First of all let me begin with what this article is not. It is not a response to the media distortions of the memorable interview with Pope Francis. There are enough authors out there already filling that space. I’d rather focus on what Pope Francis actually is saying to me as one of his flock, and admit that maybe there is something here to personally grow from. Second of all, this article is not advocating or in any way considering a “change of Church teaching.” If...

You might be surprised to learn that the final post in the series about feminine brain strengths is actually about worry. As a psychologist, I rarely talk about worry as a strength.

I should qualify here that I am talking about a little worry, not to be confused with the excessive worry that constitutes anxiety.

In fact, I don’t even like using the word worry, but there is great value in being able to see certain tendencies as part of a spectrum and not necessarily entirely different...

Let's go through a few statistical facts about women:

• As of 10 years ago, only 7% of the entire prison population in the US was female.
• There is a significantly higher rate of Antisocial Personality Disorder among men as compared to women. 
• Research shows that women are better at keeping strong negative emotions in check; when a woman does act on her negative emotions, she will more often attack verbally rather than physically.
• In general, women tend to live longer than men. 

...

On the train this morning on the way into the office there was a female conductor. I’ve travelled with a female conductor driving the train once before, and both times ended the same way. On the intercom as we reached our destination, the conductor concluded her comments with, “Have a great day everyone, and thank you crew for your work.” The only two times the conductor thanked the crew in the past two months were the two times the conductor was female – and they were...

We continue the series this week on differences in the female brain that give it an edge over the male brain in particular functions. Last time I talked about intuition and the neural networking of white matter that allows for a greater reach across different areas of the brain and more sources of information.

This post is about empathy. Empathy is the ability to recognize and share in other peoples’ experiences. It is the ability to “put yourself in someone else’s...

With today’s post I am starting a series on the female brain. Fortunately there is a ton of research out there to rely on instead of just offering musings from my own experience. I don’t know how much experience is required for a man to feel competent on his own to comment on the female brain, but I assure you I have not reached it. Instead I will be relying on the work of Dr. Daniel Amen, among others, who has compiled the world’s largest databases of SPECT brain images...

It’s really interesting how many people are curious about therapy over Skype and how many questions I get about it. Admittedly, it was tough at first to decide whether or not to offer video-based counseling. I had many of the same questions myself. After 8 months of providing therapy over Skype, I want to offer some of my (developing) thoughts.

First of all, the most obvious question concerns the lack of personal connection. This question goes much deeper into an issue about technology...

As many of you know (and can read about in my bio section) I used to be a Franciscan friar. The friar’s life is one marked by living in vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience, revolving around a schedule of work, play, and prayer. I happened to live this radically different lifestyle in the same city I now work as a “normal” married man (normal enough at least to no longer sport a shaved head, long beard, and gray monk-looking outfit). There are some pretty obvious...

Everyone get ready for another Kermit Gosnell article. I know, I know, that’s so long time ago.

Let me first say – of course I think infanticide is atrocious and deserves news coverage. Jesus said very clearly what should be done with people like Gosnell; something about a boulder, a rope, and a boat. But what did he say to us? What are we to do if not just tweet? The answer lies within (your television).

After years of trying to hold off, I finally got hooked on the show The...

Integrating the field of psychology into a Catholic framework is not an easy task when you consider that the founder of the field (Freud) wrote,

“Much will be gained if we succeed in transforming hysterical misery into common unhappiness.”

Catholicism, however, is concerned with becoming human – fully human – and therefore fully alive! The end of Catholicism is happiness beyond our wildest dreams, not just “common unhappiness.” While this ultimate joy is...