Episode 6 of an exclusive 6-episode series.In case you missed it: In episode 5 of this series, I spoke with my father, a man I admire and respect but we are at odds in our views. It's been difficult to reconcile who he is as a father with who he supports politically. So in today's episode, this therapist goes to therapy. I turn to Dr. Erica Ellis, a licensed clinical psychologist and my mentor. We recorded this episode one week post-election and it feels like a brave new world. But it's...

Episode 5 of an exclusive 6-episode series.We are just hours away from the election. This week, our country saw the highest amount of Covid cases ever recorded. On the justice front, we as a nation watched as a new form of "justice" was installed in the Supreme Court. There's a case about healthcare that threatens people with existing healthcare coverage on top of Trump's herd immunity strategy, which pretty much guarantees we become a nation of preexisting conditions. Now the Sup...

Episode 4 of an exclusive 6-episode series.Have you ever been toward the end of a relationship and wondered "How did I not see this?"Denial is a little gift from our brain and comes in various styles, all meant to keep us and our fragile egos feel intact. Notice it's about feeling intact. It's not about growing.In fact, denial and growth are contra-indicated and we have a whole host of denial styles to keep us nice and shielded from the incoming pains of the world. On today's episode, R...

Episode 3 of an exclusive 6-episode series. In this episode, we talk contagious emotions, how emotions are passed from one person to another, like a contagion. We catch emotions from each other, partly because of empathy. Partly because of mirror neurons that pick these things up from other bodies, partly because evolution valued the trait.Empathy has evolved with us over time and can be contagious, like any other emotion. Fear is contagious. I'm sure you've realized. Grandiosity ...

Episode #2 in a 6-episode exclusive series. This podcast began as treatment notes on election night in 2016. Without knowing much about Donald Trump, I knew some of what we as a nation could expect based on his public behaviors for decades; after all the best predictor of future behavior is past and current behavior.What's clear from decades of direct observation of Trump is that he has a rigid idiosyncratic behavior pattern. It is predictable and it is avoidable. I thought it was clear ...

Episode #1 in a 6-episode exclusive series. On Poli-Psych 101, host Renie Schoenkerman talks to psychological experts about all the stuff we see playing out in America today. From professors to clinicians, forensic experts and self helpers, they explore the costs of emotional illiteracy and benefits of emotional intelligence.In this episode, Renie shares her own story of chaos; growing up in a home with an abusive, mentally Ill parent and how it has led to finding her purpose through her work...

On November 8th, 2016, it became clear that Donald Trump would become the 45th President of the United States. For some, this was great news. For others, it evoked real grief and tears.For me, I took to my notebook. I'm Renie Schoenkerman, I'm a Marriage and Family Therapist. I've seen what happens in families when someone with mental illness is at the helm. Now imagine what that can do to a country. In Poli-Psych 101, we try to understand what's happening in this moment of American history, ...