The Abnormal Psychologist

Were the Salem witches bewitched—or was something else haunting them? The true “horror” wasn’t witches or demons—it was how human psychology under stress led to neighbor turning on neighbor.  This is the first of its kind episode-- a live recording with a student! 

This past semester, I taught a graduate-level class in Addictions Counseling.  In this class, I frequently promoted the Transtheoretical Model.  This episode will discuss the Transtheoretical Model (also called Stages of Change) and how the model can be applied to changing a behavior (whether it be quitting an addiction or starting a new habit).

In this episode, I reflect on recently attending the Pearson ADHD Summit, and I discuss ADHD in females, ADHD and social anxiety, and management of ADHD symptoms.  I also respond to listener criticism on my encopresis episode

This episode tries to rapid-fire answer your mailbag questions, including ones on blushing, comorbid autism diagnoses, marijuana as therapy, pornography addiction, and whether you can outgrow a diagnosis.  

Sidenote: It's been so long since I've podcasted, I'm rusty This episode, recorded on Father's Day, riffs briefly about fatherhood and mental health (while making a cool announcement) before delving into parasocial relationships.  We discuss what parasocial relationships are using diverse examples such as Dora the Explorer, Taylor Swift, and social media influencers. 

This is a snow day episode (meaning I was able to record it since school was cancelled due to inclement weather).  In this episode, I discuss pros and cons of diagnosing yourself with a mental health condition (while also introspectively exploring whether I should self-diagnose with autism).  Please let me know your thoughts!

In this shocking episode, I discuss the history and treatment applications of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT).  I also respond to a mailbag email about borderline personality disorder. 

Special from Washington, D.C., in this episode, we delve into the difference between service animals and emotional support animals (while addressing some common questions related to both)

Let's get controversial in this episode and discuss Sensory Processing Disorder (also known as Sensory Modulation Disorder-- and a host of other names) 

This episode revisits reading and dyslexia and discusses controversial topics-- like the Reading Wars and Visual Processing Disorder-- along the way 

It's back to school time, and many people are feeling anxious, stressed, and a bit depressed.  I decided to dedicate this episode to the "back to school blues" and their close cousin, the "Sunday scaries."   

This episode is comprised of stories documenting my encounters with animals as a psychologist.  Critters encountered clinically include dogs, geckos, spiders, and all sorts of fauna that graduate student definitely didn't prepare me for. 

In this episode, I discuss the somewhat ill-defined topic of executive functioning and how it can be assessed.  We then talk about executive dysfunction and how it can be tied to ADHD.  My own executive dysfunction is on display throughout the episode. 

This episode covers the concept of grit.  It is loosely a book review of Angela Duckworth's Grit: The Power of Perseverance.  Resilience, perseverance, and learned helplessness are also discussed.  

This episode comes as a mailbag request following the Nashville Covenant School shootings which caused confusion and even persecution against sexual minorities.  This episode explores common mental health concerns among individuals in LGBTQ+ communities and also highlights the availability of resources and the importance of future research. 

This episode will introduce ABA, its applications, and its history.  We'll walk through why ABA isn't rocket science and why it's sometimes controversial.  We'll also try to wade through the alphabet soup associated with ABA. 

This episode discusses parenting styles. We'll see if I can weave in psychologist Diana Baumrind with Frank Gallagher from Shameless.  We'll also discuss grandparenting styles. 

This episode is bound to cause some controversy as it discusses what does and does not cause autism (spoiler: the MMR vaccine is not a cause).  We'll explore whether Tylenol usage in pregnancy, high-fructose corn syrup, living near a highway, and advanced parental age are linked to ASD.  We'll also talk about possible neuroanatomical causes of autism.  

I can't believe I haven't published an episode on sleep so far.  This episode will cover sleep related disorders-- and over the course of 30 minutes, I'll discuss a wide variety of topics including sexsomnia and sleep walking.  I'll also work in references to the movies Water Boy and Stepbrothers. 

Happy 2023!  This episode discusses the psychology of New Year's Resolutions and how to make them SMART 

This episode discusses another impulse control disorder, kleptomania, which involves compulsive stealing.  I'll discuss kleptomania-- and also my daughter's own stealing tendencies.

This episode discusses pyromania and arson.  It also touches upon psychogenic vomiting and features a cameo from my dogs. 

