The Larger Conversation

Open porn use introduces a relational question that most couples never face: how to live with the knowledge that your partner's erotic fantasy-world often... Read more

Modern therapy has given scant attention to morally elevated emotions like awe, gratitude, and admiration, resulting in a skewed picture of how people actually... Read more

While some warn that the conveyor belt that once transported adolescents into adulthood has broken down, other insist the increasing number of adult children... Read more

As the boomers discover the joys and sorrows of becoming grandparents, they're putting their own generational stamp on a role that's as ancient as parenthood. Read more

Constant Uncertainty about who's a friend and who's a foe, the mundane chaos of the classroom, rules that always seem to be changing—an ordinary day at... Read more

You think the toboggan ride of your 401(k) has been rough? A survivor of the Great Depression muses on what that era taught her about managing the unmanageable. Read more

Many of us struggle to achieve some balance between our work and the rest of our lies. But in today's world, living a more fulfilled life may actually require... Read more

What does the newly passed mental health parity law mean for your practice? Read more

Now that we've been frightened into prudence, our shopping habits have become more deliberate and fraught with anxiety. But with this new economic pressure... Read more

The creation of "the other" is the dynamic at the heart of racism, sexism, homophobia, and persecution. The first step in altering that dynamic is the struggle... Read more

The consolation prize for boys who feel deeply but can't express or even decipher their own emotions is the universe of "electronica," a womb of... Read more

Too much is at stake these days for us to take refuge in our practices after the election. In such challenging times, therapists need to create for themselves... Read more

Some years ago, Rwanda was the hellish scene of one of the most ferocious genocides in history. A therapist who traveled there reports on what it's like to... Read more

When disaster strikes close to home, the emotional shock waves make business as usual impossible for both therapists and clients. Read more

In a world where differences between people have become increasingly demonized, more than ever, the therapist's job is to help people expand their circle of... Read more

This article first appeared in the September/October 2008 issue. Q: I’m seeing more parents who live in safe, middle-class communities and protect their... Read more

If a vast conspiracy were afoot to create an entire civilization of insomniacs, it would operate pretty much the way our society does now. In a nonstop... Read more

A case study examines the differences between sexual orientation and behavior and what really happens when straight men sleep with men. Read more

Beset by chronic budgetary constraints, invasive regulations, and insufficient respect from society at large, community mental health today seems a Sisyphean... Read more

A determined family therapist tries to revive public sector psychotherapy using Thomas Edison as his role model. Read more

An emergency room social worker's day revolves around handling emotional crises of strangers facing terrible moments of their lives. Read more

Far from being a relic of Psych 101, the theory of cognitive dissonance may have more relevance in understanding today's world than ever. Read more

The experience of Asian immigrants is often characterized as a classic rags-to-riches tale. Yet for all the stories of success and assimilation, there's... Read more

Relentless stress in the high-tech workplace of the 21st century is taking an unprecedented toll on our emotional lives and our capacity to wind down at the... Read more

Making "contact" with our partner means first recognizing a subtle inner substrate where we encounter everything from boredom to anxiety to sexual interest to... Read more

When families become stressed by a member's long-term care needs, it's easy to continue the usual relationship patterns and perpetuate long-standing... Read more

Few of us instinctively know what to do and say when families are confronting the death of a loved one. But we can start by being with them in the struggle. Read more

Drawing on spiritual resources can ease the pain and sorrow of death for client and therapist alike. Read more

A psychiatrist who's worked in Bosnia, Kosovo, and Israel leads a team of healthcare professionals into war-ravaged Gaza to see if Western healing methods can... Read more

Phil McGraw, or Dr. Phil, seems not to be "on television," but rather to emanate from television. Authoritative and comforting, he confronts victimhood with... Read more