Dr. Stanley Goldstein - Author and Psychologist

Psychologists describe the part of the mind which controls behavior as the “Executive Function” and there are few greater fears than its loss. Without a locus of control, no one can function adequately. While its loss is a common fear, this is almost always unjustified. When occurring, it is usually with those whose sense  Read More 

Parents know that infants vary greatly in their “sturdiness,” their ability to tolerate separation from them. Children with extreme responses to separation are buffeted by panic after instances of parental “abandonment” that is manageable for less vulnerable youngsters.
Parental unavailability is devastating for them, promoting clinginess and a desperate need to ensure parental proximity.  Read More 

Abuse victims fall apart psychologically (decompensate) in stages. The victim first denies the reality of imminent danger with a stubbornness bordering on the psychotic. When this defense against the reality of the situation fails, the victim tends to lose control of themselves and give up. As other people fail to help them, the victim feels given up on and enters a state of resignation. Finally,as all  Read More 

“Allostasis” reflects the body’s normal ability to function despite stress. The “allostatic load” is the hidden price paid when the person is under continuing stress. This causes alteration (dysregulation) of the body’s stress-response system, reducing its customary, adequate processes of containment. Thus, individuals who have been exposed to traumatic stress tend to  Read More 

The aloofness noted in autistic children often becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy when their therapist considers it a given, something amenable only to simplistic reward/punishment behavior modification techniques. But the autistic child does have relationships though these are inadequate and require nurturing through play therapy.
No special techniques are required since the basic  Read More 

1. Therapists possess varying society derived attitudes toward the military ranging from gratitude and respect to abhorrence and scorn. Those therapists holding the latter views would be unsuccessful.
2. Therapists who believe that veterans seeking treatment for PTSD do so primarily to gain compensation.
3. Therapists who hold the view that soldiers, rather than being patriotic, are blood-lusting savages who relish war  Read More 

A highly acclaimed book by Eri Hotta, “Japan 1941: Countdown to Infamy,” (Vintage, 2013) describes the complex nature of Japan's decision making immediately before World War II. Their politicians and military leaders knew little of the outside world and had no coherent political strategy. They thought in terms of personal advantage rather than the nation’s prosperity.
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One crucial task of early childhood is for a child to develop a secure sense of who they are or, as psychologists call it, a sense of self. This ordinarily occurs naturally through a child’s continuing interactions with their parents. But if these were inadequate, the child’s poorly developed  Read More 

1. It is a time of great intensity when feelings are heightened and life takes on new meaning.
2. During wartime, sports terminology such as “winning” and “losing” are used, battle thus being experienced as a game.
3. War allows soldiers great freedom to behave without fear of punishment, even to engage in acts which are ordinarily  Read More 

A month ago I traveled via Amtrak to a city with possibly the highest murder rate in America. I'm not sure if it's Number One. Back when I was in graduate school, Cleveland strove for that dubious distinction. My destination was ten miles outside the city. Upon arriving at the train station, I had  Read More