Making Meaning

Constructing Understandings in a Confusing World

Jonathan D. Raskin, Ph.D.

Suicide as Sickness?

Are we exaggerating the role of individual defects in suicide, while overlooking the powerful impact of sociocultural circumstances?

Drugs That Boost Mood: Do You Even Have a Mood Disorder?

Why do mental health professionals disagree so strongly over the issue of antidepressant effectiveness? What is their disagreement about?

Do You Need a Psychologist to Tell You Trump is Crazy?

Do psychologists know anything about this guy that everyone else can’t see just by paying attention?

Top 10 Things You May Not Know About the ICD-10

American mental health professionals are often quite unfamiliar with aspects the ICD-10, despite its relevance to their work. Here is some basic information to help them.

Can Therapists Really Share Power with Clients?

In asserting that they can share their power equally with clients, therapists mean well but are misguided. Here's why.

What Kind of Expert Is a Psychotherapist?

I believe that psychotherapists are experts at interpersonal communication. We talk to people and, in so doing, help them have transformative conversations.

Ethics and Honesty in an Age of Alternative Facts

Feeling ethically unmoored in the era of "post-truth" and "alternative facts?" Perhaps constructivist psychology can help!

Want to Learn about Personal Construct Psychology?

Ringing in the 22nd International Congress on Personal Construct Psychology with a post and some links on the basics of personal construct theory.

Is Donald Trump Out of His Mind?

Is Donald Trump out of his mind? From a context-centered therapy perspective, not a bit. Sadly, he’s all too much in it.

Trump’s Hostility and “Alternative Facts”

From the perspective of personal construct theory, President Trump's "alternative facts" exemplify hostility. But he's not alone. We all get hostile sometimes. It's human, but bad.

The Meaning of Grades in Graduate School

Why are graduate students generally required to gets "B's"? Is a "B" in grad school the same as a "C" in undergrad?

Do You Actually Have a Personality?

Maybe you don’t have a permanent and context-free personality. Maybe you have numerous identities, which vary from situation to situation.

Can You Ever Really Get Inside Someone Else’s Head?

You can never get inside other people’s heads because all you ever really know is the built up internal representations in your own head.

What Do People Mean When They Say They're Happy?

When people tell us they’re happy, we automatically assume we know just what they mean.

Making a Meaningful Blog

What is constructivism and why blog about it?