that Toxoplasma is trying to commandeer the rodent's body, to use it as a delivery vehicle to get itself inside a cat . . . and, in a very real sense, this is exactly what's going on. For it turns out that Toxoplasma can only reproduce effectively inside the feline small intestine. Its offspring can then hitch a ride back out into the world encased in cat feces, from which they make their way into the ground and then on into the body of any animal that happens to ingest them. Often the unsuspecting critter is something a cat can then prey on, after which the entire reproductive cycle repeats itself . . . Over the millenia, Toxoplasma has evolved a remarkable ability to make its way back inside cats to reproduce - primarily through altering the brain function of its temporary non-feline hosts.

Now, by this point in the story, some of you are no doubt wondering, "Hey, wait a minute; haven't I heard of this parasite somewhere before? Isn't it the one that causes toxoplasmosis, that disease pregnant women can catch from cats and pass on to their babies?"

Indeed it is. Fortunately, though, the best research suggests that Toxoplasma infection is no more likely among cat owners than it is among the general population, so the risk of contact with cats appears to be minimal. Medical experts do, however, urge some caution when cleaning out a litter box, as Toxoplasma is readily transmitted to humans through the accidental ingestion of cat feces. (As if such an unsavory fate weren't bad enough!)

1) Just as Toxoplasma reduces reaction times in rodents - presumably, to make them easier for cats to catch - it also makes people react more slowly. In fact, infected individuals are at much higher risk of experiencing an automobile accident. (And remember, most people who have contracted Toxoplasma are completely oblivious to the fact.)

2) Women infected with Toxoplasma experience a suite of changes that might be considered generally positive. They tend to be very kindly, and to exhibit, on average, slightly higher IQ, conscientiousness, warmth, generosity, and guilt-proneness. Why in the world would the parasite engender these particular effects? Well, anything Toxoplasma can do to aid and abet its genetic kin will be subject to evolutionary selection pressure, since this will still effectively help pass along its genes. Thus, Toxoplasma appears to be trying to turn its female hosts into people who will be particularly nice to cats - aka, "cat ladies!"

3) Men, on the other hand, have a completely different set of reactions to Toxoplasma infection. They experience reduced IQ and initiative, and tend to become more stoic, laid-back, and slow-tempered. In other words, they become just the sort of guys who would be unlikely to interfere with their "cat lady" wives, to hinder them from tending to their brood of adoring felines!

Now, having outlined this array of creepy Toxoplasma effects, I need to give the following disclaimer: these effects on personality are often fairly subtle, and many infected individuals exhibit no measurable effects at all.

Nevertheless, the obvious question for each of us is: what if I'm infected, and if so, what can be done about it? I am duty-bound to urge you to consult with your physician on this one. Certainly, there are fairly straightforward blood tests that can determine whether or not you have Toxoplasma antibodies in your system (which would in turn indicate whether or not you've ever had an active infection, in which case it's likely that you would still have Toxoplasma cysts in muscle and nervous tissue).

There are a number of different antibiotics that seem to have at least some effect in combating the Toxoplasma cysts in the brain, although at this point it's premature to say that any single drug (or combination) is a guaranteed cure. Given the enormous potential public health implications of this issue - which is just now coming to widespread attention - I think it's safe to say that finding a reliable way to eradicate Toxoplasma will become a high clinical research priority in the years ahead.

Drug companies spend roughly 2.5 times as much on marketing as they do on research and development, and a large share of this promotional money is funneled directly to doctors in the form of "marketing payments," speaking fees, junkets, and so forth. In other contexts, the word bribery might come to mind, but because this is the medical profession we're talking about, the term is rarely invoked. Nonetheless, there is emerging evidence that the drug makers' massive investment in physician payments is paying off in the form of altered clinical practice, at least when it comes to the field of psychiatry.

In fact, according to a story in today's New York Times, psychiatrists are now the top recipients of drug company money (among all medical specialists). Psychiatrists in Vermont - the most recent state to make such data available - received an average of over $45,000 apiece in payments from Big Pharma last year* - more than double the figure for the preceding year. Moreover, individual psychiatrists who received the largest payments just happen to be the most likely to engage in questionable activities like prescribing expensive (highly profitable) anti-psychotic medications to children - an enormously controversial practice in light of the high potential of these medications to cause massive weight gain, debilitating sedation, insulin resistance, and cognitive slowing.

Most psychiatrists, of course, care deeply about their patients, and would never deliberately allow their practice to be influenced by drug company payouts. But psychiatrist are still human, and it's human nature to reciprocate as best we can when someone has given us something of value. Thus, psychiatry, now heavily indebted to the pharmaceutical industry - not just through payouts to individual psychiatrists, but also, for example, through millions of dollars spent each year on drug company advertisements in psychiatric journals - is a discipline that can no longer afford to ignore the looming scandal of drug company "promotional spending." Word is getting out, and the profession's credibility is now on the line.



*Many thanks to Dr. X for bringing my attention an apparent error in the NY Times' coverage of the story: the reported $45,000 average applies only to the subset of 11 psychiatrists who were among the state's top 100 recipients of pharmaceutical largesse. According to Dr. X's trenchant analysis, the average psychiatrist statewide received "only" about $4,000 in drug company handouts last year.

The latest research confirms it: Americans are now perilously isolated. In a comprehensive new study by scientists at Duke University (Psych Pundit's alma mater), researchers have observed a sharp decline in our social connectedness over the past 20 years.

Remarkably, 25% of all Americans are now completely alone - without a single person they can confide in. And over half of all Americans report having no close confidants or friends outside their immediate family. The situation today is much worse today than it was when similar data were gathered in 1985 (when, for example, only 10% of Americans were completely alone).

How could this happen? It's hundreds of little things. You can probably think of several off the top of your head: longer work hours, surfing the Internet, tuning out the world as you march along to the isolating beat of your iPod . . . and don't forget all that time stuck in traffic.

According to Robert Putnam, sociologist and author of the influential book, Bowling Alone, for every 10 minutes added to your commute time, there's a 10% decrease in the likelihood of maintaining social ties.

But we're truly not designed to live like this. For the vast majority of human history, everyone lived in intimate, hunter-gatherer communities of 100-150 people. Anthropologists who spend time with modern-day hunter-gatherer bands report that social isolation and loneliness are competely unknown . . . as people spend virtually all day every day in the company of friends and loved ones.

Even Americans of a couple generations ago used to benefit from a richness of community life that has slowly disappeared. We've witnessed a long slow retreat into the hermetically sealed existence of our own fortress-like homes . . . friendships replaced by computer screens, Netflix videos, and exhausted couch potato stupor.

The toll? Increased vulnerability to mental illness. Social isolation is a huge risk factor for the onset of depression. There's also growing evidence that isolation increases vulnerability to various forms of addiction. I'll discuss this more in a future post . . .