Mind Tricks Radio

I enjoyed a lively conversation today with Dr. Andrea Bonior, a licensed Clinical Psychologist and faculty member of Georgetown University. Dr. Bonior spoke with me today about nurturing adult friendships, and the importance of friendships to both physical and emotional health and well-being.  She talked about many aspects of friendships, including:

• picking and maintainin...

I enjoyed a lively conversation with Dr Michelle P. Maidenberg, a psychotherapist in private practice in Harrison, NY. I interviewed Dr. Maidenberg about her new book, “Ace Your Life: Unleash Your Best Self and Live the Life You Want.”  This book is packed with all sorts of meaningful explanations and pointers about Core Values, Growth Mindset, Radical Self-Acceptance, Compassion, and Empowerment.   

I enjoyed a fun conversation with Dr. Dianne Grande, a Clinical Psychologist in private practice in the western suburbs of Chicago. We talked about the ways in which people take too much responsibility for others as Caretakers, Enablers, and Rescuers. Dr. Grande talks about how people get into unhealthy dynamics with others that are marked by dependency, resentment, and helplessness, and ways in which pe...

I enjoyed having the opportunity today to "pick the brain" of Dr. Martin Hsia, a  Clinical Psychologist and expert in Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD). We talked in-depth about many forms of obsessive thoughts and compulsive behaviors commonly encountered with OCD. Dr. Hsia provides many examples of what differentiates "normal" thinking and behavior from OCD symptoms.

Dr. H...

In today's episode of Distortion of the Day!, I discuss Black and White Thinking, also known as All Or Nothing Thinking or Absolute Thinking.

When you engage in Black and White thinking, you approach things from an extreme point of view. Either something is all good or all bad. A person either’s got your back, or you cant count on them. A situation is either totally awesome or totally screwed. And anothe...

I enjoyed catching up with Dr. Avrum Weiss about the reason why couples have the same argument again and again and again and .... 

Dr. Weiss was a guest on MIND TRICKS RADIO Episode 31 where he spoke about his important and thought provoking, best-selling book, Hidden in Plain Sight: How Men's Fear of Women Shape Their Intimate Relationships. 

In today's episode, we discussed the reasons why men and women argue about the same thing...

I'm super excited to release my first episode of Distortion of the Day! These episodes will run under 10 minutes and I will introduce psychological concepts in a fun, practical, useful way. Today's episode explains Catastrophic Thinking, or Catastrophizing. This is a common cognitive error where you tend to focus on the worst case scenario in the absence of logic or data to support your fear. I hope you find the episode helpful, a...

In this episode I discuss a helpful therapeutic topic called Core Irrational Beliefs (CIB). CIB's typically stem from the experiences a child has growing up with learning from his or her family of origin, messages from the media, interactions with peers, and from trauma. CIB's significantly shape the way we view the world around us and about our roles and relationships.  I like to conceptualize CIB's as pertaining to the Self, Othe...

Today I met with Dr. Kimberly Quinn, a professor of Cognitive Psychology at Champlain College in Burlington, Vermont. Dr. Quinn teaches and speaks on topics of Positive Psychology.  Today we talked about becoming a "Limitless Person," who is someone that taps into their authentic self, is true to their values, and isn't afraid to create the life for themselves that they want and deserve. Limitless people...

Today I decided to try something different and recorded my first solo episode of Mind Tricks Radio.  While I am eclectic in my approach to clinical psychology, meaning I draw from many different modalities when I work with patients, I find that cognitive therapy techniques can be extremely helpful to the therapeutic process. This episode may be helpful if you're new to cognitive therapy and would like to gain a better understanding...

Today's episode of Mind Tricks Radio is an unusual one. I interviewed Dr. Tyler Ralston about his firsthand experience witnessing the rampage of Tyke the Elephant through the streets of Honolulu on August 20, 1994. 

During a performance by Circus International, an African Bush Elephant named Tyke mauled her trainer and then charged out of the event at the Neal Blaisdell Center and rampaged through the st...

After taking a break from podcasting for five months, I'm excited to launch the next season of MIND TRICKS RADIO!  This podcast series explores contemporary themes in psychology, where I interview innovative clinicians, researchers, and thinkers in the field.

In today's interview,  I met with Clinical Psychologist Bernard Golden and spoke with him about Passive-Aggression and the Silent Treatment.  Dr. Golden has written several bo...

I enjoyed a lively conversation today on the topic of Rejection, with Clinical Psychologist, Dr. Leslie Becker-Phelps.  She discussed how people can better understand their reactions to rejection and ways they can develop strategies to cope with these uncomfortable thoughts and feelings.

Dr. Becker-Phelps is dedicated to helping people understand themselves and what they need to do to become emotionally and psychologically healthy....

I enjoyed interviewing Dr. Amy Lappen, a Clinical Psychologist in private practice in Long Beach, California. She specializes in the treatment of PTSD, and has expertise in in using Prolonged Exposure Therapy for trauma and PTSD.

Aside from PTSD and Trauma treatment, Dr. Lappen specializes in the treatment of depression, anxiety, intimate partner violence, anger management, disordered eating, maternal depression (peri-partum and po...

I enjoyed meeting up with Dr. Roxy Zarrabi, a Clinical Psychologist in private practice who specializes in helping women struggling with low self-esteem, anxiety, or dating/relationship challenges to feel confident about themselves and the future of their relationships. Dr. Zarrabi spoke with me today about many reasons why people have difficulty letting go of unhealthy relationships, and things they may...