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When it comes to clinical psychology, it is a very white, female, middle-class professional and I’ve spoken and written about the various reasons why this is the case and why this needs to change urgently. Diversity will always be critical within clinical psychology and related mental health professions, but a major reason why clinical psychology isn’t that diverse is because of barriers to the profession. For different groups of people, even including white men, there are different barriers that can limit access to the clinical psychology profession, but this doesn’t mean that all barriers are the same height. Therefore, in this psychology podcast episode, you’ll learn what these barriers are, why they aren’t always the same height and what we can do as profession to help flatten and hopefully outright eliminate some of these barriers. If you enjoy learning about careers in psychology, mental health professions and more then this is a great episode for you. Today’s psychology podcast episode has been sponsored by Clinical Psychology Reflections Volume 5: Thoughts On Clinical Psychology, Mental Health and Psychotherapy . Available from all major eBook retailers and you can order the paperback and hardback copies from Amazon, your local bookstore and local library, if you request it. Also available as an AI-narrated audiobook from selected audiobook platforms and library systems. For example, Kobo, Spotify, Barnes and Noble, Google Play, Overdrive, Baker and Taylor and Bibliotheca. Are All Barriers In Clinical Psychology The Same Height? (Extract From Clinical Psychology Reflections Volume 5) When I was flicking through the December 2022 edition of The Psychologist Magazine, there was this article from a man talking about him feeling out of place and almost like an imposter on the UK’s NHS “Aspiring Clinical Psychologist” scheme. It's a scheme designed to help people who cannot undertake a Masters nor undertake unpaid work experience to get work experience and a partial education towards becoming a fully qualified psychologist. In the article, the man was talking about how much of a fraud he felt because he was white, wasn’t from an ethnic minority and he didn’t have any other characteristics that would disadvantage him. The only reason he was on the scheme was because he was from a poor background so he couldn’t undertake unpaid work experience or do a Masters degree. And then the article went on to talk about how he realise he did belong on the scheme but it still made him think about his own privileges and that not all the barriers in clinical psychology are the same height. The barriers to the profession were a lot lower for him compared to a black person from a poor background. Personally, this got me thinking about my own privileges and disadvantages, but firstly I want to mention that this man might have been white and he didn’t have any other disadvantages besides the fact that he was from a poor background. He still 100% deserved to be on this scheme because he met the criteria, he needed the help and it benefited all the future clients he was going to see. He was suffering from self-doubt and imposter syndrome, which is understandable, but he shouldn’t have felt that way about himself. Furthermore, I think the reason why this really got me thinking is because of my own appearance, status and disadvantages. Since I am a white male from a middle class family in a poor area. Those are my advantages and those have been very useful to me in my life. Also, I am gay but you would never know from looking at me so I can hide that part of myself very well if needed. As well as I am part of the trans community as a non-binary person but again, you would never be able to tell. Then finally, I have suffered really bad mental health and I had tons of lived experience of mental health difficulties behind me. You would think that would certainly be an advantage in clinical psychology and it very much can be, but people are still weary. And there are still unconscious biases at play during the recruitment process, even within clinical psychology. Yet again, you would never know I have had horrific mental health in the past, because I hide it very well. Therefore, what got me thinking about this article was that I definitely know how this man feels. Since there have been times I have wanted to apply for minority-focused bursaries, opportunities and more but I have stopped myself because I don’t feel disadvantaged at times. Of course, I am perfectly aware that I am disadvantaged and there have been times when people in positions of power have made that perfectly clear to me in very non-subtle ways. However, I keep telling myself the same lie over and over again about how I don’t need these things. Even though it would have helped me, my future and my career if I had applied for these things a few years ago. It’s interesting that I try to convince myself that I am perfectly okay even now, but I am not because I am disadvantaged and I shouldn’t be scared to recognise it. On the whole, when it comes to myself, in the future if there is an opportunity that comes up for minorities. Then I need to be more open and honest with myself about looking into it and allowing myself to apply if I think I meet the criteria. For everyone else reading this, if there is an opportunity that you meet the criteria for, whether it’s aimed at minorities or not, you should go for it. Getting a job in psychology is hard enough for all of us, but it is even harder for other people that face more barriers than most. Look for opportunities, exploit them and help yourself to build a Resume or the career that you want. Don’t let self-doubt, imposter syndrome or anything else hold you back.   I really hope you enjoyed today’s forensic psychology podcast episode. If you want to learn more, please check out: FREE 8 PSYCHOLOGY BOOK BOXSET Clinical Psychology Reflections Volume 5: Thoughts On Clinical Psychology, Mental Health and Psychotherapy . Available from all major eBook retailers and you can order the paperback and hardback copies from Amazon, your local bookstore and local library, if you request it. Also available as an AI-narrated audiobook from selected audiobook platforms and library systems. For example, Kobo, Spotify, Barnes and Noble, Google Play, Overdrive, Baker and Taylor and Bibliotheca. Patreon for exclusive access and rewards Have a great day. Clinical Psychology Reference Whiteley, C. (2024) Clinical Psychology Reflections Volume 5: Thoughts On Clinical Psychology, Mental Health and Psychotherapy . CGD Publishing. England. I truly hope that you’ve enjoyed this blog post and if you feel like supporting the blog on an ongoing basis and get lots of rewards, then please head to my Patreon  page. However, if want to show one-time support and appreciation, the place to do that is PayPal. If you do that, please include your email address in the notes section, so I can say thank you. Which I am going to say right now. Thank you! Click  https://www.buymeacoffee.com/connorwhiteley  for a one-time bit of support.

With Halloween only being a few days away, I wanted to take this opportunity to understand the psychology behind this massive holiday. Of course, you could argue that there's no social psychology behind Halloween but actually there is research and quite a few arguments explaining that Halloween has a massive social function in modern, western society. Therefore, in this social psychology podcast episode, you'll learn why is Halloween important, what are the social functions of Halloween and more. If you enjoy learning about applied psychology, social psychology and more then this is a brilliant episode for you. Today's psychology podcast episode has been sponsored by Social Psychology: A Guide To Social and Cultural Psychology . Available from all major eBook retailers and you can order the paperback and hardback copies from Amazon, your local bookstore and local library, if you request it. Also available as an AI-narrated audiobook from selected audiobook platforms and library systems. For example, Kobo, Spotify, Barnes and Noble, Google Play, Overdrive, Baker and Taylor and Bibliotheca. What Is The Social Function Of Halloween? When we consider that the modern, western holiday of Halloween is a billion-dollar industry that often lasts two months based on an ancient Celtic holiday, we need to ask ourselves why. Why do people love Halloween so much so that I see Halloween decorations in supermarkets in late August and early September right up until Halloween? At that point in the calendar year, there is a very creepy mix of Halloween and Christmas decorations up in the supermarkets and that is just creepy. So why do stores dedicate two months to this very popular holiday? How do they know they can make an insane amount of money from Halloween? In addition, considering that the Celtic holiday that modern Halloween is based on is ancient and it was designed to ward off evil spirits and celebrate the dead, why has it endured? Some academics have proposed that Halloween has a social function that is deeply rooted in our biology. Since the fear emotion that is caused by humans believing something is dangerous or threatening makes adrenaline as well as other hormones get released into our bloodstream. Ultimately, preparing the body for our fight or flight response. Logically, this would make sense if fear was something that humans avoided because surely being scared is horrible. It is, but the fact that fear is horrible doesn’t stop people from chasing it. As a result of if we make threatening scenarios within a safe environment, for example seeing a gory horror film in the safety of a cinema, then this terror and fear becomes socially sanctioned. This helps to contain our fear too. Therefore, this connects to Halloween because the costumes we use, enjoy and go out in allow people to experience some made-up fear. Especially, as Halloween is essentially an imaginative form of play for both adults and children. I know a lot of university students and my friends are looking forward to going to Halloween parties next week at the time of writing. My new friend is going to go to one with the Rock and Metal Society, and I think me and my housemates are going to do some pumpkin carvings. Whilst the Halloween party is scarier, both situations involve us creating a scary scenario in a safe, controlled environment. In terms of the literature itself, American sociologist Amitai Etzioni argued that Halloween is popular in modern society because it acts as a tension-management ritual that allows us to play out and express our collective fantasies, anxieties and fears. He wrote that in a 2000 article in Sociological Theory and I think it’s largely true because we never get to play or dress up as witches, vampires, monsters and warlocks amongst other creatures. We are all scared of these monsters and it’s interesting that for one night of the year, we get to not be afraid of these monsters. We get to express our fears and perhaps conquer them or at least understand that they aren’t as scary as imagine. In addition, Dr Jason Parker, a psychology lecturer at Old Dominion University, supports this argument. Since in 2002, he spoke about how Halloween allows us to get a physical response because of us facing and being exposed to the physical expression of our fears, and this allows us to experience the feeling of accomplishment as well. All because Halloween plays with our emotions and allows us to feel like we overcame our fears. In other words, if you have a fear of witches and their magic, Halloween allows you to see, interact and experience witches in the real world. Then you experience the physical reaction of fear and the associated emotions and by the end of the night because you are alright, you are safe and nothing bad happened, you can feel accomplished as you overcame your fear. A final academic argument comes from a 2008 article by Cindy Dell Clark who proposed that Halloween is a complex process where the inversion of meaning is very common and important. Since according to her research, Halloween is popular because children gain “ascendance” through costumed trick-or-treating as well as us, adults, support the anti-normative themes of the holiday. Another way of putting her argument is that Halloween is the one day of the year when the social world can stop making sense and that’s okay. In other words, it is perfectly fine and socially sanctioned for adults not to be socially normal (like grown-ups dressing up and partying like kids) and for kids to get candy from strangers wearing fun costumes. It gives everyone a break from the social norms of the year. Furthermore, Professor Tamar Kushnir from Duke University, discussed in 2019 why we turn our fears into Trick-or-Treating. We do this because the scary and fear-inducing situations presented to us don’t present a true danger, so this stimulated fear is a good way to practise the experience of being afraid whilst there not being a true danger. As well as most people enjoy the process of being a little scared too, so people find joy in the process too.   Finally, death is our greatest fear and Halloween represents this fear in many different ways. For example, death as ghosts, zombies, demons and skeletons. Halloween represents all manners and forms of death so Halloween allows humanity to capture how we feel about death and one day no longer being here. As well as Robert Langs writes in his book Death Anxiety and Clinical Practice about how Halloween allows us to celebrate life with a great awareness of the inevitability of death. Subsequently, if we link this idea back to the evolutionary and biological argument, Langs is effectively pointing out how our awareness that life eventually ends in life is fundamental to human evolution. This results in humans being anxious about death and these anxieties lurk and ruminate inside our minds, but they are never addressed in psychotherapy for a range of reasons. Probably because death is still too taboo within Western societies to discuss openly. As well as our psychological defence mechanisms of denial and repression play an active role in this lack of address too. Nonetheless, it is Halloween that allows us to acknowledge and celebrate that death will come for us all and that’s okay. It is a part of life and that is why living and having a joyful and meaningful life is so important. And let’s face it, Halloween is a much more fun way of dealing with death anxiety than talking about it in therapy, right? Social Psychology Conclusion Whilst it’s very rare that I remember to actually do holiday-themed podcast episodes because I’m normally too busy to remember this would be a good idea until after the holiday, I really did enjoy today’s episode. Since now we all understand why Halloween endures, why people spend hundreds, thousands and sometimes even tens of thousands of dollars on Halloween decorations and how a pagan ritual survived 2,000 years and is bigger than ever. We understand that all now. Halloween allows us to enjoy being scared and it evokes our fear response. Halloween teaches us that being scared is okay and we can feel accomplished in the fact that we face our fears and survive. Since we know we can face our fears, fantasies and nightmares, like witches and vampires, and know we will still survive. As well as Halloween allows us to confront our fears and anxieties around Death as a single united society. Ultimately, Halloween is a wonderfully unique holiday. Sure, there are monsters, people dressed up in costumes and fear-inducing situations abound. Yet it is truly the only night of the year when every single person in the Western world is united in their fearful scenario in a safe, controlled environment. And there is magic in that. There is magic and a wonderful social function in knowing that everyone is the same for a single night, a single holiday, a single fearful situation where everyone is scared and hopefully having a lot of joy. Isn’t that just strangely wonderful?     I really hope you enjoyed today’s social psychology podcast episode. If you want to learn more, please check out: FREE 8 PSYCHOLOGY BOOK BOXSET Social Psychology: A Guide To Social and Cultural Psychology . Available from all major eBook retailers and you can order the paperback and hardback copies from Amazon, your local bookstore and local library, if you request it. Also available as an AI-narrated audiobook from selected audiobook platforms and library systems. For example, Kobo, Spotify, Barnes and Noble, Google Play, Overdrive, Baker and Taylor and Bibliotheca. Patreon for exclusive access and rewards Have a great day. Social Psychology References and Further Reading Alhabash, S., Kanver, D., Lou, C., Smith, S. W., & Tan, P. N. (2021). Trick or drink: Offline and social media hierarchical normative influences on Halloween celebration drinking. Health communication, 36(14), 1942-1948. Howington, A. Unmasking Halloween. https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/blog/psychology-yesterday/202310/the-psychology-of-halloween Rogers, N. (2002). Halloween: From pagan ritual to party night. Oxford University Press. I truly hope that you’ve enjoyed this blog post and if you feel like supporting the blog on an ongoing basis and get lots of rewards, then please head to my Patreon  page. However, if want to show one-time support and appreciation, the place to do that is PayPal. If you do that, please include your email address in the notes section, so I can say thank you. Which I am going to say right now. Thank you! Click  https://www.buymeacoffee.com/connorwhiteley  for a one-time bit of support.

