Transformative

Happiness

A Detour on the Path to Happiness

Joan K. Peters Ph.D. on July 16, 2026

Who wouldn't want to pursue the things that science has shown lead to happiness? And why don't they? In some cases, it may be because they don't have the skill.

Who wouldn't want to pursue the things that science has shown lead to happiness? And why don't they? In some cases, it may be because they don't have the skill.

Therapy

Finding Dr. Right: The First Step to Effective Therapy

Joan K. Peters Ph.D. on June 7, 2026

Comparative shopping for the right therapist works much better than taking the first offer, referral, or suggestion—and not just for finding the right therapist.

Comparative shopping for the right therapist works much better than taking the first offer, referral, or suggestion—and not just for finding the right therapist.

Personal Perspectives

A Mother's Day Postscript: My Mother, The Layers Beneath

Joan K. Peters Ph.D. on May 11, 2026

Personal Perspective: As hard as it was for me to face that my mother was a frightened, fragile person beneath her superficial toughness, it’s what I had to do to see into myself.

Personal Perspective: As hard as it was for me to face that my mother was a frightened, fragile person beneath her superficial toughness, it’s what I had to do to see into myself.

Personal Perspectives

How Social Class Shapes Identity

Joan K. Peters Ph.D. on April 17, 2026

Personal Perspective: Knowing how class influences unconscious choices and motivations might free you to be more yourself.

Personal Perspective: Knowing how class influences unconscious choices and motivations might free you to be more yourself.

Caregiving

When Friends Fall Ill: The Psychological Angle

Joan K. Peters Ph.D. on March 17, 2026

Personal Perspective: What happens to us when our friends fall ill? Do we respond empathically? Or do we unconsciously act out our fears and difficulties with infirmity?

Personal Perspective: What happens to us when our friends fall ill? Do we respond empathically? Or do we unconsciously act out our fears and difficulties with infirmity?

Self-Help

When Small Problems Loom Too Large

Joan K. Peters Ph.D. on February 16, 2026

Personal Perspective: Small problems we blow out of proportion offer an opportunity to understand ourselves better by understanding the meaning our unconscious has given them.

Personal Perspective: Small problems we blow out of proportion offer an opportunity to understand ourselves better by understanding the meaning our unconscious has given them.

Anxiety

Instead of a Resolution, a New Year's Investigation

Joan K. Peters Ph.D. on January 4, 2026

A few pointed questions about a compulsive behavior can lead you down through deeper levels of consciousness to its mysterious—and maybe liberating—origin.

A few pointed questions about a compulsive behavior can lead you down through deeper levels of consciousness to its mysterious—and maybe liberating—origin.

Emotions

On the 13th Day of Christmas: How We Intersect With the Holidays

Joan K. Peters Ph.D. on December 15, 2025

Personal Perspective: If anticipating family holidays upsets or depresses you, ask yourself why. Holiday emotions can reveal the sorrows beneath that need to be faced and explored.

Personal Perspective: If anticipating family holidays upsets or depresses you, ask yourself why. Holiday emotions can reveal the sorrows beneath that need to be faced and explored.

Environment

What Mother Nature Has to Offer Your Addled Brain

Joan K. Peters Ph.D. on November 20, 2025

A Personal Perspective: Nature is supposedly soothing. But maybe you really aren't sure why or how to be in nature even if you wanted to. If it's daunting, my story may help.

A Personal Perspective: Nature is supposedly soothing. But maybe you really aren't sure why or how to be in nature even if you wanted to. If it's daunting, my story may help.

Anxiety

Unraveling Travel Anxiety

Joan K. Peters Ph.D. on October 12, 2025

We can ease our travel anxieties by understanding what underlies them and what we bring to travel from our particular childhood experiences.

We can ease our travel anxieties by understanding what underlies them and what we bring to travel from our particular childhood experiences.

Emotion Regulation

Self-Soothing: The Kind We Bring From Childhood

Joan K. Peters Ph.D. on September 9, 2025

Personal Perspective: If popular self-soothing techniques, like hugging yourself, don't do the trick in high-stress moments, your own personal childhood techniques actually might.

Personal Perspective: If popular self-soothing techniques, like hugging yourself, don't do the trick in high-stress moments, your own personal childhood techniques actually might.

Fear

Phobias, Great and Small

Joan K. Peters Ph.D. on August 11, 2025

Personal Perspective: Phobias so minor they may have escaped your notice can mean something important enough to reward your attention.

Personal Perspective: Phobias so minor they may have escaped your notice can mean something important enough to reward your attention.

Family Dynamics

Two Siblings, Same Parents, Entirely Different Experiences

Joan K. Peters Ph.D. on July 15, 2025

A Personal Perspective: Have you (and your siblings) assumed that having the same parents means having the same childhood?

A Personal Perspective: Have you (and your siblings) assumed that having the same parents means having the same childhood?

Therapy

Self-Analysis: What Happens When Therapy Is Over?

Joan K. Peters Ph.D. on June 9, 2025

Personal Perspective: What do you do when therapy has ended and some major (or minor) difficulty comes along that feels dark and threatening to your hard-earned stability?

Personal Perspective: What do you do when therapy has ended and some major (or minor) difficulty comes along that feels dark and threatening to your hard-earned stability?

Loneliness

Understanding Loneliness: The Deep-Seated Kind

Joan K. Peters Ph.D. on May 12, 2025

Personal Perspective: Maybe everyone faces loneliness from time to time, but why is it that for some people it seems like their default? What can you do about it when it is?

Personal Perspective: Maybe everyone faces loneliness from time to time, but why is it that for some people it seems like their default? What can you do about it when it is?

Psychoanalysis

Restless Legs and an Unquiet Mind

Joan K. Peters Ph.D. on April 10, 2025

For me, restless legs may be it's physiological. However, what if it was an expression of some voice inside that got silenced? And what happens if you start listening?

For me, restless legs may be it's physiological. However, what if it was an expression of some voice inside that got silenced? And what happens if you start listening?