

Subject Index ***Send COMMENTS about this website*** ABD, defined Abortion, and PTSD Abortion, and trauma of fragmentation Abortion, trauma support Abuse, child: see Child abuse Abuse, childhood, support groups for Abuse, distinguished from punishment Abuse, substance-related Abusive lovers Accident trauma Accreditation of professional psychology programs Acting out, adolescent Acting Out (defense mechanism) Activism, social Acute Stress Disorder Addictions Addiction, sexual Address, Dr. Richmond ADHD Adjustment Disorder Adolescent identity Adolescent loneliness Adolescent risk taking Adolescent violence Aerodynamics Affection, physical, in families Affiliations, Dr. Richmond Agency needs placed above client needs Aggression, psychological cause of Agoraphobia AIDS Aircraft flight, facts about Alexithymia Alliance, therapeutic Altitude sickness Amnesia, dissociative Amputation, and anxiety Anal personality Analytical psychology of Carl Jung Anarchy Anger, as cause of illness Anger at a therapist Anger at God Anger, in families Anger, managing Anger, repressed, and depression Anger, and the victim mentality Anima / animus Anorexia Nervosa Anxiety, possible medical causes Anxiety, types and symptoms Apathy Assertiveness Assessment, psychological Attachment (Reactive Attachment Disorder) Attraction (romantic/sexual) between therapist and client Autogenics training Aviation disasters, support Aviation links Aviation Medicine Aviation Psychology Aviation, and stress Battered Womens Syndrome Beck, Aaron Becoming a psychologist, advice Behavior, techniques to increase or decrease Behavioral Therapy Bereavement Biofeedback, explained Biological Psychology Bioterrorism, and mental trauma Bipolar Disorder Blame, as a negative thought process Blame, as part of victim anger Blame, compared to sorrow Blaming parents is not a part of psychotherapy Blushing Boards of Psychology in US and Canada, contacting Board of Psychologys licensing exams Bodily fragmentation Borderline Personality Disorder, distinguished from DID Borderline Personality Disorder, treatment of Boulder Model of psychological training Boundaries, psychological Bribery, often substituted for real love Brief Psychodynamic Psychotherapy Buddhism, Zen, and meditation Bulimia Nervosa Bullying Career opportunities in psychology (links) Castration anxiety Catharsis, and anger Cause, types of, in psychology CBT (Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy) Centering Prayer Change, psychological, the basis for Changing negative thinking Changing unwanted behavior with autogenics Chastity Child abuse: conditions and indicators Child abuse and Identification with the aggressor Child abuse: mandated reporting laws in CA Child abuse and multiple personalities Child abuse, repressed memories of Child abuse and revictimization in adulthood Child abuse survivors, support Child abuse and suicide Child abuse and trauma Child abuse and victim anger Child abuse distinguished from punishment Child Psychology Child psychology, in re: becoming a psychologist Choosing a psychologist Chronic fatigue Citation format for pages on this website Classical Conditioning Clergy, and sexual scandal Clinical Psychology, definition and short history Clinical records Coaching, defined Co-dependence Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy Cognitive and Experimental Psychology Cognitive Psychology and Hypnosis College courses to prepare for a career in psychology Communication, family Complaints about a psychologist Compulsions, defined Conduct Disorder Confidentiality, in treatment Confidentiality, loss of, in Managed Care Conflicts, unconscious Consultation with Dr. Richmond Consumer Rights Contact me Control, and stress Control-Mastery Therapy Convenience, the illusion of Conversion Disorder Counseling, defined Counseling Psychology Counseling, distinguished from Psychotherapy: Ethics Counselor, defined Counterconditioning Counter-transference Courtly Love Credentials, Dr. Richmonds Criminal activity, and therapeutic confidentiality Criminal Psychology Cutting and self-mutilation Cyclothymia / Cyclothymic Disorder Dark Night, the Death, and despair Death and dying, stages Death, in families Death wish Debriefing, trauma (CISD) Deception, desire, and love Deception/Lying by professionals Decompression sickness, related to flying Deep Muscle Relaxation Defense Mechanisms, psychological Degrees: PhD, PsyD, MD, etc. Dehydration and fatigue Delusions Denial of dysfunction in families Denial (defense mechanism) Dentistry, psychological applications Dependence, substance-related Depersonalization Disorder Depression, possible medical causes Depression, signs and symptoms Depression, psychological origins Depression, distinguished from spiritual purgation Desire, and identity Desire, and love Desire, distinguished from want Desire of the Other Desire of the psychotherapist Despair, and death Developmental Psychology Diagnosis, clinical Disasters and mental health Discipline, parental Disillusionment Displacement (defense mechanism) Dissociation, support Dissociative disorders Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID), aka MPD Divorce Domestic violence Draw-A-Person test Dream interpretation Drug (medication) information Dysthymia / Dysthymic Disorder Ear pain while flying Eating Disorders