Articles — Reference and Education_Psychology(5)

February is Psychology Month in Alberta.   In 2006 I was asked to be a Coordinator and Liaison Worker for the Psychologist’s Association in the province.  That was the first time that my column “All Psyched Up” was published in the Medicine Hat News.  Hard to believe that I have submitted weekly articles for seventeen years!  Time changes things.   The Saskatchewan small-town newspaper where I had written a column in my high school years asked me if they could also publish my column.  This continued until November 2021 when, sadly, the newspaper was handed over to a larger entity.  In the...

This week, my older son asked me to take his eight-year old to my office for a tour and to explain to him about my work. Jordan entered my therapy room and I had him sit on one of the love seats while I took my usual spot. Then I began a role-play and asked "Why did you come here? Do you have a problem that you would like me to help you with?" The beautiful thing was that the little boy thought for a couple of minutes and then indicated that he couldn't think of anything that was bothering...

Sometimes coping with the reality of life can be overwhelming. A healthy person may use defenses to get through difficult times. Using them persistently, rigidly or for the wrong reason, however, can result in maladaptive behavior that can threaten physical or mental health or even put an individual's life at risk. Following are some of the most commonly used defense mechanisms: Denial - Refusal to accept reality because it is too threatening. Distortion - Reshaping external reality to meet internal needs. Delusional Projection - Frank delusions and paranoia about external reality (can be persecutory). Fantasy - Retreat from reality into a fantasy world in...

I'm not much of an athlete but I have been described by others as being "a good sport". That has more to do with my attitude than my ability. Over the past few decades, the combination of Psychology and sports has become big business. Teams and individuals frequently seek out the services of a psychologist to help them improve their game and win in their chosen field. Imagine each of us as a triangle that is suspended from the ceiling in mobile fashion. The top angle is our thinking or cognition. The angle on the left side is our feeling...

Many times, I receive telephone calls from individuals or hear clients express the fact that they would like to become a psychologist and are interested in knowing what that involves. They are often horrified to hear that I have the equivalent of 11 ½ years of university education as well as 2 years of Provisional internship. In Canada, licensure and discipline are provincial matters and in the United States are state matters. Most jurisdictions require that individuals have an approved graduate degree in psychology or the equivalent (6 years of university study) before applying for Provisional status. Then a supervision...