Society & Culture

Although happiness is widely beneficial, organizing one’s life around it can lead to a great deal of effort and time being spent unwisely. Trying too hard to... Read more

Bessel van der Kolk, a leading trauma therapist, takes on the New York Times. Read more

A therapist takes an unflinching look at a puzzling case that spanned 14 years, wondering if he made a wrong turn. Read more

Lou Cozolino believes that attachment theory and neuroscience may offer the key to transforming our troubled educational system. Read more

From the first cell division to the final journey down the birth canal, risks and dangers abound. Read more

We used to think that disordered attachment was the result of early parental neglect or abuse. But today, has a paradoxical mix of parental overinvolvement and... Read more

We've become so focused on keeping children safe that we exaggerate the dangers they face despite the fact that they’ve never been safer. Still, no amount of... Read more

After wading through the controversies and contradictions in the research literature on SSRIs, a critic of Big Pharma explains why he thinks these drugs may... Read more

For therapists, giving a TED talk is the new professional milestone. Read more

Pioneering trauma expert Bessel van der Kolk shares his thoughts on the differences between public and private trauma. Read more

A new book investigates the worldview of a range of fanatics who’ve dedicated their lives to holding onto to their antiscientific and antihistorical claims. Read more

Over the last 150 years, we’ve seen waves of mass infatuations with psychotropic drugs—antidepressants being the latest. While all these drugs are... Read more

A middle-aged man explores his troubled relationship with the body his genetics have saddled him with. Read more

Labeling clients with DSM diagnoses is a ritual most of us perform to get reimbursed and pay our mortgages, but few of us actually believe in. Has the time... Read more

Therapists’ Perspectives on the Woody Allen Allegations Read more

Therapists should not only be aware of their prejudices toward higher-weight clients, but should commit themselves to challenge those attitudes as well. Read more

The era of unchallenged male entitlement has come to an end, and many men are mad as hell. A new book provides context to help us deal with this anger in the... Read more

More than any other positive emotion, love resides within connections. It extends beyond personal boundaries to characterize the vibe that pulsates between and... Read more

With his enormous success, Malcolm Gladwell has morphed from a darling underdog to a publishing juggernaut at whom it’s now trendy to sling insults. Read more

Raising the issue of race in therapy can help African American clients connect their personal struggles to an enduring cultural legacy that many insist isn’t... Read more

A new book exposes the story of the corporate competition for our taste buds and ever-expanding tummies. Read more

Anthropologist and author Tanya Luhrmann explains how many evangelicals experience the kind of support in their connection with God that others find in their... Read more

Jared Diamond’s new book explores the many lessons modern cultures can draw from the wisdom of small-scale, preindustrial societies. Read more

Kenneth Hardy believes that the experience of trauma is too often unacknowledged by therapists struggling to help troubled minority youth. Read more

Tens of thousands of miles away from his practice, a therapist accidentally discovers a new sense of purpose, unable to distinguish the act of giving from the... Read more

Social psychologist Jonathon Haidt offers a perspective on why we vote the way we do that you’re unlikely to have read about in the deluge of mainstream... Read more

We live in a culture of denial, especially about the grim reality of climate change. Sure, we want to savor the occasional shrimp cocktail without having to... Read more

Imagine a world populated by college undergraduates. A world filled with binge drinkers and sleep-deprived procrastinators tweeting their sexual exploits to... Read more

A new book about the power of keeping your mouth shut provides a much-needed corrective to our cultural enchantment with extroversion. Read more

Bestselling author and retired psychotherapist Mary Pipher makes a case for therapists’ having the know-how to become effective social activists---and for... Read more