Dr. David Klonsky is a clinical psychology professor who conducts research on suicidal behavior, personality, emotion, and assessment. He developed the three-step theory, which is an important and parsimonious theory of suicidal behavior. David also conducted foundational work on the functions of nonsuicidal self-injury. After discussing suicidal behavior research, we shifted the conversation to open science and criticism of National Institute of Mental Health grant funding priorities. Then, we talked about mixed martial arts – both our own experiences and David’s work consulting with athletes competing in combat sports. We concluded with thoughts about why Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Star Wars are so good. This episode was SO much fun to make, and we hope you enjoy listening to it! Show Notes Suicide Research You can follow Dr. David Klonsky on Twitter and check out his lab’s research on Google Scholar. For example, I recommend: Ideation-to-Action Theories of Suicide: A Concept...
Jesse Singal is a journalist who writes about a range of fascinating topics, including psychology and behavioral science. Journalism plays an important role in communicating research findings to the public, and Jesse shared his insight about how that process works. We also talked about his concerns about current directions in journalism, college mental health, the book he’s writing, his newsletter, his podcast, Twitter, Flip McVicker, and more! We hope you enjoy this episode – thanks so much for listening! Show Notes Jesse is a contributing writer and former staffer at New York Magazine, where he edited Science of Us and was a writer-at-large. You can read his articles here. He also has a book coming out about why half-baked behavioral-science ideas go viral. You can follow him on Twitter for updates about his book, links to his new articles, and pizza commentary. Definitely check out Jesse’s newsletter and podcast, which focus on clashes between science and social justice advoca...
Note: This episode was co-created and produced by Randolph Brickey. Randolph Brickey is a trial attorney, writer, and former public defender who joined us to talk about the movie, Primal Fear. First, we gave an overview of the plot and characters in the movie. Then, Randolph explained legal terms, such as not guilty by reason of insanity and competency to stand trial. We also talked about how accurate the film was from legal and psychological perspectives. This included discussion of dissociative identity disorder, psychopathy, and malingering, as well as typical outcomes for people found not guilty by reason of insanity. A theme throughout the episode was that certain types of mental health problems tend to evoke more sympathy from judges and juries than others. We enjoyed making this episode a lot, and we hope you enjoy listening to it! If you like what you hear, please tell a friend, rate and review us on iTunes, and follow us onTwitter. Thanks so much for listening! Show Notes F...
Dr. Chris Martin is a sociologist who does fascinating research on a range of topics that include culture, mental health, and well-being. He joined us to talk about a college course he teaches on happiness, his stand-up comedy experiences, and the podcast he hosts, Half Hour of Heterodoxy. First, we talked about how Chris got into positive psychology and his pathway to a Ph.D. in sociology. Then, we discussed the definitions and differences between hedonic and eudaimonic types of happiness. Chris told us what the science says on links between life satisfaction and relationships, money, and meaning. We concluded with descriptions of therapy-informed approaches to happiness before learning about Chris’ academic approach to stand-up comedy and the premise of his podcast. If you like what you hear, please tell a friend, rate and review us on iTunes, and follow us on Twitter. Thanks so much for listening! Show Notes Follow Chris on Twitter, check out his research via Google Scholar, and...
Michael Sargent is a social psychology professor and the host of Tatter, an excellent podcast about politics, policy, and many other interesting topics. We invited Michael on Jedi Counsel to talk about his pathway to becoming a social psychologist, including his research on need for cognition and punitive responses to crime. Then, Michael told us about his favorite Tatter episodes, including ones about implicit bias, incarceration in the U.S., diversity in the craft beer industry, and AR-15s. Next, we discussed the controversial American Psychological Association Guidelines for Practice with Boys and Men and what we viewed as strengths and weaknesses of the document. Michael connected the guidelines to concepts explored in Why Honor Matters, a book by Tamler Sommers, which he highly recommends. (Side note: Sommers co-hosts a podcast that had an outstanding episode on suicide with Matt Nock). We concluded with a discussion of different representations of masculinity in Pulp Fiction r...
