Dear Drama Observers, The subject of conspiracy theories seems to be all the rage these days—either the content of the theories themselves or the fact that such things are being propagated. Webster defines a conspiracy theory this way: “a theory that explains an event or set of circumstances as the result of a secret plot […]
Dear Drama Observers, Later this month—February 24th to be precise—I’ll be participating in a 6-hour webcast program with my friend and fellow psychologist, Gregory W. Lester, Ph.D. Greg will present the first three hours and I’ll present the last three of our seminar entitled: “Demystifying Personality Disorders: Clinical Skills for Working With Drama and Manipulation.” […]
Dear Drama Observers, In March of 1965, Civil Rights protestors began a peaceful march from Selma, Alabama to the state capital in Montgomery where they intended to advocate for changes in state laws which inhibited the voting rights of African American citizens. In what came to be known as Bloody Sunday, state troopers attacked the […]
Dear Drama Observers, I sent this out on the 50th Anniversary of MLK’s death but it seemed apropos to send it out on the day we commemorate his birth. *** Martin Luther King is one of those figures who looms larger on our national landscape as the years go by. There’s a sense in which, […]
Dear Drama Observers, There are times when something I wrote a while back seems vastly more relevant than when I first wrote it. That’s happening a lot lately. What follows is from a year and a half ago: *** Most of us have heard that freedom of speech in America comes with a caveat: “You […]
Dear Drama Observers, Some people who fit into the category called Narcissism are more irritating than dangerous. More benign than malignant. My favorite go-to example of a benign narcissist is Michael Scott, the fictional manager of Dunder Mifflin, Scranton Branch on The Office who once laid bare his narcissistic self by saying: Do I need […]
Dear Drama Observers, We’re sitting here on Christmas night watching Dickens’ A Christmas Carol and I thought, “Man, this movie has so many good illustrations I could use in The Drama Review,” only to remember I had quoted from it extensively, not only last December but the one before that. So, I thought I might […]
Dear Drama Observers, “So, where do you work?” I asked a new client as he sat down in my office after having just walked in from the waiting room. “I work at (name of company), also known as Adult Kindercare.” Another client, a longtime plant foreman, once told me, “When I retire soon, I plan […]
Dear Drama Observers, Every psychology student is familiar with the nature-nurture debate. That is, how do we explain why people are the way they are? One way to answer that question is to attribute our make-ups to genetics and biology (nature). Like sharing the physical attributes of a mom or dad, people’s personality traits are […]
Dear Drama Observers, I’m often asked the question, “Do manipulators know what they’re doing?” In other words, do they have full awareness of their manipulative ploys and are they doing so consciously and deliberately? I think that’s a good question and I find myself unwilling to dogmatize either way. I suspect the best answer is: […]