New Books in Psychology

Sometimes, a couch is a only a couch, but not in Dr. Nathan Kravis’s new book, On the Couch: A Repressed History of the Analytic Couch from Plato to Freud (MIT Press, 2017). In a live interview conducted in connection with the Manhattan Institute for Psychoanalysis, we discuss how the couch has become the leading symbol for psychoanalysis in positive and maligned ways. Dr. Kravis discusses how the couch came to signify reclining, rest, introspection and healing and how important decor was for Freud as he was developing the analytic method. We spoke about the role of the couch in the last hundred years and what the future holds for it. We even speak about our own couches and how patients use them! There is a brief question-and-answer period as well. This book is beautifully illustrated: Doctor Kravis describes many of the pictures in the book during this interview – you can see a link to some of the photos discussed here. Christopher Bandini tweets @cebandini. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/psychology

In this episode, cross-posted from the podcast Psychologists Off The Clock, Dr. Yael Schonbrun discusses common struggles in adult romantic relationships with Dr. Avigail Lev, co-author (with Matthew McKay) of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for Couples: A Clinician’s Guide to Using Mindfulness, Values, and Schema Awareness to Rebuild Relationships (Context Press, 2017). Dr. Lev discusses how early childhood experiences contribute to the development of schemas that can negatively impact our approaches to relationships. She explores how we can use concepts available in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy to improve our relationship selves. Dr. Lev uses a combination of evidence-based treatment approaches to help individuals and couples struggling with painful relationships. In this episode, you will hear ideas and strategies you can use to deepen your own relationships. Dr. Lev (Avigail, or Abby) specializes in integrating acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) with schemas therapy to address interpersonal problems and unhelpful patterns in relationships. Avigail is the coauthor of three books on ACT for interpersonal problems (see below). Go to Avigail’s website to find out more. Dr. Yael Schonbrun is a clinical psychologist in private practice, an assistant professor at Brown University, and a co-host of the podcast Psychologists Off The Clock. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/psychology

Magical thinking lies at the heart of J. Eric Oliver and Thomas J. Wood’s new book, Enchanted America: How Intuition and Reason Divide Our Politics (University of Chicago Press, 2018). Oliver is professor of political science at the University of Chicago and Wood is assistant professor of political science at Ohio State University. In the book, they argue that our intuitions and differences in whether you use intuition or reason to guide your life, strongly relate to our politics. The intuitionists, those who believe in magical thinking, are sharply divided from the rationalists, those who rely on reason and science. Not only do these two groups differ on what makes them anxious, Oliver and Wood find that these emotional responses to stress seem to relate to ideology and political belief. Though there are examples of each way of thinking in both parties, intuitionists were more likely to support Donald Trump and respond to the conspiratorial politics that the President has promoted. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/psychology

Pamela Woolner, senior lecturer in education at Newcastle University, joins us in this episode to discuss her edited volume, School Design Together (Routledge, 2014). Pam is an expert in understanding and developing learning environments, particularly the use of participatory research methods to engage and empower users to share their experiences and knowledge. My conversation with Pam begins with her background in psychology and how her early research studying the use of visuals in math then led her to her research on school environments. In the interview, Pam reflects on the genesis of the book: a 2011 conference to bring together a diverse collective of architects, designers, educators, and researchers at the conclusion of the UK’s Building Schools for the Future programme. For those unfamiliar with learning environments research, a common question is, “Which comes first, the innovative space or innovative teaching?” To answer this question, Pam discusses the complexity of school change, and describes using a cyclical approach that engages a range of participants, at different levels of participation, and at different times in the process. Throughout our conversation, Pam shares her insight about the ways the physical environment is linked to change in schools. Julie Kallio is a graduate student in Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis at the University of Wisconsin – Madison. Her research interests include educational change, innovation and improvement networks, physical spaces of schools, and participatory design. You can find more about her work on her website, follow her on twitter, or email her at [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/psychology

To many, the title, A Transdiagnostic Approach to CBT using Method of Levels Therapy: Distinctive Features (Routledge, 2012) , may seem incongruous with a podcast channel called “New Books in Systems and Cybernetics.” However, listeners familiar with my previous interview with Richard S. Marken about his co-authored book, Contolling People: The Paradoxical Nature of Being Human, will be aware of contemporary developments of Willam T. Powers’ essentially cybernetic Perceptual Control Theory (PCT) and the Method of Levels (MOL) approach to Cognitive Behavioural Therapy that emerged from Powers’ revolutionary vision. Marken’s co-author, Timothy A. Carey, has been the driving force behind the evolution of MOL and is also the co-author, along with Warren Mansell and Sara Tai of the University of Manchester, of this episode’s featured book. Lead author, Mansell, and his colleagues have deftly crafted a clear and concise introduction to the underlying principles and practical procedures of this therapeutic approach that is as digestible and useful for students of cybernetics in general as it is for practicing psychotherapeutic clinicians. In our conversation, Mansell crisply outlines the growing transdiagnostic conception of mental distress, the hypothesized system of hierarchically nested control-systems undergirding human behaviour, and the stunningly simple yet powerful therapeutic approach that is grounded in this cybernetic hypothesis and that is gaining ever more robust empirical support with each passing year. This is important work for researches in all disciplines committed to exploring a cybernetic conception of adaptive (or maladaptive) human behaviour. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/psychology

Balancing work and a personal life can be a challenge for many of us, and we often make things worse by buying into myths that interfere with our effectiveness and happiness but are unsupported by social science. In this episode, cross-posted from the podcast Psychologists Off The Clock, Dr. Yael Schonbrun interviews psychology professors and authors Drs. Miriam Liss and Holly Schiffrin about their book, Balancing the Big Stuff: Finding Happiness in Work, Family, and Life. They tackle topics including the science of best work and parenting practices, the myths that interfere with effectiveness, and helpful ways to think about success in our most important roles. They also offer concrete practices that can help you build and sustain happiness in the midst of your busy life. Dr. Miriam Liss is widely published on the topics of feminism, division of labor, parenting, and child autism and other developmental disorders. She has been interviewed on the topics of intensive parenting and attachment parenting for the Washington Post, MSNBC, and Live Science, and has co-authored a textbook titled the Psychology of Women and Gender with Norton coming out. Dr. Holly Schiffrin specializes in child development, parenting, and early intervention and has served as the president of the Virginia Academic and Applied Psychologist Academy of the Virginia Psychological Association. She has been interviewed about her research on parenting and well-being for Time.com and various other newspapers and parenting magazines. Dr. Yael Schonbrun is a clinical psychologist in private practice, an assistant professor at Brown University, and a co-host of the podcast Psychologists Off The Clock. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/psychology

In Genetics in the Madhouse: The Unknown History of Human Heredity (Princeton University Press, 2018), Theodore Porter uncovers the unfamiliar origins of human genetics in the asylums of Europe and North America. Rather than beginning his story with Gregor Mendel or 1909, the date when Wilhelm Johannsen coined the term “gene,” Porter takes us back to King George III. After a political and medical crisis, doctors and researchers began to record and collect data on the causes of mental illness. In so doing, they increasingly investigated and theorized phenotypic heredity. Using paper technologies and demographic research, from asylum admissions records to census cards, largely unknown individuals helped establish the study of human inheritance. Excavating these figures’ contributions to the history of heredity, Porter sheds new light on the work of Karl Pearson and Charles Davenport. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/psychology

