The Abnormal Psychologist

Season 4, Episode 1: The Salem Witch Trials Oct 6, 2025 2695 Were the Salem witches bewitched—or was something else haunting them? The true “horror” wasn’t witches or demons—it was how human psychology under stress led to neighbor turning on neighbor. This is the first of its kind episode-- a live recording with a student!

Season 3, Episode 36: Stages of Change- The Transtheoretical Model Dec 12, 2024 2283 This past semester, I taught a graduate-level class in Addictions Counseling. In this class, I frequently promoted the Transtheoretical Model. This episode will discuss the Transtheoretical Model (also called Stages of Change) and how the model can be applied to changing a behavior (whether it be quitting an addiction or starting a new habit).

Season 3, Episode 35: Reflections on the ADHD Summit (and tips on ADHD management) Oct 20, 2024 2399 In this episode, I reflect on recently attending the Pearson ADHD Summit, and I discuss ADHD in females, ADHD and social anxiety, and management of ADHD symptoms. I also respond to listener criticism on my encopresis episode

Season 3, Episode 34: Mailbag Sep 6, 2024 2201 This episode tries to rapid-fire answer your mailbag questions, including ones on blushing, comorbid autism diagnoses, marijuana as therapy, pornography addiction, and whether you can outgrow a diagnosis.

Season 3, Episode 33: Parasocial Relationships Jun 17, 2024 2022 Sidenote: It's been so long since I've podcasted, I'm rusty This episode, recorded on Father's Day, riffs briefly about fatherhood and mental health (while making a cool announcement) before delving into parasocial relationships. We discuss what parasocial relationships are using diverse examples such as Dora the Explorer, Taylor Swift, and social media influencers.

Season 3, Episode 32: Self-Diagnosis Jan 17, 2024 2035 This is a snow day episode (meaning I was able to record it since school was cancelled due to inclement weather). In this episode, I discuss pros and cons of diagnosing yourself with a mental health condition (while also introspectively exploring whether I should self-diagnose with autism). Please let me know your thoughts!

Season 3, Episode 31: Electroconvulsive Therapy (and a mailbag follow-up on Borderline Personality Disorder) Dec 28, 2023 1671 In this shocking episode, I discuss the history and treatment applications of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). I also respond to a mailbag email about borderline personality disorder.

Season 3, Episode 30: Service Animals and Emotional Support Animals Nov 6, 2023 1844 Special from Washington, D.C., in this episode, we delve into the difference between service animals and emotional support animals (while addressing some common questions related to both)

Season 3, Episode 29: Sensory Processing Disorder Oct 16, 2023 1656 Let's get controversial in this episode and discuss Sensory Processing Disorder (also known as Sensory Modulation Disorder-- and a host of other names)

Season 3, Episode 28: The Reading Wars Sep 21, 2023 1846 This episode revisits reading and dyslexia and discusses controversial topics-- like the Reading Wars and Visual Processing Disorder-- along the way

Season 3, Episode 27: The Back to School Blues and the Sunday Scaries Aug 18, 2023 1678 It's back to school time, and many people are feeling anxious, stressed, and a bit depressed. I decided to dedicate this episode to the "back to school blues" and their close cousin, the "Sunday scaries."

Season 3, Episode 26: Animal Encounters Jul 27, 2023 1815 This episode is comprised of stories documenting my encounters with animals as a psychologist. Critters encountered clinically include dogs, geckos, spiders, and all sorts of fauna that graduate student definitely didn't prepare me for.

Season 3, Episode 25: Executive Functioning and Executive Dysfunction Jul 12, 2023 2441 In this episode, I discuss the somewhat ill-defined topic of executive functioning and how it can be assessed. We then talk about executive dysfunction and how it can be tied to ADHD. My own executive dysfunction is on display throughout the episode.

Season 3, Episode 24: Grit Jun 9, 2023 2638 This episode covers the concept of grit. It is loosely a book review of Angela Duckworth's Grit: The Power of Perseverance. Resilience, perseverance, and learned helplessness are also discussed.

Season 3, Episode 23: LGBTQ+ Mental Health May 16, 2023 2023 This episode comes as a mailbag request following the Nashville Covenant School shootings which caused confusion and even persecution against sexual minorities. This episode explores common mental health concerns among individuals in LGBTQ+ communities and also highlights the availability of resources and the importance of future research.

Season 3, Episode 22: Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) Apr 6, 2023 2784 This episode will introduce ABA, its applications, and its history. We'll walk through why ABA isn't rocket science and why it's sometimes controversial. We'll also try to wade through the alphabet soup associated with ABA.

Season 3, Episode 21: Parenting Styles Mar 9, 2023 1623 This episode discusses parenting styles. We'll see if I can weave in psychologist Diana Baumrind with Frank Gallagher from Shameless. We'll also discuss grandparenting styles.

