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Therapy Isn’t Advice… That Would Be Too Easy
There’s a reason we crave advice. We value our elders for a reason: grandparents, pastors, people who’ve lived long enough to have earned some wisdom. Advice has its place, and there’s nothing wrong with wanting it. But somewhere along the way, a lot of us started expecting therapy or mentorship to function the same way. Walk in with a problem, walk out with an answer.
Devotion Is Not a Detour: Identifying Spiritual Bypassing in Our Friendships with the Saints
I lost my own father several years ago, in that same season of life when I was becoming a father myself. Grieving a father while trying to become one has a way of making a devotion to St. Joseph feel less like an idea and more like a lifeline. There was real comfort in bringing that grief to him, in letting him father the parts of me that were still, in some sense, a son who had just lost his dad. That comfort was legitimate, and still is.
THE DESIRE BENEATH DESIRE: A Psychologist Reads Nolan’s Odyssey
Odysseus needed the ropes because the song, heard alone, would have destroyed him. That much has not changed; self-knowledge without accompaniment is dangerous, and anyone who has sat with a person in the early stages of seeing themselves clearly knows it. But we do not hear the song alone, and we are not tied to the mast waiting for it to end.
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A Match Made in Heaven: 5 Tips for Online Dating
I want to give some tips for online dating, to the very large population of single men and women using the same means to find their vocation that Barbra and I did. The love of my life I married the love of my life. I met the one woman in the world chosen for me from...
An Excerpt from Kathryn Anne Casey’s Book, “Journey In love”
We are sharing an excerpt from Kathryn Anne "Casey's book, "Journey In Love, A Catholic Mother's Prayers After Prenatal Diagnosis. (You can find a link at the bottom of this page to purchase the book) The ultrasound was our first opportunity to see our child. The...
What’s the One Secret to Living a Faithful Life?
Living a faithful life comes down to one thing: trust. It all comes down to trust. I suppose I shouldn’t start with that if it all comes down to it so I will back up. So many things stem from distrust Anxiety, Neuroticism, Eating Disorders, Phobias, Depression,...
St. Therese: Just a Cute Saint?
St. Therese is generally regarded as a cute saint. But there was much more to her as found in her writing and way of thinking that we can apply to our lives today. St. Therese's not-so-cute writing In her autobiography, she wrote the types of things that might make...
Gosnell, Sex, and “The Walking Dead”
In a world of culture wars and absence of thinking, it is vital that we preserve culture and civilization in ourselves. This is true as a group wherever possible, but primarily and most importantly as individuals. What I've learned about culture wars from The Walking...
On Having a Baby
My wife gave birth to our first son, Elijah. This event has turned my life upside down. Here are some of my thoughts on having a baby. 3 thoughts I've had over the past year What I thought I knew before was only a shadow of knowledge, and what I felt before was...
Show Me Your Face: Being Present With Your Children
Jenny Uebbing shares how you can try to be more present with your children during the times when you'd rather escape parenting. Parenting in 21st century America “Mommy, make a happy face at me.” I look up from the glow of my laptop, irritated, hearing for perhaps the...
What Does Catholic Psychology Mean?
Catholic Psychology is built on the premise that we are on a journey for purpose, and we can find happiness if we look in the right place. In the image and likeness of God Catholic Anthropology (the study of human beings) is built on the principle that human...
The Darkness of Time and the Light of Faith
Though we are limited by our mortal understanding, our souls can find reassurance when we remember the promises of God and Jesus Christ, who is the light of our faith. Light and darkness In his encyclical Lumen Fidei, Pope Francis talks about faith as...
Who Would Win – Chuck Norris or the Dos Equis Guy?
If we know it or not, the natural need for male role models is inside all of us. Awe-inspiring men Every day I take the subway to my office and I spend a few minutes staring at the ads in the train. On the NYC trains, one company sometimes buys all of the ad space in...
Abortion Hurts Women, Despite Flawed Research
There is no doubt in my mind that abortion hurts women. Let's talk about the research that would have us believe otherwise and why I'm so upset about it. A flawed study “Abortion is found to have little effect on women’s mental health.” WHAT?! Is this...
CatholicPsych Is Back in Manhattan!