Schizophrènes au XXe siècle: des effets secondaires de l’histoire [Schizophrenics in the Twentieth Century: The Side Effects of History] is a strong argument in support of the history of psychiatry “from below.” Using vast archival resources and ample patient files, Hervé Guillemain demonstrates convincingly how schizophrenia in France was a socially constructed category—one that circumscribed and further stigmatized individuals who were already marginalized and left behind in a changing political, economic, and social landscape. Guillemain follows the surprising twists and turns proffered by his sources, and in so doing, reveals to us an untold and unexpected history of those youth and young adults who tried to take “a leap forward, but failed.” While focusing primarily on France, this book nevertheless surpasses its geographic boundaries and will undoubtedly be engaging for all those interested in the schizophrenia diagnosis. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/psychology

Evolution science and behavioral science both have strong theories that can help us understand humans in context, and yet, until now, the two fields have been mostly separate. In this episode, cross-posted from the podcast Psychologists Off The Clock, Dr. Steven Hayes and Dr. David Sloan Wilson share how they are collaborating to bridge this divide. They discuss their recent co-edited book, Evolution and Contextual Behavioral Science: An Integrated Framework for Understanding, Predicting, and Influencing Human Behavior (Context Press, 2018), and they explore about how taking an evolutionary view of humans can be helpful in daily life, and in psychotherapy practice. Dr. Steven C. Hayes is a Professor of Psychology at the University of Nevada. An author of 44 books and nearly 600 scientific articles, he is especially known as a co-developer of “Acceptance and Commitment Therapy” or “ACT,” one of the most widely used and researched new methods of psychological intervention over the last 20 years. His popular book Get Out of Your Mind and Into Your Life has sold over a quarter million copies worldwide. Dr. Hayes has received several national awards, such as the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapy, and is ranked among the top most cited psychologists in the word. Dr. David Sloan Wilson is an American evolutionary biologist and a Distinguished Professor of Biological Sciences and Anthropology at Binghamton University, part of the State University of New York. He applies evolutionary theory to all aspects of humanity in addition to the rest of life. His numerous books include Darwin’s Cathedral: Evolution, Religion, and the Nature of Society and Evolution for Everyone: How Darwin’s Theory Can Change the Way We Think About Our Lives. Dr. Wilson publishes in anthropology, psychology, and philosophy journals in addition to his mainstream biological research, and is the Editor-in-Chief of Evolution: This View of Life. He started the Evolutionary Studies program at Binghamton University to unify diverse disciplines under the theory of evolution. Debbie Sorensen, Ph.D. is a licensed psychologist practicing in Denver, Colorado and a co-host of the podcast Psychologists Off The Clock. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/psychology

In this inspirational episode, cross-posted from the podcast Psychologists Off The Clock, Dr. Diana Hill interviews Dr. Steven Hayes, co-developer of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), about the future of evidence-based therapy. Dr. Hayes describes the core processes involved in effective change and presents a model that breaks free from diagnoses and protocols. Dr. Hayes shares how he uses principles of process as a parent, leader and ally to underrepresented populations in psychology. Take a listen as Dr. Hayes, on his 70th birthday, paints the big picture of a process-based model of psychology that will revolutionize our field as we know it! Steven C. Hayes is Nevada Foundation Professor in the Behavior Analysis program at the Department of Psychology at the University of Nevada. An author of 44 books (most recently Process-Based CBT: The Science and Core Clinical Competencies of Cognitive Behavioral Therapies (Context Press, 2018)) and nearly 600 scientific articles, he has shown in his research how language and thought leads to human suffering, and has guided the development of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, a powerful therapy method that is useful in a wide variety of areas. His popular book Get Out of Your Mind and Into Your Life was featured in Time Magazine among several other major media outlets and for a time was the best-selling self-help book in the United States. Dr. Hayes has been president of several scientific societies and has received several national awards, such as the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies. Google Scholar data ranks him as among the top most cited scholars in all areas of study, living and dead. Diana Hill, Ph.D. is a licensed psychologist practicing in Santa Barbara, California, and a co-host of the podcast Psychologists Off The Clock. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/psychology

In this episode, cross-posted from the podcast Psychologists Off The Clock, Dr. Diana Hill interviews Dr. Dan Siegel about his new book, Aware: The Science and Practice of Presence (TarcherPerigree, 2018). Dr. Siegel describes interpersonal neurobiology and how he has learned from mathematics, anthropology, biology, physics, sociology, and neuroscience to understand the mind. He discusses a powerful practice called The Wheel of Awareness, which cultivates focus, interoception and inter-connection. Dr. Siegel dives into quantum physics to describe how thoughts arise as a flow of energy in the mind, and tells listeners how they can grow a healthier, more integrated brain. Dr. Siegel is a clinical professor of psychiatry at the UCLA School of Medicine and the founding co-director of the Mindful Awareness Research Center at UCLA. He is also the Executive Director of the Mindsight Institute which focuses on the development of mindsight, which teaches insight, empathy, and integration in individuals, families and communities. Dr. Siegel has published extensively for both the professional and lay audiences. Diana Hill, Ph.D. is a licensed psychologist practicing in Santa Barbara, California, and a co-host of the podcast Psychologists Off The Clock. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/psychology

In her new book, State of Madness: Psychiatry, Literature and Dissent After Stalin (Northern Illinois University Press, 2018), Rebecca Reich argues that Soviet dissident writers used literary narratives to counter state-sanctioned psychiatric diagnoses of insanity. Reich discusses the interesting literary preoccupations of Soviet psychiatrists and psychiatric discourse in the post-Stalin era to help readers understand the context of these diagnoses of madness. Her book mines the works and experiences of dissidents, including Joseph Brodsky, Aleksandr Vol’pin, Vladimir Bukovskii, and others, to weave a narrative that shows how Soviet writers contended with false accusations of mania and madness. She also shows how these writers sought to use their works to illustrate the pathology of post-Stalinist Soviet society. Kimberly St. Julian-Varnon is a History Instructor at Lee College. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/psychology

In this this interview, cross-posted from the podcast Psychologists Off The Clock, Deirdre Fay, LICSW discusses how she integrates yoga, meditation and attachment theory into healing trauma. Ms. Fay discusses the intersection between yoga philosophy and attachment theory. She explores why embodiment is important in the healing of trauma and how she cultivates a “nourishing opposite” when shame accompanies a traumatic response. Ms. Fay leads us through two experiential exercises, Modified Half Archer and Anjali Mudra, to demonstrate these concepts. Deirdre Fay, LICSW has decades of experience exploring the intersection of trauma, attachment, yoga and meditation. Having meditated since the 70’s and lived in a yoga ashram for six years in the 80’s and 90s Deirdre brings a unique perspective to being in the body. In the 90’s Deirdre was asked to teach yoga and meditation to those on the dissociative unit at McLean Hospital. Having amassed skill sets in trauma treatment (as a supervisor under the guidance of Bessel van der Kolk at the Trauma Center), attachment theory (13 years of training with Daniel Brown), body therapy (as a trainer in Sensorimotor Psychotherapy) Deirdre now teaches an integrative approach which Chris Germer calls “a radically positive approach to healing trauma.” Deirdre founded the Becoming Safely Embodied skills groups and is the author of Attachment-Based Yoga & Meditation for Trauma Recovery (W.W. Norton, 2017) (W.W. Norton, 2017), Becoming Safely Embodied Skills Manual (2007), and co-author of Attachment Disturbances for Adults (2016) as well as the co-author of chapters in Neurobiological Attachment-Based Yoga & Meditation for Trauma Recovery Treatments of Traumatic Dissociation. A former supervisor at The Trauma Center, Sensorimotor Psychotherapy Institute trainer from 2000–2008, certified in Internal Family Therapy, qualified trainer in Mindful Self-Compassion, Self-Awakening Yoga and LifeForce Yoga practitioner Deirdre is a respected international teacher and mentor for working safely with the body. Diana Hill, Ph.D. is a licensed psychologist practicing in Santa Barbara, California, and a co-host of the podcast Psychologists Off The Clock. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/psychology