Something I flat out love about talking with fellow psychology students is that you get talking about different mental health conditions. As well as because a lot of university students, especially in psychology seem to have different mental health conditions and difficulties, or at least the ones I talk and become friends with, I often get thinking about new conditions that I haven't focused on before. For example, I was talking with a new friend the other week about how they next sad and depressed at this time of year. So I started wondering if they had Seasonal Affective Disorder, and when I asked them a few nights ago about it, they weren't sure but it was possible. Of course, I'm not going to say anything more about SAD to my friend because it isn't my business, but I wanted to learn more for my own knowledge and entertainment. Therefore, in this clinical psychology podcast episode, you'll learn what is Seasonal Affective Disorder, what is the DSM-5 diagnostic criteria of Seasonal Affective and what are some treatment options for Seasonal Affective Disorder. If you enjoy learning about mood disorders, mental health and more then this will be a great episode for you. Today's psychology podcast episode has been sponsored by Today’s psychology podcast episode has been sponsored by CBT For Depression: A Clinical Psychology Introduction To Cognitive Behavioural Therapy For Depression.  Available from all major eBook retailers and you can order the paperback and hardback copies from Amazon, your local bookstore and local library, if you request it. Also available as an AI-narrated audiobook from selected audiobook platforms and library systems. For example, Kobo, Spotify, Barnes and Noble, Google Play, Overdrive, Baker and Taylor and Bibliotheca. Note: as always nothing on this podcast is ever any sort of official advice. What Is Seasonal Affective Disorder? Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) is a depressive episode that happens in the autumn and/or winter months and it resolves itself in the summer months when there is more light and the seasons become “happier” and less “depressing”. Although, in the third quarter of 2024, I did cover on the Psychology News Section of the podcast (or maybe I saw an article on it. I forget) that it is possible to get Seasonal Affective Disorder in the summer months and it resolves itself in the winter months. That’s a fascinating idea and I look forward to seeing more research on that aspect of the condition in the coming years. In addition, in the United States of America roughly 5% of the adult population experiences Seasonal Affective Disorder. As well as Sad is believed to be caused by the disruption to a person’s circadian rhythm that is caused by the decreased sunlight exposure that everyone experiences as the days get shorter and the nights get longer. Now I am saying this for information purposes but I do believe in this reason because serotonin and a biological basis for depression has been debunked over the years. Especially by Read and Moncrieff (2022). However, it is apparently believed that this decreased sunlight exposure leads to a decrease in the neurotransmitter serotonin that is important for regulating and stabilising our mood. Moreover, according to Melrose (2015), women are 4 times more likely to experience Seasonal Affective Disorder than men, as well as it tends to first manifest itself in early adulthood, so somewhere between 18 and 30 years old. And at first I thought this finding was strange but in reality it isn’t. Since it turns out that the further you live away from the equator (that have the longest amounts of sunlight), the more prevalent Seasonal Affective Disorder is. For example, according to an article by Horowitz (2008), only 1% of Floridians have Seasonal Affective Disorder but 9% of Alaskans do. In addition, besides from depressed mood, some symptoms of Seasonal Affective Disorder can include, difficulty in concentrating or thinking, loss of interest in activities, sleeping for long hours (also known as hypersomnia), changes in appetite and lack of energy or feelings of malaise or fatigue. What is The DSM-5 Diagnostic Criteria For Seasonal Affective Disorder? From time to time I really like to look at the DSM-5 diagnostic criteria for different mental health conditions because it's interesting, insightful and good to be aware of. Not because the DSM is good or even a fine system and it certainly has flaws. Yet it is interesting to think about.  Therefore, when it comes to Seasonal Affective Disorder, the DSM-5 focuses on the lifetime pattern of mood episodes. These mood episodes can be depressive, hypomanic or manic, so feeling extremely good instead of having a depressed mood. As well as when a client has Seasonal manic episodes as part of their Seasonal Affective Disorder, their depression may not regularly occur during a specific time of year. In other words, there might not be anything Seasonal about it.  Also, the DSM makes use of different Criterions that have to be met in order for a diagnosis to be given. For example, Criterion A requires a client to have a regular temporal relationship between the onset of a major depressive, hypomanic or manic episode and a particular time of year, like the autumn or winter, in bipolar disorder type 1 and 2 cases. As well as these don't include cases where there are clear effects of seasonally related psychosocial stressors. For instance, if you aren't employed every winter for some reason.  When it comes to Criterion B, Seasonal Affective Disorder requires a full remission or a change from major depression to hypomania or mania or vice versa at a characteristic time of year. For example, the depression disappears in the summer months. Penultimately, Criterion C requires a client in the past 2 years to show that their manic, hypomanic, or major depressive episodes have a temporal seasonal relationship, as well as no non-seasonal episodes of that polarity have occurred during that 2-year period. In other words, a client needs to show that in the past 2 years, they have experienced a depressive, hypomanic or manic episode that starts in the winter months and goes in the summer months. Finally, Criterion D requires that the number of depressive, hypomanic or manic episodes that happen seasonally outnumber any nonseasonal manic, hypomanic, or depressive episodes that might have happened over their lifetime. That’s it for the Criterions then in terms of signs and symptoms, the DSM-5 requires the major depressive episodes that happen in a seasonal pattern to be often characterised by prominent energy, hypersomnia, weight gain, overeating as well as a craving for carbohydrates. Also, this specifier can be applied to the pattern of major depressive episodes in bipolar I disorder, bipolar II disorder, or major depressive disorder, recurrent. Moreover, the onset and remission of the major depressive episodes that happen as part of Seasonal Affective Disorder happen at characteristic times of the year. This feature we spoke about earlier. What Are Some Treatment Options For SAD Clients? As a result of Seasonal Affective Disorder being related to a lack of sunlight, the condition is typically treated by getting clients to be exposed to more sunlight. Therefore, some clients push themselves to spend time outdoors or move closer to a window facing the sun. Whereas for other clients, SAD is treated using Bright Light Therapy because this gives the client more exposure to “sunlight”. In this situation,  clients are exposed to a full-spectrum fluorescent light box that emits brightness similar to real sunlight. Thankfully, Bright Light Therapy is now recognised as a first-line treatment for Seasonal Affective Disorder   and clients might start to feel an improvement in their symptoms after using the lightbox for only 20 or 60 minutes a day. As well as research shows that lightboxes are most effective when they’re used early in the morning. Another treatment for Seasonal Affective Disorder can be using Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors because this is shown to improve depressive symptoms. Yet again, the issues with this treatment still remain. Especially, because when you combine the published and unpublished data, anti-depressants, SSRIs and more biological treatments for depression are next to useless. Finally, another treatment option for Seasonal Affective Disorder (and this is something else that my friend mentioned too) is that SAD could be caused by a Vitamin D deficiency. Since as humans our vitamin D levels naturally falcate throughout the year depending on the amount of sunlight available to us. Therefore, we normally have to make up for this deficiency through our dietary intake as we cannot produce vitamin D as effectively in the winter as there is less sunlight available to us. As a result, when it comes to treating Seasonal Affective Disorder, good eating habits and/ or Vitamin D supplements are important so clients can make sure to maintain their Vitamin D levels. And ultimately fight against seasonal depression. Clinical Psychology Conclusion Often we focus so much on depression that we tend to forget that other mood disorders exist. That's why I really enjoyed this podcast episode because we got to see that Seasonal Affective Disorder is characterised by depressive, manic or hypomanic episodes starting in the winter months and ending or changing in the summer months for at least the past 2 years.  Also, we got to see that Bright Light Therapy is an effective treatment for SAD. Which to me is oddly hopeful because it just goes to show that interventions for certain conditions don't need to be scary, expensive and time-consuming. SAD can be treated with an affordable Light Therapy lamp and as long as the client does this early in the morning for at least 15 minutes a day then hopefully they should start to see an improvement. And considering most of the interventions we learn about on the podcast take on psychotherapy that takes 3 months at least according to NICE guidelines. Light therapy is a pretty fascinating treatment option and that's why different mental health conditions are great to learn about, because you never know what's going to excite you. For me it was light therapy, for you it might have been completely different.  That's one of the many joys of learning about the fascinating world of mental health.  Don't you agree?   I really hope you enjoyed today’s clinical psychology podcast episode. If you want to learn more, please check out: FREE 8 PSYCHOLOGY BOOK BOXSET CBT For Depression: A Clinical Psychology Introduction To Cognitive Behavioural Therapy For Depression.  Available from all major eBook retailers and you can order the paperback and hardback copies from Amazon, your local bookstore and local library, if you request it. Also available as an AI-narrated audiobook from selected audiobook platforms and library systems. For example, Kobo, Spotify, Barnes and Noble, Google Play, Overdrive, Baker and Taylor and Bibliotheca. Patreon for exclusive access and rewards Have a great day. Clinical Psychology References And Further Reading Bertrand, L., d'Ortho, M. P., Reynaud, E., Lejoyeux, M., Bourgin, P., & Geoffroy, P. A. (2021). Polysomnography in seasonal affective disorder: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Affective Disorders, 292, 405-415. Cotterell, D. (2010). Pathogenesis and management of seasonal affective disorder. Progress in Neurology and Psychiatry, 14(5), 18-25. Do, A., Li, V. W., Huang, S., Michalak, E. E., Tam, E. M., Chakrabarty, T., ... & Lam, R. W. (2022). Blue-light therapy for seasonal and non-seasonal depression: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 67(10), 745-754. Galima, S. V., Vogel, S. R., & Kowalski, A. W. (2020). Seasonal affective disorder: common questions and answers. American family physician, 102(11), 668-672. Horowitz, S. (2008). Shedding light on seasonal affective disorder. Alternative and Complementary Therapies, 14(6), 282-287. Melrose S. (2015). Seasonal Affective Disorder: An Overview of Assessment and Treatment Approaches. Depression research and treatment, 2015, 178564. https://doi.org/10.1155/2015/178564 National Institute of Mental Health. Seasonal Affective Disorder. https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/seasonal-affective-disorder Roecklein, K. A., & Wong, P. M. (2020). Seasonal affective disorder. Encyclopedia of Behavioral Medicine, 1964-1966. Thalén, B. E., Kjellman, B., & Wetterberg, L. (2020). Phototherapy and melatonin in relation to seasonal affective disorder and depression. In Melatonin (pp. 495-511). CRC Press. UGA Today. (2015, January 20.) Vitamin D deficiency, depression linked in study. https://news.uga.edu/vitamin-d-deficiency-depression-linked-in-study/ I truly hope that you’ve enjoyed this blog post and if you feel like supporting the blog on an ongoing basis and get lots of rewards, then please head to my Patreon  page. However, if want to show one-time support and appreciation, the place to do that is PayPal. If you do that, please include your email address in the notes section, so I can say thank you. Which I am going to say right now. Thank you! Click  https://www.buymeacoffee.com/connorwhiteley  for a one-time bit of support.

Whenever a crime happens, a victim has to gather up the courage to go to a police station or dial 999 or 911 and they have to report the crime by making an allegation that a crime has occurred in the first place. Sometimes these allegations are true, other times they are not. When these allegations are not true then this can be deemed as a false allegations, even if the crime did actually happen. Therefore, in this forensic psychology episode, we’ll be exploring what is a false allegation drawing on different research because by knowing what a false allegation actually is. Psychologists can start to understand why people make false allegations as well as why the police and other people deem real allegations to be false. If you enjoy learning what about crime, the criminal justice and criminal psychology then this is a brilliant episode for you. This psychology podcast episode has been sponsored by Forensic Psychology Of False Allegations: A Forensic And Criminal Psychology Guide To False Allegations of Rape, Sexual Abuse and More . Available from all major eBook retailers and you can order the paperback and hardback copies from Amazon, your local bookstore and local library, if you request it. Also available as an AI-narrated audiobook from selected audiobook platforms and library systems. For example, Kobo, Spotify, Barnes and Noble, Google Play, Overdrive, Baker and Taylor and Bibliotheca. Important Note: I just wanted to add that this podcast episode and the associated book that this is an extract from is definitely not to implying that all allegations involving these crimes (like rape, sexual abuse amongst others) are false. This is NOT the message of the book at all and time after time in this book, we are reminded about the true number of how many allegations are real. It is extremely rare for someone to lie about rape and other horrific crimes. What Are False Allegations? (Extract From Forensic Psychology Of False Allegations COPYRIGHT 2024 Connor Whiteley) Kicking off the book and the forensic psychology of false allegations, we need to understand what these actually are before we can explore the psychology behind them. This is even more important when we consider that false allegations aren’t really anything to do with psychology, so why are forensic psychologists still interested? That’s what we’ll explore in this first chapter. Therefore, false allegations are all about miscarriages of justice. Since if a false allegation is made then this does have the potential to lead to a criminal investigation, court and maybe even a conviction based on a false allegation. As you’ll see throughout the book it is rarely that simple but it can happen. As a result, a miscarriage of justice is rather difficult to define, because the easiest definition we’ll be using for this book is when an innocent person gets convicted for a crime they didn’t commit. On the surface that sounds like a perfect definition, and in theory it certainly is, but if we want to apply that definition to the real world then we experience one problem after another. Since whilst a miscarriage of justice is when a court of appeal overturns a conviction (Naugton, 2005). This is important to know because miscarriages of justice are the results of false allegations. But an overturned conviction doesn’t always mean the person was believed to be innocent. A conviction could be overturned due to police mishandling the evidence, a witnessed lied or another of a whole range of factors. Therefore, as you can start to notice, this is more of a legal question than a psychological question but I promise you the link between psychology and miscarriages of justice is coming up soon. On the whole, it is very, very difficult to get a true rate of fake allegations as that depends on the definition being used. For example, a researcher or another person couldn’t use all non-guilty verdicts to imply that a false allegation against the accused has happened. When in reality all a non-guilty verdict means is that it was beyond reasonable doubt that the accused did not commit the crime. Another example that makes the true rate hard to know about is “unfounded claims” were no supporting evidence is found. These are different to false allegations because in false allegations no crime actually happened, but in unfounded claims, an offense could have happened but there is no evidence of it ever happening. This is certainly a reason why I like legal stuff because it is so complex but extremely interesting at the same time. In addition, recanted accusations aren’t evidence that no offense occurred because different people recant their statements for different reasons. Including the reconciliation between partners. As well as this is before we consider the clear difference between false allegations and false convictions. It is these differences that make a true rate of false allegations next to impossible to know. So are false allegations a problem and why should we care? Why We Need To Care About False Allegations? Of all the different types of false allegations, child sexual abuse is one of the most important areas and this is the area where the most false allegations are made. As well as this will be the focus of the book because it is such a heart-breaking, important and unfortunate area of human behaviour. For example, Poole and Lindsay (1998) found that false allegations make up 5%-8% of all child sexual abuse cases and this only includes those cases that involved intentional false allegations. Therefore, because this is only focusing on malicious motives behind the false allegation, this covers up a much, much greater number of child sexual abuse cases. Whereas other studies propose that false allegations make up between 23%-35% of all cases (Howitt, 1992). And I have to admit that yes, at first this might sound very high but if we convert these percentages into real numbers, the numbers get scary. If a police force had, let’s say, 1,000 sexual abuse cases. According to these numbers 230- 350 of these cases would be false, allegations. That would mean a hell of a lot of time, police resources and emotional distress would be wasted. Just because someone decided to make a false allegation. And then my personal pet hate is that those 350 fake cases would cast doubt on the millions of real ones. In addition, it is important to remember that in this book, we will talk about a lot of numbers. But it is critical that we remember that behind each of these numbers there is a ton of trauma, distress and more negative experiences for the child and family. This is even more important when we consider that the consequences of false allegations include a child being removed from home, the father being made to live away from home and imprisoned and even well-intentioned false allegations can take a toll on family life (Howitt, 1992). As well as false denials by victims of abuse can equally as damaging. (Lyon, 1995). Overall, this is why it is of immense interest to psychologists, because someone making a false allegation, that is a human behaviour. Also, the consequences, the emotional trauma and the pain that the child and family experience, they are all human behaviours and considering psychologists are experts on the matter. That is why we are so critical to understanding why this awful facet of human behaviour happens in the first place. But let’s explore more about why are false allegations so problematic for psychologists?   I really hope you enjoyed today’s forensic psychology podcast episode. If you want to learn more, please check out: FREE 8 PSYCHOLOGY BOOK BOXSET Forensic Psychology Of False Allegations: A Forensic And Criminal Psychology Guide To False Allegations of Rape, Sexual Abuse and More . Available from all major eBook retailers and you can order the paperback and hardback copies from Amazon, your local bookstore and local library, if you request it. Also available as an AI-narrated audiobook from selected audiobook platforms and library systems. For example, Kobo, Spotify, Barnes and Noble, Google Play, Overdrive, Baker and Taylor and Bibliotheca. Patreon for exclusive access and rewards Have a great day. Forensic Psychology Reference and Further Reading Whiteley, C. (2024) Forensic Psychology Of False Allegations: A Forensic And Criminal Psychology Guide To False Allegations of Rape, Sexual Abuse and More . CGD Publishing. England. I truly hope that you’ve enjoyed this blog post and if you feel like supporting the blog on an ongoing basis and get lots of rewards, then please head to my Patreon  page. However, if want to show one-time support and appreciation, the place to do that is PayPal. If you do that, please include your email address in the notes section, so I can say thank you. Which I am going to say right now. Thank you! Click  https://www.buymeacoffee.com/connorwhiteley  for a one-time bit of support.

