Jealousy is a popular subject in media and the arts. From the wicked Queen in Disney’s classic Snow White, to the disturbing 1987 movie hit, Fatal Attraction with “Alex’s” deathly obsession of “Dan,” to the repulsive character of “Gollum/Smeagol” in the Tolkien-tale-turnedmodern- cinematic-blockbuster, The Lord of the Rings, jealousy is rich fare for some of the best movies made.  People consumed with...

A number of years ago I was asked to appear on the Queen Latina television talk show taped in New York City. Because of a book I had written on teen violence, the producers invited me to share my thoughts concerning this topic on a show featuring violent kids. After multiple security checks, I was escorted to a guest green room to wait for make-up and for the television show to begin. One of the producers apologized for having to place me in the same room as the guests. Typically, she...

There are populations that even the most seasoned of Christian counselors like to avoid. There are always those borderlines that strike fear in the hearts of all of us. Just when you think you are making a tortured step in the right direction, off they go into that peculiar, raging lunacy that always seems to set you two or three steps back.

Then there are the sociopathic personalities that can cause us to tear our hair out when they never seem to understand our Christian and...

They are the difficult women high maintenance; provocative in dress and seductive in behavior; emotionally dangerous; and spiritually adrift. Involved in unhealthy and unholy relationships, these women usually fit the unflattering labels frequently used to describe them: bad girls, loose, promiscuous, adulteress, love relationship, or sex addict. These women were known as nymphomaniacs in earlier generations the ones with the aggressive eyes, outstretched hands, and empty...

The essential features of hysteria are: (a) physical symptoms, (b) absence of organic pathology, and (c) psychological conflict.

Classification and clinical features

There are three main patterns of hysteria: monosymptomatic, polysymptomatic and epidemic.

Monosymptomatic hysteria (conversion disorder)Typically there is gross loss of neurological function. Thismay involve:

• the limbs, e.g. paralysis, anaesthesia or dystonia the higher functions,...

Even in these modern times, society still perceives Dyslexics as stupid individuals and slow learners. The primary reason behind this is that the media, comprised of newspapers, television, and radio are not up to date with modern science. Science today already understands the differences between a Dyslexic brain and a non-Dyslexic brain. These differences explain many of the symptoms of Dyslexia but highlight the strengths of Dyslexics as well. Only when society catches up with...

A 30-year-old woman was admitted to a psychiatric unit weighing 30 kg. Her body mass index (weight in kilogrammes divided by height in metres, squared) was, at 13, near the lower limit considered to be compatible with life. She was brought in by her husband, who had been increasingly worried about her but up to this point had been unable to persuade her to accept help. She had had eating disorder symptoms since at least the age of 15, when she had left home to live with her...

I have sometimes thought that my three-year-old daughter seems borderline. One minute she is saying, I love you Mommy, and the next minute she is shouting, Go away Mommy! One minute she laughs, the next she cries hysterically.

Time with my daughter helps me understand the world through her eyes. Her world is exciting, yet frightening. Her behaviors and emotions fluctuate to express this. For me, and undoubtedly for her, it sometimes feels like a roller coaster. Thank God, she has...

Bipolar as a term is being used so broadly that it is beginning to lose some of its meaning. It is, I think, often used as a default diagnosisespecially in children and adolescents. We dont know whats going on so we call it bipolar if there is mood instability, meltdowns, rages, or if the symptoms respond to a medication that is used to treat bipolar category symptoms.

So, the first clinical issue is what exactly is being treated? Diagnoses tend to be reductionistic. In other...

Fearless. He would take no guff from anyone. All his life Clark had been known as one who would rather fight than negotiate. Back in his school days he spent plenty of time in detention halls, in fact, he took pride in his reputation as one who was crusty and mean.

Now Clark was in his mid-30s and going through his third divorce. In each of his marriages he had been physically abusive. Little things would send him into rages. At home, he lived with a my way or the highway approach...