Ever since the first clinical account of autism was published by Dr. Leo Kanner in 1943, Western culture has tended to mythologise the disorder as impenetrable, non-verbal and characterised by silence. As such, in both medical literature and popular culture, autistic individuals are depicted as incomprehensible and Other, problems to be rectified or puzzles to be solved. In contrast to this view of autism as an inscrutable enigma, Autistic Disturbances: Theorizing Autism Poetics from the DSM to Robinson Crusoe (University of Michigan Press, 2018) by Julia Miele Rodas explores the expressive, creative potential of the autist by opening up a host of literary texts to the “possibilities of autism.” Autistic Disturbances is therefore a unique contribution to the growing field of disability studies as it does not simply explore autism from the standard clinical or biographical perspective. Instead, this insightful new study sets out to engage with autistic modes of expression from a literary, cultural and semiotic viewpoint. Undertaking a comprehensive analysis of a wide range of texts, from Charlotte Bronte’s Villette and Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein to Andy Warhol’s autobiographical writings, Rodas unpacks the unique signifiers of autistic language and explores how autism can be articulated textually. In doing so, Autistic Disturbances seeks to uncover the autistic voice in familiar literary works, emphasising the often overlooked aesthetic and cultural value of autistic modes of communication. In this highly original analysis, Rodas maintains that the aesthetic qualities regularly praised by critics when they manifest in literary texts – repetition, cataloguing, highly-detailed description – are often found in autistic expression, where they are marginalised by clinicians and educators. Rodas, however, demonstrates that these features of autistic expression, these unique cognitive and communicative practices, have also played a major role in shaping some of Western culture’s most treasured literary artifacts. Over the course of a fascinating interview, Professor Rodas speaks to me about the history of autism, the unique qualities of autistic expression and the intriguing manner in which these expressive forms have manifested in numerous canonical literary texts. Prof. Rodas also discusses the impetus for this revolutionary project and explains how working on this book has shaped not only her research, but also impacted her teaching practice. Miranda Corcoran received her Ph.D. in 2016 from University College Cork, where she currently teaches American literature. Her research interests include Cold-War literature, genre fiction, literature and psychology, and popular culture. She has published articles on paranoia, literature, and Cold-War popular culture in The Boolean, Americana, and Transverse, and contributed a book chapter on transnational paranoia to the recently published book Atlantic Crossings: Archaeology, Literature, and Spatial Culture. She blogs about literature and popular culture HERE and can also be found on Twitter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/psychology

While most children experience some fear and anxiety, some develop more extreme forms of anxiety that can impair their daily functioning. In this episode, cross-posted from the podcast Psychologists Off The Clock, Dr. Veronica Raggi, expert on childhood and adolescent anxiety disorders, discusses her book Exposure Therapy for Treating Anxiety in Children and Adolescents: A Comprehensive Guide (New Harbinger Publications, 2018). Dr. Raggi provides some information about anxiety in young people, and discusses the use of exposure therapy techniques in helping children and adolescents face their fears and overcome anxiety. Dr. Veronica L. Raggi is a licensed clinical psychologist who has specialized in treating children and adolescents for the past ten years in private practice, school, hospital, and outpatient medical settings, including New York University (NYU) Child Study Center, Children’s National Medical Center, and the University of Maryland, College Park. She presents, consults, and trains mental health professionals in utilizing cognitive behavioral therapy, and has published in numerous scholarly journals on evidence-based treatment approaches for mental health disorders in youth. She has developed CBT Tools for Kids, an iPhone application to help children and adolescents monitor their thoughts and feelings, and utilize CBT skills. Debbie Sorensen, Ph.D. is a licensed psychologist practicing in Denver, Colorado and a co-host of the podcast Psychologists Off The Clock. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/psychology

What makes you who you are? What makes you distinct from me? What is identity? In the book You and Me: The Neuroscience of Identity (Notting Hill Editions, 2016), Baroness Susan Greenfield scientifically dives into concepts of identity from, a biological perspective, that are usually reserved for philosophers. In this interview Dr. Greenfield discusses individual and cultural identity, what they mean, and how they are formed. She talks about why people believe irrational things that all evidence points to being incorrect, such as men are superior to women. She even talks about the effects of digital and social media on the brain. Listen to this interview and explore the neuroscience of identity. Jeremy Corr is the co-host of the hit Fixing Healthcare podcast along with industry thought leader Dr. Robert Pearl. A University of Iowa history alumnus, Jeremy is curious and passionate about all things healthcare, which means he’s always up for a good discussion! Reach him at [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/psychology

In this episode, cross posted from the podcast Psychologists Off the Clock, Dr. Diana Hill interviews Dr. Michael Kearney, a palliative care physician who takes an interpersonal, integrative approach to healing. Dr. Kearney shares with us how he has had to learn to “breathe underwater” and allow pain to move through him and he discusses his new book: The Nest in the Stream: Lessons from Nature on Being with Pain (Parallax Press, 2018). Michael Kearney trained at St Christopher’s Hospice in London with Dame Cicely Saunders, pioneer of the modern hospice movement. He later returned to his Ireland as medical director at Our Lady’s Hospice in Dublin. In the early 2000’s he moved to North America, and now lives and works in Santa Barbara, California. Throughout his career, Michael has been interested in whole person care and approaches that combine medical treatment with the innate healing potential of body, soul, and spirit. He draws on depth psychology, mythology, Buddhist philosophy, indigenous wisdom and Earth-based spirituality. Diana Hill, Ph.D. is a licensed psychologist practicing in Santa Barbara, California, and a co-host of the podcast Psychologists Off The Clock. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/psychology

In this episode, cross-posted from the podcast Psychologists Off The Clock, Dr. Yael Schonbrun interviews Dr. Barry Schwartz, co-author (with Kenneth Sharpe) of the book Practical Wisdom: The Right Way to Do the Right Thing (Riverhead Books, 2011). Dr. Schwartz dives into a discussion of his writing on the ways that practical wisdom has been diminished in our modern society, and how to overcome these challenges and nurture your own internal wisdom. Dr. Schwartz received his Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania, and was a professor of psychology at Swarthmore College from 1971 until 2016; he is currently a visiting professor at UC Berkeley. Dr. Schwartz studies the intersection of psychology and economics, with a focus is on how we make decisions, develop wisdom, and why we work. His three TED talks have been viewed millions of times and he has published numerous scientific articles and popular press books. To download some of Dr. Schwartz’s scientific papers, click here. You can also link to his popular books, The Paradox of Choice (2004), Practical Wisdom (2010), and Why We Work (2015). Dr. Yael Schonbrun is a clinical psychologist in private practice, an assistant professor at Brown University, and a co-host of the podcast Psychologists Off The Clock. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/psychology