Season 3, Episode 20: Causes of Autism Feb 11, 2023 2445 This episode is bound to cause some controversy as it discusses what does and does not cause autism (spoiler: the MMR vaccine is not a cause). We'll explore whether Tylenol usage in pregnancy, high-fructose corn syrup, living near a highway, and advanced parental age are linked to ASD. We'll also talk about possible neuroanatomical causes of autism.

Season 3, Episode 19: Sleep Feb 1, 2023 2102 I can't believe I haven't published an episode on sleep so far. This episode will cover sleep related disorders-- and over the course of 30 minutes, I'll discuss a wide variety of topics including sexsomnia and sleep walking. I'll also work in references to the movies Water Boy and Stepbrothers.

Season 3, Episode 18: New Year's Resolutions Jan 2, 2023 1722 Happy 2023! This episode discusses the psychology of New Year's Resolutions and how to make them SMART

Season 3, Episode 17: Kleptomania Dec 1, 2022 990 This episode discusses another impulse control disorder, kleptomania, which involves compulsive stealing. I'll discuss kleptomania-- and also my daughter's own stealing tendencies.

Season 3, Episode 16: Pyromania Nov 10, 2022 1196 This episode discusses pyromania and arson. It also touches upon psychogenic vomiting and features a cameo from my dogs.

Season 3, Episode 15: Halloween Oct 10, 2022 1588 Happy Halloween! This is a special spooky season episode that discusses a wide-range of psychologically relevant Halloween topics-- including fall fetishism, clinical lycanthropy, trick-or-treating, the Salem Witch Trials, and beliefs in ghosts and demons.

Season 3, Episode 14: Dr. John Fryer Sep 27, 2022 1045 This episode discusses how, Dr. John Fryer, under the pseudonym of Dr. H. Anonymous and with the help of a Halloween mask and a voice modulator, was able to convince the American Psychiatric Association to depathologize homosexuality.

Season 3, Episode 13: Misophonia Sep 5, 2022 1279 This episode discusses misophonia-- or when people experience emotions like anxiety, disgust, or rage that is triggered by certain sounds.

Season 3, Episode 12: Insanity Aug 12, 2022 1271 Ever wonder what the definition of insanity is? No, it's not doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. This episode discusses insanity and some legal history behind the term.

Season 3, Episode 11 Morbid Jealousy Jul 19, 2022 1062 This episode discusses morbid jealousy-- or the preoccupation that your significant other is unfaithful to you.

Season 3, Episode 10: Parentification Jul 5, 2022 1228 This episode discusses parentification (when children are put into caretaking roles) and its negative and positive associations. I also introduce a new piece to the podcast-- a trivia segment! Finally, I discuss 2 books I would recommend to any aspiring psychologist.

Season 3, Episode 9: The National Mental Health Hotline Jun 11, 2022 1506 This episode discusses the roll-out of the 988 National Mental Health Hotline in July 2022-- and why I foresee challenges with the debut of the hotline.

Season 3, Episode 8: Dueling Diagnoses May 18, 2022 1311 Ever encountered different diagnoses from different mental health providers and wondered which, if any, is correct? This episode discusses dueling diagnoses and diagnostic uncertainty

Season 3, Episode 7: Talking to Children about Death and Dying Apr 27, 2022 1573 This episode shares best practices and resources in talking to children about death and dying.

Season 3, Episode 6: Birth Order Apr 21, 2022 673 This episode looks into the relationship (or lack thereof) between birth order and psychology. How birth order relates to intelligence, personality, and psychopathology is discussed.

Season 3, Episode 5 The DSM-5-TR (Text Revision) Apr 5, 2022 1302 This episode discusses changes between the DSM-5 and the DSM-5-TR (text revision) -- including the introduction of a new disorder (Prolonged Grief Disorder)-- and various disorder name changes

Season 3, Episode 4: Regression as a Defense Mechanism and Peter Pan Syndrome Mar 29, 2022 1141 Ever act like a kid when you're stressed out? This episode discusses the Freudian defense mechanism of regression. We also touch on Peter Pan Syndrome-- when fully grown adults don't act their age

Season 3, Episode 3: Infantile Amnesia Mar 17, 2022 1523 Why can't you remember your first birthday party? This episode will attempt to answer that question by exploring the topic of early childhood amnesia (also called infantile amnesia)

Season 3, Episode 2: School Shootings Mar 1, 2022 970 This episode, which comes by listener request, explores school shootings and introduces the field of threat/risk assessment.

Season 3, Episode 1: The Mental Status Examination Feb 15, 2022 1737 This episode covers one of the oldest and most commonly administered mental health assessments-- the Mental Status Exam (MSE).

