psychology

Sarah Baker at age 6, two years before her mother died (Courtesy)

When My Mother Died: A Story Of 'Incomplete Mourning'

I now know I had never fully experienced the pain and sorrow of my grief. Thirty-eight years after my mother’s death, I was standing at the kitchen sink in my...

Local Coverage

Jun 19, 2015

From The Eating Lab: Diets Don't Work, But Why?

Our brains are hardwired to want food for survival, she explains, so restricting calories creates a psychological stress response, which facilitates weight gain, not loss.

Local Coverage

May 28, 2015

A woman who'd planned a homebirth but ended up having a cesarean in the hospital. (Photo courtesy: Courtney Jarecki)

What To Expect When You're Birthing At Home: A Hospital C-Section (Possibly)

The term “homebirth cesarean” didn’t exist before 2011 when Oregon mother and student midwife Courtney Jarecki coined it. But now a Google search returns almost 2,000 entries on the topic.

Local Coverage

Mar 20, 2015

In Memory: A Fat Kid's Love For Mr. Spock

Like all good fictional characters, Spock’s challenges pose profound and fundamental questions for humanity. What is normal? Do we have to choose how to behave or can we just be...

Local Coverage

Mar 3, 2015

A train stuck in snow in 1881, the ferocious winter Laura Ingalls Wilder wrote about. Note the man standing on top for scale. (Minnesota Historical Society on Wikimedia Commons)

10 Bits Of Blizzard Therapy From Laura Ingalls Wilder's 'The Long Winter'

Boston is buried under record snow but this epic winter is nothing compared to the ordeals described in Laura Ingalls Wilder's book "The Long Winter" -- and that harrowing prairie...

Local Coverage

Feb 16, 2015

A Miracle Drug For Binge Eating? Not So Fast, Says Therapist

Whether or not Vyvanse is the answer to America’s obesity epidemic, it’s no antidote to the issues fueling binge-eating disorder.

Local Coverage

Feb 10, 2015

Source: “Stress in America,” American Psychological Association

Rich Get Richer, Poor Get More Stress: Report Finds Growing Gap In Levels

A new report finds that while stress levels used to be fairly equal between lower-income and higher-income Americans, now that gap is growing and lower income people face significantly more...

Local Coverage

Feb 4, 2015

Artist Evelyn Berde's "July 12, 1956" (Courtesy Berde)

How Art Can Re-Order A Harsh, 'Deformed' Childhood

Alcoholism ran in the family and Evelyn's brother drowned in the Charles River when he was nine and she was just six. Evelyn was subjected to numerous surgeries and procedures...

Local Coverage

Jan 16, 2015

Beyond Carb-Cutting: Resolutions After A Trauma — Sleep, Play, Love

Last year at this time, my New Year's resolutions revolved around carbs, and eating fewer of them. This year, after my husband's death, carbs are the least of my worries.

Local Coverage

Jan 2, 2015

Boundary Crossing: When Doctors And Patients Get Personal For Better Health

It is our belief that by highlighting the humanity of both individuals in the relationship, the patient-doctor bond can be strengthened, with increased satisfaction all around.

Local Coverage

Jan 1, 2015

New Year's Resolutions: How To Keep Them Alive

A new study from the University of Scranton finds that 45 percent of us make New Years Resolutions--and almost 90 percent of us fail at keeping them. So what can...

Local Coverage

Jan 1, 2015

Happy Holidays! (Courtesy of Gene Beresin)

'Tis The Season Of Stress: 10 Tips To Help You Cope

A sure formula for depression, demoralization and upset is setting standards too high for the holidays. No dinner is perfect; something breaks; someone triggers an old family fight. This is...

Local Coverage

Dec 23, 2014

A hostage runs to armed tactical response police officers for safety after she escaped from a cafe under siege at Martin Place. (Rob Griffith/AP)

The Psychological Aftermath Of The Sydney Siege

The Sydney hostages survived a terrifying 16-hour siege. Now they will begin an entirely different psychological experience -- that of healing.

