July 13, 2008 |

Guns and Suicide - On the heels of a landmark Second Amendment decision, the AP has reported that gun owners kill themselves in “surprising” numbers. Let’s look at the facts.

July 5, 2008 |

User's Guide: Choices and Mandates - In life, it is better to have choices than mandates.

June 24, 2008 |

New Feature! User's Guide for a Human Mind - I’m adding a new section to the site: Iron Shrink’s User’s Guide for a Human Mind. Where will it go? I just write this stuff, I don’t plan it.

June 2, 2008 |

Does Dialectical Behavior Therapy Really Cure Borderline Personality Disorder? - Dialectical behavior therapy may not be the only effective treatment for borderline personality disorder, but for now it seems to be the best hope with the most data behind it.

May 14, 2008 |

Happy Borderline Personality Disorder Awareness Month - I'm not much for symbolism, but Borderline Personality Disorder Awareness Month might not be such a bad thing.

March 9, 2008 |

Do Antidepressants Really Work? - Antidepressants can be a Godsend or a curse, depending on how you use them.

February 24, 2008 |

What is Relational Frame Theory (Part Two) - Relational Frame Theory, Part Two. This time, it’s personal.

February 3, 2008 |

Two Weeks in China - It took some planning, but I managed to visit China during the worst weather in decades. There, I learned the universal language.

January 9, 2008 |

Denver's Diversity Training Video: Redefining Discrimination Lawsuits - The City of Denver's diversity training video has led to charges of institutional racism. It is time for the diversity industry to embrace goals, standards, and evaluations - just like the rest of us.

December 27, 2007 |

What is Relational Frame Theory (Part One) - Relational frame theory offers a counterintuitive, behind-the-scenes look at human language and cognition. It also helps explain human suffering.

November 16, 2007 |

True Grit - Researchers have confirmed what The Little Engine That Could taught us long ago. My favorite study of the year so far.

October 29, 2007 |

Why Does The Brain Have A Wrinkled Appearance? - Why does the brain look wrinkled? Because Mother Nature was using her head when she designed it.

October 15, 2007 |

Teaching Children to Worship Emotion - Worshiping at the shrine of emotion may be a well-intentioned attempt to protect our children, but denying a child one of life's most valuable lessons is cruel nonetheless.

October 1, 2007 |

I Have A Crush On My Therapist. What Should I Do? - Falling for your therapist (or the person your therapist appears to be) is common, and it can be useful to bring up in therapy. In the right hands, your feelings can help you learn a great deal more about yourself.

September 23, 2007 |

Dial M for Misinterpretation: Psychology's Latest Attack on Conservatives - Liberal academia has produced another study illustrating the mental inferiority of American conservatives. Truly, tolerance and diversity continue to rule the day amongst some of my ivory tower colleagues.

September 17, 2007 |

How To Tell If Your Therapist Is Crazy (Part Three) - This third installment highlights some of the wrong turns that psychology has taken during its development as a science. If you think your therapist is crazy now, you should have seen him a century ago.

September 10, 2007 |

How To Tell If Your Therapist Is Crazy (Part Two) - Mental health workers may be saner than they appear, but if you are looking for a therapist there is a different kind of mental problem to watch for.

August 28, 2007 |

How To Tell If Your Therapist Is Crazy (Part One) - It's tempting to think that all psychologists are crazy, but the data just don't support that conclusion.

August 14, 2007 |

Disappearing Shrink - OK, I may have stepped away from IronShrink for a couple of... months. But hey! I wasn't twiddling my thumbs.

May 9, 2007 |

What is Functional Behavior Analysis? - FBA is really just a tool for understanding a situation. Let's see if we can put the "fun" in "functional," shall we?

April 16, 2007 |

Do We Really Only Use 10% of Our Brains? - It's tempting to believe in vast, untapped mental reserves, but that is unlikely.

March 10, 2007 |

Is it Possible to Raise My IQ? - Not only is it possible to raise your IQ, I heartily recommend it.