Education, Dr. Richmonds Educational Psychologist Educational requirements for becoming a psychologist Ego States Elder/Dependent-adult abuse: mandated reporting laws in CA Electromyography Ellis, Albert EMDR EMG Emotions, as basis for therapeutic work Emotions, a helpful list of Empathy, definition Enneagram Entertainment, violent Enuresis Erickson, Milton Erickson, Milton, and technique of confusion Erikson, Erik Erotic feelings (transference) for a therapist Evil, talking to children about Exceptions to confidentiality Existential psychotherapy Family communication Family Therapy Family violence Fantasies, sexual Father, the role of a Fatigue, chronic Fear Fear of Flying, general information Fear of Flying, and Systematic Desensitization Fear of Flying, treatment options Fear of love Fear of psychotherapy Feedback Form Flight training and fear of flying Forensic Psychology Forgiveness Forgiveness, and anger Fraud and deception of the social world Freud: the death instinct Freud: dream interpretation Freud: the unconscious Friendship with a psychotherapist, desire for Fugue, dissociative Gambling, Pathological Games, in psychotherapy Gender-based communication bias Gender Identity Disorder Gestalt psychotherapy Grief (bereavement) Group psychotherapy Guilt Hair, pulling out (trichotillomania) Hallucinations Happiness, desire for Hate, as flip side of love Hate, defined Health effects of chronic stress Health issues and psychological treatment Health problems and unconscious psychological causality Health Psychology Hell, Dantes journey to Hell, living Hell, psychological Hell, the slippery slope to Hell, St. Teresa of Avilas vision Herbal remedies: Interactions with psychiatric meds Heros journey, the High Blood Pressure, non-medical treatment History of Clinical Psychology HMO Consumer Complaints Hotline Home Page Homosexuality Honesty in psychotherapy Hope House-Tree-Person test Humility, defined Humor Humor, as defense mechanism Hypnosis, can invalidate legal testimony Hypnosis, defined Hypnosis and Cognitive Psychology Hypochondriasis Hypomania Hypothyroidism Hypoxia (lack of oxygen) and fatigue Hypoxia, and fear of flying Impulse Control Disorders Impulse Control disorders, possible medical causes Identification with the aggressor Identified Patient in family systems Identity and Loneliness Illness, caused by anger Illusions, psychiatric, definition Impossible, the, in Lacans psychoanalytic theory Industrial-Organizational Psychology Infancy, and bodily fragmentation Ink blot test (Rorschach) Insanity, defined Insurance, for treatment Insurance and Managed Care Interactions: psychiatric meds and herbal remedies Intermittent Explosive Disorder IQ, defined Jealousy Jetlag Judgmental Jung: anima and animus Jung: children, and parents conflicts Jung: rebirth Jung: the unconscious Jungian psychotherapy Klein, Melanie Kleptomania Kubler-Ross, stages of death and dying Lacan, Jacques: psychoanalysis Lacan: fraud and deception Lacan: love and sex Lacan: the illusion of personality Lacan: repetition Lacan: resistance Lacan: silence in psychoanalytic treatment Lacan: the soul Lacan: termination of psychotherapy Lacan: transference and love Lacan: the unconscious and language Language and psychology: see Lacan Language, issues in psychological testing Last update, date of Laws regarding confidentiality, in CA LCSW license Legal issues of psychology Licenses for practicing psychotherapy Licensure exams for psychology Licensure for a psychologist Lie detection Lies and hypocrisy Limits of psychology Locus of Control Loneliness Loss of Soul Love, courtly Love, true Love and sexuality Lucid dreaming Lust as an expression of anger at the father Lust compared to love Lust in psychotherapy Lying by professionals Lying: deception and love Lyme disease Malingering, defined Managed Care issues Mania / Manic Episode Mania, treatment Marriage Marriage and Family Therapy Martyrdom Masochism Medical factors affecting psychology Medication issues in psychology Meditation, and stress Melodrama in psychotherapy Memories, repressed Menopause, early Mercy, pychological definition MFT license Milgram, Stanley Mindfulness meditation MMPI Mood Disorders Mood Disorders, possible medical causes Morgellons disease Mourning (bereavement) Multiple Personalities Myers-Briggs Type Indicator Mysticism Negative hypnosis Negative Reinforcement Negative thoughts, changing Negative transference Neuropsychology Neutrality, therapeutic Nightmares, childhood Nightmares, following trauma Obesity Object Relations theory Obsessions, defined Obstructive Sleep Apnea OCD (Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder) OCD and suppressed fantasies of revenge Office location Office policies /Treatment Consent Form Open-ended questions Operant conditioning Oppositional Defiant Disorder Other Applications of Psychology Other, the, in Lacans psychoanalytic theory Pain Management Pain medication issues Panic attack Parasympathetic Nervous System Passive-aggressive personality Pastoral counseling Pathological Gambling Pathological lying Peace of mind Peace, social Pecking Order Pedophilia Peer pressure Performance Enhancement Personality changes, possible medical causes Personality Disorders Personality, the illusion of Personal psychotherapy for psychotherapists Perversion PhD