Blog Feed: The Pocket Psychologist

The Conspiracy of Silence: Penn State and Child Sexual Abuse

Published on 2011-11-14 14:02:00

The recently revealed allegations of sexual abuse against former Penn State football coach, Jerry Sandusky, and the revelations that many were privy to this information but did nothing, has rocked the college football world and the entire country. Concerns about Jerry Sandusky were apparently raised as far back as 1995 by the biological mother of a troubled teenage boy that Jerry Sandusky was fostering and would later adopt, although it is not clear whether the concerns at the time were sexu [..] > read more

He loves me, he loves me not, he loves me, he loves me not...

Published on 2011-02-27 00:42:00

Do you remember the feeling of trying to figure if the person about whom you are excited might be excited about you? This dilemma and the ensuing feelings date back to that very first crush when we first try to decode the mysteries of love. &nb > read more

Death by candid camera: Voyeurism, Exhibitionism and the suicide of Tyler Clementi

Published on 2010-10-07 23:07:00

Tyler Clementi was a freshman at Rutgers University whose sexual encounter with another young man was deliberately videostreamed over the internet without his knowledge, by his roommate and another freshman. On discovering that this had occurre > read more

Coping with Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)

Published on 2010-02-16 00:43:00

Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) was first described in the 6th century as a winter depression to describe a common slump in the mood of some inhabitants of most of the Nordic countries. Seasonal Affective Disorder is a Major Depressive Disorder e > read more

ADHD in Adulthood

Published on 2010-01-16 03:16:00

Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (often referred to as ADHD, AD/HD or ADD) is a chronic neuro-behavioral disorder, usually first diagnosed in childhood. The DSM-IV has described ADHD as having three subtypes: predominantly hyperactive-i > read more

Tweenagers

Published on 2010-01-10 18:07:00

'Tweenager' is a deliberately created word. Marketing professionals recognized something important about the psychology of children (girls, in particular) in the stage between youth and teenager. They understood that these children, > read more

Recognizing Child Sexual Predators, Protecting Your Children

Published on 2009-12-05 08:18:00

Child sexual abuse is a significant problem in our society. Many studies have estimated that an alarming 12 to 25% of girls and 8 to 10% of boys experience some form of sexual abuse prior to the age of 18 years. Other studies have suggested that th > read more

After the Cheating: Top 10 Things to Consider

Published on 2009-12-02 21:58:00

Recent revelations of superstar pro-golfer Tiger Woods' "transgressions" in his marriage have brought the topic of cheating front and center yet again. While most couples whose relationship suffer this injury do not have to deal with it in a public > read more

Obesity and Compulsive Overeating

Published on 2009-11-26 02:15:00

You've read the headlines. You know the statistics. Obesity is epidemic in our culture. American children are the fattest on earth, and the Chinese are now not far behind. Explanations for this have primarily centered around the notion that our n > read more

Women and Bad Relationship Choices

Published on 2009-11-19 20:21:00

You all know who she is. Or maybe she is you. She drives 200 miles across state lines to meet the 'really great guy' she met on the internet. She always seems to find the man who is chronically unemployed or underemployed, who requires her support > read more

Pornography and Sexual Addiction

Published on 2009-11-14 12:08:00

I recently supervised a psychologist on a case in which I was introduced to a verb that was new to me - porning. This was a word that was used by the patient to describe his compulsive engagement in online pornography and masturbation. He revealed t > read more

Hoarding

Published on 2009-10-22 22:06:00

Most of you have probably known someone who can be described as a hoarder. There are different levels of hoarding, from the avid baseball card collector to the person who cannot get out of his house because it is covered from floor to ceiling with a > read more