By the time this podcast episode goes out a lot of psychology students would be choosing their projects for their dissertation so they can graduate with Honours at the end of their degree, last than a year away. The vast majority of students might have no idea or not simply care what project they pick, but if you can find a project that you’re going to enjoy then it can seriously improve your final year. Therefore, in this episode, you’ll learn how choosing a dissertation project worked at my university, why it’s flat out critical that you pick one you’re going to enjoy and why choosing the right academic to work with is critical as well. If you enjoy learning about university, student life and what it’s like to be a university psychology student then this will be a great episode for you. Today’s psychology podcast episode has been sponsored by Third Year Survival Guide: A Psychology Student’s Guide To The Final Year Of Their Undergraduate Degree. CGD Publishing . Available from all major eBook retailers and you can order the paperback and hardback copies from Amazon, your local bookstore and local library, if you request it. Also available as an AI-narrated audiobook from selected audiobook platforms and library systems. For example, Kobo, Spotify, Barnes and Noble, Google Play, Overdrive, Baker and Taylor and Bibliotheca. Why Is Choosing The Right Psychology Dissertation Project Critical? (Extract From Third Year Survival Guide COPYRIGHT 2024 CONNOR WHITELEY) Ask any university psychology student and they will tell you that the Final Year Project or dissertation, as it is called by some universities, is the most important part of your Final year at university. And as much as I want to say that it flat out isn’t, I can’t. Your Final Year Project might not be as do-or-die as everyone makes out but it is critical and it will form a lot of your final grade for your Final Year. Therefore, deciding on what Final Year Project you want to do is critical because your degree, your happiness and your ability to enjoy the next academic year basically depends on this single decision. In addition, my Final Year Project was a cognitive psychology project (even though I hate cognitive psychology) studying transfer learning in retrieval-based learning tasks using EEG equipment so we could see the neuro-evidence involved in this type of learning for the first time. How Do Students Go About Choosing A Final Year Project? As a result in my experience, the way how choosing a Final Year Project works is that in May or June of your second year at university, you’re emailed a list of projects that you can sign up for. This list includes all the projects that the psychology academics at your university are offering. You can look at this list and find out the project title, description, name and how many people can apply for the topic. This is where my first insider tip comes from. If you have a particular academic in mind that you want to work with, definitely email them before this list is published and they might hold a space for you until you can officially apply through the list. As whenever a person signs up through this list, the student’s information gets passed onto the academic so they can sort through the applications. This is why you normally have to email the academic as well so they can hear why you’re interested in the project and want to work with them. Yes, at times choosing a Final Year Project really is like a job application. Anyway, after you’ve looked at this list, you need to decide what project you want to apply for. You might want to apply for a couple in case one of them gets oversubscribed but just follow your own university’s advice about this part of the process. However, when choosing your Final Year Project I cannot stress these factors enough when making your decision. Why Is Choosing The Right Academic Important? Every single year without fail I hear horror stories about students having a nightmare with their academic supervisor because of how busy and useless they are. The entire point of an academic supervisor is to help you, be there to answer questions and have meetings with you so you can do your best. That all depends on the supervisor themselves. This year I know a ton of students that were struggling with their Final Year Project because they couldn’t get a meeting with their supervisor, their supervisor was rubbish at answering questions and students just had one problem after another with their supervisor. How do you solve this? Obviously by choosing a good supervisor, but if you’re in your second year at university and you happen to run into some psychology third-years, definitely ask them about their supervisor and any horror stories they’ve heard. You need this information so you can make an informed decision about what to do and who to pick as your supervisor. Also, I want to mention that even the most boring-sounding project can be made brilliant by a great supervisor. For example, I have no interest at all in cognitive psychology and yet, I loved my Final Year Project because of the supervisor and his PhD student. Your supervisor really can be the difference between a terrible Final Year Project and a great one. At least in terms of how much you enjoy it. Finally, I should just say from what I’ve heard about supervisors from my friends this year. Avoid Heads of School because they always tend to be extremely busy and don’t have time for Final Year Project students and the questions they want to ask. Even though they would call me a liar, my friends would agree with me. Why The Project Itself Is So Important? I really doubt this would be a major surprise to you but choosing the right Final Year Project itself is so critical. Let me just explain why in a very scary sentence. You will be spending the next academic year of your life researching this topic. Do you really want to be researching something you hate for the next year? Of course not. You would hate that, your happiness would die and you would just hate your life. I don’t want that for you. Therefore, you either need to choose a project that you naturally love, or you need to choose a project with a brilliant supervisor. That will make the next year so much better for you. Personally, I decided on the latter because for my Final Year Project, I naturally would have loved a forensic or clinical psychology topic since these are the areas I love in psychology. Yet I don’t like change, I wanted to be more social and I knew my supervisor from my placement year was brilliant and he did socials. That’s important for something I’ll talk about later on. Therefore, I decided to ado a Final Year Project with my placement supervisor because I knew how great he was, there would be socials and I knew I would have a lot of fun. Also, I really wanted to experiment with EEG equipment so I choose that Final Year Project so I could use a certain type of equipment. Overall, whenever it comes to choosing a Final Year Project, only you know what will make you happy, make you passionate and make you look forward to the year ahead. That is what a Final Year Project is all about. You will be researching your Project for the next year and if you choose a project without thinking about it and what would make you happy then you might regret it. I’ve heard a lot of stories this year about students that have hated their Final Year Projects. I don’t want you to be one of them. Therefore, please just think about your Final Year Project, consider what would make you happy and consider who you want your supervisor to be. All those factors are critical and might very well be the difference between a great Final Year and one that you hate.   I really hope you enjoyed today’s clinical psychology podcast episode. If you want to learn more, please check out: FREE 8 PSYCHOLOGY BOOK BOXSET Third Year Survival Guide: A Psychology Student’s Guide To The Final Year Of Their Undergraduate Degree. CGD Publishing . Available from all major eBook retailers and you can order the paperback and hardback copies from Amazon, your local bookstore and local library, if you request it. Also available as an AI-narrated audiobook from selected audiobook platforms and library systems. For example, Kobo, Spotify, Barnes and Noble, Google Play, Overdrive, Baker and Taylor and Bibliotheca. Patreon for exclusive access and rewards Have a great day. University Student Life Reference Whiteley. C. (2024) Third Year Survival Guide: A Psychology Student’s Guide To The Final Year Of Their Undergraduate Degree. CGD Publishing . England. I truly hope that you’ve enjoyed this blog post and if you feel like supporting the blog on an ongoing basis and get lots of rewards, then please head to my Patreon  page. However, if want to show one-time support and appreciation, the place to do that is PayPal. If you do that, please include your email address in the notes section, so I can say thank you. Which I am going to say right now. Thank you! Click  https://www.buymeacoffee.com/connorwhiteley  for a one-time bit of support.

I highly doubt there is a single person that has never heard of the idea that power corrupts people. Also, I think a quote I’ve heard from somewhere is “absolute power corrupts absolutely” I don’t know where I came from but it’s true for the most part. However, whilst a lot of people have heard about the corrupting influence of power, a lot of people don’t know how or why power corrupts people. Therefore, in this social psychology podcast episode, you’ll learn how does power corrupt people. If you enjoy learning about power, privilege and social psychology then you’ll enjoy this podcast episode for sure. This psychology podcast episode has been sponsored by Social Psychology: A Guide To Social And Cultural Psychology . Available from all major eBook retailers and you can order the paperback and hardback copies from Amazon, your local bookstore and local library, if you request it. Also available as an AI-narrated audiobook from selected audiobook platforms and library systems. For example, Kobo, Spotify, Barnes and Noble, Google Play, Overdrive, Baker and Taylor and Bibliotheca. How Does Power Corrupt People? Typically, and I think this happens because it’s easier to see, we think about powerful leaders and people in charge. Since it is generally these people that we see as powerful people who take advantage, take more than their fair share of resources and these people selfishly strive for even more control and power. We typically think about powerful leaders as getting corrupted because the world is filled with dictators and so-called “strong man” leaders, so this allows us to easily see the damage that a powerful, despotic leader can cause. However, we need to acknowledge that once a person has power then this can lead to corruption (typically moral corruption) and bad behaviour. So, how and why is power associated with corruption? How Does Power Change Someone’s Self-Perception? The first way how powerful people can become corrupt is because their power changes their self-perceptions. Since philosopher Terry Price argues that powerful people engage in a mechanism known as “exception-making” where they don’t believe the rules and laws of society apply to them. This is a very, very easy source of corruption and I can easily think of five, ten, maybe even twenty politicians and celebrities that fit this category. In addition, it’s worth noting there is research evidence that the more powerful a person is, the more they focus on their egocentric needs and desires, as well as they were less able to see other people’s perspectives. Personally, I think this is really interesting because if we draw on Piaget’s work from developmental psychology, then children before the age of 7 work in the exact same way. They focus on their own needs and desires and they often fail to understand or see the point of view of others. Which looking at some celebrities and politicians, I think calling them 7-year-old children is an insult to children. Anyway, this “exception-making” is even more problematic for people in positions of authority and power who could exploit the people they are in charge of. Power Gives Someone Privilege The second reason why power corrupts is because powerful people have a lot of resources that they can use to their benefit. Therefore, this allows the powerful people to achieve and experience things that less powerful people can only dream of. For example, fine dining, fast cars, penthouse apartments and so on. In other words, powerful people get special treatment and this can lead to corruption because powerful people can buy their way out of trouble. We can all see this relatively easily because the Criminal Justice System does operate on two tiers, because powerful people can hire the best lawyers, they can bail themselves out of whatever trouble they find themselves in and they can throw whatever money they need to make it go away. I’m sure we can all think of famous politicians and celebrities that have done this in the past few years. In addition, powerful people can intimidate and threaten other people too. I see this repeatedly in films, books and I sometimes use this in my Bettie English Private Eye Mysteries, when a character says “Don’t You Know Who I Am?”. Then after a powerful person does this, it’s normal for a less powerful person to back down or they support that powerful person and benefit from their alliance. In the short term, this tends to benefit the person but longer term this can make the person powerful themselves but it can corrupt them too in the bitter end. As a result, to make it clear, powerful person threatening others can lead to corruption because it shows they can bend others to their will, manipulate them and subjugate them. All of these are immoral behaviours. Why Doesn’t Power Have To Corrupt? So far, we’ve looked at what can make someone become corrupt and this connects to moral grey areas too. Yet being a powerful person doesn’t have to make you corrupt, because there are a lot of wonderful, kind and highly influential celebrities and politicians, so power does not always corrupt. The difference between these corrupt and uncorrupted powerful people is “socialised” power, this is power used to benefit others, and “personalised” power, this is power used for personal gains, according to a range of leadership scholars. Therefore, some people argue the best way to stop power corrupting someone is to keep them humble, because it’s important that powerful people are humble when evaluating their behaviour objectively. Since these powerful people need to realise that their power isn’t their right, instead it is given to them. Also, their power can fleeting, and it’s important that the people closest to the leader (like their inner circle) actually keep the leader accountable to stop them becoming corrupted. Social Psychology Conclusion Overall, in this podcast episode, we learnt that power can corrupt people because it changes the powerful person’s self-perceptions so they don’t believe laws and rules apply to them. Also, it gives them privileges other people don’t normally have so they can get out of trouble easily in addition to threatening and intimidating others. At the end of the day, we all need to know (especially leaders and powerful people) that it is our obligation, our duty, our moral responsibility to use our power to benefit others. We should never abuse any power we have because this can be illegal at times and it is always immoral behaviour that has the power to harm others. Something we should never ever do.     If you want to learn more, please check out: FREE 8 PSYCHOLOGY BOOK BOXSET Social Psychology: A Guide To Social And Cultural Psychology . Available from all major eBook retailers and you can order the paperback and hardback copies from Amazon, your local bookstore and local library, if you request it. Also available as an AI-narrated audiobook from selected audiobook platforms and library systems. For example, Kobo, Spotify, Barnes and Noble, Google Play, Overdrive, Baker and Taylor and Bibliotheca. Patreon for exclusive access and rewards Have a great day. Social Psychology References Case, C. R., & Maner, J. K. (2015). When and why power corrupts: An evolutionary perspective. In Handbook on Evolution and Society (pp. 460-473). Routledge. Cislak, A., Cichocka, A., Wojcik, A. D., & Frankowska, N. (2018). Power corrupts, but control does not: What stands behind the effects of holding high positions. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 44(6), 944-957. DeCelles, K. A., DeRue, D. S., Margolis, J. D., & Ceranic, T. L. (2012). Does power corrupt or enable? When and why power facilitates self-interested behavior. Journal of applied psychology, 97(3), 681. Giurge, L. M., Van Dijke, M., Zheng, M. X., & De Cremer, D. (2021). Does power corrupt the mind? The influence of power on moral reasoning and self-interested behavior. The Leadership Quarterly, 32(4), 101288. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/cutting-edge-leadership/202402/how-and-why-power-corrupts-people Morales, M. (1997). The corrupting influence of power. In Philosophical Perspectives on Power and Domination (pp. 41-53). Brill. Price, T. L. (2010). Understanding ethical failures in leadership. Leading organizations: Perspectives for a new era, 402-405. I truly hope that you’ve enjoyed this blog post and if you feel like supporting the blog on an ongoing basis and get lots of rewards, then please head to my Patreon  page. However, if want to show one-time support and appreciation, the place to do that is PayPal. If you do that, please include your email address in the notes section, so I can say thank you. Which I am going to say right now. Thank you! Click  https://www.buymeacoffee.com/connorwhiteley  for a one-time bit of support.

