
I have a private practice in the San Francisco Bay Area, and I am an emeritus professor at the Wright Institute in Berkeley. My contributions to psychology center on the study of emotion, including grief, shame, and motivational styles. This work highlights a perspective on grief as an ongoing process interconnected with memory and emotional response. It emphasizes the role of shame in psychopathology, particularly depression, helping clarify misconceptions about anger and self-directed negative emotions. Additionally, my research challenges traditional views on motivation and task completion, demonstrating that procrastination can be a valid motivational style. My endeavor to convey an understanding of emotion and its significant role in who we become is exemplified by Psychology Today and Thrive Global blog posts and my books: Grief Isn’t Something to Get Over: Finding a Home for Memories and Emotions After Losing a Loved One (APA Lifetools Books, 2022); The Upside of Shame: Therapeutic Interventions Using the Positive Aspects of a “Negative” Emotion(Norton, 2018); What Motivates Getting Things Done: Procrastination, Emotions, and Success (Rowman and Littlefield, 2017); Emotions: Making Sense of Your Feelings (APA/Magination Press, 2012); Understanding Myself: A Kid’s Guide to Intense Emotions and Strong Feelings (APA/Magination Press, 2010); and The White Knight Syndrome: Rescuing Yourself From Your Need to Rescue Others (New Harbinger, 2009).
Memory is an essential tool we use for adapting to various circumstances. In situations involving loss, however, new information does not align with our existing memories: Although recent memories inform us of the loved one’s absence, more distant memories remind us of their presence. How we reconcile this clashing information influences our responses to loss. This book illuminates how memory interfaces with loss in interesting and unusual ways.
Many successful people put things off until a deadline beckons them, while countless others can't resist the urge to do things immediately. This book explores the emotional lives of people who are successful in their endeavors--both procrastinators and non-procrastinators alike--to illustrate how the human motivational system works, why people respond to it differently, and how we can use our natural style of getting things done to our advantage.
There is much more to shame than its reputation as a negative emotional state. This clinical book delves into the role of shame in many complex issues such as personality disorders, anxiety, depression, and addictions to show how an understanding of the positive side of shame can be translated into practical therapeutic interventions.
An informative and practical guide filled with current and relevant psychological research on emotions, real-life stories, useful quizzes, and fun-fact boxes to help kids understand the strong feelings and intense emotions that are part of pre-teen life.
What is the point of guilt? Or anxiety? Or hope? Just what are these emotions trying to tell you? Everything!
Emotions are a powerful and extraordinary part of being human. They serve as an instant cueing system to inform us about situations and motivate behavior.
Are you attracted to needy, damaged, or helpless people? Do you feel like your love can heal your partner? Do you make excuses for your partner? Do you try to "save" people from themselves? White knights are men and women who enter into romantic relationships with damaged and vulnerable partners, hoping that love will transform their partner's behavior or life--a pattern that seldom leads to a storybook ending.