New Books in Psychology

This podcast explores the predictive processing hypothesis and its implications for embodied cognition, epistemology, schizophrenia, autism, and implicit bias. It discusses the concept of top-down models in perceptual experience and the role of embodiment in cognition. The debate between direct realism and indirect realism in relation to predictive coding models is explored, as well as the relevance of Cartesian evil demon thought experiments. The role of top-down expectations and the generation of models, including the potential for cognitive biases, is also discussed.

Every night around the world, millions of people lie in bed at night, struggling to fall asleep. Experts suggest that about one in three people struggle with at least mild insomnia. Paradoxically, their efforts to control their sleep may actually result in digging them in even deeper into insomnia. Fortunately for people with insomnia, and the therapists and medical professionals who treat them, some behavioral interventions are helping many people to end the pattern of sleeplessness. In this interview, cross-posted from the new podcast Psychologists Off The Clock, Dr. Diana Hill interviews Dr. Alisha Brosse, who co-authored the book End the Insomnia Struggle: A Step by Step Guide to Get to Sleep and Stay Asleep (New Harbinger Publications, 2016) with Dr. Colleen Ehrnstrom. Dr. Brosse is a specialist in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I), which is considered the best treatment for chronic insomnia. Dr. Brosse is also the Associate Director of the Robert D. Sutherland Center for the Evaluation and Treatment of Bipolar Disorder, provides evidence-based treatment for a variety of mental health concerns and offers training for mental health professionals. Dr. Brosse explains how the cycle of insomnia develops and why our efforts to control sleep have paradoxical effects. Dr. Brosse then describes cognitive, behavioral and acceptance-based strategies in insomnia treatment. Specifically, Dr. Brosse explains two behavioral approaches that are key to CBT-Is effectiveness: Stimulus Control Therapy and Sleep Restriction Therapy. Dr. Brosse also shares how willingness is an important component to successful insomnia treatment. Read an excerpt from End the Insomnia Struggle here! Diana Hill, Ph.D. is a licensed psychologist practicing in Santa Barbara, California, and a co-host of the podcast Psychologists Off The Clock. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/psychology

Anger has acquired a bad reputation in our culture. It is an emotional state that can lead us to say and do things we later regret, particularly when our emotion overrides reason. But anger has the potential for being used productively, as energy for positive change. Such is among the many lessons former Human Rights Campaign president Joe Solmonese learned during his many years fighting for equal rights for LGBTQ people. He shares these lessons, and the personal experiences in which he learned them, in his new book, The Gift of Anger: Use Passion to Build Not Destroy (Berrett-Koehler Publishers, 2016). In my interview with Mr. Solmonese, we talk about what inspired him to write a book about such a charged emotion as anger and how he manages to remain focused and goal-oriented in the face of staunch resistance to positive change. The lessons he shares are relevant and useful to anyone pursing an ambitious goal, especially for dealing effectively with challenges along the way. Joe Solmonese is former president of the Human Rights Campaign, the nation’s largest gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender advocacy organization, and former CEO for EMILY’s List, one of the nations largest political action committees. He is currently the managing director and founding partner of Gavin/Solmonese, an organizational consulting firm. Eugenio Duarte, Ph.D. is a licensed psychologist and psychoanalyst practicing in New York City. He treats individuals and couples, with specialties in gender and sexuality issues, eating and body image problems, and relationship issues. He regularly presents and writes about these topics, and you can view his work at www.eugenioduartephd.com and by following him on Twitter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/psychology

If you have ever wondered what your therapist is really thinking, then my interview with Sherry Amatenstein will satisfy your curiosity. She sat down with me to discuss her new book, How Does That Make You Feel?: True Confessions from Both Sides of the Therapy Couch (Seal Press, 2016). This unique anthology of confessional essays, written by therapists as well as patients, gives readers a behind-the-scenes look into the world of psychotherapy. In our interview, Amatenstein reflects on what the stories in her book teach us about the day-to-day practice of psychotherapy and the myriad challenges and surprises that emerge when two strangers engage in a professional and deep kind of intimacy. Sherry Amatenstein, LCSW is a licensed clinical social worker and psychotherapist practicing in New York City with expertise in relationships. Her prior books include The Complete Marriage Counselor: Relationship Saving Advice from Americas Top 50+ Couples Therapists, The Q&A Dating Book, and Love Lessons from Bad Breakups. Eugenio Duarte, Ph.D. is a licensed psychologist and psychoanalyst practicing in New York City. He treats individuals and couples, with specialties in gender and sexuality issues, eating and body image problems, and relationship issues. He regularly presents and writes about these topics, and you can view his work at www.eugenioduartephd.com and by following him on Twitter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/psychology

Clinical psychologist Orna Ophir, an adjunct professor with a PhD in the history of science, delves into the tumultuous relationship between psychoanalysis and psychiatry in post-war America. She explores how the treatment of psychosis led to a schism between these once-close fields. The discussion touches on the historical evolution of mental health care, the discomfort American analysts felt amid neo-Semitic ideas, and the need for psychoanalysts to confront deeper anxieties around death and violence.

