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We welcome you to our website. Take your time and explore the published articles and books on the site. They cover a wide variety of topics related to psychology, personal growth, and popular culture that you may find interesting and helpful.

We plan to use this blog for short pieces that will be relevant and timely to psychology, psychotherapy, our community, and other topics of interest. We will include references and links to relevant articles as well as research having to do with mental health and achieving personal potential.

We invite you to check back often for our latest additions. And we invite you to contact us if we can be of help.

Commentary: The psychological effects of the post-truth era
July 2, 2017 by Dr. Steven Hendlin

Like it or not, we are now living in a post-truth world. When the truth no longer matters, scientific evidence and objective facts are devalued, even ridiculed. “Alternative facts,” “fake news” and purposeful and conscious lying and concealment become the bewildering coin of the realm.

Those seeking the truth are forced to wander through a maze of confusion, obfuscation, contradiction and deception. Public discourse becomes punctuated by personal attack, intolerance and a lack of dignity and respect. Integrity, fairness and civility are compromised in the service of influencing the narrative and outcome.

In a post-truth world, each person’s interpretation of events and the story they create to explain these events is viewed as equally viable, plausible and valuable. Truth itself is perceived as relative — not absolute.

Scholars have contributed to a post-truth world by promoting the notion that the concept of absolute truth is philosophically naive and that any attempt to discover it is a futile undertaking. Psychologists have also contributed with theories about the fluidity of the truth-stories we tell ourselves and how we may learn to construct new, more positive narratives to undue past destructive ones.

What are the psychological and emotional consequences of living in a post-truth world? As a private practicing psychologist who has been doing psychotherapy for 40 years, I have a historical perspective that allows me to discern how the recent assault on truth is impacting the people who come to me for help, as well as those in the community at large.

It is evident that there is something important taking place now that was nowhere near as obvious or pronounced in the past. And that is a growing fundamental disequilibrium in of our sense of reality. It has become more difficult to determine what is fact versus fiction. The facts, evidence and logic that used to buttress our truths are no longer so reliable. Nor are the media sources of news on which we had come to rely on.

Trust in our basic sense of reality and what we know to be true, along with our own perception of internal and external events, is being challenged. When the ground of our sense of reality experiences an earthquake, our basic security is shaken along with it. More than 1,000 psychotherapists have recently signed a “statement of concern” that supports the negative impact on their patients this blurring of their sense of reality is having on them.

Without a firm ground of reality to support us, we become less sure of our decision-making in all areas of our lives. Personal safety is threatened, as we no longer can count on our governmental institutions to protect us. We become more unsure of our future, sometimes to a paralyzing degree, leading to pessimism and dread rather than optimism and hope.

When our psychological stability is shaken, we are susceptible to loosening our own valuing of truth. We become vulnerable to doing the same lying and deception that is modeled to us by those in power because we have been given a tacit approval that these behaviors are acceptable and may even be necessary for survival — rather than being viewed as morally reprehensible.

It is not surprising that this disruption in our sense of security may lead to anxiety, depression, confusion and despair. Nor that it may lead to anger, rage, paranoia, polarizing of emotions and intolerance.

With all the media attention to the political aspects of our forced adaptation to living in a post-truth world, let us not overlook the powerful accompanying psychological and emotional consequences that may undermine our basic sense of mental health and well-being.

STEVEN and DEBORAH HENDLIN are clinical psychologists in Newport Beach.

Published in the Daily Pilot, © Los Angeles Times, July 2, 2017.

Commentary: Pick an alternative Valentine's Day narrative
February 10, 2016 by Drs. Steven & Deborah Hendlin

We all know the typical celebration ritual for couples on Valentine's Day — an exchange of endearing and heartfelt cards; chocolate and flowers; a romantic dinner at a quiet and cozy restaurant, including liberal indulgence in the libation of your choice; and some playful flirtation with the hope of leading to intimacy.

It's a tried and true sequence through generations that has been mostly fun and satisfying for couples of all ages.

However, as experienced psychologists, we believe there are additional dimensions of intimacy that may be included in celebrating this holiday. In our consulting rooms, we hear from long-term married couples how robotic the sequence may become, as some men go though the motions without much feeling. They think of Valentine's Day as a "Hallmark holiday" that pressures them to conform to spending too much money without any sense of real meaning. This may lead to their partners not feeling appreciated or cherished.

What we would like to suggest is that there is a rhythm between long-term couples, as they get to know each other's cognitive-emotional maps, with its own special romantic intimacy.