Season 2 Wrap-Up Dec 14, 2021 1733 This episode wraps up Season 2 of the podcast with me reading mailbag questions. In doing so, we brush on arithmomania, sanity, and Joe Goldberg from the Netflix series You. See you in 2022!https://www.patreon.com/theabnormalpsychologist

Season 2, Episode 25: Involuntary Commitment Nov 24, 2021 1113 This episode explores involuntary commitment (also known as civil commitment or sectioning)-- and how (and when) you can be admitted to psychiatric care against your will.

Season 2, Episode 24: School Psychology Nov 7, 2021 802 Happy 50th episode! This episode is a celebration episode and discusses the field of school psychology (in honor of National School Psychology Awareness Week). https://www.patreon.com/theabnormalpsychologist

Season 2, Episode 23: Conspiracy Theories Oct 26, 2021 1598 This episode delves into the psychology of conspiracy theories.

Season 2, Episode 22: Positive Psychology and Toxic Positivity Oct 7, 2021 1397 This episode focuses on positive psychology-- on what makes us happy-- and also explores the concept of toxic positivity. Along the way, I talk about Ted Lasso a little.

Season 2, Episode 21: The Body Keeps the Score Sep 23, 2021 1897 This episode contains my ramblings and musings after reading Bessel Van der Kolk's The Body Keeps the Score: Brain Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma

Season 2, Episode 20: Homicidal Ideation Sep 14, 2021 1334 This episode is in response to a mailbag request and discusses homicidal ideation-- and whether it should be a standalone psychological diagnosis.

Season 2, Episode 19: How to Make the Most out of Being a Psych Undergrad Sep 1, 2021 1779 This is a listener request episode that discusses what you can do as a psych undergrad to make yourself a stronger candidate for post-grad employment or for grad school. Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/theabnormalpsychologist

Season 2, Episode 18: Divorce Aug 20, 2021 1282 This episode discusses divorce and its relevance to psychology. Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/theabnormalpsychologist

Season 2, Episode 17: The Olympics, Sports Psychology, and V-Codes Aug 6, 2021 1647 This episode is pretty wide-ranging-- it discusses mental health and the Olympics and touches on the field of sports psychology. This episode also discusses Other Conditions that May be the Focus of Clinical Attention (or V-codes), which many clinicians sadly often overlook

Season 2, Episode 16: Borderline Personality Disorder Jul 26, 2021 1450 This episode discusses Borderline Personality Disorder and Dialectical Behavior Therapy.Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/theabnormalpsychologist

Season 2, Episode 15: Teletherapy Jul 8, 2021 1138 In this episode, we talk about issues related to telehealth/teletherapy-- including concerns about encryption, licensure, and privacy. Teletherapy, for better or worse, is not going away (but I also don't see it as replacing in-person therapy).

Season 2, Episode 14: Cave Syndrome and Summer Seasonal Affective Disorder Jun 25, 2021 1070 This is a wide-ranging episode. We talk about Cave Syndrome-- or the cutesy name that's been given to anxiety in returning to the real, post-pandemic world. We also discuss depression due to summer time heat-- which is an often overlooked aspect of depression with seasonal pattern.

Season 2, Episode 13 Paraphilias Jun 13, 2021 712 This episode discusses paraphilias, or deviant sexual behaviors, and the paraphilic disorders of the DSM-5.

Season 2, Episode 12 Asperger Syndrome and High-Functioning Autism Jun 5, 2021 817 I'm back-- my wife and I recently had a second child so I went MIA for about a month. In this episode, which is a listener request, we discuss High-Functioning Autism-- or Asperger Syndrome.

Season 2, Episode 11: Imposter Syndrome Apr 30, 2021 856 Ever feel like you're a fraud-- or question your accomplishments? Then this episode on Imposter Syndrome is for you!

Season 2, Episode 10: Bullying Apr 23, 2021 833 This episode explores all things bullying-- we talk about bullies, victims, bully-victims, and cyberbullying.

Season 2, Episode 9: Suicide Apr 9, 2021 1100 This episode discusses suicide, suicidal ideation, and warning signs and risk factors of suicide.

Season 2, Episode 8: Self-Injury, Self-Harm, and Self-Mutilation Mar 25, 2021 830 This episode explores self-injurious behaviors, including cutting behaviors. In it, we'll explore who is most likely to harm themselves, why people harm themselves, and why we consider some forms of self-harm to be socially acceptable.

Season 2, Episode 7: Couvade Mar 12, 2021 719 This episode explores Couvade, a condition in which men experience pregnancy symptoms.

Season 2, Episode 6: Violent Video Games Mar 5, 2021 658 This episode explores the misconception that violent video games lead to school shootings. It also touches on Pikachu and my possible addiction to Pokemon Go.

