As panic due to the current coronavirus pandemic runs rampant, another virus has quietly been spreading in its wake: Xenophobia, targeted toward people of Asian descent. Increasingly, reports and videos have surfaced depicting verbal and physical assault of those who appear to be of Asian descent. While we cannot speak directly to the experiences of […]
The Ever-Changing Practice Environment Visionary Ken Drude has been on the cutting-edge of psychology’s increasing awareness of the long-term implications of telehealth for the clinician and most importantly, for potential clients. Most recently, he has urged our colleagues to also appreciate the importance of their Continuing Professional Development (CPD) profiles and especially to ensure that […]
A Psychological Perspective on Collective Action and Healing The field of psychology has traditionally focused on promoting the well-being of individuals, couples, families, and even groups, but has focused less on promoting the well-being and healing of communities as a whole. There is much that psychology can offer to promote connection and health within communities […]
For Paul, for your courage I have been a mental health clinician for nearly 20 years, come from a family with a ‘high genetic loading’ for mental illness (as a psychiatrist colleague once bluntly noted) and I have had my own experience of depression and anxiety in the context of a marriage break up. Thus, […]
School shootings seem as American as apple pie. The post-Columbine generation has been preparing to dodge bullets in school since they were learning to tie their shoes. They are fittingly dubbed “generation lockdown.” On Valentine’s Day 2018, such drills became a reality for students at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. An active […]
Advocacy and clinical psychology are inseparable. All good psychologists advocate for their clients’ overall well-being, effective treatment, and access to needed resources. Given that larger societal issues impact the mental health of the individual, it is important that this advocacy role generalizes beyond our therapy offices. Clients enter therapy shouldering an enormous load of struggles […]
When I was in graduate school, the Scientist-Practitioner Model was every clinical psychologist’s ideal. We were trained to appreciate, understand, and actually do research following the lines of the Boulder Model (1949 Conference). In 1973, a new clinical psychology training model was proposed at the Vail Conference on Professional Training in Psychology. The Practitioner-Scholar model […]
One of the advantages of serving on the U.S. Senate staff or the APA Board of Directors (especially as President) is that one is systematically exposed to evolving trends within our nation’s healthcare environment and the field of psychology. The position essentially forces one to think creatively beyond personal agendas and previous “comfort” levels. One’s […]
I have approached life and my career with a genuine enthusiasm for adventure. I have also found my richest experiences in life to come from learning to be comfortable with the uncomfortable. Being asked to write about my career turning points as a relatively new psychologist evoked this uncomfortable feeling. Do I really have something […]
The day after the 2016 election dawned cloudy and rainy in Washington, DC. As I awoke from a few hours of fitful sleep to drive to work, I felt shocked, disoriented, and confused. The long election season had intensified political divisions, information silos, alternate worldviews, extreme partisan attacks, and disrespect and disgust for the other […]