In order to fully grasp the workings of racism, we cannot limit ourselves to examining it within majority cultures. Racism exists in minority cultures, such as the gay community, but the intersection of diverse minority identities can make the operation of racism difficult to see. This is the subject of Damien Riggs’ new anthology, The Psychic Life of Racism in Gay Men’s Communities (Lexington Books, 2018). The book brings together various authors who address topics such as islamophobia, orientalism, and the African diaspora within the gay community. And in our interview, Riggs and I discuss how heterogeneity within the gay community often gets overlooked; the unique ways racism manifests in the gay community compared to non-gay communities; and how desire among gay men becomes dangerously racialized. His book and this interview offer an opportunity for examining one’s unconscious and disavowed racist biases, even among those who claim other kinds of marginalized identities. Damien W. Riggs is Associate Professor in Social Work at Flinders University and an Australian Research Council Future Fellow. He is the author of over 150 publications in the fields of gender/sexuality studies and mental health. He also works in private practice as a Lacanian psychotherapist. Eugenio Duarte, Ph.D. is a psychologist and psychoanalyst practicing in New York City and Miami. He treats individuals and couples, with specialties in gender and sexuality, eating and body image problems, and relationship issues. He is a graduate of the psychoanalytic training program at William Alanson White Institute and former chair of their LGBTQ Study Group. He is also a contributing author to the book Introduction to Contemporary Psychoanalysis: Defining Terms and Building Bridges (Routledge, 2018). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/psychology

In this this interview, cross-posted from the podcast Psychologists Off The Clock, Dr. Diana Hill interviews Dr. Russell Kolts, expert in Compassion Focused Therapy (CFT) about his new workbook for therapists Experiencing Compassion-Focused Therapy from the Inside Out (The Guilford Press, 2018). In their discussion, Hill and Kolts explore the tricky human brain and compassion as “the only thing that makes sense” given the nature of our minds. Dr. Kolts describes the emotion regulation model of CFT and strategies to move from threat and drive to safeness. Russell L. Kolts, Ph.D., is a licensed clinical psychologist and professor of psychology at Eastern Washington University, where he has taught for the past eighteen years and has received numerous awards, including twice being named the Associated Student Body’s Faculty of the Year (in 2002 and 2014). An internationally-recognized trainer in Compassion-Focused Therapy (CFT), Kolts has authored or coauthored numerous books and scholarly articles on compassion and CFT, including CFT Made Simple, The Compassionate-Mind Guide to Managing Your Anger, and Experiencing Compassion-Focused Therapy from the Inside Out. See Dr. Kolts’ in action during his TEDx Talk, entitled “Anger, Compassion, and What it Means to be Strong.” Diana Hill, Ph.D. is a licensed psychologist practicing in Santa Barbara, California, and a co-host of the podcast Psychologists Off The Clock. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/psychology

Treatment of addiction often focuses on abstinence or ‘harm reduction.’ While many people benefit greatly from such approaches, the underlying pain and heartache often go untreated, leaving individuals vulnerable to relapse. Focusing on the emotional undercurrents of addiction can help individuals address, once and for all, the deep-seated factors that drive them to substances in the first place. This approach is explained and elaborated by Dr. Edward Khantzian in his new book, Treating Addiction: Beyond the Pain (Rowman & Littlefield, 2018). In the book, he introduces his ‘self-medication hypothesis’ and explains what it adds to our understanding addiction relative to theories focused solely on pleasure-seeking or self-destruction. In our interview, we discuss how he arrived at this combined humanistic and psychoanalytic approach, and he offers compelling arguments to support its application. This interview will be relevant for anyone who suffers with, treats, or loves someone struggling with substance abuse and dependence. Dr. Edward Khantzian is professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and past president of the American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry. He is distinguished scholar, psychiatrist, and psychoanalyst, specializing in addictions for more than fifty years. Eugenio Duarte, Ph.D. is a psychologist and psychoanalyst practicing in New York City and Miami. He treats individuals and couples, with specialties in gender and sexuality, eating and body image problems, and relationship issues. He is a graduate of the psychoanalytic training program at William Alanson White Institute and former chair of their LGBTQ Study Group. He is also a contributing author to the book Introduction to Contemporary Psychoanalysis: Defining Terms and Building Bridges (2018, Routledge). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/psychology

How do emotions affect participation in protests, and in politics more generally? In The Emotions of Protests (University of Chicago Press, 2018), James M. Jasper develops a solid critique to approaches that present political action as strictly rational and emotions as something outside the realm of strategy. Instead, Jasper speaks about feeling-thinking processes to highlight the interaction between strategic thinking and emotions, and the impact they have on participation in politics. Jasper divides emotions in five categories: reflex emotions (what we normally thinking of when we refer to emotions), urges, moods, affective commitments, and moral commitments. Through an extensive elaboration of these five concepts and the different emotions associated with each of them, Jasper builds a solid ground for the development of what he terms a ‘theory of action’. This book will stimulate sociologists and political scientists interested in social movements and protests, as well as anyone attracted by debates about rationality. Felipe G. Santos is a PhD candidate at the Central European University. His research is focused on how activists care for each other and how care practices within social movements mobilize and radicalize heavily aggrieved collectives. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/psychology

What is it really like to have a family member with serious mental illness? Sandra Allen’s unique book, A Kind of Mirraculas Paradise: A True Story about Schizophrenia (Scribner, 2018), addresses this question. In the book, a hybrid between memoir and third-person narrative, Sandra publishes excerpts from her schizophrenic uncle’s autobiography interlaced with her own narrative about her uncle and his life. This poignant combination offers readers a rare, real-life glimpse into the mind and heart of a person with schizophrenia and what it feels like to be the relative of such a person. In our interview, Sandra candidly talks about what it was like to publish her uncle’s memoir, how her conception of him evolved, and the significant lessons she learned about living with schizophrenia. This book and our interview will speak to those who deal with, or have a loved one with, serious mental illness, inspiring compassion and hope where in an area where it is often lacking. Sandra Allen is a nonfiction writer based in the Catskills and former BuzzFeed News features editor. Her essays and features stories have been published by BuzzFeed News, CNN Opinion, and Pop-Up Magazine. She also founded and ran the online-only literary quarterly Wag’s Revue. Her work focuses on the past, present, and future of mental healthcare in America and on constructs of normalcy, including psychiatric disability and gender. Eugenio Duarte, Ph.D. is a psychologist and psychoanalyst practicing in New York City and Miami. He treats individuals and couples, with specialties in gender and sexuality, eating and body image problems, and relationship issues. He is a graduate of the psychoanalytic training program at William Alanson White Institute, where he chairs their monthly LGBTQ Study Group. He is also a contributing author to the book Introduction to Contemporary Psychoanalysis: Defining Terms and Building Bridges (2018, Routledge). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/psychology