The week after this social psychology podcast episode goes out, tens of millions of university students throughout the northern hemisphere will go-to university for the first time, or you’ll return for another academic year. This gives them another year to make lifelong friendships filled with laughter, hope and maybe even love. Be it companionate or romantic love. But how do we make and maintain friends as adults? This is a topic I struggle with massively and it is a major factor at the moment in my horrific mental health. Therefore, in this social psychology podcast episode, you’ll learn how to make and maintain friends as an adult, why this is important and four important tips to help you do this. If you enjoy learning about social psychology, friendships and relationships then this is a great episode for you. Today’s psychology podcast episode has been sponsored by Psychology Of Relationships: The Social Psychology Of Friendships, Romantic Relationships and More. Available from all major eBook retailers and you can order the paperback and hardback copies from Amazon, your local bookstore and local library, if you request it. Also available as an AI-narrated audiobook from selected audiobook platforms and library systems. For example, Kobo, Spotify, Barnes and Noble, Google Play, Overdrive, Baker and Taylor and Bibliotheca. Why Are Friendships Important? I know a lot of you wonderful listeners and readers are psychology students and professionals so I won’t spend too much time on this topic. However, friends have a wide range of very important functions for us because essentially friendships make us happier because they give us opportunities to laugh, enjoy our lives and they add so many layers to our social lives that we simply cannot get from being alone. There are references for today’s episode at the bottom of the page by the way. Personally, I flat out love having friends (coming from a person who barely has any) because they make me laugh, I get to learn about things I never normally would and I get to experience different lifestyles that I could never dream about. For instance, I recently experienced something amazing because I went up to the midlands to see my best friend whilst they were with their parents. And I experience a completely accepting family that couldn’t care less their eldest was queer with a boyfriend and they allowed their eldest to do whatever they wanted. As well as they supported their eldest no matter what and no matter how horrific their mental health. The really shocking thing to me was my best friend’s parents actually researched ways to actively help and support their mental health. That is such a violently alien concept for me that I lately shocked my best friend with all my “basic” questions about what their life was like. Anyway, friendships help me to realise things about my own life. In addition, friendships are protective factors against mental health difficulties. Since if you don’t have friendships then this can increase the chance of you developing hypertension, depression as well as diabetes. In my experience, if I didn’t have my best friend these past few weeks, I highly doubt I would even be around because they have been a critical part of my mental health support. It’s one of the reasons why I want more friends so I can have a much, much wider social support network. Overall, friendships provide us with connections and it is these social connections that are critical to our overall mental health and wellbeing. How To Make and Maintain Friends As An Adult? You Should Figure Out What Matters To You As adults, we thankfully get to decide the different sorts of people who get to be around us in our social groups. Now I’m using the plural form here because I covered a psychology news article a few episodes ago saying how “variety is the spice of life” in friendships meaning you’re being off with a mixed friendship group that is made up of people who are similar and different from yourself. Anyway, as an adult, we need to figure out what matters to us and we can intentionally build a life that incorporates these things and aspects. You could easily call these, our core values or interests. Therefore, it’s important that you take the time to think about what matters to you and put yourself in places where similar people might be. For example, some of my core values include, being or supporting the LGBT+ community, being kind, active and being interested in learning in all its forms. This is one of the reasons why I’m going to my university’s LGBT+ coffee morning this next week and I’ll go to as many society events as possible this academic year so I’m in the same places as people who share my similar interest. As an adult, this might mean joining different social groups, volunteering or finding a group that does the same hobby as you. You need to put yourself out there and into places with similar interests. You Should Draw On The People You Have For a lot of people, shredding and cutting school friends off or friends that you have grown up with is perfectly normal, and it is simply put of growing up. In fact, the day I write this post, I got a Facebook notification about it being the birthday of a very old school friend that I don’t talk to anymore. It’s a shame that we don’t talk but he could have messaged me, I could have messaged him. It is simply a part of growing older, and I have so many things wrapped up in past friendships anyway. Anyway, there will be some people from your childhood that are brilliant for you because they help you to grow and use them to expand your social network. In fact, these don’t have anything to do with these childhood friends, even friends you make as adults you can use to expand your social circle. For instance, taking an American university example, you’ll be getting a new roommate or dormmate (sorry I have no idea what Americans call these people). You could see your roommate as a new way to meet future friends in addition to your roommate becoming a possible friend. Whereas an example from my personal life is me and my best friends are working this year on my best friend introducing me to lots of people who I might become friends with. I have no issue with this whatsoever, because I seriously need more friends and my best friend does have some attractive friends. So… I’m not opposed to making people more than friends. In other words, use the people in your life to make new friends. You Have To Push Yourself Out of Your Comfort Zone Even if you don’t have PTSD, anxiety and depression like me, making new friends is extremely scary. Even before my sexual assault I was terrified of making friends, that’s just more basic autism but still, I know it is tough. Yet you have to put yourself out there, you need to put yourself outside your comfort zone and you need to take a step into the unknown if you are ever going to make friends. The main reason why I didn’t make friends for the first three years of my degree besides the 2 years of COVID-19) was because I was too scared to go outside my comfort zone. The only reason I met my best friend is because I stepped outside my comfort zone and went to a particular social group that flat out terrified me at first. More because of child abuse but it was scary. Then the only reason why I managed to make another friend was because I was brave and asked for his Instagram. I had never done that before and I was scared and nervous but I did it. And I haven’t looked back. Universities are a great way to push yourself out of your comfort zone in a safe, controlled and supportive environment. You Need To Put In The Work Friends don’t just happen without effort. Friendships like any other sort of relationship require you to work at it and put effort in. Thankfully, this so-called “effort” is fun enjoyable and you’ll love it. Yet you still need to reach out, show up and demonstrate that you actually have an interest in the friendship. In addition, you need to maintain the friendship by talking to the other person, planning and doing fun things or just talking to them. Unfortunately, there will be times when you have to cut people off because they aren’t making an effort. Yet there will be plenty of people who show an interest back and they are the friendships you want to develop and pursue. This is even more important when we consider that we all only have so much time in the day so we need to choose who we want to spend our time on. Not everyone should be part of our life and we all get out what we put into relationships. The only real reason why me and my best friends are friends is because despite them having an awful time for the first 9 months of our friendship because of their housemates. I kept texting them, making plans with them and showing that I wasn’t going anywhere. Now I will mention that the current joke between us is that I was obsessively texting my best friend and pursuing the friendship. In reality, this isn’t a joke but because of how my best friend is with other people, they didn’t recognise this as weird or concerning. I’ve learnt my lesson and toned it right down with a friend I’m currently “working” on, but still. If you have a friendship you want to pursue, then do the maintenance work but invest in a friendship wisely, intentionally and you’ll be reaping the wonderful rewards after a while. Social Psychology and University Student Life Conclusion As someone who seriously needs more friends, I have to admit that this is a critical podcast episode to do because we all need more friends. More high-quality friendships especially. Friendships are there to make us laugh, enjoy life and stop us from being lonely. Yet friendships are there to support us and protect us from harm, depression and other mental health difficulties too. Therefore, whether you’re going to or returning to university next week, please remember the following: ·       Figure out what matters to you ·       Draw on who you already have ·       Push yourself out of your comfort zone ·       Put in the work to maintain your friendships Believe me, I know making friends is hard, so hard. Yet it is so worth it because friends are brilliant and there isn’t a better place to make friends than at university. So please, use your time at university to have fun, socialise and make some brilliant friendships that will hopefully be lifelong, full of laughter and they will support you no matter what. Because true friends support you whether you’re having the best time of your life or the darkest day of your life.   I really hope you enjoyed today’s clinical psychology podcast episode. If you want to learn more, please check out: FREE 8 PSYCHOLOGY BOOK BOXSET Psychology Of Relationships: The Social Psychology Of Friendships, Romantic Relationships and More. Available from all major eBook retailers and you can order the paperback and hardback copies from Amazon, your local bookstore and local library, if you request it. Also available as an AI-narrated audiobook from selected audiobook platforms and library systems. For example, Kobo, Spotify, Barnes and Noble, Google Play, Overdrive, Baker and Taylor and Bibliotheca. Patreon for exclusive access and rewards Have a great day. Social Psychology References and Further Readings Alsarrani, A., Hunter, R. F., Dunne, L., & Garcia, L. (2022). Association between friendship quality and subjective wellbeing among adolescents: a systematic review. BMC public health, 22(1), 2420. Cacioppo, J. T., Hughes, M. E., Waite, L. J., Hawkley, L. C., & Thisted, R. A. (2006). Loneliness as a specific risk factor for depressive symptoms: cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses. Psychology and aging, 21(1), 140. Demir, M., Özdemir, M., & Weitekamp, L. A. (2007). Looking to happy tomorrows with friends: Best and close friendships as they predict happiness. Journal of Happiness Studies, 8, 243-271. Güroğlu, B. (2022). The power of friendship: The developmental significance of friendships from a neuroscience perspective. Child Development Perspectives, 16(2), 110-117. Lu, P., Oh, J., Leahy, K. E., & Chopik, W. J. (2021). Friendship importance around the world: Links to cultural factors, health, and well-being. Frontiers in psychology, 11, 570839. Tang, D., Lin, Z., & Chen, F. (2020). Moving beyond living arrangements: the role of family and friendship ties in promoting mental health for urban and rural older adults in China. Aging & mental health, 24(9), 1523-1532. Yang, Y. C., Boen, C., Gerken, K., Li, T., Schorpp, K., & Harris, K. M. (2016). Social relationships and physiological determinants of longevity across the human life span. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 113(3), 578-583. I truly hope that you’ve enjoyed this blog post and if you feel like supporting the blog on an ongoing basis and get lots of rewards, then please head to my Patreon  page. However, if want to show one-time support and appreciation, the place to do that is PayPal. If you do that, please include your email address in the notes section, so I can say thank you. Which I am going to say right now. Thank you! Click  https://www.buymeacoffee.com/connorwhiteley  for a one-time bit of support.

