Popular Culture Meets Psychology

Freudian Psychology

Tales from the Tattooed Shrink, Episode 1

Lawrence Rubin Ph.D, ABPP, LMHC, RPT-S on December 1, 2019

A not-ready-for-reality TV psychologist laments the loss of yet another opportunity for 15 minutes of fame, and gets a tattoo instead.

Addiction

This Is Us! or That Is Us! You Choose

Lawrence Rubin Ph.D, ABPP, LMHC, RPT-S on December 3, 2018

Is your family like the murderous Cody clan on "Animal Kingdom" or more like the Pearsons on "This Is Us?"

Environment

Can Metaphors Save Us?

Lawrence Rubin Ph.D, ABPP, LMHC, RPT-S on August 29, 2018

The political climate may so drastically heat that an apocalypse will spawn firestorms of psychological devastation, with only one who can save us all—or not!

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

The President Is Mentally Ill and Unfit to Serve

Lawrence Rubin Ph.D, ABPP, LMHC, RPT-S on April 27, 2018

Quis custodiet ipsos custodes: Who guards the guardians?

President Donald Trump

An Appreciation for Trump and Blue Bicycles

Lawrence Rubin Ph.D, ABPP, LMHC, RPT-S on May 9, 2016

Trump and blue bicycles are an invitation for personal and societal exploration

Self-Control

The Perks of Being an X-File-ophile

Lawrence Rubin Ph.D, ABPP, LMHC, RPT-S on January 4, 2016

After binge-watching all 202 episodes of the original X-files series, I have learned (or re-learned) 6 basic truths.

Memory

A Shredded Life

Lawrence Rubin Ph.D, ABPP, LMHC, RPT-S on December 31, 2015

Rarely does one have the opportunity to measure the passage of time by the hours.

Memory

Alzheimer's Disease as Time Travel

Lawrence Rubin Ph.D, ABPP, LMHC, RPT-S on September 6, 2015

Alzheimier's disease has given me the opportunity to travel through time with my mother, albeit randomly.

Race and Ethnicity

Yesterday, I Beat a Six Year-Old

Lawrence Rubin Ph.D, ABPP, LMHC, RPT-S on August 23, 2015

I had the bright idea of racing my six year old neice to prove that I was immortal....I'm not

Fear

The Mastectomy Chronicles, Pt. 1: A Sizemic Change

Lawrence Rubin Ph.D, ABPP, LMHC, RPT-S on August 7, 2015

In a society that values appearance, and which has historically equated self with body, how does a woman remain whole in the shadow of mastectomy?

Career

It's All in the Cards

Lawrence Rubin Ph.D, ABPP, LMHC, RPT-S on August 7, 2015

What if a professional counselor and a psychic met up in a book store? Reflections on the thin lines between art, science and something else.

Consumer Behavior

Are You the Real Thing?

Lawrence Rubin Ph.D, ABPP, LMHC, RPT-S on June 17, 2015

Coca Cola's brilliant "Share-a-Coke" advertising campaign has resurrected the flagging giant and refueled the debate over the toxic adverse health effects of soda and the vulnerability of the consuming public.