Our modern culture prompts us to work ever harder. But it turns out the most successful and creative among us don’t just work hard, they actually rest more skillfully. In this this interview, cross-posted from the podcast Psychologists Off The Clock, Dr. Yael Schonbrun interviews Dr. Alex Pang, the author of Rest: Why You Get More Done When You Work Less (Basic Books, 2016) to learn about the science and practice of using rest to get more done more effectively. Dr. Alex Pang is the founder of The Restful Company, a visiting scholar at Stanford, and an author of titles that include The Distraction Addiction and Rest: Why You Get More Done When You Work Less. You can find out more about Dr. Pang’s work at www.deliberate.rest or follow Dr. Pang on twitter at @Rest_Book or @askpang. Dr. Yael Schonbrun is a clinical psychologist in private practice, an assistant professor at Brown University, and a frequent contributor to the Psychologists Off The Clock. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/psychology

Everyone experiences anxiety and worry sometimes. However, when anxiety controls your life, it pulls you away from things that you care about. In this this interview, cross-posted from the podcast Psychologists Off The Clock, Dr. Diana Hill interviews Dr. John Forsyth about his new book Anxiety Happens: 52 Ways to Find Peace of Mind (New Harbinger Publishing, 2018). Dr. Forsyth shares why he was drawn to researching and applying Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for anxiety. He discusses the role of avoidance in anxiety, concrete strategies to respond to anxious thoughts and how to “drop the rope” in the tug of war with worry. John P. Forsyth, Ph.D. is an internationally recognized author, speaker, and trainer in the use of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and practices that cultivate mindfulness, loving kindness (Metta), and compassion. For over 20 years, his work has focused on developing ACT and mindfulness practices to alleviate human suffering, awaken the human spirit, and to nurture psychological health and vitality. He has written several popular ACT books, including, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for Anxiety Disorders (for mental health professionals), and four self-help books for the public: The Mindfulness & Acceptance Workbook for Anxiety, ACT on Life, Not on Anger, Your Life on Purpose and the new book out that we will talk about today Anxiety Happens: 52 Ways To Find Peace of Mind. Dr. Forsyth holds a Doctorate in Clinical Psychology, and is a Professor of Psychology and Director the Anxiety Disorders Research Program at the University at Albany, SUNY in Upstate New York. He is also widely sought after ACT trainer and consultant and serves as a senior editor of the ACT book series with New Harbinger Publications. Diana Hill, Ph.D. is a licensed psychologist practicing in Santa Barbara, California, and a co-host of the podcast Psychologists Off The Clock. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/psychology

French neurologist Jean-Martin Charcot is perhaps most well known today from the images of his “hysterical” female patients featured in Bourneville’s Iconographie Photographique de la Salpêtrière. While not diminishing the epistemological and aesthetic importance of “the image” to Charcot, Jonathan W. Marshall argues in Performing Neurology: The Dramaturgy of Dr. Jean-Martin Charcot (Palgrave Macmillan, 2016) that the work of the French neurologist is best understood through the lens of dramaturgy. He demonstrates the spatial and temporal implications of Charcot’s neurological practice as steeped in neo-classical aesthetics and deeply attuned to scenography, showmanship, and stage production. Using convincing evidence drawn from critiques of Charcot, Marshall demonstrates in Performing Neurology that the power and danger of mixing medicine and theatrics was not lost on Charcot’s contemporaries. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/psychology

Kant famously asked the question, how is knowledge possible? In her new book, Beyond Concepts: Unicepts, Language, and Natural Information (Oxford University Press, 2018), Ruth Garrett Millikan responds to this question from a naturalistic, and specifically evolutionary, perspective. Millikan, who is distinguished professor emerita at the University of Connecticut, has long been a leading figure in theorizing about language and thought. Her latest work considers the “clumpy” world that organisms confront and the problem of how we recognizing the same distal objects and properties again, as well as their kinds and categories. Our cognizing machinery includes unitrackers, whose job it is to track these items and channel information of the same item to one place, called a unicept. Although each of us has distinct unitrackers and unicepts, they can be attached to the same word in a public language, which itself is a lineage of reproduced signs. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/psychology

Autism as a condition has received much focused attention recently, but less attention has been paid to its politics. It is a condition that necessitates significant accommodations and interventions, which can be difficult for people with autism and their loved ones to obtain, depending on the state of autism public policy. Sociologist John J. Pitney argues that political science needs to more rigorously study autism policy and politics, as he outlines in his book The Politics of Autism: Navigating the Contested Spectrum (Rowman & Littlefield, 2015). In our interview, we explore the evolution of our understanding of autism, how public policy impacts the lives of autistic individuals, and suggestions for future research. For anyone with autism or their loves ones, this interview offers suggestions for meeting important needs and hope for a better future. John J. Pitney Jr., Ph.D. is the Roy P. Crocker Professor of American Politics at Claremont McKenna College. He is the author of The Art of Political Warfare and the coauthor of several books, including Epic Journey: The 2008 Elections and American Politics as well as After Hope and Change: The 2012 Election and American Politics. In addition to his scholarly work, he has held staff positions in the U.S. Congress and the New York State Legislature. He maintains several blogs, including Autism Policy and Politics. Eugenio Duarte, Ph.D. is a psychologist and psychoanalyst practicing in New York City and Miami. He treats individuals and couples, with specialties in gender and sexuality, eating and body image, and relationship issues. He is a graduate of the psychoanalytic training program at William Alanson White Institute, where he also chairs their monthly LGBTQ Study Group. He is also a contributing author to the book Introduction to Contemporary Psychoanalysis: Defining Terms and Building Bridges (Routledge, 2018). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/psychology

The word “control”, with its seemingly instantaneous mental associations with forms of top-down oppression, is one that makes even some cyberneticians nervous and is often downplayed in contemporary descriptions of the field. Perhaps this is one reason why William Powers’ fundamentally cybernetic Perceptual Control Theory, or PCT, has, in recent decades, continued its substantial development outside the disciplinary boundaries of cybernetics proper. But, in fact, PCT stands as one of the most robust and fully developed strands of the cybernetic legacy which, through its impact on psychology via the development of PCT grounded Method of Levels therapy, has had a tangible influence on a mainstream field; not something that can be claimed by all that many developments in cybernetics since its heyday in the 1950’s. Richard S. Marken and Timothy A. Carey cut right to the heart of the nervous-making matter with the title of their 2015 book, Controlling People: The Paradoxical Nature of Being Human from Australian Academic Press. In my conversation with co-author, Richard S. Marken, we get comfortable with the notion that, as Powers put it, “behaviour is the control of perception” and that controlling is, quite simply, what we do all day, every day; from being able to sit upright in a chair without collapsing, to completing our every day tasks at work, to maintaining our sense of ourselves as the kind of people we would most like to be. The good news, delivered by Carey and Marken in clear, highly accessible prose for the general reader, is that, if we take the time to understand the hierarchically nested control systems of which our psyches are comprised and bring their operation into our conscious awareness, we can take great strides in avoiding those facets of control that bring us into uncomfortable and, at times, destructive conflict with others and with ourselves. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/psychology

