New Books In Psychology

Entering into psychoanalysis takes courage, for patients and analysts alike. When it does what it’s supposed to do, it changes one’s relationship to the bigger questions in life—transforming a search for answers into an embrace of the unknown. But such transformation requires a change in how one thinks about knowledge and a growing tolerance for non-knowledge—and it all starts with the psychoanalyst’s willingness to undergo such a conversion. Jamieson Webster ponders these matters, and what they mean for the place of psychoanalysis in modern society, in her latest book, Conversion Disorder: Listening to the Body in Psychoanalysis (Columbia University Press, 2019). And in our interview, she talks about her personal struggles to find her grounding as a psychoanalyst and how she understands the journey on which she takes her patients. Our conversation, much like her book, is full of intimate and raw revelations about doing psychoanalysis as well as thought-provoking ideas about what it means to do it.Dr. Jamieso

In the information age, knowledge is power. Hence, facilitating the access to knowledge to wider publics empowers citizens and makes societies more democratic. How can publishers and authors contribute to this process? This podcast addresses this issue. We interview Professor Austin Choi-Fitzpatrick, whose book, The Good Drone: How Social Movements Democratize Surveillance (forthcoming with MIT Press) is undergoing a Massive Online Peer-Review (MOPR) process, where everyone can make comments on his manuscript. Additionally, his book will be Open Access (OA) since the date of publication. We discuss with him how do MOPR and OA work, how he managed to combine both of them and how these initiatives can contribute to the democratization of knowledge. You can participate in the MOPR process of The Good Drone through this link: https://thegooddrone.pubpub.org/ 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 w

What does it mean to consider trauma and media from the perspective of technology and not from that of the subject of trauma, the clinician or the witness? In Transmitted Wounds: Media and the Mediation of Trauma (Oxford University Press, 2019), Amit Pinchevski carries out this thought experiment to great effect. By bringing media theory to bear on trauma theory, this book reveals the technical operations that inform the understanding of traumatic impact on bodies and minds. Under consideration is not the way trauma and traumatic memory figure in the media (film, television, photography and other popular culture portrayals of traumatic experience), but rather media as partaking in the very construction of the traumatic itself.Pinchevski conducts an erudite and innovative exploration through a series of case studies: the radio broadcasts of the Eichmann trial; the videotaping of Holocaust testimonies; recent psychiatric debates about trauma through media following the 9/11 attacks; current controversy surround

Human brains have two hemispheres whose major connection is the corpus callosum, which enables information to be shared between the hemispheres. Split-brain subjects are people whose corpus callosum has been surgically cut to alleviate epilepsy. This and other similar operations or conditions yield an odd phenomenon in which the patient appears to be two agents: for example, in controlled experiments they may only be conscious of stimuli shown to just their right eye, but when asked to draw the stimulus with the left hand they draw the stimulus shown to just their left eye. It is as if each hemisphere is its own self, with its own eye. In Self-Consciousness and Split Brains: The Mind's I (Oxford University Press, 2018), Elizabeth Schechter argues that while split brain subjects have two minds and two subjective perspectives, and are two intentional agents, they nevertheless constitute one person. Schechter, who is an assistant professor of philosophy at Washington University in St. Louis, offers an in-depth e

Emily Baum’s The Invention of Madness: State, Society, and the Insane in Modern China, published by the University of Chicago Press in 2018 as part of the Studies of the Weatherhead East Asian Institute book series, is a genealogy of “psychiatric modernity,” of the invention and reinvention of modern mental illness in Beijing, 1901-1937. Focusing on the pivotal roles of the city’s police-run municipal asylum and the Peking Union Medical College, Baum chronicles the transition from eclectic but largely family-centered premodern apprehensions and treatments of “mad behaviors” to a more unified, biomedical, institutionalized view of madness that was intimately linked to questions of social control, political legitimacy, and the rubric of “mental hygiene.” Along the way, this history of neuropsychiatry’s penetration of the administrative and social fabric of modern China examines topics including disjunctures between state and civil actors concerning new understandings and practices around mental illness, as well

