Clinicians already have the skills these conversations require. We just have to start having them.

How are you integrating discussions about digital habits into your practice or classroom?

#MentalHealth #Counseling #CounselorEducation #AIinHealthcare #DigitalMentalHealth #supervision

For counselor educators and supervisors: Understanding the neuroscience of digital habits is core to modern adolescent development and competent clinical training. We need to prepare students to ask about AI use as naturally as we ask about sleep or social support

Psycho education about the brain-behavior link between digital checking habits & anxiety is powerful clinical material & building distress tolerance for not checking is a skill worth targeting directly

For counselors: assess HOW clients use AI, not just whether they do. Is it psychoeducation? Avoidance? A substitute for connection?

The professional conversation has focused almost entirely on how we should use AI but not on how our clients are already using it. That’s a blind spot with real clinical consequences.

This guides our interventions…

Nearly half of adults w/ mental health conditions who use large language models turn to them for support around anxiety, depression and personal challenges, often between sessions & sometimes instead of coming to us at all.

…more than 5 million US youth have turned to AI for mental health advice, with rates reaching over 22% among 18- to 21-year-olds.

Are you asking your clients how they’re using AI for mental health support? If not, it’s time to start.

A new piece in JAMA Psychiatry is reshaping how I think about clinical check-ins and what we’re teaching the next generation of counselors. Linked here 🔗
lnkd.in/emG2WcN4

The data is striking…

People with the least political knowledge tend to be the most overconfident in their grasp of facts People often misjudge their understanding of verifiable political facts. A new study published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied provides evidence that individuals with the least actu...

People with the least political knowledge tend to be the most overconfident in their grasp of facts www.psypost.org/people-with-...

Trump support in 2024 linked to White Americans' perception of falling to the bottom of the racial hierarchy New data from the 2024 election reveals a specific profile of Trump supporters: White Americans who believe they are in a "tight race" for status with Black and Hispanic Americans, regardless of their...

Trump support in 2024 linked to White Americans’ perception of falling to the bottom of the racial hierarchy via @psypost www.psypost.org/trump-suppor...

Collective narcissism fueled the pro-Trump "Stop the Steal" movement on Twitter A new study reveals that tweets expressing collective narcissism—a belief in a group’s superiority and victimhood—were central to the "Stop the Steal" movement. These messages went viral by tapping in...

Collective #narcissism fueled the pro-Trump “Stop the Steal” movement on Twitter www.psypost.org/collective-n...

New research connects daily gardening habits with reduced anxiety and physical limitations A recent study found that gardening every day is associated with 43% lower odds of poor health. Researchers suggest the activity could be a vital tool for promoting healthy ageing in urban populations...

New research connects daily gardening habits with reduced #anxiety and physical limitations www.psypost.org/new-research...

New study identifies a "woke" counterpart on the political right characterized by white grievance A new study suggests that identity-based "woke" politics exist on the political right, focusing on white grievance and speech regulation. Researchers developed a new scale to measure these attitudes a...

New study identifies a “woke” counterpart on the political right characterized by white grievance www.psypost.org/new-study-id...

Sycophantic chatbots inflate people’s perceptions that they are "better than average" A new study suggests that "sycophantic" AI fuels political extremism and overconfidence, creating digital echo chambers that users mistakenly perceive as unbiased and objective.

Sycophantic chatbots inflate people’s perceptions that they are “better than average” www.psypost.org/sycophantic-...

Five psychological approaches to handling holiday loneliness Psychologists attribute holiday distress to “temporal anchoring” and the gap between social expectations and reality.

Five psychological approaches to handling holiday loneliness www.psypost.org/five-psychol...

#holidayseason

MAGA Republicans are more likely to justify political violence, study finds A new survey indicates that while MAGA Republicans frequently view political violence as justified, they are not more likely than other groups to express a personal willingness to engage in it.

MAGA Republicans are more likely to justify political violence, study finds via @psypost www.psypost.org/maga-republi...

What scientists found when they analyzed 187 of Donald Trump's shrugs A study in Visual Communication suggests Donald Trump's shrug is a strategic tool to build rapport. Rather than expressing ignorance, the gesture often signals that a statement is an obvious truth he ...

What scientists found when they analyzed 187 of Donald Trump’s shrugs www.psypost.org/what-scienti...

Trigger warnings spark curiosity more than caution, new research indicates A new study challenges the idea that trigger warnings prevent exposure to upsetting content. Most young adults reported viewing the content anyway, including those with past trauma or mental health co...

Trigger warnings spark curiosity more than caution, new research indicates www.psypost.org/trigger-warn...

New study finds no evidence linking antidepressant use to mass shootings A large-scale analysis of U.S. mass shootings finds little support for claims that antidepressants cause violent behavior, suggesting most perpetrators were not taking psychiatric medication at the ti...

New study finds no evidence linking antidepressant use to mass shootings www.psypost.org/new-study-fi...

Fellow counselors and psychologists, what’s one thing you wished you knew as a new therapist? #mentalhealth

I think it is quite reasonable to ask whether the supposedly rigid standards Secretary Kegstand announced at Quantico just days ago do not actually apply to any white men from red states who are in the process of illegally invading blue states

America has the right to know it if that's the case now

Scientists say X (formerly Twitter) has lost its professional edge — and Bluesky is taking its place After Elon Musk's acquisition of Twitter, many scientists report the platform is no longer suitable for professional use. A recent survey indicates that researchers are increasingly turning to Bluesky...

Scientists say X (formerly Twitter) has lost its professional edge — and Bluesky is taking its place www.psypost.org/scientists-s...

When stupidity is considered patriotism, it is unsafe to be intelligent.—Isaac Asimov

Who actually commits political violence in the United States? Here's what the data says Extensive federal and academic research indicates that right-wing extremists are responsible for most domestic terrorism deaths in the United States. Studies consistently find that violence linked to ...

Who actually commits political violence in the United States? Here’s what the data says www.psypost.org/who-actually...

this is the last fucking thing we need right now political violence solves nothing

here's today's post: "this is the last fucking thing we need right now" — political violence solves nothing.
thanks for reading, and please sign up for my daily newsletter to keep getting the good stuff —

I refuse to be lectured to about political violence by a sadist whose central tenet is hatred and violence.

I know we live in a national moment where nuance is dead, but I encourage us all to hold multiple ideas at once today:
1. No one should die by gun violence

Decrying violence against political opponents rings a bit hollow when you pull Secret Service protection from your political opponents.

We said release the files not the accomplices, idiot.