Often, when writing the intellectual history of the Middle East, we make assumptions about the influence of ideas from other places on the Middle East itself. We assume what ideas are being adapted in their entirety and not necessarily as challenged and critiqued; this is often influenced by power dynamics themselves the products of historical processes like colonialism and capitalism. Omnia El Shakry challenges this approach to ideas in The Arabic Freud: Psychoanalysis and Islam in Modern Egypt (Princeton University Press, 2017) by focusing on how Egyptians in the post-World War II period engage with psychoanalysis as part of their intellectual worldview, not as a point of rupture with other intellectual influences on their thought. She looks at Sufism, the way psychoanalysis fits into ongoing conversations on criminology and philosophy, as well as the themes of sex and gender, all threaded through with the notion of the self. The book is not simply a contribution to the history of psychoanalysis, but the histories of Islam, post-war Arabic-intellectual history, and Egypt. Nadirah Mansour is a graduate student at Princeton University’s Department of Near Eastern Studies working on the global intellectual history of the Arabic-language press. She tweets @NAMansour26 and produces another Middle-East and North Africa-related podcast: Reintroducing. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/psychology

How and where do transgender and gender non-conforming (TGNC) people find good mental healthcare? And how can psychotherapists and other mental health professionals become competent in this kind of care? Furthermore, what are the most important mental health issues faced by TGNC people? These are some of the questions with which TGNC people grapple regularly, and they motivated Dr. Eric Yarbrough to write his new book, Transgender Mental Health (2018, American Psychiatric Association). In our interview, we discuss what it means to be transgender and gender non-conforming, the importance of understanding the gender spectrum, and what gender-affirming mental health treatment looks like. We also address practical questions about how to find good care and what clinicians need to know in order to practice competently. This long-awaited book furthers our understanding about key issues for TGNC people and is a must-read for anyone, client or therapist, engaged with TGNC mental healthcare. Eric Yarbrough is Director of Psychiatry at Callen-Lorde Community Health Center in New York and President of AGLP: The Association of LGBTQ Psychiatrists. He graduated from University of Alabama School of Medicine and completed his psychiatry residency at St. Luke’s Roosevelt Hospital in New York City. Eugenio Duarte, Ph.D. is a psychologist and psychoanalyst practicing in New York City and Miami. He treats individuals and couples, with specialties in gender and sexuality, eating and body image, and relationship issues. He is a graduate of the psychoanalytic training program at William Alanson White Institute, where he also chairs their monthly LGBTQ Study Group. He is also a contributing author to the book Introduction to Contemporary Psychoanalysis: Defining Terms and Building Bridges (2018, Routledge). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/psychology

After working clinically with patients for over 25 years, it’s natural that one would learn something about what heals or harms humans. Such is the case with Dr. Eva Ritvo, who discovered through her work and personal life the power of human kindness and put together a book about it entitled Bekindr: The Transformative Power of Kindness (2017, Momosa Publishing). The book contains short stories by people from all walks of life, depicting poignant moments of human vulnerability and kindness. In our interview, we discuss what led her to put together this book and the international movement it has spawned, as well as her conviction that kindness has the power to transform. Eva Ritvo, M.D. is a physician, author, and TV and radio personality, as well as the founder of Bekindr, an international initiative to bring more kindness into the world. She is also co-founder of the Bold Beauty Project, a nonprofit that pairs women with disabilities with award-winning photographers and creates art shows. She is former Chair of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine at Mount Sinai Medical Center and former Vice Chair of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the Miller School of Medicine at University of Miami, with over 25 years of experience practicing in Miami Beach, Florida. Eugenio Duarte, Ph.D. is a psychologist and psychoanalyst practicing in New York City and Miami. He treats individuals and couples, with specialties in gender and sexuality, eating and body image, and relationship issues. He is a graduate of the psychoanalytic training program at William Alanson White Institute, where he also chairs their monthly LGBTQ Study Group. He is also a contributing author to the book Introduction to Contemporary Psychoanalysis: Defining Terms and Building Bridges (2018, Routledge). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/psychology

Early studies of the functions of the human brain used a simple method: wait for misfortune to strike—strokes, seizures, infectious diseases, lobotomies, horrendous accidents-and see how the victim coped. In many cases survival was miraculous, and observers could only marvel at the transformations that took place afterward, altering victims’ personalities. An injury to one section can leave a person unable to recognize loved ones; some brain trauma can even make you a pathological gambler, pedophile, or liar. But the book The Tale of the Dueling Neurosurgeons: The History of the Brain as Revealed by True Stories of Trauma, Madness, and Recovery (Back Bay Books, 2015) explains how a few scientists realized that these injuries were an opportunity for studying brain function at its extremes. With lucid explanations and incisive wit, Sam Kean explains the brain’s secret passageways while recounting forgotten stories of common people whose struggles, resiliency, and deep humanity made modern neuroscience possible. Jeremy Corr is the co-host of the hit Fixing Healthcare podcast along with industry thought leader Dr. Robert Pearl. A University of Iowa history alumnus, Jeremy is curious and passionate about all things healthcare, which means he’s always up for a good discussion! Reach him at [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/psychology

We all put a great deal of care into protecting, managing, and monitoring our reputation. But the precise nature of a reputation is obscure. In one sense, reputation is merely hearsay, a popular perception that may or may not have any basis in fact. Yet we rely heavily on reputations for example, when were choosing a restaurant, mechanic, or physician. Accordingly, multiple sites on social media are devoted to helping us to discover the reputation of service providers, social events, and even people. Still, reputation can be manipulated. Is it rational to care so much about reputation? In Reputation: What it is and Why it Matters (Princeton University Press, 2018), Gloria Origgi explores a broad range of questions about reputation. Bringing together the tools of philosophical analysis and work in sociology and psychology, Origgi presents a complex picture of what reputations are, how they spread, and when they are reliable. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/psychology

The biggest problem in American health care is us. Do you know how to tell good health care from bad health care? Guess again. As patients, we wrongly assume the best care is dependent mainly on the newest medications, the most complex treatments, and the smartest doctors. But Americans look for healthcare solutions in the wrong places. For example, hundreds of thousands of lives could be saved each year if doctors reduced common errors and maximized preventive medicine. For Dr. Robert Pearl, these kinds of mistakes are a matter of professional importance, but also personal significance: he lost his own father due in part to poor communication and treatment planning by doctors. And consumers make costly mistakes too: we demand modern information technology from our banks, airlines, and retailers, but we passively accept last century’s technology in our health care. Solving the challenges of health care starts with understanding these problems. Mistreated: Why We Think Were Getting Good Health Care and Why Were Usually Wrong (PublicAffairs, 2017) explains why subconscious misperceptions are so common in medicine, and shows how modifying the structure, technology, financing, and leadership of American health care could radically improve quality outcomes. This important book proves we can overcome our fears and faulty assumptions, and provides a roadmap for a better, healthier future. Jeremy Corr is the co-host of the hit Fixing Healthcare podcast along with industry thought leader Dr. Robert Pearl. A University of Iowa history alumnus, Jeremy is curious and passionate about all things healthcare, which means he’s always up for a good discussion! Reach him at [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/psychology

In her book, Be Mindful and Stress Less: 50 Ways to Deal with Your (Crazy) Life (Shambhala, 2018), Gina Biegel shows how the demands and pressures of everyday life can really stress you out! She shows how even the little things when stacked one on top of another can eventually build up to much bigger and deeper problems. Using her background in psychology, she crafts an easy to follow format that can help to illustrate some of the bigger points that are missed in a traditional mindfulness book. She helps to show that even the most rough days can be overcome if we have the will and want to be with them as mindfully as we can. Her book helps young adults and teens specifically to be able to overcome the troubles that they face in the modern age and how we can all be more fully engaged with our activities each and everyday. Silas Day is a writer and speaker. His area of expertise includes Buddhism, deeper learning, meditation, and spiritual integration. He can be reached by email at [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/psychology

