Episodes

In this show, Dr. Frank McAndrew, social psychologist and the Cornelia H. Dudley Professor of Psychology at Knox College, takes on the questions many of us have pondered-Why do we pay to be scared by horror movies? Why do stories of Hunted Houses persist and intrigue us? What makes clowns loveable to some and terrifying to others? Are some people more likely to see ghosts than others? As someone who has studied and researched aspects of creepiness and horror, Dr. McAndrew offers a perspective yo...

In the midst of the COVID-19 Pandemic, the world is grieving. Families are suffering the traumatic loss of loved ones. Medical professionals grieve for patients they felt responsible to heal. First Responders, caregivers, teachers, adults and children carry the grief of a world of people lost suddenly to an unknown virus. In this episode, Dr. Joanne Cacciatore’s personal and professional understanding of how to “bear the unbearable,” of how to open a space to process, integrate and deeply honor ...

In face of the Covid-19 Pandemic, the teens are home and the college kids have returned. The nest is full and challenges to clash and opportunities for connection keep unfolding. In this episode, Dr. John Duffy, clinical psychologist, best-selling author, parenting and relationship expert, addresses the issues many are facing: How do parents cope with their kids’ emotional reactions, day-to-day needs, their own jobs and their own relationship? How do teens cope when rites of passage have been ca...

In this show, Dr.Rebecca Hershberg, author of The Tantrum Survival Guide, returns to Psych Up live to consider ways to foster resilience in children during Covid-19. She answers the questions that parents have been holding – How will my children remember this time in their lives? Will it be experienced as traumatic? What do I say when my 6 year old asks if Grandpa will die or when will we have play dates again? How can I juggle my job, the kids, the pets and decontaminating the mail? How do I an...

In this show, host Dr. Suzanne Phillips joins her colleagues, Drs. Molyn Leszcz and Craig Haen, from the American Group Psychotherapy Association to support resilience and foster stress reduction in medical and mental health professionals facing the Corona Pandemic. The world watches with gratitude as medical health professionals work tirelessly to care for Covid patients despite supply shortages, fatigue, and fear of infection. New and existing patients turn to Mental Health Professionals to he...

The amount of stress worldwide is at an all-time high as the Corona Virus spreads. Self-Care and understanding alternative ways of easing pain are important. This show takes a close look at the varied forms of Alternative Medicine from Energy Medicine, Acupuncture, Chiropractic to religious belief, embraced by millions seeking relief for chronic pain, digestive disorders, fibromyalgia etc. Our guest author, Melanie Warner draws upon her important new book, The Magic Feather Effect: The Science o...

In this show, Dr. Diane Ehrensaft, expert in gender research and clinical work, offers parents and professionals an insider understanding of Gender Expansive Children -The little boy who insists he is a girl, the teen who identifies as non-binary – both male and female. The author of The Gender Creative Child and Gender Born, Gender Made, Dr. Ehrensaft clarifies the difference between gender and assigned sex at birth and explains how threads of nature, nurture and culture weave for each of us a ...

In a culture of teen cyberbullying, claims of fake news, political digital trolling, hacked accounts, cyber-staking and revenge porn, this show invites us to consider our online exposure. In this episode, Dr. Sheri Bauman, author of the new book, Political Cyberbullying: Perpetrators and Targets of a New Digital Aggression, looks closely at the digital world we inhabit and the reality of the negativity and dangers we face. She discusses causes of cyber-aggression, the impact of high-status celeb...

While this is a culture in which most kids have been exposed to images of sexuality in social media, series, advertisements and even porn from early ages, most teens have difficulty speaking about sex or really understanding how to negotiate anything from changes in their own body to sexual attraction to somebody else. Studies reveal that parents speaking to their children plays an important role in their children’s understanding and sexual decision making but it is not easy for parents to speak...

In this episode, Dr. John Violanti, psychologist, researcher and retired 23-year police veteran draws upon his important book, Police Suicide: A Blue Epidemic, ( 2nd Ed.

Have you ever wondered why your efforts at work aren’t generating sales or despite your efforts to lead a volunteer group, the results are less than expected? In this episode, Anne Corley Baum, a Senior Lehigh Executive and the author of “ Small Mistakes, Big Consequences: Develop Your Soft Skills to Help You Succeed,” draws upon her business experience and leadership development programs to offer new perspective and usable “ soft skills” to improve success. She invites us to consider overlooked...

What happens when an esteemed psychologist-psychoanalyst writes a suspense novel? You have a thriller you can’t put down. In this episode Dr. Deborah Serani, award winning author of Living with Depression, Depression and Your Child” and Depression in Later Life” returns to Psych Up Live to discuss her award winning psychological suspense novel, The Ninth Session. In this faced paced novel, Dr. Serani brings the reader right into the psychologist’s office, giving access to a treatment process tha...

