The Shrink Tank

Psychotherapy in practice, research, and pop culture.

by Jared DeFife, Ph.D.

What We Say Reveals Secrets About Who We Are

The words we use say a great deal about who we are, where we come from, and how we think. Find out what a few simple words can expose about you and your relationships. Read More

5 Tips to Improve Your Scientific Writing

To be a productive scientist and scholar, you need to write well. A few simple to remember tips can help you improve the clarity and impact of your scientific writing. Read More

New Treatments to Combat Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

From drugs to digital worlds, researchers are testing innovative treatments for PTSD. Read More

Oops! Another Flawed Report on Long-Term Psychodynamic Psychotherapy

More double standards and exaggerated critiques against the effectiveness of psychodynamic therapy. Read More

The Crying Game: Male Athletes Shedding Tears

Ballers and bawlers: Is it ok for men to cry in sports? Read More

Do Nice Guys Finish Last…Financially?

Easygoing guys and empty bank accounts. Being agreeable just doesn't pay. Read More

10 Psychologically Disturbed Halloween Costume Choices

What are YOU wearing this year? Watch out for these crazy Halloween costume choices and find out what's really going on behind that mask. Read More

Is this the End of Individual Psychotherapy?

A former president of the American Psychological Association calls individual therapy overrated and outdated. Wait, what? Read More

One Judgment Day prophecy comes true!

If you're reading this, you probably haven't been Raptured. Judgment Day didn't come to pass on May 21, 2011 as prophesied by Family Radio evangelist Harold Camping, but one doomsday prediction did come true. Read More

It's the end of the world as we know it...and I feel fine.

According to Christian radio broadcaster Harold Camping, today is Judgment Day. There's no doubt that the end is near - there's sophisticated Apocalyptic arithmetic involved - but what if Judgment Day doesn't come? Read More

Five Tips on How to Talk About Yourself in Therapy

It's hard to get much done in psychotherapy without talking about yourself. Yet, one of the most commonly experienced problems for people in therapy is the feeling that initiating a conversation and talking about oneself is difficult. Five things you can do to make it easier. Read More

Stuff Psychologists Like #2 - Submitting Papers to Peer-Review Journals

The endless hours of detailed planning, arduous data collection, eye-crossing statistical analysis, and caffeine-fueled writing sessions have finally paid off: you have written a complete research study manuscript. Here's what to expect from the academic journal peer-review process. Read More

10 Holiday Gifts that Will Cause Your Child Lasting Psychological Damage

These gifts will ruin Christmas and traumatize your child for life. Read More

4 Teen Suicides in Ohio: Is Bullying to Blame?

Four teen suicides have occurred at one Ohio high school in two years. A fifth student was found dead yesterday. The community struggles with one question: Why? Read More

Is Attention Deficit-Hyperactivity Disorder a fad?

There was a time when hula hoops, pet rocks, and bell bottoms were fads. In this day and age, listening to Lady Gaga and attending a Justin Beiber concert are fads.

When people have trouble with their abilities to work productively, learn new things, and form new relationships, that's not a fad...it's a problem. Read More

Stuff Psychologists Like - #1. Diagnosing Fictional Characters

Diagnosing fictional characters is fun, informative, and rewarding. Read More

I Want to be an Olympic Athlete

I've decided to become a winter Olympian. Sure I can't ski, skate, shoot, sled, or slide a stone. But I can yawn with the best of them. Read More

DSM-V offers new criteria for personality disorders

The American Psychiatric Association is in the middle of a historical revision to its diagnostic "Bible", the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (or DSM). Here's a look at the changing landscape of personality disorder diagnosis. Read More

How Psychotherapy Works

An interview with Bruce Wampold, Ph.D., author of The Great Psychotherapy Debate Read More

Depression in the Digital World

A new study links internet use and addiction to depression. Read More

Let the Evidence Show: Psychodynamic Therapy Provides Effective and Lasting Benefits

For too long, psychodynamic therapists have been treated like the redheaded stepchildren of the mental health field. A treatment option offering substantial and lasting benefits has too often been dismissed as unscientific and outmoded. But now the evidence is in and the professional community is taking notice. Read More

Epic marketing fail: Can the iPad absorb the flow of criticism?

The Apple iPad: It's slim, comfortable, and you can take it anywhere. And no, it's not a feminine hygiene product. Read More

Therapy: Does it ever end?

What good is long-term therapy anyway? Read More

Aggressive Athletes: Out of Control and Unapologetic

University of New Mexico soccer player Elizabeth Lambert was called out by ESPN for punching, kicking, shoving, and throwing elbows against opponents after her team fell behind in a conference tournament game. In her most blatant attack, she yanked back an opponent's ponytail, ripping her to the ground. She says she deeply regrets the incident. Do you believe her? Read More

The NSA suspects that you're a terrorist: How the Bush administration implemented unprecedented domestic wiretapping programs

Late last night, a report was released about the Congressional investigation of unprecedented domestic spying and wiretapping programs secretly implemented by the Bush administration in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks. For any human being concerned about privacy, information security, U.S. history and constitutional law, the revelations are hair raising. How this happened and why it's a problem...
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Diversity in Entertainment - Why it Matters

When an open-letter to Pixar asked about the surprising lack of female leading characters, many readers asked "why does it matter?" Here's why it matters. Read More

Hey Pixar, What’s Up? Try Finding an Incredible Story about a Girl’s Life

...and one who isn't a princess, please. NPR.org blogger Linda Holmes identifies a notable omission from Pixar's cinematic corpus: a lack of a single leading female character. Read More

Should Insurances Pay for Therapy?

This is one of the most widely discussed and hotly contested debates in the field of mental health. So let's gather your thoughts and opinions:

Should health insurance providers pay for psychotherapy, and why?

As a social culture, we can't seem to find a healthy balance when it comes to weight. On one hand, we're an increasingly obese nation with all of the added weight of health complications. On the other hand, we're either heralding or demonizing celebrities for drastic shifts in body weight.

Given our perpetual fascination with and raging envy of thinness, the prevalence of eating disorders should come as no surprise. Communities have emerged in celebration of Pro-Ana or Pro-Mia lifestyles, promoting "thinsporation" and advice. But eating disorders are not fashionable and glamorous. They are not lifestyle choices or spiritual experiences. They are devastating illnesses with severe consequences. Read More

Eating Disorders On The Rise, Part I: How Do We Find Out If Psychotherapy Helps?

The eating disorders are particularly frightening and complicated forms of mental health distress. The Agency for Health Care Research and Quality has released a report identifying a sharp rise in eating disorder hospitalizations. Can psychotherapy help with these debilitating disorders? Read More

Jared DeFife, Ph.D., is a clinical psychologist and research scientist at Emory University and Associate Director of the Laboratory of Personality and Psychopathology.

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