Prescription Privileges for Psychologists: An Intro to “Pro” Arguments

This is the second entry in a series on the implications of psychologists pursuing prescription privileges. What those implications are exactly, is far from clear — they ought to be examined very closely. Others in the series include:
Psychology and “Big Pharma”
Presciptive Authority: Strong Arguments
Preamble to a thorny issue.
Before launching into the positive side to [...]

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Psychology and “Big Pharma”

This is the first entry in a series on the implications of psychologists pursuing prescription privileges. What those implications are exactly, is far from clear — they ought to be examined very closely. Others in the series include:
Prescription Privileges for Psychologists: An Intro to “Pro” Arguments
Presciptive Authority: Strong Arguments
Here’s a draft I wrote for [...]

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Tantrum: How to Deal with My Child

My child has lost it. I’m about to lose it.
This is related to how to praise a child. Here’s a typical scenario: The child, being a 3-and-a-half-year old is extremely frustrated because it can’t have what it wants. Your last nerve was worn out an hour ago, and truth be told, you are starting to [...]

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Parenting Books: Hazards and Fortunes

The hazards of parenting books.
If you’ve ever sat down in your local bookstore and started reading parenting books, you find that there’s one for just about every point of view. If you are looking for definitive answers you will be disappointed and confused. Authors take stances as varied as “spare the rod, spoil the child” [...]

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Parenting: Heading Off the Tantrum

Here are two simple tactics for heading off tantrums — giving choices and verbally preparing the child — both are remarkably effective.
You give the child a choice.
What the choices are is much less important than the fact of offering choices. For example:

Would you like to clean your room or would you like to take a [...]

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My Teenager, My Three-Year-Old

Declarations of Independence.
Three years old (give or take a few months), is the child’s first statement of independence. This is a good thing. But it’s not so easy on parents. It is important, at this age, to find a good balance in how you set limits. One thing to keep in mind is that this [...]

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Parenting Styles: Strict, Lax, Flexible

Parenting Posts: I’ve got quite a few of these lined up. Here’s one theorist’s view on different parenting styles.
Strict, lax, and flexible.
In psychology, we say authoritarian, permissive, and authoritative. These terms based on the research of Baumrind (1971). Sharon Jablon, Ph.D., who runs a test prep workshop for the national licensing exam in psychology (EPPP), [...]

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Psychologist, Psychiatrist: What’s the Difference?

Psychiatrists go to medical school.
I am still struck by how many people have only a vague idea about the distinction. It’s a pretty big one, namely: medical school. Psychiatrists go to medical school. They are trained in the medical model. As a broad generalization, particularly today, psychiatrists probably see more severely disabled patients — people [...]

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On Praising Children

How much praise is too much?
Recently there have been some articles on the negative effects of praising children. One trend in these articles is to confuse self-esteem with narcissism. It is a healthy, realistic view of one’s self and abilities. But self-esteem is a phrase with a lot of baggage. The rampant lack of [...]

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