Society & Culture

Parents typically view their children in the largely gendered terms society lays out for them. Rearranging that internal mind map requires tremendous effort... Read more

If you’re going to help a couple get closer and really learn to work harmoniously with one another, whether in bed or anywhere else, the key is helping... Read more

Psychologist Kelly McGonigal believes that stress isn’t the public health menace it’s usually made out to be—our compulsion to avoid it is often the... Read more

This issue of the Networker is an attempt to explore what we can contribute as a profession to the “conversation about race,” which, as lame and ungainly... Read more

Many poor, young, black people see themselves as trapped behind a wall-less prison with no exits. They know all too well that their daily experience—whether... Read more

At a time when many are calling for a renewed national conversation about race, an aging, liberal, white New Yorker—who admits he’s never been a party to... Read more

The promise of the community mental health movement of the 1960s, providing high-quality psychological and social services to poor families, remains unfullled... Read more

Author Steve Silberman discusses what it means to view autistic people as individuals seeing the world in a different way, rather than just a checklist of... Read more

Sometimes it can be easier to argue about witch-hunts than risk confronting the dark, unsavory reality of child abuse. Read more

Nearly 40 million Americans visit Internet porn sites at least once a month. Not surprisingly, concerns about the effect of porn on individuals and... Read more

The current economic crisis may be no more than a rather large bump in the golden road of endlessly self-renewing American prosperity. Still, it's hard not to... Read more

Robert Putnam documents the myriad psychological, health, and political consequences of the ever-growing disparities between rich and poor in America today. Read more

After the unrest in Ferguson and Baltimore, the Emotional Emancipation movement offers a different way to address racial issues in the African American... Read more

The new emphasis on the transformative power of trauma can be a template for false assumptions about the “gift” of suffering and the meaning of recovery. Read more

Fifteen years ago, psychotherapist Jeffrey Kottler never imagined he’d be stuffing nine duffel bags full of antibiotics and suture kits for a return trip to... Read more

While many therapists are skeptical of open relationships, some believe that, with the right couple, they can work. Read more

In her first book, The Happiness Project, Gretchen Rubin tried to answer the question “How do I become happier?” With her new book on changing the habits... Read more

Jessica, a counselor in her mid-30’s, works at a large, public mental health clinic in a major metropolitan area. Her workday begins early, the alarm... Read more

A critic of one of our central cultural obsessions goes too far Read more

While the number of people in psychotherapy keeps declining, surveys reveal that potential clients would still rather talk to a therapist than fill a... Read more

Manualized psychotherapy is squeezing out people on the margins of mainstream society. Read more

From the moment I met the Correys in my waiting room, I was baffled about why they were together. Frank was tall, good looking and suave; Donna dowdy and... Read more

If we engage in meditation long enough, we discover that our sense of being a separate, coherent, enduring self is actually a delusion maintained by our... Read more

The mental health professions are now being forced to address the debate over marijuana legalization. Read more

Why did a seeming rags-to-riches story of a young man’s triumph over poverty and the lure of the streets end so tragically? Read more

It’s time to get beyond simplistic notions about “chemical imbalances” and finally reckon with how deeply rooted depression is in the uncertainties and... Read more

Life today is, in many ways, easier than it used to be. Therefore, shouldn’t we be less anxious than we once were? Read more

The Ray Rice case evokes a discussion of the many faces of domestic violence. Read more

During the false memory controversies of the 1990s, many therapists saw Elizabeth Loftus, one of the most honored psychologists in the history of the field, as... Read more

Research increasingly shows that screen time is no substitute for old-fashioned human contact. Read more