January 29, 2007 |

Do Delusions Usually Involve Aliens and Government Agents? - Delusions are usually much less exciting that what's depicted on TV and movies.

April 17, 2007 |

How Will Psychology Respond to the Virginia Tech Killings? (Commentary) - If the university where I teach is any indication, well-intentioned mental health professionals are coming out of the woodwork to help.

January 22, 2007 |

Can Animals Recognize Shapes? - You can make a good case that any creature with a reasonably advanced visual system is affected by shapes in the environment, along with light and movement.

March 1, 2007 |

Curing Conservatism: Psychology's Passive Endorsement of Abuse (Commentary) - Recently, psychologists have called conservatives whiney, weak, less intelligent than liberals, maladjusted, dogmatic, and simple-minded.

February 14, 2007 |

How to Spot a Broken Study: The Baby Conservative Project (Commentary) - I don't like explaining to friends and family why my profession seems to despise half the nation.

January 16, 2007 |

A Methodology Critique in Defense of Those Wascally Wepublicans (Commentary) - According to Jost et al., people who hold conservative political opinions are suffering from a syndrome in need of a cure.

January 8, 2007 |

Why Do Some People Mix Sex and Violence? - In the words of my dear Aunt Ethel, whips, crops, cuffs, and collars should only be used for fun.

December 29, 2006 |

Does Behavioral Activation Cure Depression? - Changes in action can lead to lasting changes in mood with an equal or better success rate and a lower incidence of relapse.

November 27, 2006 |

Is My Ex-Wife Possessed? - Exorcism is alive and well in some segments of Christianity, and some serious-minded folks endorse it.

November 3, 2006 |

It's Time for Domestic Violence Treatment to Grow Up (Commentary) - Domestic violence treatment has reached a muddled state in which there is no clear delineation between treatment, social activism, and punishment.

October 13, 2006 |

What Causes Triskaidekaphobia? - Cheap, tawdry phobias like this one give fear a bad rap. Fear is not a disease. (Even though it's possible to take a pill and make it go away.) (For a little while, at least.)

July 26, 2006 |

Is Depression Related to Social Anxiety? - Categorical and functional approaches are two ways of looking at problems like depression and anxiety. Guess which one I prefer.

July 10, 2006 |

How Can I Get My Toddler to Sleep Later? - We are born without sleep patterns. So where do they come from?

June 12, 2006 |

Legitimizing Immaturity (Commentary) - If some in the psychology industry have their way, road-ragers may have the perfect alibi in court.

June 5, 2006 |

What Causes Motion Sickness? - Even if you stay off the water, cars, planes, trains, and even virtual reality are ready and waiting to induce that Technicolor yawn.

March 15, 2006 |

Can Memories Be Passed Down Through DNA? - Epigenetics looks at the ways in which environment can affect DNA and thereby shape the way you look and act.

February 20, 2006 |

How Do I Get Grampa to Take His Medication? - While the pharmaceutical industry leaps forward, we shrinks are still figuring out how to get pills down the average gullet.

January 22, 2006 |

What Is a Slave Collar? - Even misunderstood and marginalized subcultures have their own traditions.

December 24, 2005 |

I Dreamed I Had Sex With a Dog. Am I Depraved? - One crazy dream isn't worth losing sleep over.

December 17, 2005 |

Am I Destined to be Attracted to My Daughter? - Evolutionary psychology helps us understand the motivation behind incest.

December 10, 2005 |

Can Drugs Make You Insane? - There's more than one way to go crazy. Tinker with your brain's chemicals long enough, and you might just get there.

December 3, 2005 |

What's the Deal with Inkblot Tests? - The Rorschach: a parlor game that turned into a legal tool.

November 26, 2005 |

How Does Memory Work? - Memory and storage aren't what you might think.

November 12, 2005 |

Do They Still Use Electroshock Therapy? - Think they don't use electroshock treatment anymore? Guess again.