Dr. James Husen, Licensed Psychologist, Licensed Attorney, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist

 Baumeister's Self Explained I've started reading Dr. Baumeister's The Self Explained. The hardback hasn't been released yet but the Ebook has. I'm excited to be learning from such a master. I plan to read portions of the book for you so you can follow along if you desire. Part 1: The Remarkable Human Self  1. Chapter 1, What is the Self, pp. 3 through 9 . 2. Chapter 2, The Self in Social Context, pp. 10 through 21 . 3. Chapter 3. How the Western Self was Shaped, pp. 22 through 35.   4. Chapter, 4, Different Societies Make Different Kinds of Selves, pp. 36 through 41. 5. Chapter 5, Four Pitfalls of Self Theories: No Self, Multiples Selves, True/Authentic Selves, and Self Actualization, pp. 42 through 64 . Part 2: Why Do We Have Selves? 6. Chapter 6: Some Beginnings of Self (pp. 65-73) 7. Chapter 7: How Baby Grows Up To Have a Working Self (pp. 74-93) 8. Chapter 8: Human Groups Need (And Shape) Selves (pp. 94-103) . 9. Chapter 9: Moral Reputation as Foundation to Sel...

 The Logic of Trauma Reading Freud this afternoon I am reminded that Trauma resides in the unconscious and more specifically procedural memory bypassing conscious recall when activated. 1 Sensory and/or situational cues associated with unresolved trauma activate amygdala driven high intensity HPA stress responses. Traumatic memory by definition is implicit, procedural, somatic and unconscious. Residing in the unconscious such memories are triggered “automatically in the course of perceiving”. Traumatic memories evade the normal healing and integrative powers of time and bypass rational thought. They carry a logic of their own—the logic of survival. 2 The beauty of healing from trauma involves a restoration in six key areas of functioning: 1. Emotional and Impulse Control; 2. Attention and Concentration; 3. Self-Perception; 4. Relationships; 5. Somatic Health; and, 6. Systems of Meaning. 3 References 1. Freud, S. (1915) The Unconscious. The Standard Edition of the Complete ...

 In this short reading I discuss Demand Characteristics and how the relate to experimenter bias and the need to control for such in conducting research and, in my profession, child custody evaluations. Click the link below to hear my reading about Clever Hans and an interesting take on Hans and the implications of Pgunsts' (1911) research into the Clever Hans case as it relates to studies of animal language, especially that of apes and chimpanzees. Demand Characteristics  

 In reading from Dan P. McAdams' book "The Art and Science of Personality Development" yesterday, I came across a book by Robin Dunbar entitled " How many friends does one person need? Dunbar’s number and other evolutionary quirks" which I delightedly found on Internet Archive , Chapter 22, How Evolution Found God. I think it's a pretty good introduction to the issue of why the issue of evolution and the ubiquity of religion among humankind. You can see and hear me read this chapter to you at this link: How Evolution Found God . How you enjoy my reading. Dr. Husen

  Reading from  Sauer-Zavala, Shannon & Barlow, David, H. (2021). Neuroticism: A new framework for emotional disorders and their treatment. New York: The Guilford Press, they quoted Turkheimer: Variance and causation in behavioral development: (1) "Genes are an inextricable component of any developmental system, and thus genes are involved in all traits ” and " all traits are heritable. " (Gottlieb, G. (1992). Individual development and evolution: The genesis of novel behavior. New York: Oxford University Press at p. 147). The nature vs. nurture debate continues but we are gaining a deeper understanding of just how important and foundational genetics and natural selection are in the evolution of our capacity for complex behavior. If interested, I read the first half of Chapter 2 to you at the following link: https://www.dropbox.com/s/5vy2n6w1tgmse65/Neuroticism%2C%20Chapter%202%2C%20Part%201.mp4?dl=0

 Dr. Husen here, 11/21/21 (Sunday Morning). I'll be reading from a new book I've been thoroughly enjoying. I read here, Chapter 1 of  Sauer-Zavala, Shannon & Barlow, David, H. (2021). Neuroticism: A new framework for emotional disorders and their treatment. New York: The Guilford Press. I take some scholarly excursions to Internet Archive to read from a source book and a journal article or two as I explore the history behind Saurer-Zavala and Barlow's wonderful definition of Neuroticism. They write: “At a fundamental level, neuroticism can be thought of as stress reactivity, that is, strong surges of negative emotion in response to both external and internal triggers (Barlow, Ellard, Saur-Zavala, bullace, Carl, Bullis & Ellard, 2014a). Anxiety, fear, guilt, anger, and sadness are the discrete states most often referenced with regard to this propensity to experience negative emotions. Additionally, neuroticism is characterized by the perception or sense that the worl...

1. 11/15/21, In my studies this morning I got to thinking about whether Child Custody Evaluations bring back pre 1970s where "fault" for the divorce was often determinative of custody decisions. To investigate the issue I thought I'd read and record the law beginning with the history of the law on the "best interests of the child" standard using a practice guide I subscribe to -- CEB's Child Custody Litigation: https://www.dropbox.com/s/d68k7or1aas8xrx/1%2C%20Best%20Interests%20of%20Child%2C%20History.mp4?dl=0 2. 11/21/21, In my studies this evening I pick up where I left off last Sunday. This evening we'll start with the court's broad discretion: The Change of Circumstances Rule However, the changed circumstances rule does not apply unless there has been a final or permanent custody order ( Montenegro v .  Diaz  (2001)  26 Cal.4th 249, 256 ), such as where a custody determination has been made after a contested evidentiary hearing on the merits. (Se...