degree in Clinical Psychology Phobias, described Phobias, self-treatment Physical affection in families Politics and psychology Polygraph Positive Reinforcement Postpartum depression Posttraumatic Stress (PTSD) Prayer Prejudice Premature forgiveness Pride, and anger Pride, and identity Privacy Policy of this website Private practice, pros and cons Privilege (confidentiality) Problems, distinguished from symptoms Progressive Muscle Relaxation (PMR) Projection (defense mechanism) Projective Identification (defense mechanism) Psychiatrist, defined Psychic premonitions in dreams Psychoanalysis, defined Psychoanalysis, description of treatment Psychodynamic Psychotherapy Psychological death Psychological Assessment / Testing Psychological Assistant Psychological change, the basis for Psychological treatment, types of Psychologist, defined Psychologist, how to become one Psychologist, licensure Psychology and Psychiatry, differences Psychology and Religion Psychology: CA Psychology Licensing Exams Psychology: Clinical and Counseling Psychology, clinical: short history Psychology, various fields of Psychotherapy and Counseling distinguished Psychotherapy, distinguished from Counseling, an example Psychotherapy, defined Psychotherapy, fear of Psychotherapy, personal, in student training Psychotherapy, Questions and Answers about Psychotherapy, terminating Psychotherapy, theoretical approaches PsyD degree PTSD, defined PTSD, symptoms and coping Publications, Dr. Richmond Punishment, parental Pyromania Questions and Answers about Psychotherapy Rape as revictimization Rationalization (defense mechanism) Reaction Formation (defense mechanism) Reactive Attachment Disorder Reciprocal inhibition Reconciliation, distinguished from Forgiveness Records, treatment (your chart) Reinforcement, behavioral: positive distinguished from negative Relationship, therapeutic Relaxation techniques, described Relaxation training, self-taught Religion, and psychology REM sleep and dreaming Repetition Repressed memories Reprogramming Research in psychology Resistance, clinical Revenge, and anger Risk-taking behavior Risk-taking behavior, in adolescence Ritual abuse of children Romantic/sexual attraction: therapist/client Rorschach test Salary of a psychologist Schizophrenia, distinguished from DID Schooling/coursework required to become a psychologist School Psychology SEARCH this website Self-fulfilling Prophecy Self-hypnosis Self-injury / self-mutilation Self-sabotage Services, length of Services, payment for Services, risk involved Sexual abuse, child, repressed memories of Sexual abuse by clergy: false spirituality Sexual contact with a psychotherapist Sexual Dysfunction, possible medical causes Sexual fantasies Sexual images in dreams Sexuality and love Shame, and anger Shame, and depression Shiftlag Side-effects of medications Silence in psychoanalytic treatment Skinner, B. F. Sleep Disorders, possible medical causes Sleep Disorders in children and adolescents Smoking cessation, self-help Social Psychology Social Work: MSW degree and LCSW license Somatization Disorder Sorrow, compared to blame Soul Special: feeling special in psychotherapy Spiritual Healing Spiritual issues in psychological treatment Spirituality and psychology Splitting (defense mechanism) State Board of Psychology, in any state of US Stockholm Syndrome Stress: explanations and coping Stress, posttraumatic Stress: relaxation training, self-taught Student resources, general Stuttering Substance abuse/dependence Suicide, and child abuse Suicide, discussing fantasies of, in therapy Suicide, psychological reasons Support help for abortion trauma Support help for aviation disasters Support help for child abuse Support help for dissociation Support help for trauma Support this website Sympathetic Nervous System Symptom, defined Systematic Desensitization, defined Systematic Desensitization, self-taught Tarasoff duty to warn TAT (Thematic Apperception Test) Tattoos Termination of psychotherapy Terrorism and psychology Testing, psychological Thanatos: the death instinct Theoretical approaches to psychotherapy Therapeutic distance/neutrality Therapeutic relationship/alliance Thoughts, changing negative Time Out and disciplining children Tooth, loss of, and anxiety Trance and hypnosis Transference, clinical Transvestic Fetishism Trauma, defined Trauma, and identity Trauma: treatments and coping strategies Traumatic nightmares Travellers Thrombosis, and fear of flying Treatment length Treatment records Treatment records, after termination Trichotillomania Truth and legal issues Truth in Psychotherapy Turbulence, aircraft Types of psychological treatment Unconscious, The Unconscious blocks to forgiveness Understanding preferable to Knowledge Undifferentiated Somatoform Disorder Undoing (defense mechanism) Unfairness of the world Valsava maneuver for middle ear block Veil of deception Vibroacoustic Disease Victim anger Victim mentality Violence, adolescent Violence, and anger Violence, domestic and family Violent entertainment Want, distinguished from desire Water intoxication Wellness What does a Clinical Psychologist do? What is psychology? What's new on this website? Wit, defined Withdrawal, substance-related Witmer, Lightner Who made this website? Wolf of Gubbio Workplace issues: I/O Psychology Xenophobia