Happy Halloween!  This is a special spooky season episode that discusses a wide-range of psychologically relevant Halloween topics-- including fall fetishism, clinical lycanthropy, trick-or-treating, the Salem Witch Trials, and beliefs in ghosts and demons. 

This episode discusses how, Dr. John Fryer, under the pseudonym of Dr. H. Anonymous and with the help of a Halloween mask and a voice modulator, was able to convince the American Psychiatric Association to depathologize homosexuality. 

This episode discusses misophonia-- or when people experience emotions like anxiety, disgust, or rage that is triggered by certain sounds. 

Ever wonder what the definition of insanity is?  No, it's not doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.  This episode discusses insanity and some legal history behind the term. 

This episode discusses morbid jealousy-- or the preoccupation that your significant other is unfaithful to you.  

This episode discusses parentification (when children are put into caretaking roles) and its negative and positive associations.  I also introduce a new piece to the podcast-- a trivia segment!  Finally, I discuss 2 books I would recommend to any aspiring psychologist. 

This episode discusses the roll-out of the 988 National Mental Health Hotline in July 2022-- and why I foresee challenges with the debut of the hotline. 

Ever encountered different diagnoses from different mental health providers and wondered which, if any, is correct?  This episode discusses dueling diagnoses and diagnostic uncertainty 

This episode shares best practices and resources in talking to children about death and dying. 

This episode looks into the relationship (or lack thereof) between birth order and psychology.  How birth order relates to intelligence, personality, and psychopathology is discussed. 

This episode discusses changes between the DSM-5 and the DSM-5-TR (text revision) -- including the introduction of a new disorder (Prolonged Grief Disorder)-- and various disorder name changes 

Ever act like a kid when you're stressed out?  This episode discusses the Freudian defense mechanism of regression.  We also touch on Peter Pan Syndrome-- when fully grown adults don't act their age

Why can't you remember your first birthday party?  This episode will attempt to answer that question by exploring the topic of early childhood amnesia (also called infantile amnesia) 

This episode, which comes by listener request, explores school shootings and introduces the field of threat/risk assessment. 

This episode covers one of the oldest and most commonly administered mental health assessments-- the Mental Status Exam (MSE). 

This episode wraps up Season 2 of the podcast with me reading mailbag questions.  In doing so, we brush on arithmomania, sanity, and Joe Goldberg from the Netflix series You.  See you in 2022!https://www.patreon.com/theabnormalpsychologist

This episode explores involuntary commitment (also known as civil commitment or sectioning)-- and how (and when) you can be admitted to psychiatric care against your will. 

Happy 50th episode!  This episode is a celebration episode and discusses the field of school psychology (in honor of National School Psychology Awareness Week). https://www.patreon.com/theabnormalpsychologist

This episode delves into the psychology of conspiracy theories. 

This episode focuses on positive psychology-- on what makes us happy-- and also explores the concept of toxic positivity.  Along the way, I talk about Ted Lasso a little.  

This episode contains my ramblings and musings after reading Bessel Van der Kolk's The Body Keeps the Score: Brain Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma 

This episode is in response to a mailbag request and discusses homicidal ideation-- and whether it should be a standalone psychological diagnosis.  

This is a listener request episode that discusses what you can do as a psych undergrad to make yourself a stronger candidate for post-grad employment or for grad school.  Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/theabnormalpsychologist

This episode discusses divorce and its relevance to psychology. Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/theabnormalpsychologist

This episode is pretty wide-ranging-- it discusses mental health and the Olympics and touches on the field of sports psychology.  This episode also discusses Other Conditions that May be the Focus of Clinical Attention (or V-codes), which many clinicians sadly often overlook

This episode discusses Borderline Personality Disorder and Dialectical Behavior Therapy.Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/theabnormalpsychologist

In this episode, we talk about issues related to telehealth/teletherapy-- including concerns about encryption, licensure, and privacy. Teletherapy, for better or worse, is not going away (but I also don't see it as replacing in-person therapy). 

This is a wide-ranging episode.  We talk about Cave Syndrome-- or the cutesy name that's been given to anxiety in returning to the real, post-pandemic world.  We also discuss depression due to summer time heat-- which is an often overlooked aspect of depression with seasonal pattern.