Local Coverage

Dec 15, 2014

Jimmy Wales, founder of WIkipedia (Robert Huffstutter/flickr)

Harvard Doc To Wikipedia: You're Not Playing Fair On Alternative Trauma Therapy

There's a struggle underway between old and new paradigms that offer competing explanations of the nature of health, illness and consciousness.

Local Coverage

Nov 28, 2014

Instead Of Therapy, Put A Little Thanksgiving Into Regular Family Dinners

As a mental health provider, I sometimes feel I'd go out of business if families just had regular dinners with one another.

Local Coverage

Nov 27, 2014

Evan Blick, a veteran of the Iraq war, now works with other vets struggling with mental health problems. (Courtesy)

Silent Wars: Helping Vets Fight Mental Health Battles At Home

Among the veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, between 11 and 20 percent are diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder each year; however, about 50 percent of them do not seek...

Local Coverage

Nov 11, 2014

Studies: It May Be Better For Kids Who Are Overweight Not To Know It

New studies find that overweight teens who think their weight is fine tend to gain less weight and get less depressed than kids who are overweight and know it --...

Local Coverage

Nov 7, 2014

After A Death, Should We Get A Dog? Brain Study Signals 'Yes'

In a small study, the brains of mothers were scanned while they were looking at images of their own children and their dogs. Researchers found that similar areas of the...

Local Coverage

Nov 7, 2014

Ann Carroll fits nodes to Sarah Beth Spitzer’s forehead in preparation for transcranial direct current stimulation testing at the Center for Brain Research at Harvard. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)

Beyond Good And Evil: New Science Casts Light On Morality In The Brain

New brain science teases out -- and can even alter -- some of the biological underpinnings of our choices to do good deeds or bad, of our judgments of what's...

Local Coverage

09:28Aug 7, 2014

U.S. Soldiers depart Forward Operating Base Baylough, Afghanistan, June 16, 2010, to conduct a patrol. (Photo: Staff Sgt. William Tremblay, U.S. Army/Released)

'Did You Ever Kill Anyone?' 5 Things Not To Say To A Veteran

In advance of our most patriotic holiday, a brief guide for speaking with post-9/11 veterans -- five things not to say (Do you have PTSD? Really, did you kill anyone?)...

Local Coverage

Jun 27, 2014

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When My Mother Died: A Story Of 'Incomplete Mourning'

From The Eating Lab: Diets Don't Work, But Why?

What To Expect When You're Birthing At Home: A Hospital C-Section (Possibly)

In Memory: A Fat Kid's Love For Mr. Spock

10 Bits Of Blizzard Therapy From Laura Ingalls Wilder's 'The Long Winter'

A Miracle Drug For Binge Eating? Not So Fast, Says Therapist

Rich Get Richer, Poor Get More Stress: Report Finds Growing Gap In Levels

How Art Can Re-Order A Harsh, 'Deformed' Childhood

Beyond Carb-Cutting: Resolutions After A Trauma — Sleep, Play, Love

Boundary Crossing: When Doctors And Patients Get Personal For Better Health

New Year's Resolutions: How To Keep Them Alive

'Tis The Season Of Stress: 10 Tips To Help You Cope

The Psychological Aftermath Of The Sydney Siege

Harvard Doc To Wikipedia: You're Not Playing Fair On Alternative Trauma Therapy

Instead Of Therapy, Put A Little Thanksgiving Into Regular Family Dinners

Silent Wars: Helping Vets Fight Mental Health Battles At Home

Studies: It May Be Better For Kids Who Are Overweight Not To Know It

After A Death, Should We Get A Dog? Brain Study Signals 'Yes'

Beyond Good And Evil: New Science Casts Light On Morality In The Brain

'Did You Ever Kill Anyone?' 5 Things Not To Say To A Veteran