Feeling Our Way

Turn in the direction of the skid.

Michael Karson Ph.D., J.D.

Do DEI Guidelines Conflict With Clinical Theory?

A Personal Perspective: We’re not who we thought we were.

The Myth of Toxic Masculinity

Like anything else, masculinity is not well-suited to every situation—but it is a good thing for both men and women.

An Argument Against "Techniques" in Psychotherapy

If you can solve a problem, then solve it. But most depressive, anxiety, and trauma disorders need psychotherapy.

Bias and Ageism in Healthcare

To change systemic ageism in healthcare, we must root it out in healthcare training programs.

Why We Remember Bad Things

Memories of early childhood are usefully considered myths or folk tales.

Grammar as Performance

If someone wants to play the role of psychological expert, their comma usage may be undermining their performance.

Is Your Boss a Bully?

Most people say the boss is the worst thing about their job, and most of them describe the boss as imperious, smug, and blaming.

The Evisceration of the Human in Contemporary Psychology

Psychotic countertransference is the therapist’s firm belief that they are wise and beneficent because they are acting in the role of therapist.

Could Heterosexual Monogamy Ever Be Pathological?

Nearly any act can be sick or well, depending on its function.

Love Like You’re Middle-Aged

It’s hard not to take things personally when you are still creating the person who is affected by things.

The Psychology of "Wokeism"

Hate cannot stand up to analogized, contextualized empathy.

The Problem with Claims of “Lived Experience”

Faculty members can’t promote contextual or scientific thinking if faculty colleagues or the larger culture won’t stand up for instruction.

Are Older Therapists Better?

Shouldn’t your therapist keep getting better at therapy?

The 2 Biggest Dating Mistakes

At the heart of the fantasy of meeting Mr. or Ms. Right is the fantasy that you yourself are just right for someone.

Stigma: Life as a Series of Job Interviews

The most insidious and pervasive stigmas are those that disqualify us in the eyes of others from playing the role of human being.

Splitting: The Psychology of the Political Climate

Stark emotions in primary colors produce comic-book narratives about what is going on.

The Teletherapy Frame

If an athlete seeks coaching or strength training, and there’s no internal problem such as injury, go ahead with coaching or strength training, but don’t call it physical therapy.

How "Heroic" Therapists Harm Patients

When therapists insist on being the good guy, it blinds them to their mistakes.

Book Report on "Ulysses" by James Joyce

The blooming idiots who will tell me I am not entitled to have an opinion about Ulysses are like those that tell Bloom he’s not Irish.

Comedy and Tragedy in Life and Therapy

The supposedly-sympathetic, condoling framing of suffering as a tragedy pushes people to embrace hopelessness, victimhood, and defeatism.

Belle’s Psychotherapy (Beauty and the Beast)

Tantalizing others makes them savage.

The Neverending Story Applied to Therapy

Enter patterns to change them; don’t just talk them to death.

Peter Pan’s Psychotherapy

A good therapist sews your shadow back on.

Ironies in Political Correctness

Jews have become white people to the “woke,” while still suffering hate crimes at higher rates than gays, Blacks, and Muslims.

Ariel’s Psychotherapy

A different Prince once said, “Holding someone is truly believing there's joy in repetition."

Lights in the Darkness

As a global pandemic impinges on holiday traditions, we can turn to history for inspiration.

The Internet Can Stunt Our Growth and Undermine Psychotherapy

The Internet allows you to fit in without having to adapt, by finding a social space where you already fit in.

Cinderella’s Psychotherapy

The cure for wretchedness isn’t luxury; it’s ordinary human connection, apart from wealth or poverty.

Martin Buber Does Therapy

In therapy, patients and therapists often confuse indulgence with being treated as a “You” and frustration with being treated as an “It.”

How to Think Systemically About Your Relationship

Take steps to promote the type of marriage you want to be in rather than inadvertently implementing the sort of marriage you don’t want to be in.

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