Following the horrific mass shootings in the Atlanta area this week, people have been trying to make sense of why and how an individual could kill a number of people, apparently targeting women of Asian background. Our need to make sense of something like this serves two very strong needs for all of us: First,… Continue Reading Intersections of violence

One of the basic tenets of Alfred Adler’s theory is that most social realities are fictions – and they are either socially useful fictions, or else socially useless (harmful) ones. This “psychology of ‘as-if,’” which Adler adopted from the philosopher Hans Vaihinger, is similar to the post-modern or social constructivist way of thinking, and says… Continue Reading No, We’re Not “Divided” – Some of Us Are Simply Lost from Social Reality

The recent tragedy involving the murders of a news reporter and camera operator on the air in Roanoke, Virginia is a reminder that workplace grievances and grudges can erupt into violence very easily, and that terminating a person’s employment can be the trigger that causes a marginally disturbed person to become violent. Taking away a… Continue Reading Predicting and Preventing Workplace Violence: An EAP’s Worst Nightmare

In the aftermath of the horrific shootings in Sandy Hook Elementary School, we see (as we do after each of these increasingly common incidents) many pieces in news media and from mental health experts (including the American Psychological Association) on how to talk to children about such tragedies. Unfortunately, we adults also need help in… Continue Reading Unspeakable Horror