Psych Bytes Podcast

Virtual Happy Hour via Zoom, Google Hangouts, or any other online meetup space is too enticing for an extrovert to pass up...

Is your life moving too fast? As we get older, it feels as though time moves faster and faster. Check out these five tips to slow down time!

Social isolation CAN compromise quality of life.

In this episode of the Psych Bytes podcast, Myque Harris, LPC, and Tarik Sloussi, LPC, discuss the powerful benefits behind meditation. Myque also walks us through a guided meditation exercise that you can use daily to relax your mind, increase your focus, and live mindfully.

The Psychology of Music

Why does music resonate so much with the human brain? In this episode of the Psych Bytes podcast, Craig Pohlman, Ph.D., and Jennifer Fights, LPC, discuss the psychology of music.

Holiday Horror Stories: How to Survive The Holiday Season

This time of year, it would be nice to have an episode focused on peace, love, and holiday cheer... But this is NOT that episode.

For many people the holidays are not so merry, so we are leaning into that by sharing some grim stories from folks you might expect to be perfectly well-adjusted and strongly connected to family and friends.

Yes, these horror stories are shared by mental health professionals!

Sure, we are trained to help people through challenging times, including the holidays, but we are humans too and we have baggage!

In this episode of the Psych Bytes podcast, Dr. Craig Pohlman and Jennifer Fights, LPC, listen to three different holiday horror stories and share mental health tips to survive the holiday season!

In this episode of the Psych Bytes podcast, we discuss trigger warnings, snowflakes, and safe spaces, specifically in the workplace or education system.

Before we jump into the episode, let's discuss some of these terms from a mental health perspective and our feelings/beliefs on these terms.

Trigger Warnings, Snowflakes, and Safe Spaces

From a mental health perspective, a trigger warning is a psychological stimulus that can very clearly be pointed to a thing (it can be a certain person, place, situation, circumstance, etc.) and how that thing "triggers" an individual's identifiable trauma.

Our problem with the term "trigger warning" is that this term and phrase has been watered down. This very important term was (and still is) used as a psychological "cause and effect" for trauma. Nowadays, people use trigger warnings to describe when they are uncomfortable or upset with a particular situation.

For an individual actually struggling with a traumatic event, let's say PTSD, this significantly minimizes their experience.

Here's a comparison for example.

Let's say an individual is walking down the street and a stranger looks at them in a disgustful way. In today's culture, that individual might say "ugh, the way that person looked at me triggered me."

Now, let's say the same individual who is walking down the street has been clinically diagnosed with PTSD. Now, when the individual walks past the stranger, the stranger's smell and appearance remind them of their traumatic experience.

That's how the term trigger warning has been watered down. There should be a clear cause and effect when using this term.

Snowflake (aka the snowflake generation) is typically used to describe a person or a group of people who believe to have an "inflated sense of uniqueness, an unwarranted sense of entitlement, or are overly-emotional, easily offended, and unable to deal with opposing opinions." (Wikipedia)

This term was popularized during a confrontation that went viral between Yale students and faculty Head of College, Nicholas Christakis. Due to its origin, snowflakes and the snowflake generation typically represents "the young adults of the 2010s."

Safe space refers to places created for marginalized individuals, allowing them to safely and freely come together and talk about their experiences with marginalization. The first safe spaces were created for the gay and lesbian community, but it has grown since then.

Nowadays, there are safe spaces for the LGBTQ+ community, minorities, women, religious groups, and more. These places are typically found on college campuses and in the workplace.

This topic is very polarizing. Some view safe spaces as a necessity for certain communities, whereas others view safe spaces as a way for "individuals to retreat from thoughts and ideas at odds with their own."

What are your thoughts and beliefs on trigger warnings, snowflakes, and safe spaces? Let us know in the comment section below. While you're at it, let us know what other topics we should discuss on the Psych Bytes podcast!

What is prison really like? In this episode, we are talking about incarceration - mental health implications and issues related to re-entry into society.

Craig Pohlman, Ph.D., Jennifer Fights, LPC, will discuss the history of incarceration in the United States. They also have an in-depth discussion with special guest Gemini Boyd (founder of Project Bolt), who was incarcerated for 20 years and is grappling with the challenges of re-entry.

Support Gemini Boyd and Project Bolt through the following ways:

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/ProjectBOLT/Twitter - https://twitter.com/boyd_geminiEmail - [email protected]

Recommended Readings to Learn More About the History of Our Criminal Justice System, Incarceration, and Mental Health

Black Codes (United States) - WikipediaSouthern Program Continued Slavery Long After the Civil War - Stephanie BuckDoes An Exception Clause in 13th Amendment Still Permit Slavery? - Becky LittleConvict Lease System - Digital HistoryIt Happened in Florida: Remarkable Events That Shaped History - E. Lynne WrightWorse Than Slavery - David M. OshinskyCriminal Justice Fact Sheet - NAACPBill Clinton and the 1994 Crime Bill - Robert FarleyMass Incarceration: The Whole Pie 2019 - Wendy Sawyer and Peter WagnerYes, U.S. Locks People Up At A Higher Rate - Michelle Ye Hee Lee

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Racial Inequities and Our Criminal Justice System

Jen Neitzel, Ph.D. - Executive Director of the Education Equity Institute

According to the Sentencing Project, 1 in 3 Black men is likely to spend time in prison in their lifetime, compared to 1 in 17 White men.

