The Psych Files

The Psych Files


Latest Episodes

Ep 322: An Introduction to Cross Cultural Psychology
April 03, 2019

Why is it okay - in some cultures - to jaywalk, while in others you could get arrested for jaywalking? Why was marijuana was sold - legally - for years in the streets of Amsterdam when it is only now become legal in the US? The reason: some cultures ar...

Ep 321: OCD - What is it Really Like?
March 18, 2019

Would you like to get into the mind of someone who not only has OCD, but who also wrote a novel in which the main character deals with it as well? That's the premise behind the book, Waiting For Fitz. In this episode I interview the author, Spencer Hyd...

Ep 320: Cannibis and Mental Health - Whose Advice Do You Trust?
March 04, 2019

Only a little while ago cannabis (marijuana) was approved for medical purposes. Now "recreational use" of the plant is legal in many states in the US. It is being prescribed to treat PTSD, schizophrenia and chronic pain among others.   But what is disp...

Introducing One Plus One
February 19, 2019

Every great collaboration is a love story. It’s intense. Passionate. Along the way, there are flashes of love, hate, pride, ego, ambition, and brilliance. This is One Plus One, the show about the spark that drives two original thinkers to ultimate succ...

Ep 319: Forensic Psychology - An Interview with Dr. Susan Lewis
January 31, 2019

It seems like there’s no end to TV shows about criminals who have various psychiatric disorders. It’s understandable that we find them fascinating, but how accurate are they? What is it really like to work with individuals who are convicted of serious ...

Ep 318: What is Academic Shame?
January 15, 2019

Recently we've learned that many students learn best not when things are well explained to them, but rather when they're just a little bit confused. Professor Jeremiah Sullins (interviewed in episode 267) talked about his work on Productive Confusion. ...

Ep317: It's So Fluffy! Cuteness Makes Us Aggressive
December 12, 2018

Have you ever seen something so cute you just want to squeeze it to death? Or a child so cute you want to pinch it's cheeks really hard? Why do we have these odd, powerful, opposite feelings? It's called "cute aggression" and we'll try to explain it in...

Ep 316: Motivational Interviewing and the TV Show Columbo
November 30, 2018

Hopefully you've watched the TV show Columbo. Curious about what this character has to do with psychology? You'd be surprised.  In this episode I analyze Columbo along with the Jennifer Garner movie, "Peppermint". I also explain why you remember how to...

Ep 315: The Psychology of A Quiet Place and Mission Impossible
November 15, 2018

Did you see the movie A Quiet Place? How about Mission Impossible? It's always fun to analyze movies from a psychological perspective and that's what I do in this episode. A Quiet Place has a lot of family dynamics issues going on but Mission Impossibl...

Ep 314: Trauma Recovery with Dr. Matt Jaremko
October 30, 2018

If you're suffering from the effects of a trauma in your life or know someone who is, then listen to Dr. Matt Jaremko talk about his new book with Beth Fehlbaum called Trauma Recovery: Sessions With Dr. Matt". Dr. Jaremko's approach to therapy with tra...