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The New York Times – By RICHARD A. FRIEDMAN, MD – Published: December 17, 2012 - In Gun Debate, a Misguided Focus on Mental Illness If you are too busy to read the full article: “In Gun Debate, a Misguided Focus on Mental Illness” by Richard Friedman I suggest that...

TED - Ideas Worth Spreading - Love Letters to Strangers - Hannah Brencher's mother always wrote her letters. So when she felt herself bottom into depression after college, she did what felt natural -- she wrote love letters and left them for strangers to find. The act...

npr books - Arts & Life > Books > Author Interviews > Sherry Turkle Sherry Turkle suggests that it is possible to be in constant digital communication and yet still feel very much alone. She explores the powerful lure of electronic communications, particularly...

The New York Times – By DAVID BROOKS - Published: September 27, 2012 - The Psych Approach David Brooks considers the link between childhood trauma and adult outcomes. The seminal study he references uses 10 categories of childhood traumatic experiences among 'mostly...

The New York Times – By: DAVID K. RANDALL - September 22, 2012 - Rethinking Sleep - SOMETIME in the dark stretch of the night it happens. Perhaps it’s the chime of an incoming text message. Or your iPhone screen lights up to alert you to a new e-mail. Or you find...

In August the APA (American Psychological Association) - the big boss-man of the mental health field, published a trans-theoretical manifesto about psychotherapy. Titled the "Resolution on the Recognition of Psychotherapy Effectiveness" it reads like a head-spinning...

The Huffington Post – By: May Benatar, Ph.D., L.C.S.W. - August 11, 2012 - Mental Health Notes: Stuart Smalley and Neuroplasticity No thought and no words that we have are without consequences. Newsflash: our thoughts impact our emotions impact how we physically feel....

“What a Wonderful World” - Sir David Attenborough is England’s finest natural history filmmaker, best known for his Life Collection. “What a Wonderful World” features breathtaking scenes from his documentaries made even more poignant when paired with Louis Armstrong’s...

The New York Times – By: OLIVER BURKEMAN – August 4, 2012 – The Power of Negative Thinking Oliver Burkeman in his New York Times opinion piece lashes out at the Positive Psychology movement with its empty affirmations and lala-land hopefulness with an abrupt swing to...

The New York Times – By ALEX WILLIAMS – July 13, 2012 – Why Is It Hard to Make Friends Over 30? In his NYT article, Alex Williams laments the loss of ease with which close friends were made and kept during previous decades. While it does seem to be a somewhat...

The New York Times – By: RICHARD A. FRIEDMAN, M.D. – July 9, 2012 - Good News for Mental Illness in Health Law - Finally some relief is in sight for this nation with the passing of the Affordable Care Act. With an estimated 50% of all Americans suffering at some point...

We struggle with work. Did you see the now-famous essay by Dr. Anne-Marie Slaughter in The Atlantic this week? Titled "Why Women Still Can't Have It All", Slaughter explores the dynamics of professional success for women who want to be at the top, the unfulfilled...

Scott Miller, Ph.D, in his Top Performance Blog reports that the Swedish government’s fervent but misguided efforts to identify specific approaches for specific psychiatric diagnoses were a waste of precious time and resources. In fact, the unilateral plan to use only...

The next edition of the DSM might be getting addiction right. Definitions and understandings of addictions have evolved over time to a new comprehensive and useful perspective. An understanding of the mind/body connection…the indistinguishable interconnectedness...

Enough with the media news about the 'generation gap' and 'failure to launch'. Enough with the critical concern about the trend in post-college 20somethings returning home or continuing to rely, either emotionally or financially, on parents. While the parents' role is...

The New York Times – By: NATALIE ANGIER - The Spirit of Sisterhood Is in the Air and on the Air - Published: April 23, 2012 - In animals as diverse as African elephants and barnyard mice, blue monkeys of Kenya and feral horses of New Zealand, affiliative, longlasting...

The New York Times – By: JONATHAN ALPERT – In Therapy Forever? Enough Already – Published: April 21, 2012 - "MY therapist called me the wrong name. I poured out my heart; my doctor looked at his watch. My psychiatrist told me I had to keep seeing him or I would be...

The New York Times - By: SHERRY TURKLE - The Flight From Conversation - Published: April 21, 2012 - Over the past 15 years, Sherry Turkle has studied mobile connection technology and talked to hundreds of people of all ages and circumstances about their plugged-in...

The Washington Post – By: Paula J. Caplan – Psychiatry’s bible, the DSM, is doing more harm than good- Published: April, 27th, 2012- According to the psychiatrists’ bible, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders(DSM), which defines the criteria for...

Shame is an unspoken epidemic, the secret behind many forms of broken behavior. Brené Brown explores what can happen when people confront their shame head-on. YouTube: Her own humor, humanity and vulnerability shine through every word.

Anderson Cooper: "Gottman's work is fascinating." - YouTube: Anderson Cooper discusses with Dr. John Gottman the four negative patterns in a relationship, including criticism and contempt.

*Caine's Arcade* - YouTube - - A 9 year old boy built an elaborate cardboard arcade in his dad's used auto parts store. Check out how dad's gentle affirming support, as well as the playful backing of an admirer, made space for a momentous win/win for all. It is a...

NY Times - By MEG JAY - Published: April 14, 2012 - Cohabitation in the United States has increased by more than 1,500 percent in the past half century. In 1960, about 450,000 unmarried couples lived together. Now the number is more than 7.5 million. The majority of...

*Psychiatry's bible, the DSM, is doing more harm than good* The Washington Post - By: Paula J. Caplan - Published: April, 27th, 2012- According to the psychiatrists’ bible, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders(DSM), which defines the criteria for...

NY Times - By MARK OPPENHEIMER - Published: June 30, 2011 - Last month, when the New York congressman Anthony Weiner finally admitted that he had lied, that his Twitter account had not been hacked, that he in fact had sent a picture of his thinly clad undercarriage to...

The WSJ - By SUSAN GREGORY THOMAS - Published July 9, 2011 - Every generation has its life-defining moments. If you want to find out what it was for a member of the Greatest Generation, you ask: "Where were you on D-Day?" For baby boomers, the questions are: "Where...

NY Times -By PETER D. KRAMER - Published: July 9, 2011 - IN terms of perception, these are hard times for antidepressants. A number of articles have suggested that the drugs are no more effective than placebos. Last month brought an especially high-profile debunking....

Wall Street Journal - By Shirley S. Wang - May 11, 2010 - "Your child tells you he didn't eat a cookie despite the tell-tale crumbs all over his mouth. You call your boss to say you're taking "a sick day," feigning a cough while on the phone. You're both lying, but is...

Scientific American Mind - Getting to Know Me - By Jonathan Shedler - Published November/December 2010 Psychodynamic therapy has been caricatured as navel-gazing, but studies show powerful benefits. Jonathan Shedler, PhD, has offered the best meta-analysis and most...

NY Times - By OLIVER SACKS - Published: December 31, 2010 - "NEW Year’s resolutions often have to do with eating more healthfully, going to the gym more, giving up sweets, losing weight — all admirable goals aimed at improving one’s physical health. Most people,...