One of my favourite topics in psychology actually comes from developmental psychology because I love learning about attachment and attachment styles. Since our attachment styles are critical to our mental health, the relationships we form and attachment impacts so many aspects of our lives. Therefore, some people need therapy to help readjust their attachment styles and help them so they can have healthier relationships and improve their lives. That’s why in this clinical psychology podcast episode, we’re going to be looking at what is attachment-based therapy, how does it work, when is it used and more. If you enjoy learning about developmental psychology, mental health and attachment then this will be a brilliant episode for you. Today’s psychology podcast episode has been sponsored by Developmental Psychology: A Guide To Developmental And Child Psychology .   Available from all major eBook retailers and you can order the paperback and hardback copies from Amazon, your local bookstore and local library, if you request it. Also available as an AI-narrated audiobook from selected audiobook platforms and library systems. For example, Kobo, Spotify, Barnes and Noble, Google Play, Overdrive, Baker and Taylor and Bibliotheca. What Is The Difference Between Attachment-Based Therapy and So-called Attachment Therapies? Before we dive into the main topic for today’s episode, I want to confirm a very dangerous, disgusting and outrageous misconception that I would rather not have to deal with. In this episode, we are NOT talking about the disgraceful, unproven and possibly harmful “attachment therapy” that was developed in the 1970s for children with behavioural challenges. Especially autism. These so-called therapies involved physical deprivation, restraint, boot camp-like activities, discomfort and physical manipulation. These so-called therapies are a disgrace and thankfully they have been investigated and firmly rejected by mainstream psychology as well as medicine. We are not talking about those therapies in this podcast episode. What Is Attachment-Based Therapy? Instead, we’re talking about attachment-based therapy that is a type of brief, process-oriented counselling where the therapeutic alliance is based on rebuilding and developing trust and centres on the client expressing emotion. Also, the attachment-based approach to therapy examines the connection between a client’s early attachment experiences with their caregivers and their ability to develop normal and healthy emotional and physical relationships as an adult. The ultimate goal of the therapy is to build or rebuild a trusting and supportive relationship that will help the client to prevent and/ or treat mental health conditions, like depression and anxiety. In addition, attachment-based therapy was developed, as you would expect, from Bowlby’s attachment work in the 1960s. Since Bowlby proposed that strong early attachment to at least one caregiver was needed for a child to have a sense of security and a supportive foundation to explore the environment (also known as the secure base). Then Bowlby described there being four types of attachment which we know as secure attachment, avoidance attachment, anxious attachment and disorganised attachment. How Does Attachment-Based Therapy Work? I think every single reader and listener here must be familiar with Bowlby’s attachment work therefore out of respect for all you wonderful people, I will not be explaining Bowlby’s work again in any real depth. I know none of you are stupid. As a result, because babies without a healthy attachment foundation grow up to be fearful, insecure, confused and ultimately become depressed and even suicidal in adolescence. It’s important that babies form trusting relationships with caregivers or with a therapist so the client is better prepared to form strong bonds in other relationships. Personally, I would like to add that depression and becoming suicidal in adolescents is a little more complex than attachment style, at least in my personal experience. Yet I certainly think having an insecure attachment style doesn’t help matters and it would have been lovely to have a secure attachment style growing up. Anyway, in Attachment-Based Therapy, clients explore their childhood so they might need to discuss their early relationship with their caregiver and their family dynamics growing up as well as any significant childhood experiences. Afterwards, the client and therapist might explore the connection between their childhood relationships and their adult ones to see how the past could have influenced the present. Also, this could lead to the client and therapist talking about what skills the client might want to improve in their current relationships and improve their emotions and behaviours. Interestingly, attachment-based therapy can involve working with a family member too as well as this type of therapy can be used alongside other forms of therapy too. Personally, I love the idea of doing attachment work with a client and family member, because that is the root cause of the attachment style. It was the caregiver that caused the attachment difficult so getting the client and the family member to work together now to improve the client’s attachment is actually a brilliant idea that would have a lot of good benefits. Also, I understand how attachment work can fit very nicely alongside other mental health approaches like systemic and humanistic. When Is Attachment-Based Therapy Used? Since this sort of doubles as an approach instead of a pure therapy in its own right, an attachment-based approach to mental health can be very useful in couple, group, family and individual therapy. Due to this approach helps both children and adults to mend and recover from fractured family relationships. That’s why adopted children, Care Experienced children, adolescents who are depressed and/ or suicidal, children of depressed parents and children who have experienced abuse and trauma even more so at the hands of a caregiver, can all benefit from attachment-based therapy. Overall, I should note that whilst some studies have shown Attachment-based therapy to be effective and it does have benefits for clients, the evidence base isn’t as strong as other forms of therapy. What Can Clients Expect In Attachment-Based Therapy? When a client goes for Attachment-Based Therapy, they know that the goal of this therapy isn’t only to repair their family relationship, because the therapist can work with the client alone or with the family as a group. Also, the therapist works with the family to build and strengthen their caregiver-child bond as well as the therapist helps the child to develop into an independent adult with high self-sufficiency. In addition, when it comes to therapeutic work with individuals, the therapist aims to help the client overcome any effects of the negative early attachment difficulties that they have by establishing a secure bond with the client. Then after this relationship is solidified, the therapist can help the client to communicate more openly and help them to better explore and understand how their current feelings and behaviours are associated with their early childhood experiences. Clinical Psychology Conclusion In my experience and because of my own attachment difficulties in the past (to a much lesser extent the present), I always enjoy looking at attachment because I know it is absolutely critical. And whilst we always think of it as traditionally a development psychology topic, it does have a massive impact on mental health and clinical psychology too. Therefore, I think what I want to unofficially say at the end of this podcast episode, is that whether you’re a current or future clinical psychologist or another type of therapist, definitely have an understanding of attachment-based work. Learn some of the tips, tricks and techniques that will help a client to overcome their attachment difficulties, because you will probably need it in the future and your clients could very well find it to be invaluable. Even though I never went for attachment-based therapy, my therapist still used a few ideas and notions from this type of work, and it has been really, really useful. So I know in the future as I continue on my clinical psychology journey, I’ll want to learn some more about attachment-based work and I hope you will too.   I really hope you enjoyed today’s clinical psychology podcast episode. If you want to learn more, please check out: FREE 8 PSYCHOLOGY BOOK BOXSET Developmental Psychology: A Guide To Developmental And Child Psychology .   Available from all major eBook retailers and you can order the paperback and hardback copies from Amazon, your local bookstore and local library, if you request it. Also available as an AI-narrated audiobook from selected audiobook platforms and library systems. For example, Kobo, Spotify, Barnes and Noble, Google Play, Overdrive, Baker and Taylor and Bibliotheca. Patreon for exclusive access and rewards Have a great day. Clinical Psychology References and Recommended Reading American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy. Adult Attachment Relationships. Cicchetti, D., Toth, S. L., & Rogosch, F. A. (1999). The efficacy of toddler-parent psychotherapy to increase attachment security in offspring of depressed mothers. Attachment & Human Development, 1(1), 34-66. Collado‐Navarro, C., Navarro‐Gil, M., Pérez‐Aranda, A., López‐del‐Hoyo, Y., Garcia‐Campayo, J., & Montero‐Marin, J. (2021). Effectiveness of mindfulness‐based stress reduction and attachment‐based compassion therapy for the treatment of depressive, anxious, and adjustment disorders in mental health settings: A randomized controlled trial. Depression and Anxiety, 38(11), 1138-1151. Collado‐Navarro, C., Navarro‐Gil, M., Pérez‐Aranda, A., López‐del‐Hoyo, Y., Garcia‐Campayo, J., & Montero‐Marin, J. (2021). Effectiveness of mindfulness‐based stress reduction and attachment‐based compassion therapy for the treatment of depressive, anxious, and adjustment disorders in mental health settings: A randomized controlled trial. Depression and Anxiety, 38(11), 1138-1151. Daniel, S. I. (2006). Adult attachment patterns and individual psychotherapy: A review. Clinical psychology review, 26(8), 968-984. Diamond, G., Diamond, G. M., & Levy, S. (2021). Attachment-based family therapy: Theory, clinical model, outcomes, and process research. Journal of affective disorders, 294, 286-295. Dozier, M. (2003). Attachment-based treatment for vulnerable children. Attachment & Human Development, 5(3), 253-257. Ewing, E. S. K., Diamond, G., & Levy, S. (2015). Attachment-based family therapy for depressed and suicidal adolescents: Theory, clinical model and empirical support. Attachment & human development, 17(2), 136-156.  Levy, S., Mason, S., Russon, J., & Diamond, G. (2021). Attachment‐based family therapy in the age of telehealth and COVID‐19. Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 47(2), 440-454. Lewis, A. J. (2020). Attachment-based family therapy for adolescent substance use: A move to the level of systems. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 10, 486200. Russon, J., Morrissey, J., Dellinger, J., Jin, B., & Diamond, G. (2021). Implementing attachment-based family therapy for depressed and suicidal adolescents and young adults in LGBTQ+ services. Crisis. Russon, J., Smithee, L., Simpson, S., Levy, S., & Diamond, G. (2022). Demonstrating attachment‐based family therapy for transgender and gender diverse youth with suicidal thoughts and behavior: A case study. Family Process, 61(1), 230-245. Russon, J., Smithee, L., Simpson, S., Levy, S., & Diamond, G. (2022). Demonstrating attachment‐based family therapy for transgender and gender diverse youth with suicidal thoughts and behavior: A case study. Family Process, 61(1), 230-245. Tsvieli, N., Lifshitz, C., & Diamond, G. M. (2022). Corrective attachment episodes in attachment-based family therapy: The power of enactment. Psychotherapy Research, 32(2), 209-222. Waraan, L., Rognli, E. W., Czajkowski, N. O., Aalberg, M., & Mehlum, L. (2021). Effectiveness of attachment-based family therapy compared to treatment as usual for depressed adolescents in community mental health clinics. Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health, 15, 1-14. Waraan, L., Rognli, E. W., Czajkowski, N. O., Mehlum, L., & Aalberg, M. (2021). Efficacy of attachment-based family therapy compared to treatment as usual for suicidal ideation in adolescents with MDD. Clinical child psychology and psychiatry, 26(2), 464-474. I truly hope that you’ve enjoyed this blog post and if you feel like supporting the blog on an ongoing basis and get lots of rewards, then please head to my Patreon  page. However, if want to show one-time support and appreciation, the place to do that is PayPal. If you do that, please include your email address in the notes section, so I can say thank you. Which I am going to say right now. Thank you! Click  https://www.buymeacoffee.com/connorwhiteley  for a one-time bit of support.

As aspiring and qualified psychologists and people interested in psychology, we read, listen and learn a lot of content about different mental health conditions. Yet as great as academic content is for helping us understanding a mental health condition, depression and anxiety, it is only lived experience that can possibly help us to truly understand what a condition is like for a client or service user. You can read as many academic papers on depression as you want but until you talk or listen to people who have or are currently experiencing depression then you will never be able to fully understand how depression impacts a person. Especially in their everyday life. Therefore, in this clinical psychology podcast episode, I’ll be talking about my experience of a major depressive episode, which is still on-going as I finish off this blog post. You’ll learn about how it’s impacting me, what triggered my depression, the challenges depression gives me and more. If you enjoy learning about mental health, lived experience and depression then this is going to be a great episode for you. Today’s psychology podcast episode has been sponsored by Abnormal Psychology: The Causes and Treatments For Depression, Anxiety And More . Available from all major eBook retailers and you can order the paperback and hardback copies from Amazon, your local bookstore and local library, if you request it. Also available as an AI-narrated audiobook from selected audiobook platforms and library systems. For example, Kobo, Spotify, Barnes and Noble, Google Play, Overdrive, Baker and Taylor and Bibliotheca. Why Am I Talking About Experiencing Depression? Note: this is a cleaned-up audio transcription from the recording I made when I was experiencing a wave of depression. I did not realise I was as depressed as I was when I was making the record, so there will be grammatical errors. Since this is spoken word and not written word. I’ve hinted at my depression and declining mental health in the past two episodes. Therefore, the reason why I'm talking about this is because since Saturday, so seven days now, I've been having quite a major depressive episode, and I've never actually had this before. Sure, I've had one or two days of being depressed, and I mean going through quite crippling depression, but I've never had it for seven days.   And yes, it's sort of gotten a little better, but I'm still quite depressed now, though. For example, the only reason why I can actually record this and sound relatively normal in terms of this is what I normally sound like, at least I hope so, is because I've just been texting my best friend because they wanted to know about what plant pot they had in their bedroom. And I was like, "Oh God, I'm gonna have to go and look."   So, I did that, and we were talking, and we were texting to and fro for a bit, and I was making fun of them for their mason jars here. Thankfully, this helped me to have quite a bit of energy. But I know that will seriously dip, though. I thought, right now I feel good, I've got to do this.   Overall, the reason why I'm talking about this is, one, because of the practical issue that I just spoke about. Two, as a future clinical psychologist, or maybe even qualified psychologists and people interested in lived mental health experiences, it is really important that we do understand not only what academia says about a mental health condition, but we also hear about it from those people with a life experience. Of course, I do not have a depression diagnosis. To be honest, I do have a scary feeling that I'm not actually gonna get any better by saying "over the next week." And because I have been feeling depressed for two weeks, this is just off the top of my head, so don't quote me on this, that's actually all you need for a depression diagnosis, of course, as long as you meet the other criteria too, though. So, at the moment, I don't have a depression diagnosis, and I'm hoping that I won't ever have to get one. So, I'm talking about this just so we can all understand lived-like experiences here.   