In her new book, The Battle Within: POWs in Postwar Australia (NewSouth Books, 2018), Christina Twomey, Professor of History at Monash University, explores the “battle within,” the individual and collective challenge of rehabilitating Australian prisoners of war in the post-war decades. Using a variety of sources, including memoirs and the archives of the Prisoners of War Trust Fund, Twomey argues that the commemorations of the 1980s and more recent decades were actually a change from the quiet decades of mid century, when the country struggled to address the needs of its returning servicemen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/psychology

Mentored by a Madman: The William Burroughs Experiment (Notting Hill Editions, 2017) is a fascinating account by one of the world’s leading and most decorated neurologists of the profound influence of William Burroughs on his medical career. Dr. Andrew Lees relates how Burroughs, author of Naked Lunch and troubled drug addict, inspired him to discover a ground-breaking treatment for Parkinson’s Disease, and learns how to use the deductive reasoning of Sherlock Holmes to diagnose patients. Lees follows Burroughs into the rainforest and under the influence of yage (ayahuasca) gains insights that encourage him to pursue new lines of pharmacological research and explore new forms of science. Jeremy Corr is the co-host of the hit Fixing Healthcare podcast along with industry thought leader Dr. Robert Pearl. A University of Iowa history alumnus, Jeremy is curious and passionate about all things healthcare, which means he’s always up for a good discussion! Reach him at [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/psychology

Dr. Radhule Weininger is a clinical psychologist and meditation teacher who integrates psychodynamic, Jungian and Gestalt psychotherapies with Buddhist psychology. In her new book Heartwork: The Path of Self-Compassion (Shambhala, 2017), Dr. Weininger shares the path she took from medical school to Buddhist Psychologist and how she applies the principles of Buddhist practice in therapy. Heartwork defines self-compassion and offers tangible practices to increase a felt sense of kindness toward others and ourselves. Dr. Weininger also offers “The Compassionate Choice Practice,” a technique she developed for approaching our emotional reactions that integrates Western understanding of emotions with Buddhist principles of mindfulness and compassion. At the end of the interview, Dr. Weininger leads listeners in a loving kindness meditation. Diana Hill, Ph.D. is a licensed psychologist practicing in Santa Barbara, California, and a co-host of the podcast Psychologists Off The Clock. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/psychology

Betsy DiSalvo, assistant professor in the School of Interactive Computing at Georgia Institute of Technology, joins us in this episode to discuss the recently published co-edited volume entitled, Participatory Design for Learning: Perspectives from Practice and Research (Routledge, 2017). The book puts into conversation ideas from the fields of the learning sciences and participatory design research. Betsy describes the learning sciences as already an interdisciplinary field of computing and cognition, with ties to psychology, sociology, and education, among others. Despite the common methodology of design-based research, what it means to do design has been underexplored. In contrast, the field of participatory design has developed techniques and scaffolding to engage in the practices of design, but often leaves unexplored how people learn from their design experiences. The opportunity for the fields to learn from, with, and through each other is evident from each chapter in the book. The case studies in the book illuminate the particulars of design, and Betsy describes her work engaging students in video game glitch testing and Day of the Dead puppets. We discuss the details of this case study from three different angles: what it means to use participatory design methods, along the lines of designing for design; the ideas of value-driven learning, in addition to other terms, such as interest-based learning, culturally relevant or responsive practices, and connected learning; and how to communicate the complexity of the design process. As conversations often do, this one leaves the reader (and authors themselves!) with more questions than answers. The authors conclude with a realization that there are far more divergent ideas about participatory design than we had anticipated (p.233) and that the two disciplines have only just begun to scratch the surface of understanding and respecting each other (p. 241). With the book and her perspectives shared in the interview, Betsy describes an area of scholarship that is full of opportunity and meaning at the leading edge of participatory design for learning. Julie Kallio is a graduate student in Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis at the University of Wisconsin Madison. Her research interests include educational change, innovation and improvement networks, and participatory design. You can find more about her work on her website, follow her on twitter, or email her at [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/psychology

Anita Johnston, author of Eating in the Light of the Moon: How Women Can Transform Their Relationships with Food Through Myth, Metaphor, and Storytelling (Gurze Books, 2000), is an expert in the field of eating disorders treatment, who looks beyond eating itself in her approach. In this interview, Dr. Johnston describes why myth and metaphors are effective strategies for uncovering and understanding the function and meaning of disordered eating. Dr. Johnston shares examples of metaphors she uses in her book to illustrate the complexities of eating disorder recovery. Dr. Johnston explores food as metaphor, the difference between emotional and physical hunger, and why recovery looks more like a labyrinth than a maze. Anita Johnston is the Director of the Anorexia & Bulimia Center of Hawaii, which she co-founded in 1982 and is the Clinical Director and the Founder of the Ai Pono Intensive Out-Patient Eating Disorders Programs in Honolulu and ‘Ai Pono Maui, a residential treatment facility in Maui. Dr. Johnston developed Hawaii’s first inpatient eating disorders treatment program at Kahi Mohala Hospital in 1986 and is an expert in treating a wide range of eating disorders. Diana Hill, Ph.D. is a licensed psychologist practicing in Santa Barbara, California, and a co-host of the podcast Psychologists Off The Clock. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/psychology

The two biggest problems of understanding the mind are consciousness and intentionality. The first doesn’t require introduction. The latter is the problem of how we can have thoughts and perceptions that about other things for example, a thought about a tree, or a perception of a tree. How can mental states be about other things? A naturalistic theory of intentionality is one that explains intentionality using just those resources available from the natural sciences, such as causal relationships or elements of evolutionary theory. In A Mark of the Mental: In Defense of Informational Teleosemantics (MIT Press, 2017), Karen Neander synthesizes a number of such elements into a causal-informational version of teleosemantics to explain sensory-perceptual content: for example, the content of a toad’s perception when it perceives what we would call a fly. Neander is a leader in the philosophy of mind, and this accessible yet precisely written book is the culmination of much of her work to date on the theory of intentionality. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/psychology

In the early twentieth century, Robert Hertz, a French anthropologist, and Cesare Lombroso, the Italian criminologist, debated the causes and consequences of left-handedness. According to Lombroso, left-handed individuals were more likely to be criminals. Hertz disagreed. For him, to restrict left-handedness was to suppress individual expression. In his book, On the Other Hand: Left Hand, Right Brain, Mental Disorder, and History (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2017), Howard I. Kushner explores the fascinating and circuitous history of left-handedness. By looking at a wide variety of scientific research, as well as the cultural meanings attached to left-handedness, Kushner breaks down the binary between nature and nurture that has characterized most explanations of what some researchers have called non-right-handedness. Ultimately Kushner argues that discrimination against left-handers can be read as a barometer for a given society’s toleration of diversity. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/psychology