By this we mean knowing your partner's typical thinking, preferences and habits so well that you don't any longer need to think about it. You can anticipate, with a high degree of accuracy, how he or she will react to things you say or do. And you can enjoy the very personal and intimate "knowing" that develops over time, a knowing that may be called on to amplify the standard ways of celebrating a holiday like Valentine's Day.

You won't, for example, buy her a box of chocolates when she's watching her sugar and carb intake. Instead, you will buy her one delicious piece of the truffle you know she enjoys, wrapped in a loving way. Or you may prefer an intimate dinner in the privacy and comfort of your own home, and you will cook for her or bring in something you know is her favorite dish. This personal setting may allow for a deeper connection without the intrusion of others.

For couples that possess this deeper knowledge of each other, there is no need to go through a lock-step ritual on Valentine's Day — or any other holiday. They may or may not choose to exchange cards or gifts or go out for dinner to celebrate. But if they do, they use their own knowledge of each other to take the intimacy into a more connected mental and emotional realm that is not just focused on the physical. And, of course, this deeper mental and emotional connection makes for a deeper physical connection.

One trap for some couples who've been married for a long time is dismissing or undervaluing what holidays like Valentine's Day mean for their partner. It's easy to write off the holiday and not realize that your partner still values marking the day with some of the traditional rituals. This is where knowledge of your partner comes into play.

Everyone ideally wants to be known to their core by their partner. They want you to know what matters to them and what doesn't. They want you to know how they are feeling, with a good map of their thinking and preferences. Because this is one way that demonstrates and confirms your love for them.

STEVEN and DEBORAH HENDLIN are clinical psychologists in Newport Beach.

Copyright © 2016, Daily Pilot

Commentary: Remodeling your home is more stressful than it appears on HGTV
January 20, 2016 by Drs. Steven & Deborah Hendlin

Fueled by the popularity of HGTV, where we watch bathrooms, wood floors, kitchens and even whole houses, get demolished and renovated in lickety-split time, our community is flush with homeowners in various stages of remodeling. Many have chosen to upgrade and "love it" rather than "list it."

Whether they have temporarily moved into a second residence, rental home or apartment, or are forced to endure living in their home while construction takes place, all must cope with a stressful process. This stress rarely is discussed on these makeover shows, although, for a season, Jeff Lewis' "Interior Therapy" identified some of the conflicts arising between couples.

These stressors begin with choosing a contractor, architect and consultants, such as home designers and engineers, for help in making the many decisions regarding the scope, feasibility and details of the project.

How to choose a competent and responsible contractor whose personality with whom you can relate and knows how to communicate effectively? How to define the scope or your project and what are your limits?

What can you afford and how far over your budget will you be forced to go when you discover all of the issues hiding behind your ceilings and walls, under your floors and inside your plumbing? Even without complications, how much does "project creep," or the tendency for one improvement to lead to another, enter the scope of work?

And how long will the project take to actually complete beyond contractor estimates? How will you deal with the habits of various sub-contractors and workers in your home on a daily basis, which may violate your sense of personal space? Are you able to speak up assertively, if you feel decisions are being forced on your by a contractor, designer or sub-contractors?

But the stressors also include the more intangible psychological and emotional issues between couples when they decide to embark upon a remodel. This process tends to bring to the surface whatever dynamics are being played out between a couple that may have been hidden by the consistency of their physical space and not having to deal with important decision-making and major expenditures.

Examples include communication problems, lack of knowledge and differences in design and taste, conflict resolution, control of decision-making and finances, difficulty adjusting to the disruption of personal space and common routine by the mess of demolition and coping with and the noise and inconvenience of construction.

It is not uncommon to hear stories of how difficulty in dealing with interpersonal communication and poor conflict resolution issues led to severe marital strain and, sometimes, even eventual separation and divorce. Don't be afraid to seek counseling together before the stress reaches intolerable levels. The resentment between couples that may build up over the course of months of construction may linger after the project is completed, detracting from their ability to enjoy the outcome.

For couples who want to avoid adding marital strain to the unavoidable remodel stressors, it is best to come to agreement about an approximate budget for the project before beginning, as well as who will be the primary decision maker about matters of taste when these issues arise. Most couples find that requiring both to mutually approve of every decision is just too much to bear.

It is also a good idea to make sure that you have activities that take you out of the home to make sure you have breaks from the wear and tear of daily construction. It is common for sexual interest and frequency to diminish during a remodel and for anxiety over the cost to be played out by overeating or other compulsive behaviors. Keeping to daily established routines of diet, exercise and sleep helps cope with the added stress and mitigates the chaos of construction.

Drs. STEVEN and DEBORAH HENDLIN are clinical psychologists in Newport Beach.

Copyright © 2016, Daily Pilot