Against the frenzy of Holiday Shopping with Promotions, Sales, Countdowns, and Pop Up Deals for Only You, this podcast addresses the why and how of shopping addiction. Drs. Jean Petrucelli and Ricardo Rieppi, experienced psychoanalysts with teaching and writing expertise in the field of addiction and compulsion, offer an extraordinary look at shopping addiction. They examine the emotionally charged topic of money and its role in shopping addiction. They consider conscious and unconscious factors...

In this episode, Dr. Pauline Boss, esteemed scientist practitioner who coined the term 'Ambiguous Loss,' discusses the meaning of Ambiguous Loss and how it differs from other losses. Drawing upon powerful examples, Dr. Boss discusses physical ambiguous loss and psychological ambiguous loss due to dementia from disease, brain injury etc. She clarifies that Ambiguous Loss is not a result of pathology, but rather the ambiguity of the circumstances of loss. Using examples like the families of 9-11 s...

An eighteen year old is charged with the lethal stabbing of a 17 year old boy,who he believed was dating an x-girlfriend. The typical age range for a gang member is 12–24 years old.

In this show, Barbara Natterson-Horowitz, MD, visiting professor in the Department of Human Evolutionary Biology at Harvard University and Kathryn Bowers, Science Journalist, draw upon their new book, Wildhood: The Epic Journey From Adolescence to Adulthood in Humans and Other Animals, to share their five year study of adolescence across species. What they find is as startling as it is important. Adolescents, be they the teens in our homes, or the animals across the globe, reveal striking simila...

In the wake of the “Me Too” movement and the upsurge in both feminist and men’s rights activism, traditional masculinity has become the topic of impassioned debate. In this episode psychologist and author, Dr. Andrew Smiler draws upon his new book, Is Masculinity Toxic? A Primer for the 21st Century to discuss all aspects of that question . He examines evolving definitions of masculinity and their changes over decades. He considers, ‘Male Power To Harm,’ dissecting the societal impacts of bullyi...

If you are human, it is likely that you have hurt and been hurt by others. What may be less likely is knowing how to find a road to reconciliation or addressing the reality that reconciliation may not be instantly possible or possible at all. In this episode, Keith Wilson, licensed mental health counselor draws upon his years of clinical experience and his book, The Road to Reconciliation: A Comprehensive Guide to Peace when Relationships Go Bad, to offer an understanding of the pitfalls and pos...

In this Episode Julie Potiker, Mindfulness Expert and author of Life Falls Apart, but You Don’t Have To: Mindful Methods for Staying Calm in the Midst of Chaos, shares her own experience with depression and credits the power of therapy and her commitment to mindfulness techniques to changing her life. Recognizing that it’s easy to let the stresses of daily life overwhelm and send us into unhelpful thought patterns, Julie’s goal is to empower adults, teens and kids with tools and tips that will i...

In an earlier show on Psych Up Live, Law Professor Sarah Rogerson discussed the legal ramifications of the Immigration Crisis. In this show, Dr. Hawthorne Smith, licensed psychologist and Clinical Director of the Bellevue/NYU Program for Survivors of Torture for over 15 years, discusses the psychological impact of Zero Tolerance on Immigrants. As a clinician providing services for immigrants for many years he knows about the violence they have fled, the impact of detention, the terror of ICE rai...

This episode looks closely at today’s adolescent girls. Guests, Dr. Mary Pipher and Sara Pipher Gilliam draw upon their new updated version of Reviving Ophelia: Saving the Selves of Adolescents Girls, to compare the teenage girls of the 1990’s with the middle though high school girls of today. Using Focus Groups of girls and mothers, interviews with teachers and guidance counselors, the latest research, as well as feedback from today’s girls on the original book, they consider what challenges, n...

Regardless of political perspective, it is difficult for anyone to grasp the reality or the implications of the Immigration Crisis today. Are there any routes to citizenship? Is a working visa a possibility? Can a person still seek asylum in the US? How many children remain separated from parents? What ever happened to the Dreamers? How many of those in the caravans remain in Mexico? Sarah Rogerson, Clinical Professor of Law at Albany Law School, and Director of the Immigration Law Clinic at Alb...

Whether you are a seasoned psychoanalyst, group therapist or someone interested in how and why psychoanalysis works and how psychoanalytic thinking has expanded – You have to hear Dr. Robert Grossmark. Drawing upon his new book, The Unobtrusive Relational Analyst, he discusses his work with patients who formerly would be considered unsuitable for psychoanalytic treatment. These are patients whose behavior in the session or the group often enact the trauma they never had the words to share. Drawi...

When we consider the definition of shame we often compare it to Guilt. Commonly, it is thought that we feel guilt for something we have done that is unacceptable; but with shame, we feel that we are unacceptable. In this episode Dr. Joe Burgo expands the formal definition of Toxic Shame discussed by John Bradshaw as the result of unspeakable child abuse or the oppressive force of social shame addressed by Brene’ Brown. Drawing upon his new book, Shame: Free Yourself, Find Joy and Build True Self...