The Abnormal Psychologist

Season 4, Episode 1: The Salem Witch Trials

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

Season 3, Episode 36: Stages of Change- The Transtheoretical Model

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

Season 3, Episode 35: Reflections on the ADHD Summit (and tips on ADHD management)

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

Season 3, Episode 34: Mailbag

This episode tries to rapid-fire answer your mailbag questions, including ones on blushing, comorbid autism diagnoses, marijuana as therapy, pornography addiction, and wh

Season 3, Episode 33: Parasocial Relationships

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

Season 3, Episode 32: Self-Diagnosis

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

Season 3, Episode 31: Electroconvulsive Therapy (and a mailbag follow-up on Borderline Personality Disorder)

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

Season 3, Episode 30: Service Animals and Emotional Support Animals

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

Season 3, Episode 29: Sensory Processing Disorder

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

Season 3, Episode 28: The Reading Wars

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

Season 3, Episode 27: The Back to School Blues and the Sunday Scaries

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 t

Season 3, Episode 26: Animal Encounters

This episode is comprised of stories documenting my encounters with animals as a psychologist.  Critters encountered clinically include dogs, geckos, spiders, and all sor

Season 3, Episode 25: Executive Functioning and Executive Dysfunction

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

Season 3, Episode 24: Grit

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 h

Season 3, Episode 23: LGBTQ+ Mental Health

This episode comes as a mailbag request following the Nashville Covenant School shootings which caused confusion and even persecution against sexual minorities.  This epi

Season 3, Episode 22: Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA)

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. 

Season 3, Episode 21: Parenting Styles

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 grandp

Season 3, Episode 20: Causes of Autism

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

Season 3, Episode 19: Sleep

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

Season 3, Episode 18: New Year's Resolutions

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