You can now find CatholicPsych in Manhattan! A new collaboration: CatholicPsych and the Gianna Center We are excited to announce a new collaboration between the CatholicPsych Institute and the Gianna Center in NY. As we are a union of body and spirit, treatment for...
Banana Chips, Motherhood, and Mindfulness
Guest blogger Barbra Bottaro reflects on how both motherhood and mindfulness can exist at the same time, especially when it seems impossible. 10:47am on a Wednesday We were enduring the 4th snowstorm in three weeks, and it was the first day of Spring. We...
The Masculinity of St. Joseph
What does "non-toxic" masculinity looks like in today's culture? Does "non-toxic" masculinity exist? What's the first image that comes to your mind when you think about "masculinity"? The image will most likely differ drastically from person to person, and could range...
A Word on Acceptance and Infertility
Thanks to Amy Sherlock of Healthy Homes Fertility Care for this guest post on acceptance and trust in the face of infertility. Why do we hate acceptance? I started this blog post over two weeks ago. I wrote the title, then placed the cursor into the body of the...
Facing Racial Inequity & Answering the Call to Respect Life
Guest Blogger Dr. Emily Dowdell, CPI Psychologist, shares her thoughts on standing against racial inequity as a committed Catholic. The #BlackLivesMatter socio-political movement is a call to action It is a cry to be seen, to be heard, and for an end to...
5 Lessons for Bishops from a Married Man
I’d like to humbly share five lessons for Bishops from my own marriage and those I have worked with. To the Bishops of the Catholic Church Who Are Not Complicit in Scandalous Crimes: (To the Bishops who did know about the scandals and coverups, I’m not ready to write...
5 Things to Know about the Church Crisis
I offer these observations as a humble attempt to contribute to the conversation that will hopefully move us through this church crisis to the great hope of renewal on the other side. As a Catholic Psychologist, I work very closely with the Church I am, of course,...
5 Things to Do During the Church Crisis
With all the negativity and even the reality that there is little we can do in the face of some of this church crisis evil (read my post here about why this is the case), I want to talk about some things we can do. 1. Stay Catholic The Body of...
Psychology in Star Wars: The Force Awakens – The Male Hero Has Vanished
Have you ever considered the psychology of the Star Wars films? I'd like to talk about the different characters in the new film and how some of the dynamics have shifted with male and female leads. Let’s begin with an “opening crawl” of caveats: FULL SPOILER ALERT I’m...
Answering God’s Call in the Midst of Cultural Chaos
I have been thinking and praying about how God is calling me to be a witness, and as a result, have decided it's time to do something new. A broken culture Most people don't believe me when I say this, but it's true: I don't watch the news. So a couple weeks ago when...
Break Ya Neck or Learn Some Virtue
Objectifying women is a result of men's weakness and lack of virtue. I learned as a young student (and am still learning) how the Holy spirit can change our hearts and fill us with virtue. Beautiful women are NOT the problem Before I transferred to Franciscan...
Our Mom of Guadalupe
Mary is God's mom, and she is also our mom. If we believe this powerful truth, it can fill us with belonging and love. Mary's appearance to Juan Diego Our Lady of Guadalupe is such a fascinating apparition of the Blessed Mother. First of all, she poses a real problem...
Arguing in Marriage: Are You “Always Right?”
I'm the kind of person who thinks I'm always right. But as I've learned in my marriage, this kind of thinking often leads me to be wrong. Let's talk about about how men and women being wired differently leads to arguing in marriage. Something I'm not an expert on I...
50 Shades of Love in a Hopeless Place
From celebrities to bestselling books, our culture is suffering a dangerous identity crisis involving violence masked as love. Violence in the media You may have read in the news that Chris Brown was brought to court because he allegedly did not complete his community...
Turning Loneliness into Solitude
We all experience a longing for Heaven, often manifested as loneliness here on Earth. Let's talk about this feeling and how we can use it to our benefit. A longing even your spouse can't fill I am now 17 days away from getting married. Everyone has a unique and...
Carried in His Grace
Maureen O'Connell shares her personal experience with miscarriage and how Jesus carried her in His grace through the unexpected grief and loss her family felt. "I will take care of everything" It was February 2017 and I was leading a group at church through Dr. Greg’s...