New England Psychologist
New England Psychologist is home to independent journalism focused on psychologists and psychotherapists in the New England region. We publish new content every month. Subscribe to our free monthly newsletter to receive updates, or sign-up for a one-year paid subscription now in order to access all of our great content.
Union: CT staff shortage is ‘full-blown catastrophe’
By Eileen Weber
Staffing shortages in the mental health industry are an ongoing, national reality. In Connecticut, it is reaching a boiling point with many health workers becoming increasingly frustrated with the state’s Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services (DMHAS). There are more than 600 vacancies in the mental health care industry with DMHAS indicating the need to lower staff levels to cut costs. This past October, a union of mental health care workers held a press conference in Middletown to put… Read more »
Leading Stories
Tax, record keeping advice offered by strategist
Judge rules Meta must face Massachusetts social media lawsuit
Union: CT staff shortage is ‘full-blown catastrophe’
Massachusetts and Vermont nix legalized psychedelics for now
ME program designed to help Afghan refugees heal
Ysabel Garcia brings cultural experiences to training
Has Massachusetts fallen behind in adopting PSYPACT initiative?
NH redesigns rapid response
Exploring the power of shared decision making to improve care
Legal considerations offered for early career psychologists
Federal government tries again to ensure insurers pay for mental health care
Study: College students feel anxious about presidential election
Examining the relationship between politics and psychology
Mass. debuts country’s first social prescribing program: Arts and culture participation is focus
Practical Practice
How does name change impact professional identity?
By Ellen Anderson, Ph.D
Our surname can be an important link to our cultural identity, family heritage, and connection with earlier generations. So, it is a bit surprising, that 80% of American women in opposite sex relationships still take their husband’s name according to a recent Pew Research report. The topic is important for mental health professionals in training because three out of four psychology graduate students are female and half are in their late 20s, which overlaps with the median age of first… Read more »
Demystifying meditation in psychotherapy
By Ellen Anderson, Ph.D
People who seek therapy often want to get better at relaxing their body and mind. The concept is simple but not so easy to achieve under stressors such as dental surgery, childbirth, or the bread-and-butter challenges of daily life. Given our profession, it would be reasonable to expect that psychologists are the experts at meditation and relaxation, but alas, we do not have a lock on it. Meditation is a construct that is a bit slippery to pin down but… Read more »
The DSM: Is it time to evolve?
By Ellen Anderson, Ph.D
Clinicians rely on the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM) every day and many people refer to it as the “bible” of psychiatry. Upon searching the internet for the current price of the DSM V-TR, I unexpectedly encountered some humorous reviews on Goodreads. Some examples, “Terrible plot, no character development” as well as, “I was able to successfully diagnose my mom, dad, sister, and chihuahua. The latter being the most difficult to manage when it comes to behaviors and psychological needs.”… Read more »
Older Practical Practice Columns...
Psychotherapy Business & Marketing
Finding your “why” for private practice
By Liz Varney, LICSW
Deciding to start a private practice can be exciting as well as overwhelming and confusing. Many clinicians get stuck contemplating the idea of a private practice and become paralyzed on where to begin. As a clinician, you know all too well the ambivalence that can happen when thinking about making a change in one’s life. The allure to stay safe in the known can be strong, and yet the idea of starting self-employment, a place where you can design exactly… Read more »
Stress tolerance for private practice
By Liz Varney, LICSW
In 2009, after some contemplation, I finally took the leap to open a small private practice. It was a long-held dream of mine starting when I began my social work career nine years before. The decision to plunge into the unknown was not easy. I consulted many folks in my field about my idea to start a business and was met with these discouraging responses: “I heard businesses don’t make money for the first couple years.” “Isn’t your area already… Read more »
Older Psychotherapy Business and Marketing articles...
Interview of the Month
Q&A: Machine learning, mathematical modeling used as tools to predict suicide ideation
By Catherine Robertson Souter
Modern psychology may be about to experience a sea change. While the practice has certainly evolved over the past 100 years, the introduction of machine learning, a form of artificial intelligence that uses large data sets to look at human behavior, may vastly alter the way mental illness is understood and treated. At Yale University, Shirley Wang, Ph.D., who joined the psychology department in July as an assistant professor, is using machine learning and mathematical modeling to attempt to predict… Read more »
Older Interviews...
Publisher's Note by John M. Grohol, Psy.D.
The end of an era
This is the last print issue of New England Psychologist. It’s been a long time coming. Since purchasing New England Psychologist at the end of 2017, I’ve struggled with the same issues every print publication has faced in the past decade: rising printing and mailing costs, and declining revenue from sponsors who no longer want to advertise in print. We’ve tried various strategies to increase interest in our 31-year-old publication. We changed formats, making it easier to read and more… Read more »
Revisiting AI
Just a year ago, I wrote about the burgeoning field of artificial intelligence (A.I.) and its potential to help in mental health treatment. The field continues to suffer from a shortage of therapists, especially those trained in specific types of treatments to help with specific disorders (specialists). Artificial intelligence won’t be a cure-all and it’s not going to replace your job anytime soon. What it can do, however, is help in increasing access to care by patients, reduce certain mind-numbing… Read more »
Older Publisher's Notes...
In Person with Alan Bodnar, Ph.D.
When we knew for certain
Remember when we knew for certain that the moon would always follow us if we kept looking at it through the side window of the car? “Keep looking,” Mom said, “and it will always be there.” How did it know, we wondered, where we were. And why was it looking at us in the first place? Of course, the moon looks at everyone wherever we are, wherever we are going. How it does that to all the billions of people… Read more »
Along the path
There is a short time between the end of summer and the beginning of fall when the best of both seasons combines to create a perfect day. If you believed in heaven, it’s the kind of day that would test your faith because nothing could be more beautiful than this patch of earth where you stand. The air is clear and warm with just enough of a breeze to remind you that change is on the way. The hot, muggy… Read more »