How to Spot Projection: Are Those Their Feelings, or Yours?

Freud was the first to explain this concept. Dr. Sigmund Freud, a neurologist, is the father of psychoanalysis and first identified the concept of “projection.”Source: Photo by Max Halberstadt via Christies (Wikipedia/Public Domain) by Sue Kolod, Ph.D. This post is in honor of Dr. Sigmund Freud on the occasion of the 165th anniversary of his birth. In … Read more

Vaccine Hesitancy: Can We Talk?

Difficult conversations require having respect, empathy, and patience. By Sue Kolod, Ph.D.  Source: Prostock-Studio / Shutterstock After months of isolation due to the Covid-19 pandemic, things are seeming a bit more “normal” as people get vaccines, with Public health officials stressing that COVID-19 vaccines are the best hope for achieving this new normal. But, there’s a “but.” … Read more

“Mrs. America” Depicts Betty Friedan’s Achilles’ Heel

Tracey Ullman’s brilliant portrait of Betty Friedan in the FX series, Mrs. America features a real-life debate between Friedan and Phyllis Schlafly. Watching it led me to re-assess an interview I did of Friedan for a 2005 conference when she was 84 years old. In addition to her seminal bestseller, The Feminine Mystique (1963), which galvanized the Women’s Liberation Movement, Friedan … Read more

Psychological Responses to Quarantine: What to Expect and Do

It happened so fast. We watched with horror as COVID-19 spread first in China, South Korea, Italy and then all over Europe. Now it is here in the US and many have opted to self-quarantine — even those who are asymptomatic. How should we expect to respond psychologically and what can we learn from those who … Read more

Sex and Body Image Advice for Older Women:How you feel about your body may be more important than how you look

Some say that women’s bodies become invisible after a certain age. Jennifer Lopez, who is 50, challenged this notion at her recent Super Bowl performance. She portrayed a sexy and confident woman, appearing to have a healthy relationship with her body and sexuality. The performance evoked envy, praise, and criticism. A New York Times op-ed raised alarm that her … Read more

Racism Experienced In Childhood Lasts a Lifetime

Source: Shutterstock/Rido By Susan Kolod, Ph.D. In the musical, Guys and Dolls, Adelaide reads a psychoanalytically tinged medical textbook and concludes, “In other words, just from waiting around for that plain little band of gold, a person can develop a cold.” This is the basic tenet of somatic medicine: intense negative emotion can cause physical … Read more

Why Am I So Anal?

It’s all about anxiety. Source: Kaspars Grinvalds/Shutterstock By Susan Kolod, Ph.D. Patients often ask, “Why am I so anal”? Or, “Why is my partner, friend, parent, boss so anal?” Where does this term come from and what exactly does it mean? The psychological usage of this term was coined by Sigmund Freud, born 163 years … Read more

Why Do People Lie to Their Therapists?

There are 4 reasons people typically lie to their therapist Source: wavebreakmedia/Shutterstock Why would someone lie to their therapist? That’s totally counterproductive, right? You’re paying for it, so what would be the point? However, according to a study published in 2016 in Counseling Psychology Quarterly, of 547 adult psychotherapy clients, 93 percent reported lying to … Read more