Abuse begets abuse

Today’s column was inspired by the many clients I have met with over the years who felt abused of neglected by their parents. In exploring their histories, the question of what made their parents into the people they became always comes up. Often the impact of an abusive experience can last far longer than one generation. But by trying to understand how victims are affected when they themselves become parents, we can sometimes help minimize the ongoing impact on their children.

Abuse begets abuse

(Source: L’abus engendre l’abus. Journal Métro, January 11, 2011)

If a child is neglected or...

Read more →
Posted on 11 Jan 2011
2 comments
33

Unnatural acts

Human beings act, think and feel. These three dimensions pretty well sum up our psychological experiences. So what then do we target when things are bothering us?

When I first trained as a psychologist, we were taught to work with thoughts and behaviours, hence the term Cognitive-Behaviour Therapy. But what of emotions? Are they not part of the human experience? Well it was argued that our feelings would change as a result of changes in our behaviours and our cognitions (thoughts). In fact, this is a valid assumption.

Our thoughts, our behaviours and our emotions are three facets of the...

Read more →
Posted on 05 Jan 2011
1 comment
33

Amy and the Duke

Here is something published in today’s edition of Métro: Mon cadeau de Noël préféré.

My favourite Christmas gift

For my last column before the holidays I decided to write about my favourite Christmas gift. Unfortunately I sat for quite a while and couldn’t think of what it was. I considered a few possibilities such as the time my brothers and I saw a pool table in our living room as we walked in from midnight mass. Another was the time I got my first real present – a warm winter coat my father bought at an auction. These were big but they did not come to mind unless I worked at remembering...

Read more →
Posted on 21 Dec 2010
Leave a comment
59

Am I smarter than a lab rat?

One of the talks I like to give is called Human Nature 101. It discusses a number of classic studies in psychology and relates them to day to day experiences. The talk used to be called Simple and Profound. I called it that because simple principles can often have a profound affect on us. We have a tendency to look for overly complex explanations for human behaviour. In fact, there are often some very simple principles underlying this apparent complexity.

One of these principles was clearly demonstrated when lab rats were placed in Skinner boxes. As you can see below, a Skinner box is a...

Read more →
Posted on 13 Dec 2010
Leave a comment
32

I couldn’t get past the chicken

The title of this post is a direct quote from a program called Chopped on the Food Network. Chef contestants get a basket of mystery ingredients (ex., chicken feet, peach schnapps, and shoelaces) and have 20 or 30 minutes – depending on the round – to come up with something edible to present to the judges. The judges of course are chefs or foodies with highly developed palates and sharp critical skills (“My colleagues each got three chicken feet and my plate only had two. I also found the shoelaces lacking in color and consistency. I expected better from a chef of your calibre.”)

It always...

Read more →
Posted on 01 Dec 2010
Leave a comment
30

The evolution of personality

Not too long ago, I was interviewed by a number of media outlets on the subject of the trapped Chilean miners – What were they going through while trapped? What will they go through after their rescue? Were there risks of violence associated with trapping so many men together for so long? How will their families react?

As a general rule, most questions only have one of two answers. When there is research on a phenomenon at hand, an informed opinion can be given. When the circumstances have never been studied in depth, all we have are educated guesses. When media outlets call on the...

Read more →
Posted on 22 Nov 2010
Leave a comment
35

Love me, love my broccoli

It’s always amazing to see what triggers someone off. Every once in a while a seemingly innocuous event or statement can really get to us, resulting in a strong emotional reaction (anger, depression, anxiety, etc.). In most cases, this emotion is stirred not so much by the event as it is by the assumptions it triggers. In my metro column of October 12, I tell a little story of a client who was depressed after his wife asked him to cut the broccoli stems longer than he did.

The actual incident is not so important. Rarely do the exact same events trigger arguments. What is important is the...

Read more →
Posted on 03 Nov 2010
Leave a comment
36

L’anxiété chez les jeunes

Récemment, j’ai donné une entrevue à PasseportSanté.net. Voici la balado qu’ils ont mise sur leur site web.

L’anxiété chez les jeunes

Read more →
Posted on 25 Oct 2010
1 comment
32

It’s all in your brain

The Douglas Institute recently released a video designed to spark interest and debate about mental health and to encourage people to consult our website, which is a rich source of up-to-date and scientilically validated information on a wide variety of mental health topics. The video was designed to grab people’s attention and in this respect it certainly succeeds.

Disturbing yet kinda cool

My personal reaction upon first watching the video was quite mixed. It is somewhat disturbing yet it is also tender in the message it portrays. In fact, most people’s reactions to it were similar to...

Read more →
Posted on 12 Oct 2010
2 comments
36

Teenager wars

Although I am not a child psychologist I get plenty of practice with the four teens in my home. Thank God I have a full-time job so I can get away to relax.

As part of our public education program at the Douglas Institute we have an annual series of lectures called the Mini-Psych School. This year’s theme is Child and Adolescent Psychology and I have the pleasure to host both the French and English series. (See announcement on the right column of this page) In keeping with the theme of youth, I decided to write a follow-up to my last column which dealt with education.

The theme of the...

Read more →
Posted on 04 Oct 2010
Leave a comment
29