All humans endure their private struggles, but rarely do we know what troubles our most famous public figures until now. In her recent book, Andy Warhol was a Hoarder: Inside the Mind of History’s Great Personalities (National Geographic, 2016), award-winning journalist Claudia Kalb shares her research into the mental health histories of several well-known and much-loved people. She discusses Princess Diana’s struggle with eating disorder and severe loneliness; the impact of Frank Lloyd Wrights narcissism on his architectural masterpieces and personal relationships; and Andy Warhol’s penchant for holding onto and storing decades’ worth of day-to-day objects. In our interview, Kalb talks about her keen interest in these people and their stories, and we discuss the way such stories humanize these idealized figures and universalize the human quest for mental and emotional well-being. Claudia Kalb is an award-winning journalist who specializes in the fields of medicine, health, and science, former senior writer at Newsweek, and contributor to publications such as Smithsonian and Scientific American. Follow her on Twitter. Eugenio Duarte, Ph.D. is a licensed psychologist and psychoanalyst practicing in New York City. He treats individuals and couples, with specialties in LGBTQ issues, eating and body image problems, and relationship problems. Follow him on Twitter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/psychology

The life of the German-born, pioneering American psychoanalyst, Frieda Fromm-Reichmann, is intriguing enough in itself, but in the biography, To Redeem One Person Is to Redeem the World: The Life of Frieda Fromm-Reichmann (Other Books, 2005), we learn that Fromm-Reichmann played an integral role in mid-century psychoanalysis. In this interview, with the author, psychologist, and historian, Gail Hornstein, we trace not only Fromm Reichmann’s many accomplishments, but also the history of Chestnut Lodge where she worked for many years, her relationships with Erich Fromm and Harold Searles, as well as the cultural impact of the book written by her patient Joanne Greenberg, I Never Promised You A Rose Garden. To Redeem One Person Is to Redeem the World is essential reading for anyone interested not only in the history of American psychoanalysis, but also psychoanalysis in general. You can find Chris Bandini on Twitter @cebandini. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/psychology

Why is our criminal justice system so unfair? How do innocent men and women end up serving long sentences while the guilty roam free? According to law professor and scholar Adam Benforado, our systems problems stem from more than occasional bad apples; they start with deeply rooted biases we all hold and which influence the course of justice. Eugenio Duarte sat with him to discuss how these biases shape every step along the way, from how a crime is initially investigated, through the process of indicting and trying suspects, to ultimate determinations of punishment. His revelations, coming from empirical investigations and first-hand experience, are shocking and sobering. He documents them in his new book, Unfair: The New Science of Criminal Injustice (Penguin Random House, 2016), and also compels readers to take action to right the wrongs in how we delivery justice. Adam Benforado is Associate Professor of Law at Drexel University. He has published numerous scholarly articles, and his op-eds and essays have appeared in the Washington Post, the Philadelphia Inquirer, and Legal Times. Follow him on Facebook. Eugenio Duarte, Ph.D. is a licensed psychologist and psychoanalyst practicing in New York City. He treats individuals and couples, with specialties in LGBTQ issues, eating and body image problems, and relationship problems. Follow him on Twitter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/psychology

Time and resources are scarce for many teachers. Often times, these same teachers are under immense pressure to produce higher test scores and severely constrained with the actions they can take in their own classrooms. What are the consequences of working under conditions in which you have increasing responsibilities without sufficiently corresponding support and professional autonomy? Teachers may only prioritize the content that appears on standardized assessments and rarely address other worthwhile knowledge and skills. They may also work excessively long hours, ultimately undermining their personal well-being and their professional effectiveness. What if teachers were instead incentivized to model mindfulness and teach practices to students? Could we avoid more situations like the ones described above? In The Way of Mindful Education: Cultivating Well-Being in Teachers and Students (W. W. Norton and Company, 2014) and The Mindful Education Workbook: Lessons for Teaching Mindfulness to Students (W. W. Norton and Company, 2016), Daniel Rechtschaffen provides a definition for mindfulness that clearly distinguishes it from other similar or related ideas and articulates its unique benefits for teachers and students by drawing on classroom dilemmas and corresponding practices. Rechtschaffen joins New Books in Education for the interview. To share your thoughts on the podcast, you can connect with him on Twitter at @mindfuleducate. During our conversation, he also recommended the following books: Mindful Games: Sharing Mindfulness and Meditation with Children, Teens, and Families by Susan Kaiser Greenland The Mindful Child: How to Help Your Kid Manage Stress and Become Happier, Kinder, and More Compassionate by Susan Kaiser Greenland Building Emotional Intelligence: Techniques to Cultivate Inner Strength in Children by Linda Lantieri Wherever You Go, There You Are by Jon Kabat-Zinn Full Catastrophe Living: Using the Wisdom of Your Body and Mind to Face Stress, Illness, and Pain by Jon Kabat-Zinn Mindfulness for Beginners: Reclaiming the Present Moment and Your Life by Jon Kabat-Zinn Trevor Mattea is an educational consultant and speaker. His areas of expertise include deeper learning, parent involvement, project-based learning, and technology integration. He can be reached by email at info@trevormattea.com or on Twitter at @tsmattea. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/psychology

Many people carry around unresolved feelings and thoughts tied to difficult experiences, with no idea what to do with them. When left unattended for too long, these pent up feelings can lead to a variety of physical and mental health issues: sleep problems, depression, and even physical illness. Therapy can help, but its not always available for various reasons. Fortunately, long-time researchers and writers James Pennebaker and Joshua Smyth have developed expressive writing as an innovative approach for expressing ones emotions and achieving better health and wellness. They sat down with psychologist Eugenio Duarte to discuss various expressive writing strategies anyone can use as well as the research that backs up their methods. They’re all contained in their new book, Opening Up by Writing it Down: How Expressive Writing Improves Health and Eases Emotional Pain (3rd edition; Guilford Press, 2016). Eugenio Duarte, Ph.D. is a licensed psychologist and psychoanalyst practicing in New York City. He treats individuals and couples, with specialties in LGBTQ issues, eating and body image problems, and relationship problems. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/psychology