Psych Up Live

In this episode, Dr. Ken Carter returns to Psych Up Live to look closer at risk taking and sensation seeking. Is the person who will take a risk in business similar to the person who loves extreme sports? Are risk taking and sensation or thrill seeking different personality traits? Are they inter-related? Do men and women differ in these traits? Are they genetic traits or family fostered dynamics? Is our neurophysiology different when we put ourselves in danger for the thrill of it as opposed to facing unexpected danger? For these and much more about risk taking and sensation seeking—listen in. For preview of Dr. Carter, check out his Youtube.

In this episode, Samantha Waltz, the author of the powerful book, Blended: Writers on the Stepfamily Experience and three of her wonderful contributing writers, Betsy Graziani Fasbinder, Gigi Rosenberg, and Emma Kate Tsai will share their personal experiences of being parents or children in stepfamilies. As three of the thirty professional writers who share their blended experience in this book, their voices convey more than the facts or dynamics of stepfamilies. They convey in a personal way the challenges of connection, the promise and pain of children who have lost parents from divorce or death, the fears of rejection and expectations of stepparents and the reasons for laughing, crying and celebrating. As the stories move from the “ Coming Together” of blended families to stories of “Acceptance” they broaden the understanding of stepfamilies and offer guidance, compassion and hope.

How can you foster a child’s resilience to handle future adversity? How can you intervene to offset the impact of homeliness, war, migration, domestic violence, etc. on a child’s development? In this episode, Dr. Ann Masten, Regents Professor of Child Development and recognized expert on risk and resilience in children will answer these questions and many more. Drawing upon her recent book, Ordinary Magic: Resilience in Development, she will surprise and enrich you with her findings. She will invite you to recognize that resilience is not an extraordinary genetic trait and identify The Short List of factors and adaptational systems that build resilience. In a powerful way you will come to understand the ordinary magic that fosters resilience and changes children’s lives. This show unlocks resilience. It is a gift to adults who care about children and the children who need them.

In this episode, Wendy Williamson and Honora Rose, co-authors of Two Bipolar Chicks Guide to Survival: Tips for Living with Bipolar Disorder, dispel the myths and offer an up close and personal understanding of surviving and thriving with Bipolar Disorder. They clarify diagnosis and misdiagnosis and answer practical questions: Can anyone get my medication right? Why sleep when you feel so creative? Are drugs and alcohol really a problem? How do you know if you are manic or really in love? Drawing upon their own stories as well as researched information, you will here about periods of depression and mania as well the ways to embrace wellness from minimizing stress to holistic remedies. You will hear about routines and navigating life on a daily level. You will hear about holding on to hope when living feels difficult. According to Dr. Jay Carter, expert on this disorder, Wendy and Honora provide the missing link between the science and treatment of Bipolar Disorder-the practicalities.

In this show, M Gary Neuman will discuss ways of making a marriage all that it can be – even after an affair. In the discussion with Host Dr. Suzanne Phillips, he will offer his perspective of how and why a marriage can be saved. Drawing upon case examples he will share with listeners examples of the Neuman Method, a 10 Session online marriage program that has helped thousands of couples with methods and techniques suited to address the repair, recovery and enhancement of marriages.

While there is an ever increasing number of people who have been identified in this #metoo culture for sexual abuse, harassment or gender violence, we rarely hear what happens once they are dismissed or replaced. Do they seek treatment? Is treatment for sexual offenders available and effective? In this episode Steven Sawyer, licensed clinical social worker, co- author of Group Therapy with Sexual Abusers, and president of the Minnesota chapter of the Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers (MNATSA) will draw upon years of treatment experience, research and assessment of hundreds of sexual offenders to clarify the continuum of sexual offenders and the nature and effectiveness of treatment models. He will consider what would unfold in individual treatment and the healing possibilities of group. He will offer case examples, discuss prevention programs, and consider the role that our culture plays in sexual invitation, dominance, inequities and offense.

We live in a time when an understanding of power and the abuse of power has tremendous importance. In this show, Dr. Dacher Keltner, psychologist, Faculty Director of the Berkeley Greater Good Science Center, and acclaimed researcher, awakens us to The Power Paradox. Drawing upon his latest book, The Power Paradox: How We Gain and Lose Influence, Dr. Keltner defines power that gives and power that grabs. Citing fascinating studies, he discusses the ways in which a person, be it a teen, a teacher or a world leader, gets power and then faces the Power Paradox - the choice of keeping it or being corrupted by it. As an honored professor, researcher with over 190 publications, consultant on emotions for Facebook, Google, and the Disney Pixar movie, “ Inside Out,” Dr. Keltner’s discussion of the Power Paradox is one we need to hear.

Few people want to be called a Gossip" but most people can't resist hearing a juicy story about a friend, celebrity or co-worker. Why? What is it about learning private information about others that is so irresistible? Why have people been gossiping across decades and across cultures? Is gossip good, bad or necessary? Should we think of gossip as a character flaw or a social skill? In this episode, social psychologist, Dr. Frank McAndrew will share the Science of Gossip. In fascinating detail, he will draw upon research to consider everything from the evolutionary need for gossip to successful gossiping, gender differences, celebrity obsession, social skills, destructive possibilities and more. You will understand gossip in a way you have never considered.

In this episode, Olga Khazan award winning writer for The Atlantic, draws upon her powerful article in the September 2017 Issue, “The Queen Bee in the Corner Office” to discuss why women bully each other in the workplace. Recognizing that this complex issue is as easily dismissed as unreal as it is cast as inevitable, she interviews women across disciplines from law offices to consulting firms to academia. She reports on Pew and Gallop surveys and examines a number of studies including one of 60,000 managers. What she consistently finds is that although there is evidence of positive mentoring and support of women by women bosses, there is a persistent theme of women undermining, sabotaging and mistreating other women in the workplace. Turning to psychologists and researchers, she uncovers a number of dynamics that may prompt this behavior as “ tokenism” “favoritism threat” “system justification” and most importantly the way in which culture and context shape behavior.

In this episode, Ross Rosenberg, psychotherapist and author of The Human Magnet Syndrome: The Co-dependent Narcissist Trap, draws upon his experience and clinical examples to offer an understanding of the difference between love and entrapment in a Narcissistic Abuse Syndrome. He discusses the meaning of codependency and how its traces back to childhood attachment. He considers the role it plays in keeping a person with a self-love deficiency addicted to a pathological narcissist whose charm belies their hidden dependency, dangerous control, lack of empathy and abusive need for the partner. Ross Rosenberg defines and exemplifies the "Gaslighting" used by a Pathological Narcissist to exert mind control on the partner. Importantly, he answers the questions so often asked: Why do people fall in love with Pathological Narcissists? Why do they stay and even defend these abusive partners? Can they end this type of addictive relationship?