Season 2, Episode 5: Imaginary Friends Feb 26, 2021 673 This episode discusses imaginary friends, or imaginary companions, in early childhood. Are they a normal part of development or do they indicate an underlying emotional disturbance?

Season 2, Episode 4: COVID-19 and Mental Health Feb 19, 2021 806 This episode will explore the proverbial elephant in the room-- how COVID-19 is affecting mental health across the lifespan. Rates of anxiety, depression, disordered eating behaviors, opioid overdoses, and suicide attempts have skyrocketed over the past year.

Season 2, Episode 3: What is a Psychologist? Feb 9, 2021 1108 The seemingly simple question of "what is a psychologist?" has a surprisingly complicated answer that this episode will attempt to wade through.

Season 2, Episode 2: A Brief History of Childhood Feb 3, 2021 1053 This episode explores conceptualizations of childhood through human history (or at least up until the 20th century). It explores what an infant is, how the word "family" is related to slavery, and why you might find baby Jesus with male-pattern-baldness in medieval art .

Season 2, Episode 1: Encopresis Jan 25, 2021 886 What better way to kick off Season 2 than by talking about number 2? This episode explores encopresis and feces smearing (scatolia).

Episode 26: Gender, Culture, and Tearing it All Down Nov 18, 2020 798 This episode is the season finale for Season One of the Abnormal Psychologist. In this episode, I discuss shortcomings of the DSM-5, especially as they relate to gender and cultural issues.

Episode 25: Autism Nov 16, 2020 1117 This episode discusses Autism Spectrum Disorder. I'm super excited about this one, as Autism is one of my passions.

Episode 24: Substance-Related and Addictive Disorders Nov 11, 2020 965 This episode covers what we colloquially call "addiction"-- including substance-related addictions, like alcohol use disorder, and non-substance related addictions, like gambling disorder. Internet gaming disorder is also discussed.

Episode 23: Schizophrenia Nov 6, 2020 1236 This episode discusses schizophrenia, and in doing so, explores the life of Dr. W.C. Minor, which involved murder, the branding of someone's face, and a penis amputation.

Episode 22: Personality Disorders Nov 4, 2020 1317 This episode discusses the personality disorders of the DSM-5 and touches on Borderline Personality Disorder, Antisocial Personality Disorder, Narcissistic Personality Disorder, and Dependent Personality Disorder.

Episode 21: Eating Disorders Nov 1, 2020 1486 This episode covers feeding and eating disorders in the DSM-5, including Anorexia nervosa and Bulimia nervosa.

Episode 20: Disruptive, Impulse-Control, and Conduct Disorders Oct 28, 2020 778 This episode discusses Disruptive, Impulse-Control, and Conduct Disorders, including Oppositional Defiant Disorder, Conduct Disorder, Intermittent Explosive Disorder, Pyromania, and Kleptomania.

Episode 19: ADHD Oct 25, 2020 1046 This episode explores ADHD, or Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, and its subtypes or presentations and treatment. It also explores whether psychostimulant medications stunt growth and whether eating too much sugar causes ADHD.

Episode 18: Dyslexia Oct 22, 2020 979 This episode discusses dyslexia in-depth. What is involved in assessing dyslexia? What is the neuroanatomy of dyslexia? Does dyslexia look different in English than in other languages? And do people with dyslexia really reverse letters? These questions and more are explored in this episode.

Episode 17: Specific Learning Disorders Oct 19, 2020 1479 This episode covers Specific Learning Disorders/Disabilities, how they used to be diagnosed (the discrepancy model) and how they are diagnosed now (using RTI). The next episode will cover dyslexia specifically.

Episode 16: Developmental Disorders Oct 13, 2020 1421 This episode explores developmental disorders and disabilities, and dives more specifically into the diagnosis of Intellectual Disability.

Episode 15: Dissociative Disorders Oct 9, 2020 828 This episode explores dissociative disorders, including the highly controversial and popularized Dissociative Identity Disorder, formerly known as Multiple Personality Disorder.

Episode 14: Somatic Symptom and Related Disorders Oct 5, 2020 755 This episode explores somatization, including conversion disorder, hypochondriasis, and Munchausen Syndrome.

Episode 13: Psychedelic Treatment of Depression Sep 30, 2020 747 This episode discusses psychedelics, their history, and their effectiveness in treating depression.

Episode 12: Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Sep 27, 2020 1206 This episode discusses Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and its treatment

Episode 11: Bipolar Disorders Sep 23, 2020 914 This episode explores bipolar disorders and their treatments, as well as the definitions of manic episodes and hypomanic episodes.

Episode 10: Depression Part II Sep 21, 2020 1110 In this episode, we discuss treatment for depression-- including psychopharmaceutical treatment and talk therapies.

Episodes

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