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Carolyn Kaufman Psy.D.

About

Carolyn Kaufman, Psy.D., was pursuing a bachelor's degree in writing when she discovered how much an understanding of psychology could add to her fiction. By her senior year, she'd not only subjected most of Shakespeare's plays to psychodynamic analysis, she'd decided to pursue her doctorate in clinical psychology.

While she was in graduate school, she became aware of the discrepancies between what she was learning in school and seeing in her office and the psychology in popular fiction and nonfiction. Committed to finding ways to bridge that gap, she wrote her dissertation on improving the accuracy of the psychology that appeared in women's popular periodicals. Or, as she explained it to most people, "I'm teaching shrinks how to write for Cosmo."

After she completed her degree, she was offered a full-time teaching job at Columbus State Community College in Columbus, Ohio—the perfect opportunity to teach lots of people about the differences between "real" psychology and popular misconceptions! Around that time she also began working with writers to help them “get the psych right” in their stories, and her book on the same topic, The Writer’s Guide to Psychology: How to Write Accurately About Psychological Disorders, Clinical Treatment, and Human Behavior (2010), is available from Quill Driver Books.

In addition to her job as a professor, she worked with writers and served as an expert source for journalists, appearing in publications ranging from magazines like Marie Claire and Wired to newspapers like USA Today and books like Andrea Kay's Work's a Bitch and Then You Make It Work. She particularly enjoyed helping with news stories that explore the psychology of fictional media.

Kaufman passed away from a brain aneurysm in 2016.

Her PT Blog is Psychology for Writers.

Books by Carolyn Kaufman Psy.D.
Recent Posts
A Look at the Psychology Behind the Movie "The Purge"
Though the recent film "The Purge", in which citizens are allowed to commit any crime they like for a 12-hour period, certainly captured the imagination of the viewing public, the entire premise is based on the unfounded belief that venting rage reduces it. Find out why catharsis isn't your best bet when you're angry, and what to do instead.
Is Angst Behind All Great Creativity?
Despite the stereotype of the tortured artist, having a psychological disorder may not be the best catalyst for your creativity. Find out why and what you need instead.
Using Personal Disasters to Inform Your Writing
Bad things–sometimes terrible things–happen to us all. While they’re happening, we’re focused on surviving them. But after we manage to do that, for better or worse, we've learned something new about the human condition. And if there’s one thing writers do well, it’s share how hard it is to be human. How to use your disaster to inform your writing.
Painting of Pygmalion and Galatea by Jean-Léon Gérôme
Why Finding a Life Partner Isn’t That Simple

I felt compelled to respond to Dr. Frederic Neumann’s recent post “Why Some People Can’t Find Anyone to Marry.”

I felt compelled to respond to Dr. Frederic Neumann’s recent post “Why Some People Can’t Find Anyone to Marry.”

Why Changing Others’ Minds is So Hard

It can be really hard to step outside of our own beliefs and values and see another's point of view. Here's why and what you can do about it.

It can be really hard to step outside of our own beliefs and values and see another's point of view. Here's why and what you can do about it.

Using the News to Inspire Your Stories

Writers often get stumped on finding new ideas. Here's how the writerly Muse might explore a news article with psychological implications.

Writers often get stumped on finding new ideas. Here's how the writerly Muse might explore a news article with psychological implications.

Why Our Dark Sides Make Us Better Writers

Jungian therapists argue that delving into our psychological shadows helps us be more creative. Likewise, a willingness to write about the dark side of human nature certainly sells better than a conflict-free paradise. Learn more about how always looking into the light can hold you back.

Jungian therapists argue that delving into our psychological shadows helps us be more creative. Likewise, a willingness to write about the dark side of human nature certainly sells better than a conflict-free paradise. Learn more about how always looking into the light can hold you back.

Real-Life Suicide Assessments: Who, What, When, How

Hollywood's portrayals of suicidal characters and therapeutic suicide assessments and interventions are often grossly inaccurate. Learn how real suicide assessments are done, what safety plans are, how hospitalization works, and what the aftermath of a suicide attempt can look like.

Hollywood's portrayals of suicidal characters and therapeutic suicide assessments and interventions are often grossly inaccurate. Learn how real suicide assessments are done, what safety plans are, how hospitalization works, and what the aftermath of a suicide attempt can look like.

But How Do You Feel About That?

Writing big and showing rather than telling can be good rules of thumb for the novelist. But as any good psychologist knows, what's quietly going on inside the character may be the most important thing of all.

Writing big and showing rather than telling can be good rules of thumb for the novelist. But as any good psychologist knows, what's quietly going on inside the character may be the most important thing of all.