An Overview Of My Week I already mentioned earlier that this all started on Saturday, but there's something larger that's going on here. So, as you guys know, I experienced sexual violence back in April, and that has really messed with my mental health. That has been quite debilitating, and I've been doing tons of different bits to try and get better in that sense. But I'm still on a waiting list for specialist rape counselling, which is taking a toll on my mental health because I need this support, but I can't get it because it turns out there's a lot of people that get raped. So, it takes a while for a place to open up for you, which is tragic. And I'm basically coping as best I can with my mental health getting worse as the months go by, especially my PTSD. And I mean, like, I think I've had two days of depression since my, so to like 19 weeks ago tomorrow at the time of recording. I've not had it for seven days before. In addition, what happened was that on Saturday, I started to feel quite depressed. I started to feel really down, and it was a struggle to get out of bed. Thankfully, I had a friend coming round at 2:00 just because we had already planned it, and I wanted to spend time with him because we get on really well. But the problem was, was that I couldn't get out of bed. It took me a long time to have a shower, not as much as the next day though. And it took me a while to do everything. So, thankfully, I was ready for when he came around at 2:00, but I wanted to do stuff before then. I wanted to do some writing, I wanted to do some podcast work and other stuff, but that really didn't happen. Me and my friend had a really nice four and a half hours. It was really nice talking. We spoke about Halo Lore. We basically talked about a bunch of nerd stuff, then we talked about relationships and other bits and pieces, basically stuff you normally talk with your friends about. Then he left, and then I was just like, oh, right, I'm actually quite sad now. I'm actually feeling ridiculously lonely and everything. And then it was a full-on night of just PTSD. I mean, if there was a sound, I would have a massive reaction. There were tons of intrusive thoughts about sexual violence. That was not fun. On the Sunday, it was even worse. And because it was so dark and so bad, I can't actually go into all of the details, but it was absolutely horrific. All I’ll say is it took me 3 hours and 20 minutes just to have a shower because the interesting thing about depression is that because it's a low mood, it really impacts your energy levels. So then what happened was that around 2:00 pm, I finally decided, right, I am gonna have a shower. I'm gonna move heaven and earth to have a shower. Well, the issue with that is that you need to get up from the sofa, then you need to go upstairs, then you need to get your clothes, get your towel, go into the bathroom, have a shower, get changed, etc. So, when you think about it, there are actually quite a few steps to anything that we do. And normally, I can normally do that all in, like, 20 minutes. On Sunday, it took me 3 hours, 20 minutes to have a shower. I mean, that was just like... It took me 15 minutes just to get up the stairs. But then I actually had to come back down, so I was depressed about that, and it was ridiculous. It wasn't until I actually got in the shower at 5:00 pm, and I was just like, there's no point in me actually having a shower because it's 5:00, and to me, that's pointless. But I was like, I've been trying to do this for three hours. I've got to try. And then, as the night went on, my mental health deteriorated. I broke my favorite mug. I smashed my favorite mug ever. Oh, God. I mean, I was actually quite devastated because it's this half-liter mug, which is just amazing. I've had it since 2019, since I first came to university, so I broke it, and then I just called my best friend, and we spoke for, like, an hour and a quarter, and then they were just like, "Right. You need to go home. You need to be around people," and, etc. So, I went... I got back to my parents at half past midnight that night because me and my friend had a really heartfelt conversation. We'd had a really detailed one. Over the next two days, it was just constant depression. I was in and out of it because my parents work during the days, I was alone. Again, quite depressed. I couldn't really do anything. I had no energy. And then when they were back, it was fine because I was around people, so we could talk and stuff. Some stuff happened, but, I mean, that's just family. And then I came back Wednesday because I saw my great aunt, who lives, like, nearby. Then I came back. Now, bear in mind, when my mug had shattered that night, I actually hadn't cleaned it up because I was just like... My mental health was so bad, I didn't have the capacity to actually clean it up. So, then I walked in at Wednesday, and I was just like, "Oh, my God, I'm back here. I've got to clean the mug. I've got to do tons of stuff." It took me an hour and 40 minutes just to clean that mug up. And that did not make me feel great. So that all happened. Following on from this, yesterday, thankfully, I was able to do a few bits, but it was the energy levels that were really concerning me, because it was more of a thing about being in and out of depression and it basically not stopping and me not being able to reliably do stuff. I managed to do, I don't know, let's say four hours of stuff. It really wasn't that, it was more, like, two and a half because I tried to do some stuff. It was so unproductive. And considering I'm normally used to doing seven hours with ease of different bits and pieces, that was quite shocking, and that was actually quite bad. Quite bad. Unfortunately, today it's just been more of the same. There has been a lot of other very traumatic things going on in the background. But again, just to keep this podcast easy to listen to, or at least nice to listen to, I'm not gonna go into it. I just had to pause the podcast because I thought I heard a noise outside. I thought I was going to have a bad reaction. And then I felt a massive hit of depression almost hit, though. So, I've got to keep going with this, otherwise, it's not gonna get done. What Triggered This Depressive Episode? As with all mental health conditions and difficulties, there are always going be triggers and different aspects of this which make your mental health worse. Thankfully the only highlight of being depressed for seven days is that there are moments when you can actually think clearly. Oh, believe me, it happens extremely rarely, but they still happen. As a result, the thing that really triggered my depression and the thing that keeps making me feel worse is one, of course, the sexual violence. Two, just being really lonely because I really don't have many friends. And my best friend, they went back to the midlands to see their family and spend time with their friends. As well as basically, everyone I know is out there doing really cool stuff. They're going away, they're having fun, they're seeing their other friends. And because of my PTSD, because of everything else, my issue is that I actually can't do the same. Then there's also been some relationship stuff that were present. My best friends have been doing some relationship stuff. The LGBT+ society at my university, some of those conversations have been about past and current romantic relationships. And as someone who's been through sexual violence and also child abuse that was very homophobic, it's sort of like... I don't know if I can have that.I know logically, I can, but I mean, like, there's gonna be so much work to actually do that for. So that really didn't help me. And also, PTSD is bad enough, but when it comes to going outside, that doesn't help. But also, something I've been finding a lot lately when I've been going outside, like, going shopping is a nightmare. For instance, I tend to forget a lot. I find it really hard to focus. So as you can expect, it's really tough going out. As well as in my mind, if you're going go out properly, like, you're going to go somewhere, you do tend to need a friend just to make it more, enjoyable. And you can do it as a shared experience. But because my only real friend is actually not here at the moment, that's really tough. What Are The Challenges Of Experiencing Depression?  Moreover, there are four main challenges which I'm really struggling with at the moment. The first one is an inability to watch stuff because it's bad enough when I'm in and out of being depressed, which is another major problem because I can just be going along, then a wave of depression can just hit me. It can also be linked to triggers. For example, I can be doing stuff, then an intrusive thought comes out that's really bad, quite traumatic. Then it knocks me for six, and then I get depressed, and I just lay on the stairs, on the sofa, or wherever I am for half an hour to an hour. That's bad enough. But when I'm depressed, I also have a massive problem. I can't watch stuff because I can't watch things on the TV or any streaming service because of sexual references and sex scenes, which never used to bother me whatsoever. But because that's how bad my mental health is at the moment, I can't watch any of that because it's too distressing, it's too triggering, which is annoying. As a result, that was another reason why me and my best friend, we were on the phone for two and a quarter hours last night, as they were going through and compiling me a list of different series and films which I might be able to watch. But as I said to them, the main problem with that is, and just know I am extremely grateful that they did that. And I'm definitely gonna start watching some of it at some point. But some of it is that, yeah, you can have this list, you can have stuff to do, but you don't have the energy to actually do it, or you don't have the executive function to do it, which is an issue. My third major challenging of experiencing depression is loss of pleasure. I've always known this is a depression symptom, but I've never had to experience it before. So, you can be doing stuff which you normally flat-out love. Like earlier today, I was flat-out loving doing some business stuff, but I wasn't enjoying it. It was just like, "Wow, this is actually quite boring." And sure, I sort of picked the more mundane aspects, but I still enjoy it. I still don't mind doing it. It's so important to me. I did not enjoy it. Normally, I can do some reading, I can do a hobby, or I can do anything that I find really fun. No, not this week. I've just lost pleasure in most things, which is why I'm a bit concerned about this list that my friends put was they really love all of these programs. I don't wanna be the type of person who turns around and says, "Oh, thank you for doing this, but I really don't like this. I couldn't really care less about this." I'm pretty sure that's just the depression, but still, I don't want to do that even though I think that might be the case. But I will honestly try and enjoy this stuff. But the main issue that I've been having is energy. I know this is linked to a low mood, but the energy is that I really only have so much energy to be able to do stuff in the day. And I like to think of this in terms of spoons theory. I've done an autism podcast episode maybe two years ago on spoons . So, the idea of this, and this is done by Christina someone, is that there's the idea that you only have so many spoons in terms of energy throughout the day, and every time you do something, you take away a spoon. Let's say you have 10 spoons. Then what happens is that if you get up, then you could lose a spoon. If you go to work, if you have a shower, then you lose another spoon. Then if you get the kids ready, take them to school and get to work, that's another spoon. Then you have a really hard day at work, you have lots of meetings, you're working a very high-pressure job. Let's say that actually takes five spoons away from you. That means you've only got two spoons left by the time you get home from work. But then let's say you've got to pick up the kids, and then you've got to do dinner. Both of those activities takes away your two spoons. Therefore, after you've cooked dinner, you might not have even served it up yet. You're completely exhausted, and you have no energy whatsoever. That's how you can think about energy levels in terms of spoons. That's something I found quite annoying yesterday, was that I was trying to do stuff, I wanted to do stuff, I had no energy after a while to do it whatsoever. What am I trying to do to feel better? I'm between a rock and a hard place. The reason why I'm sort of in a rock and a hard place is quite simply because what I need is my rape counseling to start. Nonetheless, that can't happen because I'm still on the waiting list. And my contact at this charity that I'm gonna be seen by, she's on annual leave until the 27th of August. That's five days away, at the very least. And in the meantime, I sort of keep suffering. Of course, it's not the charity's fault. This is just how life works. But she can't chase it, and she can't say, "Right, this person needs help ASAP. Can we please try and fit them in?" So that's what I really, really need, and that's the sort of the solution. As soon as I start processing my rape and everything, then everything will get better. But until then, I am trying to do one or two things. I'm calling my best friend every night. We're having quite long conversations about each other's day, how I'm doing. And it's nice because it's social connection when I normally wouldn't get any social connection, which is quite a depressing fact, but that's just my life at the moment. And then the only other thing which I'm really doing because this week's been quite difficult because, I mean, I can't go back to my parents again because they're away, and the whole point is that I'm lonely. So I can't just go somewhere else to be lonely. That defeats the whole point. The only other thing I'm doing is I'm seeing my private therapist this week and next week. Both of us have agreed she's not a rape specialist. So, it's a case of me just talking to her. To be honest, like, I'm educating her about sexual violence because I've done so much research in the past 19 weeks. And I mean, it's nice just having someone to talk to, but I know it's sort of just sticking plaster on a very crumbling wall at the moment. Oh, no. Actually, the only other last thing that I'm doing, though, is that next week, I'm going up to see my best friend in the midlands. So, we can see each other, we can go to this city that I've always wanted to go to, more for a laugh than anything else. But this got quite a reputation. And originally, I wanted to go by myself, but my best friend was like, "You can't. You just can't. Like, I don't think you'll be able to cope." Of course, they said in much more polite terms than this, but I was just like, "You're right," and I'm really annoyed that I just can't go out without having a meltdown, without having an inability to make decisions and just getting overwhelmed, anxiety, PTSD, etc. So, all fun, not. As a result, I'm going up to see them, and their parents are going be there. And, I mean, I get on great with their parents. Their parents are lovely. And I might be able to meet their brother, which would be nice because I've been wanting to meet him for ages. Ultimately, there’s a lot's going on. I'm just trying to hang in there. And I don't know if this was a useful podcast episode, but I hope you got something out of it.      I really hope you enjoyed today’s clinical psychology podcast episode. If you want to learn more, please check out: FREE 8 PSYCHOLOGY BOOK BOXSET Abnormal Psychology: The Causes and Treatments For Depression, Anxiety And More . Available from all major eBook retailers and you can order the paperback and hardback copies from Amazon, your local bookstore and local library, if you request it. Also available as an AI-narrated audiobook from selected audiobook platforms and library systems. For example, Kobo, Spotify, Barnes and Noble, Google Play, Overdrive, Baker and Taylor and Bibliotheca. Patreon for exclusive access and rewards Have a great day. Clinical Psychology References and Further Reading Cunningham, S., Hudson, C. C., & Harkness, K. (2021). Social media and depression symptoms: a meta-analysis. Research on child and adolescent psychopathology, 49(2), 241-253. Malgaroli, M., Calderon, A., & Bonanno, G. A. (2021). Networks of major depressive disorder: A systematic review. Clinical Psychology Review, 85, 102000. Shorey, S., Ng, E. D., & Wong, C. H. (2022). Global prevalence of depression and elevated depressive symptoms among adolescents: A systematic review and meta‐analysis. British Journal of Clinical Psychology, 61(2), 287-305. Smith, M. M., Sherry, S. B., Ray, C., Hewitt, P. L., & Flett, G. L. (2021). Is perfectionism a vulnerability factor for depressive symptoms, a complication of depressive symptoms, or both? A meta-analytic test of 67 longitudinal studies. Clinical Psychology Review, 84, 101982. Whiteley, C. (2024) CBT For Depression: A Clinical Psychology Introduction To Cognitive Behavioural Therapy For Depression . CGD Publishing. England. Whiteley, C. (2024) Social Media Psychology: A Guide To Clinical Psychology, Cyberpsychology and Mental Health.  CGD Publishing. England. Whiteley, C. (2024) Working With Children and Young People: A Guide To Clinical Psychology, Mental Health and Psychotherapy.  CGD Publishing. England. I truly hope that you’ve enjoyed this blog post and if you feel like supporting the blog on an ongoing basis and get lots of rewards, then please head to my Patreon  page. However, if want to show one-time support and appreciation, the place to do that is PayPal. If you do that, please include your email address in the notes section, so I can say thank you. Which I am going to say right now. Thank you! Click  https://www.buymeacoffee.com/connorwhiteley  for a one-time bit of support.

