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By Margie Nichols, Ph.D. This is another post about parenting, but from a different perspective. A while ago I wrote about how parenting styles don’t matter. This is about something that does. We know through research that kids who are ‘different’ can be shielded from the effects of a judgmental world through the efforts of…
by Margie Nichols, Ph.D. Nope, not advice from me. Advice from Sheldon Kopp, a psychotherapist who lived from 1929 to 1999. Kopp believed that people find their way in life by living fully and by facing reality squarely, without illusion. The title of his book – “If You Meet The Buddha On The Road, Kill…
By Margie Nichols, Ph.D. Recently I was interviewed by Newsweek for an article anticipating the release of the film “The Sessions.” I didn’t make the final cut, but I’m pleased that Lizzie Crocker wrote a pretty balanced article about the controversy over the use of sex surrogates, or surrogate partners as they are now called. …
by Margie Nichols, Ph.D. Two articles about gender differences and childcare have been on my mind lately. The first is an article by Tara Parker-Pope published early in 2012 in the Times Sunday Magazine. She reports on research showing the predictable gender differences in child-care activities, even when both parents work, but also showing that mothers enjoy…
By Margie Nichols, Ph.D. Recently someone sent me a blog post written by Christina Patterson in 2009. In it, she takes some shots at the ‘Positive Thinking’ movement and cites research showing the advantages of negative mood on thought. Critiques of the Positive Psychology movement – psychology’s antidote to focusing on mental illness – are…
By Margie Nichols, Ph.D. Recently, there’s been renewed buzz about the 2010 book “Sex at Dawn” but it’s unclear whether people appreciate the book’s true importance. Authors Ryan and Jetha assert “Like bonobos and chimps, we are the randy descendants of hypersexual ancestors” and although much of the book makes the case for non-monogamy, their…
By Margie Nichols, Ph.D. Recently, Scientific American published a piece called “Are All Psychotherapies Created Equal”? The article reports on a debate that, incredibly, has been going on since 1936, when psychologist Saul Rosenzweig used the metaphor of the Dodo Bird in ‘Alice in Wonderland’ to describe research comparing the effectiveness of different types of psychotherapy. …
By Margie Nichols, Ph.D. Many people are puzzled and confused by what seems to an explosion of people who identify as transgender, genderqueer, gender fluid, or something else that is not ‘male’ or ‘female.’ Even to LGB folk, the changes seem to have occurred almost overnight. So let’s start our exploration of trans issues by…
By Margie Nichols, Ph.D. This blog is named after a workshop designed in the 1980’s by Luis Palacios and Michael Shernoff, two gay social workers and friends who worked with GMHC- Gay Men’s Health Crisis- in the early days. Their workshop was subtitled ‘Eroticizing Safer Sex’ and – it did exactly that. Gay men in…
Thomas Szasz , the psychiatrist who himself was one of psychiatry’s most strident critic, died on Saturday September 8 at the age of 92. I’ve read several obits, some praising and some ridiculing the man, but none that capture his real importance. The writers are taking the arguments of Szasz’ seminal book, “The Myth of…
