During the stage of industry vs. inferiority, a child is learning new skills. When they productively navigate this stage, they feel useful and develop a sense of self-worth. However, if they aren’t supported in learning new skills, they may develop a sense of worthlessness or inferiority. Erikson’s Psychosocial Stages According to Erikson’s psychosocial theory, people progress through a series of stages as they develop and grow. Psychosocial theory focuses on social and emotional factors that influence an individual’s psychological growth....

When IPT was first developed, many mental health professionals conceptualized depression as “person-based.” That is, depression was not considered to be based on a person’s environment. IPT, on the other hand, recognizes that a person’s relationships can have a huge impact on mental health. Types of Interpersonal Therapy There are a couple of different adaptations of interpersonal therapy that you may encounter, including dynamic and metacognitive. Dynamic Interpersonal Therapy Dynamic interpersonal therapy (DIT) is also sometimes referred to as psychodynamic interpersonal therapy or mentalization-based therapy....

I launched the Mentally Strong People podcast in the fall of 2020 and we’ve had some amazing guests who have shared their expertise and inspirational stories. In addition, I’ve enjoyed hearing from my listeners about their favorite topics and ideas for future guests to interview. Now, after 53 episodes, I’m thrilled to announce some exciting news about the future of the show. The Mentally Strong People podcast is becoming The Verywell Mind Podcast!...

Psychology students typically hear less about master’s programs than they do doctoral programs. However, around 28,000 students earn master’s degrees in psychology each year. compared to the approximately 6,000 earning doctorate degrees in psychology. The master’s in psychology degree has become a popular option, particularly with the increased number of students earning their degrees online. However, students are often unaware of what they can do with their degrees post-graduation. This article explores some of the job options that are available with a masters-level degree in psychology....

Researchers from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem found that proactive control is better than reactive control in managing intrusive thoughts. In other words, it might be better, in the long run, to sit with intrusive or unwanted thoughts rather than to change your focus to another thought. Free Association and Proactive Thinking As part of the study, researchers gave 80 volunteers 60 word cues on a computer screen. The volunteers then had to write an associated word for each cue....

For Michael Scullin, PhD, an associate professor of psychology and neuroscience at Baylor University, the answer has often been yes. After realizing this pattern, he decided to investigate how involuntary musical imagery—aptly known as earworms—can disrupt sleep. The recent study, published in the Journal of Psychological Science, reports on three trials that dive into other people’s experiences with earworms. In the initial survey, 199 people who frequently listened to music reported having regular nighttime earworms and worse sleep quality....

Being in a Rut in Your Marriage The researchers asked couples questions like, “During the past month, how often did you feel that your marriage was in a rut (or getting into a rut), that you do the same thing all the time and rarely get to do exciting things together as a couple?” It was found that boredom at 7 years was correlated to increased boredom even 9 years later....

Meet Tracy McCubbin Tracy McCubbin has always loved to create clutter-free spaces, so she turned her organizational skills into a full-time business called dClutterfly, where she helps people organize their homes. She’s also the author of two books. Her first book, “Making Space, Clutter-Free” teaches readers how to get rid of the clutter once and for all. Her newest book, “Make Space for Happiness,” describes the link between clutter and emotional wellness....

Researchers from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, in collaboration with the University of Haifa, assessed 83 adults with an ADHD diagnosis. They found that around one-fifth met the proposed criteria for maladaptive daydreaming, which does not yet have formal recognition as a psychiatric syndrome. The researchers assessed the adults for inattention symptoms, MD, depression, loneliness, and self-esteem. Those meeting the proposed criteria for MD showed higher rates of depression, loneliness, and self-esteem than those who didn’t meet the criteria....

Pros & Cons Mindful Care’s mission is to improve access to urgent mental health needs in an affordable manner by offering individual and group therapy, as well as “MicroTherapy,” or 20-minute sessions with coaches that can be scheduled same-day. I reviewed Mindful Care’s individual and group therapy services to better understand the type of support patients received, spoke to experts on their thoughts on the effectiveness of both, and reflected on how individual therapy and group therapy could help me with my personal objectives....

“Our thoughts, emotions, and behaviors are all linked, so our thoughts impact how we feel and act. So, although we all have unhelpful thoughts from time to time, it’s important to know what to do when they appear so we don’t let them change the course of our day,” explains Rachel Goldman, PhD, a psychologist and clinical assistant professor at the NYU School of Medicine. Therapy can often be helpful for changing negative thoughts, but you can also learn how to change your thought patterns....

However, cases, where the cycle is shorter than 24 hours are rare. Individuals may find that their sleep cycle gradually shifts by one or two hours a day. Weeks of this occurring causes a person’s circadian rhythm to become completely desynchronized from the usual 24-hour cycle. While most people sleep at about the same time every day, a person with this disorder will find that their sleep time is gradually delayed every day....

Relationships and Stress Intimate relationships can be stressful for many people—with or without OCD. But the usual relationship stresses that affect most of us—fear of rejection, loss of identity, previous failed relationships, performance anxiety, and body acceptance issues—are often amplified for those with this type of anxiety disorder. Obsessions that have to do with the loss of control, body image, fear of germs and contamination, anxiety related to physical closeness or being touched, and fear of loss or abandonment, may be easily triggered by intimate relationships....

But operant conditioning is not just something that takes place in experimental settings while training lab animals. It also plays a powerful role in everyday learning. Reinforcement and punishment take place in natural settings all the time, as well as in more structured settings such as classrooms or therapy sessions. The History of Operant Conditioning Operant conditioning was first described by behaviorist B.F. Skinner, which is why you may occasionally hear it referred to as Skinnerian conditioning....

While news reports often use the terms opioid and opiate synonymously, there is a subtle but important distinction between the two. Opioid vs Opiate: What’s the Difference? The term opiate refers to any drug that is derived from the naturally occurring opium alkaloid compounds that are found in the poppy plant. Types of opiate drugs include opium, codeine, morphine. The term opioid, on the other hand, is broader and refers to any drug synthesized from an opiate that produces similar effects....