Recent editorial changes on this website

SYCHOLOGY is often described in textbooks as the science of behavior. All that I say on this website is evidence based, but the evidence does not come just from scientific experimentation; much evidence comes from ages of experience and wisdom. Therefore, clinical psychology, which tries to solve the problems and symptoms individuals encounter because of their behavior, is in part a science; but in its study of the mindespecially the unconsciousit often moves away from pure science and becomes a philosophy and an art. The unconscious, after all, is, well, unconscious and therefore unknown to conscious reason and scientific research, so it has to be encountered through language and dreams. Is a psychotherapist just a paid friend

or an emotional prostitute?

This website, A Guide to Psychology and its Practice, is written in a straight-forward, plain, conversational English that anyone should be able to understand. Moreover, for the sake of truth, there is no advertising on this website. You will find here three different kinds of information:

 First, for many issues I give an overview written from the perspective of my own experience.  Second, I refer you to Additional Resources on the Internet that provide additional information about the topics I discuss. I have selected non-profit sites that, in general, do not try to sell you anything: professional organizations, foundations, national support organizations, etc. Through these sources you should be able to find the type of help you desire.  Finally, I have provided self-help information that you can use without professional help to learn relaxation techniques such as autogenics and progressive muscle relaxation, overcome simple phobias (such as fear of flying) with systematic desensitization, and stop smoking.

Altogether, these pages provide an effective guide to the practice of clinical psychology. If you are a student looking for information about sensation, perception, learning theory, and so on, you should read a basic textbook on the principles of general psychology. Perhaps you are wondering, Who made this website? All the writing on this website, and the layout, graphics, and programming, are my own original work. And please note that I do not allow advertising on this website, nor do I have a sponsor trying to sell you something. Therefore, if you find that my work has been informative and helpful, perhaps you will realize that a small freewill donation is truly affordable to most persons in industrialized countries, and that it will help to offset my costs in making this website available without charge and without advertising to everyoneespecially those in great financial need. I n all of this, my goal is simply to help you realize that although life can be painful, unfair, and brutal, it doesnt have to be misery. Dont get me wrongI fully appreciate the ecstasy of spiritual experience, and I am something of a mystic at heart. Yet I have learned from experience that the practice of good clinical psychology involves somethingcall it comfortwhich does not mean sympathy or soothing, and it certainly doesnt mean to have your pain taken away. It really means to be urged on to take up the cup of your destiny with courage and honesty. I have a background in literature, theology, and art, and came to study psychology as a middle-adulthood career change. On this website, I speak about values such as compassion and forgiveness not for religious reasons but simply because they are good, common-sense ways to true and lasting mental health. Its that simple. But the task of teaching the general public the difference between happiness and mental health has all the satisfaction of trying to fill a sieve with water. And yet, to paraphrase Saint Francis of Assisi, if we accept the worlds injustice, cruelty, and contempt with patience, without being ruffled, and without murmuring, then we have found the path to perfect joyand we do our work anyway. So, as much as we all yearn for peace on earth, we wont get it through laws, by protest, by hatred, or by war. No matter what was done to you or to your ancestors, it does not give you permission to use violence or commit crime in protest. We will have peace only by setting aside our psychological defenses and learning to treat others with honesty and forgiveness. May it all begin in your own heart.

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