Some people can’t help but be ‘awkward’ despite their lifelong efforts to blend in. They feel ashamed of their social ineptitude and end up shying away from social situations, yet research offers insights that could help. In his new book, Awkward: The Science of Why We’re Socially Awkward and Why That’s Awesome (Harper Collins, 2017), Ty Tashiro reviews research findings that explain socially ‘awkward’ behavior and offer strategies for acquiring social fluency. In our interview, Tashiro explains what defines an ‘awkward’ person and shares anecdotes from his own experience that take us into the mind of such a person. We also discuss how modern social life has evolved in ways that make everyone feel a bit more awkward in everyday social situations. His ideas offer new, kinder ways to think about awkwardness that anyone who identifies as awkward—or loves someone who does—would find helpful and illuminating. Ty Tashiro is the author of The Science of Happily Ever After (William Morrow, 2017). His work has been featured in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Time.com, TheAtlantic.com, and on NPR and Sirius XM Stars radio. He received his Ph.D. in Psychology from the University of Minnesota, has been an award-winning professor at the University of Maryland and University of Colorado, and has addressed TED@NYC, Harvard Business School, MIT’s Media Lab, and the American Psychological Association. He lives in New York City. Eugenio Duarte, Ph.D. is a psychologist and psychoanalyst practicing in New York City. He treats individuals and couples, with specialties in gender and sexuality, eating and body image, and relationship issues. He is a graduate of the psychoanalytic training program at William Alanson White Institute, where he also chairs their monthly LGBTQ Study Group. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/psychology

In The Ostrich Paradox: Why We Underprepare for Disasters (Wharton Digital Press, 2017), Robert Meyer and Howard Kunreuther summarize six major cognitive biases that explain why humans fail to adequately prepare for potential disasters. Leveraging examples of high-impact events, The Ostrich Paradox summarizes how preparedness efforts are affected by issues with human memory, risk probability comprehension, and information overload. Finally, the authors provide a tool for assessing and mitigating these biases through a behavioral risk audit. The book is a slim volume that may lend itself for use in professional settings as a training tool. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/psychology

Embracing a multi-perspectival authorial voice, Managing Madness: Weyburn Mental Hospital and the Transformation of Psychiatric Care in Canada (University of Manitoba Press, 2017), tells the story of the “last and largest” asylum in the British Commonwealth. From its founding in the 1920s until the age of deinstitutionalization, Weyburn Mental Hospital was central to the changing landscape of psychiatric care in Canada and beyond. Using a wide variety of documentary sources, Erika Dyck and Alex Deighton explore Weyburn’s rise and fall, from its role in Canada’s nation-building project to new experiments with LSD and the move towards community care. They also give voice to the often forgotten experience of patients, psychiatric nurses, and mental health activists. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/psychology

What if you suddenly discovered a cherished member of your family was a Nazi? How would you make sense of the code of silence that had kept an uncomfortable reality at bay? How would you resolve the wartime suffering of your family with their moral culpability for the Holocaust? Roger Frie explores the thorny issue of historical memory and intergenerational trauma in his new award winning book Not in My Family: German Memory and Responsibility After the Holocaust (Oxford University Press, 2017). In an intensely personal confrontation with the Nazi past in his own family, Roger searches for ways to navigate historical traumas and reconcile the memory of his grandfather with the knowledge of his deeds. Roger Frie is a registered psychologist and interdisciplinary scholar in the fields of psychoanalysis, philosophy, and history. He publishes and lectures widely on historical trauma, culture, memory, and human interaction. Roger has also edited a collection of essays bringing together historians and psychoanalysts to further examine the dynamics of intergenerational trauma entitled History Flows Through Us: Germany, the Holocaust, and the Importance of Empathy (Routledge, 2018). Ryan Stackhouse is a historian of modern Europe specializing in Germany and political policing under dictatorship. His research exploring Gestapo enforcement practices toward different social groups is nearing completion under the working title Policing Hitler’s Critics. He also cohosts the Third Reich History Podcast and can be reached at [email protected] or @Staxomatix Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/psychology

The Age of Lone Wolf Terrorism (Columbia University Press, 2017), by Mark S. Hamm and Ramon Spaaij, identifies patterns among individuals that commit acts of terror outside of a group or network. Hamm and Spaaij follow these individuals, commonly called lone wolf terrorists, through multiple data points to inform a model of radicalization. The trends and changes in lone wolf terrorists, targets of violence, and radicalization pathways over time provides valuable insights for counterterrorism efforts. Finally, Hamm and Spaaij examine FBI sting operations that aim to prevent terrorist attacks. Beth Windisch is a national security practitioner. You can tweet her @bethwindisch. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/psychology

Are we good people? Or do we just think we are? In his new book The Character Gap: How Good Are We? (Oxford University Press, 2017), author Christian B. Miller tackles these questions and more, breaking down what character is, how to measure it, and how to distinguish good from bad moral behavior. In our interview, Miller talks to us about finding his way into this area of study and what research says about our tendencies to display our best and worst qualities. His insights and findings offer us the chance to better understand whats going on when we witness ourselves, our loved ones, and even our highest-ranking leaders behaving in ways that run against consciously-held morals. They also offer pathways for developing and inspiring more upstanding behavior. Christian B. Miller is A.C. Reid Professor of Philosophy at Wake Forest University and Director of the Character Project, funded by the John Templeton Foundation and Templeton World Charity Foundation. He is the author of over 75 papers as well as two books with Oxford University Press,Moral Character: An Empirical Theory (2013) and Character and Moral Psychology (2014). He is also the editor or co-editor of Essays in the Philosophy of Religion (Oxford University Press), Character: New Directions from Philosophy, Psychology, and Theology (Oxford University Press), and several other volumes. Eugenio Duarte, Ph.D. is a psychologist and psychoanalyst practicing in New York City. He treats individuals and couples, with specialties in gender and sexuality, eating and body image, and relationship issues. He is a graduate of the psychoanalytic training program at William Alanson White Institute, where he also chairs their monthly LGBTQ Study Group. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/psychology

Obesity and weight loss are notoriously challenging areas of research and intervention. Traditional behavioral psychology methods for weight loss are known to be ineffective in the long-term for many people. At a time of year when many of us are resolving to eat better, exercise more, and lose weight, obesity and weight loss expert Dr. Jason Lillis offers a different, evidence-based perspective on this complicated issue. In this interview, cross-posted from the podcast Psychologists Off The Clock, Dr. Diana Hill interview Dr. Lillis about his book, The Diet Trap: Feed Your Psychological Needs and End the Weight Loss Struggle Using Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (New Harbinger Publications, 2014).Dr. Lillis discusses his own values-based reasons for studying obesity, the importance of behavioral interventions, why the “weight loss agenda” may be an ineffective trap, and how values can support long-term commitment to health behaviors. Dr. Lillis also talks about two exercises from ACT that can help people with body appreciation and values-directed behaviors. Jason Lillis is an assistant professor at the Weight Control and Diabetes Research Center at Brown Medical School and the Miriam Hospital. He is a leading ACT researcher who is currently running NIH grants aimed at developing and testing ACT methods for health behavior change, with a specific focus on weight control and physical activity. He is the author of three books:The Diet Trap, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (Theories of Psychotherapy), and Mindfulness and Acceptance for Treating Eating Disorders and Weight Concerns, and is an editor for the Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science. Diana Hill, Ph.D. is a licensed psychologist practicing in Santa Barbara, California, and a co-host of the podcast Psychologists Off The Clock. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/psychology