This episode is an interview with Dr. Emily Pisetsky, an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and licensed psychologist. First, Dr. Pisetsky shared how she became interested in clinical psychology and the pathway she took toward studying and treating eating disorders. Next, we talked about research on body image and eating disorders during pregnancy and the postpartum period. Dr. Pisetsky shared useful tips for curating social media feeds to maximize mental health. In addition, Dr. Pisetsky discussed prevention and treatment approaches for mental health concerns during and after pregnancy (including the importance of social support). Dr. Pisetsky has made important contributions to the field of eating disorders through both research and clinical work, and I highly recommend keeping up with her through herGoogle Scholar andTwitteraccounts! You can also check out Dr. Pisetsky’sfaculty webpageand her recent article on emerging psychological treatments in eating disorders. Resources for M...
This episode is an interview with Dr. Mun Yee Kwan, an Assistant Professor of Clinical Psychology. First, Dr. Kwan shared how she became interested in clinical psychology and the journey she took toward becoming an eating disorder researcher. Next, we talked about the ways that social factors both increase risk, and are negatively impacted by, eating disorders. Dr. Kwan then talked about her hypotheses about the role of emotion regulation in eating disorder symptoms. We concluded with Dr. Kwan talking about her research on fashion photoshop warning labels and whether they are effective at reducing eating disorder-related symptoms. Dr. Kwan’s scientific approach to eating disorders is important for advancing the field, and I hope you enjoyed learning about it! Check out Dr. Kwan’s faculty webpage and recent eating disorder research articles on warning labels on fashion images, social support and stress perception, and interpersonal functioning. You can follow Jedi Counsel onTwitter...
Hey Jedi Counsel friends! This week we are checking back in with three-peat guest-host, Dr. Keith Donohue! You might remember him from past episodes on myths around substance use as well as the fictional character James Bond. In this episode, we expanded our episode on Black Mirror: Bandersnatch by talking about “Choose Your Own Adventures” across multiple formats! Listen in as Dr. Donohue shares some of his background with this form of entertainment, the overall history of the genre, and how choosing your own adventure today can mean lots of things from playing Dungeons and Dragons, watching Bandersnatch, or catching up on classic Fighting Fantasy gamebooks! Let us know about your background with choosing your own adventure, no matter what format you used! For a comprehensive list of gamebooks, check out gamebooks.org which was referenced in the episode! You can follow Jedi Counsel onTwitterand like us onFacebook. If you like what you hear, please rate and review us on iTunes and...
This episode is an interview with Dr. April Smith, an Associate Professor of Clinical Psychology. First, Dr. Smith shared how she became interested in her current research areas. Next, we talked about potential explanations for elevated suicidal behavior rates among people with eating disorders. Dr. Smith shared how her lab has investigated underlying factors through the lens of the interpersonal theory of suicide. In addition, Dr. Smith is conducting intriguing research on interoception (a person’s ability to sense what’s going on in their body) and its connections to these mental health issues. Dr. Smith’s innovative, scientific approach was fascinating to hear about, and we hope you enjoy learning about it! You can follow Jedi Counsel onTwitterand like us onFacebook. If you like what you hear, please rate and review us on iTunes and tell your friends! Thank you! For more information: Check out Dr. Smith’s faculty webpageandlab website. You can also follow her lab on Facebook ...
Hey, Jedi Counsel fans! This week we decided to finally catch up with the world and check out Black Mirror: Bandersnatch! We know, we are a bit behind everyone else, but we were excited to talk about it anyways! Listen in as we both go through our individual choices and discuss some of the psychological themes that are depicted on the various paths. Throughout the different paths, there are depictions of therapy, taking psychiatric medications, dealing with guilt/trauma, engaging in substance use, suicide (maybe?), and our least favorite of all, depictions of an individual struggling from mental health concerns engaging in violent behavior towards others. We break down all of these themes and more. Have you tried Bandersnatch? How did your experience compare to ours? What were your overall thoughts? If you like our podcast, please rate and review us on iTunes, check out ourwebsite, and follow us onTwitter. Thank you so much!