I’ve already mentioned before on the podcast that eating disorders are some of the deadliest mental health conditions out there. Yet there are psychological treatments that are designed to help people with eating disorders to improve their lives, have a healthier and less maladaptive relationship with food and to improve their quality of life. Therefore, in this clinical psychology podcast episode, you’ll be introduced to a range of psychological treatments for eating disorders that are explored a lot more amongst other topics in my brand-new book CBT For Eating Disorders. If you enjoy learning about mental health, clinical psychology and eating disorders then this will be a great episode for you. Today’s psychology podcast episode has been sponsored by CBT For Eating Disorders And Body Dysmorphic Disorder: A Clinical Psychology Introduction To Cognitive Behavioural Therapy For Eating Disorders and Body Dysmorphia. Available from all major eBook retailers and you can order the paperback and hardback copies from Amazon, your local bookstore and local library, if you request it. Also available as an AI-narrated audiobook from selected audiobook platforms and library systems. For example, Kobo, Spotify, Barnes and Noble, Google Play, Overdrive, Baker and Taylor and Bibliotheca. What Are Psychological Treatments For Eating Disorders? Extract From CBT For Eating Disorders and Body Dysmorphic Disorder  (COPYRIGHT 2024 Connor Whiteley) As we start to turn our attention towards the psychological methods used in treating eating disorders before focusing on Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for the rest of this section of the book, I want to quickly mention some pharmacological treatments. Interestingly enough, antidepressants are the most common form of drug treatment for eating disorders with there being some evidence that this treatment can reduce bulimia symptoms (e.g. Bellini & Merli, 2004). Now as always what I find interesting about biological methods for psychological conditions is that pharmacological treatments aren’t effective in the long term considering that a person’s drive for thinness and extreme dieting isn’t biological in nature, it is psychological. Therefore, biological treatments will never ever be able to help a person come up with more adaptive coping mechanisms for their psychological thoughts and drives. Additionally, pharmacological treatments with anorexia have tended to be less successful (Pederson et al., 2003). However, it’s important to know that antidepressant treatments for eating disorders do have significantly higher relapse and drop-out rates than psychological interventions. Again this comes back to drug treatments failing and being useless at targeting the psychological causes of a condition. As a result, the best outcomes for eating disorders are when drug treatments are combined with CBT programmes. Family Therapy and Eating Disorders If we cast our minds back to a few chapters ago then I mentioned how family factors have a role in how eating disorders are maintained and developed in the first place, for that reason family therapy can be an effective way to treat eating disorders. Also, this is one of the most common interventions used with eating disorders with the therapy being based on the idea that eating disorders hide important conflicts within the family. Personally, I do enjoy systemic therapy because the idea of the family as a system is very useful and utterly fascinating. Of course, systemic theory doesn’t look at everything and it does miss out on psychological factors, but it is still interesting. And there is no such thing as a perfect theory in clinical psychology. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and Eating Disorders CBT is the treatment of choice when it comes to eating disorders and even more so for (Wilson & Shafran, 2005) with this form of CBT being based on the cognitive model we looked at earlier developed by Fairburn et al. (1999). Since people with bulimia develop negative evaluations about themselves and have idealized beliefs about thinness, as well as distorted views of their own body shape. All these areas and beliefs are challenged during a course of CBT and there is an Enhanced form of CBT that is used as well, and there’s a whole chapter dedicated to that form coming up next. CBT is really helpful for clients that are significantly underweight too. What Are The Stages Of CBT For Bulimia? We’ll this in more depth in a moment, but the four stages of CBT For Bulimia according to Fairburn (1985) are: ·       Psychoeducation about the effects of purging, bingeing and mood. ·       Modified eating patterns – small meals 5-6 times a day instead of bingeing to start off with. ·       Altering the client’s dysfunctional attitudes about food, eating and the body. ·       Teaching the client coping strategies to avoid bingeing & purging. When a person with bulimia first starts CBT, the focus will be meal planning and stimulus control so instead of snacking and binge eating, the meals can be controlled more so they eat properly three times a day, or whatever the therapist deems appropriate. Furthermore, cognitive restructuring is a core part of CBT so when it comes to Bulimia, this is used to address the client’s dysfunctional beliefs about their body shape and weight. Then the focus shifts to become focused on developing relapse prevention methods so the eating disorder doesn’t return after therapy ends. Overall, CBT for eating disorders is based on identifying the dysfunctional thinking processes that cause and maintain the disordered eating, as well as using behavioural exercises to test and modify these maladaptive beliefs. CBT For Anorexia Nervosa Whereas CBT For Anorexia focuses on different clinical features, because we know from other chapters that anorexia involves several cognitive distortions. For instance, the client has irrational beliefs about weight gain and food and they have an inaccurate perception of their body. Therefore, this form of CBT aims to change these faulty thinking patterns, which the therapy assumes is what maintains the anorexic behaviour. Now what makes this form of CBT so special is that if you think normal CBT is highly structured then this is even more so. Due to CBT for Anorexia is the most effective treatment we have at this point for short-term clients. Although, if the client needs psychological help in the longer term then they might benefit more from family therapy or Interpersonal Psychotherapy. Overall, whilst that was a quick whistle-stop tour of CBT for eating disorders, our next chapter focuses a lot more on Enhanced Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy for eating disorders (Fairburn, 2008) and it might be my favourite chapter out of the entire book.     I really hope you enjoyed today’s clinical psychology podcast episode. If you want to learn more, please check out: FREE 8 PSYCHOLOGY BOOK BOXSET CBT For Eating Disorders And Body Dysmorphic Disorder: A Clinical Psychology Introduction To Cognitive Behavioural Therapy For Eating Disorders and Body Dysmorphia. Available from all major eBook retailers and you can order the paperback and hardback copies from Amazon, your local bookstore and local library, if you request it. Also available as an AI-narrated audiobook from selected audiobook platforms and library systems. For example, Kobo, Spotify, Barnes and Noble, Google Play, Overdrive, Baker and Taylor and Bibliotheca. Patreon for exclusive access and rewards Have a great day. Clinical Psychology Reference and Further Reading Whiteley, C. (2024) CBT For Eating Disorders And Body Dysmorphic Disorder: A Clinical Psychology Introduction To Cognitive Behavioural Therapy For Eating Disorders and Body Dysmorphia.  CGD Publishing. England. I truly hope that you’ve enjoyed this blog post and if you feel like supporting the blog on an ongoing basis and get lots of rewards, then please head to my Patreon  page. However, if want to show one-time support and appreciation, the place to do that is PayPal. If you do that, please include your email address in the notes section, so I can say thank you. Which I am going to say right now. Thank you! Click  https://www.buymeacoffee.com/connorwhiteley  for a one-time bit of support.

As someone who’s experienced a range of trauma over their life, I’m always interested in learning about the different ways how trauma affects someone. Normally, I focus on the mental health implications, like panic attacks, social anxiety and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. I’m experiencing all of these symptoms at the time of writing but trauma doesn’t only affect us psychologically. Trauma can have profound physical consequences too. Therefore, this podcast episode merges clinical psychology and biological psychology so you can learn how trauma affects the heart, why trauma has physical impacts on our body and what can we do about these impacts. If you enjoy learning about trauma psychology, biopsychology and mental health, then this is a great episode for you. Today’s psychology podcast episode has been sponsored by Biological Psychology . Available from all major eBook retailers and you can order the paperback and hardback copies from Amazon, your local bookstore and local library, if you request it. Also available as an AI-narrated audiobook from selected audiobook platforms and library systems. For example, Kobo, Spotify, Barnes and Noble, Google Play, Overdrive, Baker and Taylor and Bibliotheca. Brief Introduction To Trauma Whilst I talk about trauma on the podcast a fair bit, I wanted to briefly recap the importance of trauma within clinical psychology in case there are any new readers or listeners tuning in to this episode. Therefore, trauma is the term given to an extremely difficult experience in a person’s life that has a profound impact on them. This can include being involved in or witnessing life-threatening diseases, severe injuries or accidents, assaults, sexual violence and deaths of loved ones and so on. As well as trauma is common within society with at least 50% of adults in the United States experiencing one or more traumas in their lifetime (Wisco et al., 2022). Also, I’ve mentioned before in a previous episode , this is why trauma-informed approaches are so important, because they’re about recognising trauma is common and we need to support people. Furthermore, I’m guilty of this too but when it comes to trauma, we particularly only think about trauma as a psychological concept with psychological impacts. Which come to think of it doesn’t make a lot of sense, because traumatic events are physical, tangible events that happen to a person so it makes no sense why its impacts would only be psychological in nature. In this podcast episode, you’re going to be learning about the physical impacts of psychological trauma and why we need to acknowledge their existence. Since if we ignore the physiological impacts of trauma and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder then this could prove deadly for our clients. Why Is Trauma A Mind-Body Condition? To some extent, I have no issue with the current official and extremely oversimplified dialogue about psychological trauma is very focused on the psychological and mental experience of trauma. You only need to look at the DSM-5 to see how trauma focuses on the intense emotional and behavioural responses that the traumatic event causes. For instance, the PTSD and acute stress disorder symptoms as listed in the DSM-5 focus on the anxiety, avoidance of trauma-related stimuli and situations and hypervigilance. Personally, I have no issue with that whatsoever because these are the things I severely struggle with after my sexual assault and these intense emotions and severe behavioural responses are horrific at times and rather debilitating. It was only three nights ago at the time of writing that I was watching a romance because I didn’t read the trigger warnings and I saw a sex scene. I screamed, panicked and I felt paralysed for 20 minutes just dealing with the perfectly innocent scene I had just witnessed. Needlessly to say, I will be reading trigger warnings a lot more carefully in future. However, the issue is that trauma probably needs to be reconceptualised a little more because there is a growing body of neuroscience research showing how trauma has a major impact on our biology and our physical body (O’Donnell et al., 2016). Now there are some researchers saying trauma has a greater physical impact than the psychological impact, and I have some thoughts on this argument. I have no doubt there is research demonstrating how significant and damaging trauma is on our physical body, but as someone who has experienced two major types of trauma in their life, I have to admit I don’t buy this argument. It is the anxiety, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, depression, suicidal ideation and on and on and on that causes me to struggle because of my trauma. It is the intense emotions and psychological aspects of dealing with being sexually assaulted that causes me to be paralysed as times as I deal with the intrusive thoughts and physical sensations of what happened to me. It is the psychological aspects that hurt me the most. The only physical aspects of the trauma I have to deal is the sweating and increased heart rate and rapid breathing whenever I have a panic attack. As well as the physical sensations of my body effectively remembering what he did to me amongst a few other bits. I don’t doubt all these physical trauma responses are having a physical impact on my body, but to say physical impacts are the most  damaging and the most  painful for a trauma survivor just doesn’t sit right with me. You might disagree but this is my lived experience. One of the areas most impacted by trauma is the heart. How Does Psychological Trauma Impact The Cardiovascular System? As you can imagine, whenever we experience a traumatic event, the brain activates our flight-fight-freeze response which is a biological process. During this process, the pituitary gland, hypothalamus and adrenal glands (typically referred to as the HPA axis) work together to produce a powerful and rapid stress response that floods the body with neurotransmitters and hormones in an effort to protect and save us. It is these hormones and neurotransmitters that are believed to alter the normal functioning of our major organs including the heart. Interestingly, whilst our fight-or-flight response is meant to save us during traumatic situations, it can be deadly too. Due to there are times when people have had heart attacks as well as strokes during natural disasters so it is possible to die from stress-induced cardiovascular events. There are even times when these cardiovascular events kill more people than the natural disaster in question (Babaie et al, 2021). In addition, whilst our flight-or-fight response is a biological mechanism that evolved as an emergency response to help our ancestors thrive. Our ancestors were almost always able to rest and recover after the activation of this mechanism, whereas in this modern era we cannot do that because of chronic stress. This is a modern problem because modern trauma and modern stressful events mean the fight-or-flight response gets activated more often so this response can be activated for months or even years after the traumatic event. I know this might sound strange or impossible but I agree with it. Since I sort of believe my fight-or-flight response is starting to only calm down after 17 weeks after being assaulted but whenever I go outside, whenever I go into certain situations and whenever I am inside, even more so when I’m in a locked room, all the physical stress responses return and I am on high alert. I know if I need to escape in case someone hurts me again, my body is only a second away from activating my flight-or-fight response. As well as there have been plenty of major incidents over the past 17 weeks where I have been okay in one moment, something small has happened and then I have freaked out and my flight-or-fight has been activated. I doubt my flight-or-fight has rested in the past 17 weeks. Therefore, with humans not resting and able to recover after each activation of our flight-or-fight response, our physical body is getting battered by our endless stress responses. This means our cardiovascular system and heart slowly become dysfunctional and damaged so this raises the risk of heart attack and stroke over time. Why Is The Trauma-Heart Relationship Bidirectional?  Lastly, what’s interesting about trauma and its physical impacts is that trauma is both a cause and an outcome of heart problems. Due to there is research, like Edmondson and von Kanel (2017), showing a strong link between trauma and chronic and acute cardiovascular risk. As well as there is separate evidence showing how strokes and heart attacks cause trauma reactions amongst the survivors (O’Donnell et al., 2021). This shows the trauma-heart relationship is bidirectional and they can both cause and be a consequence of each other. However, the issue with trauma and cardiovascular health problems is that because trauma is psychological in nature as are the emotional and behavioural responses, these aren’t assessed in emergency rooms or cardiovascular wards. This means the trauma symptoms that are causing clients a massive amount of psychological distress and are causing further damage to their heart, these are not being treated. Meaning the cardiovascular damage and the trauma symptoms simply continue. Which is why I flat out love holistic work and the biopsychosocial model, despite the jokes about it being the bio bio bio model. I’m an idealist at heart so I still believe in the aim of the biopsychosocial model. Biological Psychology Conclusion On the whole, if you take anything away from today’s episode, it needs to be that trauma survivors and other people experiencing chronic or acute stress need to be educated on how to reduce potential cardiovascular risk, and they need to be treated. As well as whenever someone goes into a medical setting to have treatment for a cardiovascular-related health problem, they should be screened and assessed for psychological trauma so they can be helped, supported and their trauma treated if needed so their cardiovascular symptoms don’t get worse. Of course, I am very cynical when it comes to medical settings embracing psychological concepts because most medical settings in my experience are ruled over by white older men who firmly believe in the biomedical model and they have little time or patience for psychology. There is absolutely nothing wrong with white older men but I wish they were more accepting towards psychology. Anyway, a great argument to make to them and other medical directors about this issue might be to mention, if you spend the time and money assessing clients for trauma and treating it earlier on. It means their symptoms will not get worse, they won’t need as long or as intense medical treatment and they can be discharged sooner from the hospital. That means the hospital can save money, which is something hospitals and medical settings love. I don’t blame them because their budgets are beyond awful at this point. Penultimately, I want to mention that I know a lot of this podcast episode doesn’t directly apply to us aspiring or qualified psychologists. We are trained to become experts in psychological matters so our knowledge about physical health is limited and I don’t always think that is a bad thing. Since the worst thing that could happen with this neuroscience research is that people use it to shift trauma treatment into the biomedical model where the main focus is on the physical symptoms, the hormones and neurotransmitters and everything that is physically happening to a client. That just will not work for trauma treatment. Of course, there always needs to be psychoeducation about how trauma impacts a client physically, especially when it comes to PTSD, panic attacks and anxiety. Yet I think it’s okay that psychologists mainly focus on the psychological aspects instead of letting the medical doctors rush in and focus on the biological aspects, like they do with depression with their anti-depressants that don’t actually work. I still love Read and Moncrieff (2022) for their brilliant work against the biomedical model for depression. Anyway, the real point of this episode is two-fold. Firstly, we all need to become aware, appreciative and acknowledge that psychological trauma has a physical impact. Secondly, we need to pressure medical settings to realise psychological trauma impacts physical health and if we want to save lives, improve the physical health of clients and decrease cardiovascular-related health problems that cost medical settings a lot of money each year. Then psychologists and medical doctors need to work together as equal partners to help tackle the physical aspects of trauma. Awareness is always a good first step towards change. Ultimately, I’ve mentioned on the podcast a lot of times how trauma is common in society, and I am a total fan-person of the trauma-informed approaches  that we are starting to shift towards in clinical psychology. Therefore, if we fail to appreciate the physiological impact that psychological trauma has on a person then not only are we negatively impacting the physical health of our clients but we could be risking major public health consequences with an increase in cardiovascular-related deaths. Something we have to avoid at all costs.   I really hope you enjoyed today’s clinical psychology podcast episode. If you want to learn more, please check out: FREE 8 PSYCHOLOGY BOOK BOXSET Biological Psychology . Available from all major eBook retailers and you can order the paperback and hardback copies from Amazon, your local bookstore and local library, if you request it. Also available as an AI-narrated audiobook from selected audiobook platforms and library systems. For example, Kobo, Spotify, Barnes and Noble, Google Play, Overdrive, Baker and Taylor and Bibliotheca. Patreon for exclusive access and rewards Have a great day. Biological Psychology References and Further Reading Babaie, J., Naghipour, B., & Faridaalaee, G. (2021). Cardiovascular diseases in natural disasters; a systematic review. Archives of academic emergency medicine, 9(1). Edmondson, D., & von Känel, R. (2017). Post-traumatic stress disorder and cardiovascular disease. The lancet. Psychiatry, 4(4), 320–329. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2215-0366(16)30377-7 Fenster, R. J., Lebois, L. A., Ressler, K. J., & Suh, J. (2018). Brain circuit dysfunction in post-traumatic stress disorder: from mouse to man. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 19(9), 535-551. Galli, F., Lai, C., Gregorini, T., Ciacchella, C., & Carugo, S. (2021, July). Psychological traumas and cardiovascular disease: a case-control study. In Healthcare (Vol. 9, No. 7, p. 875). MDPI. Lei, M. K., Beach, S. R., & Simons, R. L. (2018). Childhood trauma, pubertal timing, and cardiovascular risk in adulthood. Health Psychology, 37(7), 613. Read, J., & Moncrieff, J. (2022). Depression: Why drugs and electricity are not the answer. Psychological Medicine, 52(8), 1401-1410. Noble, N. C., Merker, J. B., Webber, T. K., Ressler, K. J., & Seligowski, A. V. (2023). PTSD and depression severity are associated with cardiovascular disease symptoms in trauma-exposed women. European Journal of Psychotraumatology, 14(2), 2234810. O’Donnell, C. J., Longacre, L. S., Cohen, B. E., Fayad, Z. A., Gillespie, C. F., Liberzon, I., ... & Stein, M. B. (2021). Posttraumatic stress disorder and cardiovascular disease: state of the science, knowledge gaps, and research opportunities. JAMA cardiology, 6(10), 1207-1216. Perryman, K., Blisard, P., & Moss, R. (2019). Using creative arts in trauma therapy: The neuroscience of healing. Journal of Mental Health Counseling, 41(1), 80-94. Ressler, K. J., Berretta, S., Bolshakov, V. Y., Rosso, I. M., Meloni, E. G., Rauch, S. L., & Carlezon Jr, W. A. (2022). Post-traumatic stress disorder: clinical and translational neuroscience from cells to circuits. Nature Reviews Neurology, 18(5), 273-288. Wisco, B. E., Nomamiukor, F. O., Marx, B. P., Krystal, J. H., Southwick, S. M., & Pietrzak, R. H. (2022). Posttraumatic stress disorder in US military veterans: Results from the 2019–2020 National Health and Resilience in Veterans Study. The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 83(2), 39779. I truly hope that you’ve enjoyed this blog post and if you feel like supporting the blog on an ongoing basis and get lots of rewards, then please head to my Patreon  page. However, if want to show one-time support and appreciation, the place to do that is PayPal. If you do that, please include your email address in the notes section, so I can say thank you. Which I am going to say right now. Thank you! Click  https://www.buymeacoffee.com/connorwhiteley  for a one-time bit of support.