Most of us have behavior changes we would like to make, but behavior change can be hard! In this motivational interview, cross-posted from the podcast Psychologists Off The Clock, Dr. Diana Hill interviews behavior Dr. Dr. DJ Moran, co-author of the book Committed Action in Practice: A Clinician’s Guide to Assessing, Planning, and Supporting Change in Your Client (Context Press, 20187). Dr. Moran discusses obstacles to behavior change, taking committed action toward one’s values, and how mindfulness can help people make lasting changes.Dr. Daniel J. Moran is the founder and executive director of the MidAmerican Psychological Institute, and founder of Pickslyde Consulting. He co-authored ACT in Practice and Committed Action in Practice – two books using Acceptance and Commitment Therapy to help people reduce suffering and improve quality of living. Dr. DJ has appeared on The Learning Channel, Animal Planet, and the Oprah Winfrey Network discussing behavioral health concerns. He also received the Outstanding Me

Essentialism is a systematic discipline designed to support making life decisions that help you to make your highest possible contribution towards the things that really matter. In this episode, cross-posted from the podcast Psychologists Off The Clock, Dr. Yael Schonbrun interviews Greg McKeown , author of the best-selling book, Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less. They discuss the importance of distinguishing the essential from the nonessential, how to identify what is most essential, and strategies to support the disciplined pursuit of what is essential to you. Greg McKeown is the author of the best-selling book, Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less. He is also afrequent contributor to Harvard Business Review, a sought after keynote speaker, a repeating guest on the Steve (Harvey) show, and his work on Essentialism is regularly written about in media (see Resources). Greg is also founder/CEO of McKeown, Inc., a strategy design center.Dr. Yael Schonbrun is a clinical psychologist in priva

Emotional Intelligence involves self awareness, self control, relationship management and social awareness. Being emotionally intelligent can make you a better leader, parent, friend and partner. In this episode, interview, cross-posted from the podcast Psychologists Off The Clock, Dr. Diana Hill interviews Dr. Goleman, a pioneer in the field of positive psychology, about the neuroscience of emotions and why it is important to foster emotional intelligence in kids and leaders. Dr. Goleman also explores how meditation can result in permanent trait changes so that we are better able to regulate emotions and survive an “amygdala highjack.”Daniel Goleman, best known for his worldwide bestseller Emotional Intelligence, is most recently co-author (with Richard Davidson) of Altered Traits: Science Reveals How Meditation Changes Your Mind, Brain and Body(Avery, 2017). A frequent speaker to businesses of all kinds and sizes, Goleman has worked with leaders around the globe, examining the way social and emotional compe

Increasing self-compassion and compassion for others, may just be the key to your well-being. In this this interview, cross-posted from the podcast Psychologists Off The Clock, Dr. Diana Hill interviews Dr. Christopher Germer, leader in the integration of mindfulness in therapy and co-developer of the international Mindful Self Compassion Program. Germer discusses “Self-Compassion 101” while also exploring how they practice self-compassion on and off the couch.Chris Germer, Ph.D. is a clinical psychologist in private practice and lecturer on psychiatry (part-time) at Harvard Medical School. He teaches on the faculty of the Institute for Meditation and Psychotherapy and the Center for Mindfulness and Compassion, both based in Cambridge, MA. He is a co-developer (with Kristin Neff) and popular teacher of the Mindful Self-Compassion program (which has been taught to over 50,000 people around the world), author of The Mindful Path to Self-Compassion, co-author of The Mindful Self-Compassion Workbook (which is con

When Susie Orbach set out to depict how psychotherapy sessions really work, she did not want to go the conventional route—that is, taking real case material and distorting and disguising it into a form with minimal resemblance to the original. Such depictions are inevitably filtered through the therapist-author’s biases, and Susie wanted to share psychotherapy’s rawness and spontaneity. So she recorded a radio series involving actors playing patients who come into her real office to discuss fictional yet unscripted problems for which she has no preparation. And then she turned that series into a book, In Therapy: How Conversations with Psychotherapists Really Work(Profile Books, 2016). She joined me on New Books in Psychology to discuss the making of the show and the book and share her thoughts on what real therapy is like. In our interview, she walks us through what she was thinking and feeling during challenging clinical moments in the book, as well as what such moments can teach us about the magic of thera