The racial disparity also exists for women. 1 in 111 White women will spend time in prison, however, with Black women this likelihood increases to 1 in 18. It is hard to ignore the connection between the educational system and the criminal justice system when we look at these statistics in conjunction with suspension and expulsion rates for Black children versus White children.

Statistics indicate that Black children are 1.8 times more likely to receive an out-of-school suspension than their White peers, with Black boys being more affected by these disciplinary actions. In fact, they are suspended or expelled at a rate of 3.5 times greater than White children.

Although suspensions and expulsions are generally associated with older children, recent statistics suggest that an alarming number of young children, who are overwhelmingly Black, are being excluded from early learning environments. The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights has reported that young Black children are suspended or expelled at up to 4 times the rate of White children.

Once a child is suspended from school even one time, he or she is more likely to be suspended repeatedly, drop out of school, or enter the criminal justice system – hence the phrase “school-to-prison pipeline.”

In fact, the incarceration industry looks at 3rd-grade reading levels and suspension rates to determine when and where to build new prisons. A key piece that is needed to unravel the ties between our educational and criminal justice systems is to dig deeper into the root causes and historical underpinnings of today’s practices.

Beginning in the late 1800s, vagrancy laws, which required Blacks to be able to prove that they had jo...

Tribalism and Groupthink: Unite for the Right Reasons

In this episode of the Psych Bytes podcast, Craig Pohlman, Ph.D., and Jennifer Fights, LPC, are discussing tribalism and groupthink. They explain how and why we divide ourselves along political and cultural fault lines.

Tribalism can be a real problem. So, how can we recognize our own tribalism and put an end to this phenomenon? Here are our 8 tips to put an end to tribalism:

8 Ways to Put an End to Tribalism:

Ask yourself what makes you an individual. What makes you special? What makes you unique? Remember, you ARE different from others in your "tribe"

Embrace a level of skepticism. Be willing to question your own beliefs and consider the beliefs of others. Maybe you're wrong. Maybe the other tribe is wrong. Who knows, you might both be right and you might both be wrong! Be skeptical!

Expose yourself to contradictory ideas. There are many different views, ideas, and beliefs in the world. Expose yourself to different viewpoints.

Practice theory of mind. Theory of mind is being able the take the perspective of another person. Ask yourself the following question: "why would this person think or believe this?"

Acknowledge diversity within groups. Understand that people in tribes are completely different. Just because an individual aligns with a particular tribe does not mean they are like everyone else in that tribe. Avoid "lumping" groups of people together!

Tackle groupthink head-on. Talk and notice groupthink within your own "tribe". Select one individual in your group and have them be the "devil's advocate" and address opposing thoughts and viewpoints. For more information on groupthink, continue reading this article!

Get proximate. If you want to understand an issue, you have to get next to the people who understand other ideas, issues, and experiences. This could take the form of traveling, reading, or sitting down and talking with someone else who thinks differently from you.

Focus on what is shared. Pay attention to what you have in common with other people and avoid focusing on what divides us.

What is Groupthink and How Does It Relate to Tribalism?

For our tribalism breakaway segments, Dave Verhaagen, Ph.D., talks about groupthink. Groupthink is a psychological phenomenon when a group of people start thinking with one mind.

Yale psychologist, Irving Janis, first coined the term in 1972 to describe the systematic errors groups make with their decisions. These groups share the same beliefs, consider the same facts, fail to consider other facts, and come to the same conclusions.

Groupthink sounds like a good thing until you realize the group then loses the ability to objectively evaluate alternatives and options. As a result, the group tends to make irrational decisions and take irrational actions.

These groups almost always overestimate how solid their positions are and feel like they are making the necessary and morally correct choices.

Janis found three conditions that produce groupthink: high group cohesiveness, structural faults, and situational context.

High group cohesiveness is when people are more concerned about the harmony of the group than rocking the boat. This is the MOST important.

Structural faults are when the group tends to be more isolated from other groups or has strong, but biased leadership.

Situational context refers to factors such as high stress,

Rest for the Weary: Mental Health Benefits of Downtime

How rested do you feel right now? Americans, in particular, are struggling with rest. The United States produces a lot of research on the benefits of downtime, yet our country seems to be the one receiving the least amount of time off.

In this episode of the Psych Bytes podcast, Craig Pohlman, Ph.D., and Jennifer Fights, LPC, analyzes a few reasons why Americans are getting less rest. They also share practical tips and tricks on how to ensure that your downtime is spent wisely!