The Case for Passionate Moderation

Except for people in our bubble, we often can’t talk politics without risking the relationship. 

Alas, if we can’t discuss divergent views, we must rely on the media’s view, which, alas, tends to be a view from just one bubble. Hence our exposure to ideas is truncated, and wisdom doesn’t reside only on one side of center.

And it’s important we talk politics. It dramatically affects our lives, from education to health care to national security, plus where and how redistributively our tax dollars are spent.

In my PsychologyToday.com article today, I make the case for being passionate about moderation. 

Dying: Our Final Project

We all end by having to complete the same project: dying.

It’s all well and good to plan how we’ll do that final project, but I don’t think we can predict accurately. No less than Elizabeth Kubler-Ross who became famous for asserting that we all go through the same five-step process from denial to acceptance, herself never reached acceptance. My dear friend who at 90, in bad, bad shape, bought a revolver and said that if it got much worse, he’d shoot himself. Well, it’s a year later. he’s far worse still, and he’s still alive.

That said, it can’t hurt to describe how I hope I’d handle my final project. I do that in my PsychologyToday.com article today. Perhaps it will motivate me to stick with that honorable plan or inspire you or me to at least not die as badly as we otherwise might.

The Case FOR Screen Time

Some research finds that screen time correlates with everything from depression to violence. 

But, of course, correlation doesn’t equal causation. And, as I try to demonstrate in my PsychologyToday.com article today, logic suggests that screen time plays little or no role in causation. I argue further that, except when the quantity is extreme and/or the quality is poor, screen time is a significant net plus.

If I Had a Child Who Failed to Launch

I know someone whose child is finishing his senior year in high school with a 1.5 GPA. He has “learning differences” including “poor executive functioning” and is doing lots of drugs. The parent has decided to send him to a wilderness residential school for drug-abusing kids in hopes “that will better prepare him for college.”

If I were his parent, I'd do something quite different. My PsychologyToday.com article today explains what I'd do.

Why I Think Corporations are Better Than Nonprofits

How I'd Practice School Psychology

It’s been a long time since I’ve been a school psychologist, and my conversations with current ones indicate that the field has changed some, but I sense that school psychologists still might benefit from my viewing the profession with fresh eyes.

My PsychologyToday.com article today offers some thoughts on how I’d practice school psychology. They embed principles for how others might choose to practice.

How a Sad Person (Me) Keeps My Sadness Under Control