The opioid crisis in America is considered by many to be the worst national public health crisis in the last 100 years. In his new book, The Opioid Crisis Wake Up Call: Health Care is Stealing the American Dream. Here is How We Take It Back (Health Rosetta Media, 2018), Dave Chase dives into the history and causes of the crisis and outlines a path towards fixing it. Dave takes a thoughtful look at our dysfunctional healthcare system and sees ways it can be fixed using technologies and strategies that are already in use at some organizations. He talks about ways to eliminate waste and corruption while restoring hope to the American public.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 jeremyccorr@gmail.com.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With Paris as the organizing locus of his new book, Du moyen âge à nos jours, expériences et représentations de la folie à Paris [From the Middle Ages to Today, Experiences and Representations of Madness in Paris], Benoît Majerus uses an impressively wide range of visual sources, from religious images and architectural photographs to neuroleptic advertisements and administrative maps. These images are integrated into the text and function not only as illustrations, but also as images with their own story to tell.  Majerus’ narrative arc follows the twists and turns of madness in a city long associated with mental pathogens and their cures and reveals how the history of psychiatry can be told differently through the lens of visual culture.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Much of the debate about the roles of nature vs. nurture in the development of individual people has settled into accepting that it's a bit of both, although what each contributes to a given trait or feature, how much, and they interact are still matters of dispute. In What's Left of Human Nature? A Post-Essentialist, Pluralist, and Interactive Account of a Contested Concept(MIT Press, 2018), Maria Kronfeldner critically examines instead the 'nature' side of this dichotomy: what exactly is a human "nature"? Is it some kind of fixed human essence, a statistical norm, a normative ideal of how a human being ought to be? Kronfeldner, who is an associate professor of philosophy at Central European University in Budapest, argues against an essentialist view of nature, and replaces it with three concepts – descriptive, classificatory, and explanatory natures – that can do the various jobs that we want a "nature" concept to do without contributing to dehumanization, as the essentialist concept frequently has.Learn mo

In Rule Makers, Rule Breakers: How Tight and Loose Cultures Wire Our World(Scribner Books, 2018), Dr. Michele Gelfand leverages cultural psychology research to examine social norms and their implications on individuals, organizations, and nations.  Dr. Gelfand examines how the threat environment shapes a nation’s culture, as well as how organizations, such as the military, are shaped by cultural forces. Rule Makers, Rule Breakers is written for a broad audience and includes research that national security readers will find particularly noteworthy. For example, Dr. Gelfand’s research on the Arab Spring in Egypt is an interesting case study of culture’s broader role in politics and national security.Beth Windisch is a national security practitioner. You can tweet her @bethwindisch.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, cross-posted from from the podcast Psychologists Off The Clock, Dr. Yael Schonbrun takes a dive into evolutionary psychology with professor and author, Dr. Steve Stewart-Williams. Steve’s recent book, The Ape That Understood the Universe: How Mind and Culture Evolve (Cambridge University Press, 2018) offers an opportunity to step away from our held understanding of human nature by taking on the alien perspective. Steve’s vast knowledge and wonderful sense of humor will give you new perspectives on emotions and drives, and new ideas to guide values and behaviors. This interview explores such topics as:How Knowledge Of Our “Human Design” Can Help Us To Make Better Choices In Our Everyday LivesHow And Why Men And Women Differ In Our Desire For Casual Sex, Our Preferences In Partners, And In Our Preferred Levels Of Parental InvestmentHow Knowing That We Are Not Blank Slates Can Empower Us To Be More Effective In Building Value-Driven LivesSteve Stewart-Williams is an associate professor of psycho

