Learned Helplessness: Call Centres and Kafka
I’ve got a song stuck in my head. A piece of music actually. I don’t know its name, but it’s an ominous, minor-keyed, bass-heavy, slow-groove. Its is the call waiting music for my superfund. I’ve spent endless hours listening to this composition over the last month. I had been calling my superfund for a simple […]
Action Speaks Louder than Words
“I can’t cope with the kid. She used to be such a sweet girl, now she doesn’t do a thing I say, in fact she usually does the opposite”. Kyle was pulling his hair out, his daughter, Ava, just wouldn’t listen to him. This is going to sound a bit rich coming from a psychologist, […]
Fifth Anniversary Blog: Hooray!
It’s been 5 years and 45 days since the birth of this blog. And I skipped a year, and even then, I’m 2 months late, but I thought it time to resurrect the sacred tradition of the Most Popular Blog list. You can see earlier versions here, here and here. As with the last time (in […]
Self-Sabotage: The Power of Parts
I cheated myself Like I knew I would I told you I was trouble You know that I’m no good. I’m no Good by Amy Winehouse “I knew it was bad for me to get in touch with Brett, but I was feeling lonely, and I couldn’t help it!” Hayley was beating herself […]
Your Kid’s Next Psychologist will be a Bot
As we all know, there’s been a lot of talk about artificial intelligence lately. All areas of life will be infected by AI, and psychology is not immune. AI Apps already exist to do the job of psychologists. Will these really work? Most of my clients wouldn’t dream of dumping me for a therapy-bot (I […]
The Brain that Wastes Itself
A recent one from the Journal of the Bleeding Obvious: Chinese researchers found that restaurant serving staff, who memorise patrons and meals, perform better on a working memory test than restaurant security staff, who don’t. In a subsequent study, the same researchers trained uni students on a restaurant serving game for several weeks found that […]
How does EMDR Work?
And it was hard to explain why it (EMDR) worked (it still is): Somehow, by moving eyes from side-to-side, trauma memories become less distressing allowing for them to be reframed and put in the past. Justin Hendriks, End Recurrence: EMDR Last post I introduced the trauma treatment EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing). This […]
End Recurrence: EMDR
A balding, bearded, bespeckled man with a strong Austrian accent pulls a pocket watch out of his vest. “Follow zee vatch vit your eyez. You are getting verrry szleeeepy” he drones as he gently waves the watch in front of the patient’s face. The patient’s eyes turn into spirals, and she becomes a mindless zombie. […]
Part II: Would your Life be Better Lived by a Robot?
Part II: The Solution Pirahas laugh about everything. They laugh at their own misfortune: when someone’s hut blows over in a rainstorm, the occupants laugh more loudly than anyone. They laugh when they catch a lot of fish. They laugh when they catch no fish. … . This pervasive happiness is hard to explain, though […]
Would Your Life be Better Lived by a Robot?
I wake up to my alarm, 1 hour and 13 minutes before sunrise (according to timeanddate.com). A month ago, the same alarm would wake me, but it was still light outside. I check the app attached to my exercise watch and it tells me that I’m “maintaining”. The app suggests that if I increase the […]
Adolescent Girls in Crisis: Is “Mental Health” Making Things Worse?
Happiness is like a butterfly: the more you chase it, the more it will elude you; but if you turn your attention to other things, it will come and sit softly on your shoulder. Henry David Thoreau Within my media silo, there has been quite a bit of news recently about the mental health […]
Do I Have ADHD?
This month, within the space of two days, three clients asked me whether I think they have ADHD. All of these clients had some symptoms that might be indicative of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder. All of these symptoms, on the other hand, could be signs of something else. All three were prompted to talk to me […]
Post-Human Thinking: ChatGPT and the Last Man
Write a blog post in the style of justin hendriks psychology on ai and psychology: “The Intersection of AI and Psychology: Understanding the Impact on Human Behavior” Artificial intelligence (AI) has revolutionized the way we live and interact with technology. From virtual personal assistants to self-driving cars, AI is becoming increasingly integrated into our daily […]
Back for 2023, and Best of 2022
After a prolonged absence, the blog is back! I got busy/lazy at the end of last year. And I took a (much needed) longer-than-usual break this summer. Thus, the gap. Apologies to all of you (any of you?) who like your dose of fortnightly blog. And, to rub salt into your wounds, I’m copping out […]
Mental Health Days, School Refusal, and Coping with Stress: Part III
See Part I and Part II of this series for a background to this article. Year 10 Student, Martin* attended treatment for a school refusal problem. He was anxious about school and coped by avoiding all reminders of school. Year 11 Student, Mary*, attended treatment for sleep loss, strong emotions, and panic symptoms. She […]
Mental Health Days, School Refusal, and Coping with Stress: Part II
See Part I of this series here. Year 10 Student, Martin’s* parents were shocked to discover that their son had missed almost half of his classes in the current term. Along with these missed days, Martin had not submitted any major assessments. Year 11 Student, Mary*, had missed no school days in the current […]
Mental Health Days, School Refusal, and Coping with Stress: Part I
Martin’s* parents were called by his Year Ten Coordinator to discuss his ongoing absences from class and his assessment non-admittance. Martin’s parents were shocked to discover that the problem was even bigger than they’d thought. Mary*, Year 11 student has been attending weekly psychology sessions in the lead up to starting the HSC. Her […]
Focus on Patterns, not on Events
Pattern: a particular way in which something usually happens or is done Event: a thing that happens or takes place, especially one of importance Patterns People often see me to get their life in order. My first assumption about a new client walking through my door is that some aspect of their life is not being lived well. […]