Whenever you watch a crime drama, mystery film or read a mystery book, the role of expert witnesses are critical to the criminal justice system. Psychologists, be it clinical psychologists or forensic psychologists, are important examples of expert witnesses that the prosecution and defence draw on to strengthen their cases. Therefore, in this forensic psychology podcast episode, you’ll learn about what is an expert witness, how does a psychologist act and testify as an expert witness and more. If you enjoy learning about the criminal justice system, applied psychology and how psychologists have a real-world impact then this is a great episode for you. Today’s psychology podcast episode has been sponsored by Police Psychology: A Forensic Psychology Guide To Police Behaviour . Available from all major eBook retailers and you can order the paperback and hardback copies from Amazon, your local bookstore and local library, if you request it. Also available as an AI-narrated audiobook from selected audiobook platforms and library systems. For example, Kobo, Spotify, Barnes and Noble, Google Play, Overdrive, Baker and Taylor and Bibliotheca. What Is An Expert Witness? Expert witnesses help to educate jurors as well as judges in criminal and civil cases about certain topics. For example, when the R. Kelly case went to trial where he was accused of sexual violence, sexual exploitation and coercive control, it raised a lot of questions within society that ultimately impacted the jury’s ability to understand what was going on in the case. For example, people couldn’t understand how R. Kelly had managed to persuade his victims to stay in his home, sometimes this went on for years. Therefore, both sides of a legal battle are likely to bring in expert witnesses because they help to strengthen their case. In addition, expert witnesses can base their testimony on scientific, technical or specialised knowledge. As a result, when it comes to domestic abuse cases, expert witnesses (like a psychologist) help jurors and judges to understand that domestic abuse isn’t caused by the victim’s actions, mental health conditions, anger, substance abuse or jealousy. Personally, I think one of the most important aspects or roles of expert witnesses is that they help the court to understand what victims-survivors do to survive. This thankfully helps the victims from being blamed or pathologized for the consequences of the abuse. Since if we take my own sexual assault for example, even though I’ve never reported it to the police (around 90% of sexual violence survivors do the same as me), I can manage a defence solicitor would try to paint me as a so-called “crazy” unstable person because of my panic attacks, PTSD and intense social anxiety that my trauma caused. Thankfully, expert witnesses made that argument null-void and it helps survivors get the justice they deserve instead of being blamed and discredited for their trauma. As I always say, trauma responses are normal reactions to extremely abnormal situations. Furthermore, for a psychologist to become an expert witness, a judge reviews the expert’s credentials and then the judge agrees to admit their testimony into evidence before the expert witness is allowed to speak. Then the lawyer who engaged the expert, questions them first then the other lawyer gets to cross-examine. Finally for this section, an expert witness (like a psychologist) can testify in two different ways. Firstly, they can testify in case-specific ways. This means the expert witnesses write a report and often testify to the facts of a specific case. Then the psychologist reviews the associated material, this can include medical or police reports, psychological evaluations, guardian ad litem reports, relevant photographs or records of text as well as court documents. Then the psychologist might conduct a domestic violence / coercive control interview and assessment with the alleged victim. The final way is for an expert witness to testify according to general expertise. Which is when an expert doesn’t know that much about the specific case but they testify about domestic abuse or whatever the case is about more generally. In terms of the lawyers, the lawyer can still ask “what if” or hypothetical questions that show how the information might pertain to the case currently on trial. Personally, I remember watching the Depp vs Amber Heard case and Elizabeth Loftus was an expert witness I think. Therefore, even if you’re a very academically focused psychologist, you can still become an expert witness if you want (and no I don’t know how you build yourself up to an expert witness) because of your research area. For example, Elizabeth Loftus is a legendary researcher when it comes to memory so she gets called in as an expert witness to testify on memory, and false memories. Let’s explore these two types of testimony in a little more depth. How Might Psychologists Be Used In Case-Specific Testimony? If a psychologist becomes an expert witness to give case-specific testimony then the psychologist can discuss a range of topics on the stand and under oath. For instance, the possible cultural influences on the case, the specific coercive control and domestic abuse tactics used by the abuser, the different ways the survivor tried to moderate the abuse so the survivor could protect themselves and maybe others. Also, a psychologist can talk about the “natural history” of the couple from the time they met until the present day. Since news flash, abuse rarely happens automatically in domestic violence and coercive control cases. In addition, psychologists can discuss with judges and juries, the impact of the abuse on children and other family members, as well as the medical, psychological and financial impact of the abuse on the survivor. Also, the psychologist can talk about what they found after doing a domestic violence/ coercive control assessment on the survivor and they can give recommendations for custody and visitation. And a psychologist can discuss the validity of previous evaluations and assessments by other professionals. Personally, I know I got this idea from TV so I know it doesn’t really happen in real life, but I would flat out love to be in a courtroom when a psychologist is ripping to shreds the evaluation and assessment done by a previous professional. I don’t know why I would like that, but I think it would be interesting to see. How Might Psychologists Be Used In General Expertise Testimony? Whereas if a psychologist becomes an expert witness and they’re called to give general expertise testimony then there’s a good chance, they’ll help the court understand the definitions of the issue and explanations as to why they occur. Such as, what is domestic violence and why domestic violence occurs. Also, the psychologist can help the court understand the research on coercive control as well as domestic violence, and explanations as to why a victim might lie, recant their statement or comply with, stay or defend the abuser. In addition, psychologists can teach the judge and jury about the impact of trauma on child and adult witnesses and victims, how abuse can change in severity and frequency over time, and the consequences that victims face when they try to protect themselves or their children. As well as psychologists can teach them about the beliefs, characteristics, tactics, behaviours and motivations of offenders. Ultimately, you can think of psychologists in general expertise as mythbusters. I see expert witnesses as helping the jury to realise a lot of the things that they’ve heard about abuse, sexual violence and victims are wrong because of the myths we’ve created for ourselves in society. For example, the disgusting myth that if a woman was actually raped she would fight back and never stay with her attacker. Psychologists are critical for dispelling these myths. How Might Psychologists Or Other Expert Witnesses Be Used In Civil Cases? Whilst like everyone, my mind only thinks of psychologists acting as expert witnesses in criminal cases, they are sometimes used in civil cases. For example, when it comes to pre-and post-nuptial agreements or other contracts, an expert witness can evaluate whether this contract was signed under coercion and if this is the case, then the contract should be set aside. In other words, it should be ignored by the law. And as someone who has a minor interest in contract law that is a very interesting idea. Another way how psychologists and other expert opinions can be used in civil cases is in immigration cases. Since it’s often the case that a domestic abuse survivor’s immigration case tied to their partner or an asylum seeker needs relief from deportation because they face domestic homicide or another violent fate if they’re sent home. So expert witnesses can be useful in these cases for different reasons. Thirdly, divorce cases can require expert witnesses to help the court understand the need to protect survivors from custody or divorce agreements that would enable further abuse or put them at even more risk. As well as civil benefit cases are another type where expert witnesses are useful, because during divorce proceedings, a survivor might be scared to talk about their right to half of their abuser’s assets or retirement pay. Therefore, an expert witness can help a survivor recover these benefits even after a time has passed. Sometimes long after the divorce proceedings. Penultimately, in tort cases, expert witnesses can help survivors sue their abuser for the damages that have occurred over time. This is a tricky one because this is only applicable in certain jurisdictions and expert witnesses, like psychologists, are useful for explaining how the harm of the abuse can be established as a basis for compensation. Similarly, expert witnesses are useful for educating juries on why abusers might file constant court petitions to harass, control and improvise their victim. These types of cases are called litigation abuse or vexatious abuse. Lastly, expert witnesses can be seen in family court during custody and visitation discussions. Since an expert can describe to the judge the evidence of domestic abuse and explain the victim’s survival behaviours. As well as when this is relevant the expert witness can offer a fact-based opinion about any potential danger there is to the child or children if the abuser gains custody or unsupervised visitation rights. Also, experts can counter any claims of “parental alienation syndrome” where the abuser’s lawyers try to wrest custody away from a protective parent. Forensic Psychology Conclusion Part of me would love to become an expert witness in the future, I’ve thought that years and whilst I admit I might have an idealised version of the life of an expert witness, I still think it would be fun. Yet between my child trauma, my sexual violence experience and my stutter at times which is made worse by stress, not including my PTSD, I don’t think this is something in my future. I seriously don’t. However, it’s still important that we learn about things in psychology careers, even if we don’t think we could do it because something might change in the future. Then that dismissed career option might become more appealing and exciting again. Overall, when a court needs a psychologist to help testify whether through general expertise or case-specific expertise. We’re still needed to help educate judges and jurors to dispel myths and misconceptions that could impact the case. Ultimately, expert witnesses, and this can include psychologists at times, are needed to testify at grand jury hearings, trials, plea negotiations, sentencing, parole hearings and clemency hearings without being “on” a side. Due to expert witnesses are simply there to tell the truth and educate people, we aren’t there to fight for a side. Expert witnesses are such a fundamental part of our criminal justice system. I am the last person who would ever say the criminal justice system is fair, but I firmly believe that expert witnesses and us telling the truth and educating judges and juries, we help to bring the system just a little closer to that lofty ideal. And that is a win and just another way how psychology helps to make the world a better place. One small step at a time.     I really hope you enjoyed today’s clinical psychology podcast episode. If you want to learn more, please check out: FREE 8 PSYCHOLOGY BOOK BOXSET Police Psychology: A Forensic Psychology Guide To Police Behaviour . Available from all major eBook retailers and you can order the paperback and hardback copies from Amazon, your local bookstore and local library, if you request it. Also available as an AI-narrated audiobook from selected audiobook platforms and library systems. For example, Kobo, Spotify, Barnes and Noble, Google Play, Overdrive, Baker and Taylor and Bibliotheca. Patreon for exclusive access and rewards Have a great day. Forensic Psychology References and Further Reading Alceste, F., J Luke, T., D Redlich, A., Hellgren, J., D Amrom, A., & M Kassin, S. (2021). The psychology of confessions: A comparison of expert and lay opinions. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 35(1), 39-51. https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/blog/invisible-chains/202108/expert-witnesses-in-domestic-violence-and-coercive-control Lubet, S., & Boals, E. I. (2020). Expert testimony: A guide for expert witnesses and the lawyers who examine them. Aspen Publishing. Vredeveldt, A., van Rosmalen, E. A., Van Koppen, P. J., Dror, I. E., & Otgaar, H. (2022). Legal psychologists as experts: guidelines for minimizing bias. Psychology, Crime & Law, 1-25. I truly hope that you’ve enjoyed this blog post and if you feel like supporting the blog on an ongoing basis and get lots of rewards, then please head to my Patreon  page. However, if want to show one-time support and appreciation, the place to do that is PayPal. If you do that, please include your email address in the notes section, so I can say thank you. Which I am going to say right now. Thank you! Click  https://www.buymeacoffee.com/connorwhiteley  for a one-time bit of support.