Most of us can be self-critical about our bodies sometimes. At the extreme, painful thoughts and emotions about body image can lead to emotional suffering and even impact quality of life. In this episode, cross-posted from the podcast Psychologists Off The Clock, Dr. Debbie Sorensen interviews Dr. Emily Sandoz about her acceptance-based approach to working with clients on body image and eating disorders. Dr. Sandoz explores the concept of “Body Image Inflexibility,” her values- and acceptance-based clinical approach to working with eating disorders, and cultural influences that can contribute to how we feel about our physical bodies.Dr. Emily K. Sandoz is the Emma Louise LeBlanc Burguieres/BORSF Endowed Professor of Social Sciences in the Psychology Department at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. Emily is the Director of the Louisiana Contextual Science Research Group and the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science. She has co-authored three books on acceptance and commitment t

In this this interview, cross-posted from the podcast Psychologists Off The Clock, Dr. Diana Hill talks with Dr. Stephan J. Guyenet, neurobiologist and obesity researcher, about the unconscious systems that lead to overeating and weight gain. Dr. Guyenet discusses why dietary guidelines alone are not enough to change our eating behavior. In The Hungry Brain: Outsmarting the Instincts That Make Us Overeat (Flatiron Books, 2017), hee explores the biological and evolutionary reasons for overeating and offers concrete strategies to “outsmart” our hungry brains. This episode is a perfect accompaniment to go with the holidays, when we are bombarded with tasty food cues and stress induced overeating.Stephan Guyenet is a researcher, science consultant, and science communicator. He earned a BS in biochemistry at the University of Virginia and a PhD in neuroscience at the University of Washington, where he continued as a postdoctoral fellow studying the brain mechanisms that regulate body fatness and eating behavior. H

What is learning? There is a robust body of literature that seeks to tell us what the most effective classroom techniques and strategies are, but Joshua Eyler goes further. In his new book How Humans Learn: The Science and Stories behind Effective College Teaching (West Virginia UP, 2018), Eyler digs deeply into research from a broad range of disciplines to help us understand the act of learning itself, and then showing us how that deeper understanding can translate into more effective teaching and learning in our own classrooms. It’s an important book for all college instructors.Stephen Pimpare is Senior Lecturer in the Politics & Society Program and Faculty Fellow at the Carsey School of Public Policy at the University of New Hampshire. He is the author of The New Victorians (New Press, 2004), A Peoples History of Poverty in America (New Press, 2008), winner of the Michael Harrington Award, and Ghettos, Tramps and Welfare Queens: Down and Out on the Silver Screen (Oxford, 2017).Learn more about your ad

McKenzie Wark’s new book offers 21 focused studies of thinkers working in a wide range of fields who are worth your attention. The chapters of General Intellects: Twenty-One Thinkers for the Twenty-First Century (Verso, 2017) introduce readers to important work in Anglophone cultural studies, psychoanalysis, political theory, media theory, speculative realism, science studies, Italian and French workerist and autonomist thought, two “imaginative readings of Marx,” and two “unique takes on the body politic.” There are significant implications of these ideas for how we live and work at the contemporary university, and we discussed some of those in our conversation. This is a great book to read and to teach with! Carla Nappi is the Andrew W. Mellon Chair in the Department of History at the University of Pittsburgh. You can learn more about her and her work here.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this this interview, cross-posted from the podcast Psychologists Off The Clock, Dr. Diana Hill talks with Dr. Kelly Wilson about kindness and the common humanity of feeling inadequate and broken. Dr. Wilson describes the evolutionary science behind suffering and how “evolutionary mismatch” plays an important role in modern day physical and psychological illness. Dr. Wilson, co-founder of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), demonstrates acceptance and compassion as he describes his personal path to self-care and the regular self-care practices he engages in. On the eve of his retirement, Dr. Wilson shares what’s next for him on his ongoing journey towards kindness and meaning.Kelly G. Wilson, Ph.D., is a professor of psychology at the University at Mississippi. He is past and founding President of the Association for Contextual Behavioral Science (ACBS). Dr. Wilson is one of the founders of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and has devoted himself to the development and dissemination of ACT and i