This Fall I will be returning to my psychotherapy practice after many years. I began as a practicing therapist the day I graduated from Columbia School of Social Work in 1990! But in the intervening years I drifted away from private practice to devote my time and energy to pubic speaking and, of course, standup […]
I was called to attend a death notification by the Police Department yesterday. I do this regularly and it is a difficult duty for sure. But yesterday was something especially awful. Typically such a call is to accompany officers sharing the news to a family death. I have done this countless times over the years. […]
The music world finally said goodbye to a legend! With the passing of Tony Bennett at 96 years old, it is worth reading the online summary of this amazing man’s life and work. Of course we knew him for his delightful and unique signature voice, but this was an American icon with a lived commitment […]
I have always shied away from taking on managing my own website. The technical skill needed to make any additions and changes overwhelmed me. I believed it was too far beyond my ability. The concentration, focus and patience necessary to learn the skill and apply it was too much. But I now realize that this […]
I finally learned the term ’doom scrolling’ recently. I had never heard of it before, but sadly realized that I am sometimes drawn into this temptation myself. It refers to mindless and endless scrolling through online videos depicting bad behavior, road rage incidents and other antisocial behavior caught on cell phone cameras. They are fascinating […]
I spent nearly twenty years as a professional nightclub comedian in New York. Eventually I moved over to become a professional speaker to companies, organizations and their stressed people. My presentation has naturally included standup comedy, because it was baked into my life and speaking. Over time my content has morphed over to more of […]
For the past six years I have teaching strategic communication courses in the online graduate program at Purdue University. The students we have are all seeking to find positions in strategic communication after completing this Masters Degree. And the program has had a great impact and track record. Our graduates are in communication leadership positions […]
Arie Kruglanski from the University of Maryland is a noted social psychologist and researcher on extremism. He studies what motivates people to join terrorist groups like ISIS. Dr. Kruglanski writes about the psychology of binary thinking. His principle is called ‘cognitive closure’ in psychology. It’s defined by the APA as a state where a person […]