PinnedMember-onlyThe Truth About Video Games and Mass KillingsIt’s more complicated than you think (excerpted from my book The Minds of Mass Killers: Understanding and Interrupting The Pathway to Violence (McFarland, 2021). Mass killings have been blamed on violent video games since the Columbine murders in 1999. The idea is a simple one: ban violent video games and…Psychology8 min readPsychology8 min read
PinnedMember-onlyStress is a killerYou’ve likely got more going on than you realize (Excerpt from my book The Minds of Mass Killers: Understanding and Interrupting the Pathway to Violence. The holidays bring incredible stress for many people due to unhappy/unhealthy family dynamics, financial limitations, and unrealistic expectations.) We can be too quick to diagnose…Stress3 min readStress3 min read
PinnedMember-onlyConspiracy Thinking May Kill Us AllWhat You Need to Know About the Conspiracy Mindset (The following is a condensed excerpt from the chapter on conspiracism in my recent book The Minds of Mass Killers: Understanding and Interrupting the Pathway to Violence). Conspiracy stories surround us. The tales have gotten stranger and stranger over time: alien…Psychology9 min readPsychology9 min read
PinnedMember-onlyChildhood Trauma Changes the BrainConsequences can be hard to overcome, but there is hope The following is excerpted from my book The Minds of Mass Killers: Understanding and Interrupting the Pathway to Violence (McFarland, 2021). Available through all booksellers. How the brain adapts to trauma The fight/flight response is the nervous system’s natural response…Psychology3 min readPsychology3 min read
Jul 29, 2020Member-onlyEssentiaThe fog is soft with a glow smelling of kelp and eucalyptus the kind of wet that dampens your hair and requires a jacket.Poetry1 min readPoetry1 min read
Published in The Cotton Thread·Feb 4, 2020Member-onlyWhat’s That White-Hot Light?Or, Midnight on FacebookFacebook1 min readFacebook1 min read
Published in P.S. I Love You·Dec 29, 2019Member-onlyShe Stands TallThe road no longer stretches out before her, it’s soft visions from behind that occupy her mind. In her dreams she’s 16 tawny hair whipping in the breeze, on the back of a roan colored horse who loves to gallop. Or 26, with three children two girls and a boy, peddling…Death2 min readDeath2 min read
Published in P.S. I Love You·Dec 6, 2019Member-onlyYour Kids Will Find Their Own Path — Relax and Let Them Be“Support your children in finding their own path — even if turns out to be different than what you had in mind,” says this therapist. — The eighteen-year-old young woman hunched forward on the sofa in my office. Tears spilled down her cheeks, leaving muddy streaks of mascara beneath both eyes. “I can’t disappoint my parents no matter how much I hate it here,” she said. “I’m stuck at this school. …Mental Health6 min readMental Health6 min read
Published in The Wise Heart·Nov 9, 2019Member-onlyCold Methodical Killers: The Psychology of Mass ShootersAnd how to stop them before they kill — Ihave been a psychotherapist for 30 years, and during that time I’ve worked as a specialist in forensics. Studying what motivates murderers has been a large part of my work. While no two killers are exactly the same, it’s important to know that human behavior tends to follow recognizable patterns…Gun Violence5 min readGun Violence5 min read
Published in The Cotton Thread·Oct 20, 2019Member-onlyFallingI’m aware of the irony that the most beautiful time of year is when the leaves are dying, just before they fall.Poetry1 min readPoetry1 min read
