Cortney S. Warren, Ph.D.

Feeling happier is the result of daily efforts to create a fulfilling life. “Happiness will never come to those who fail to appreciate what they already have.” — Buddha Photo Credit: Clay Banks: https://unsplash.com/@claybanks You probably want to feel happier. To wake up each morning with a smile on your face, thoughts of gratitude on your mind, and a lightness in your step. It sounds blissful.…

The Struggles Many Face During Breakups

Love can easily turn into obsession. Now, since we’re not together My life is black and white, I’d pay any price For just one night together So I can mainline, freebase, shoot up your love I’m an exaholic, call it what you call it All I know’s I want it, I-I can’t help it —”Exaholic,” Britney Spears In a recently leaked demo track titled “Exaholic,” Britney Spears brings public attention to the…

Is Monogamy Still a Good Relationship Model? Why Honesty is More Important to Relationship Success than The Model Itself.

Photo: istockphoto-917874814-170667a fizkes Cultural norms and practices around sex, love, and marriage are shifting. In Western cultural contexts, romanticized, often religiously-informed views of marriage as a partnership between a man and a woman who meet, fall in love, get married, procreate, refuse sexual or romantic encounters with anyone but their spouse, and live happily ever after are…

The Power of Choice in the Face of Adversity

Strive to respond to difficult life realities with forgiveness, compassion, and care. Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and freedom. –  Viktor Frankl Photo credit: Pixabay Devanath Life is full of difficult realities that we have little to no control over. In 2020, examples of challenging life…

A Celebration of the Life of Dr. Karen J. Warren

Using philosophical arguments to fight for end of life options until the end.  

“Our ultimate goal, after all, is not a good death but a good life to the very end.”  ― Atul Gawande, Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End

Death is a reality of life. It is a part of life. It is an inevitable reality of being human. One day, we will all die. And yet, it is a reality that many of us don’t…

Understanding how cultural conditioning shapes racial bias can help us change.

   “We are living in a racism pandemic… The health consequences are dire. Racism is associated with a host of psychological consequences, including depression, anxiety and other serious, sometimes debilitating conditions, including post-traumatic stress disorder and substance use disorders. Moreover, the stress caused…

Declines in Physical Activity During COVID-19 Highlight Need for Exercise

Why movement is important while quarantined and how to get back on track.

*This blog was co-written by Dr. Cortney S. Warren, PhD, ABPP and guest author, Dr. Darian Parker, PhD, NSCA-CPT*

Source: Wokandapix, Pixabay

As we socially distance to stop the spread of COVID-19, most Americans are getting far less exercise than usual. In a nationwide initiative to track the attitudes, behaviors, and…

Is stress about the coronavirus affecting your eating?

As the world attempts to curtail the COVID-19 pandemic, most of us are feeling increasingly stressed. As recently described by the World Health Organization (WHO, 2020), fear, anxiety, and uncertainty about the disease itself is co-occurring with requirements for social distancing and increasingly difficult economic realities with an unknown…

Developing Gratitude Amidst Life’s Struggle

Being grateful for positive aspects of your life can improve your emotional well-being when facing challenges.

Most of us are emotionally struggling with something at any given moment. Whether it be difficult financial realities, relationship discord, parenting challenges, physical illness, self-doubt, addiction, or concerns for the environment, it is easy to find emotionally-charged issues to…

How Honest Are People in Online Dating Profiles?

New research study reveals that 70% of singles see photo filters as deceptive.

Conflict of Interest Statement. In all research consultations in which I engage, I operate as an independent evaluator and strive to make recommendations and conclusions in an unbiased, ethical and professional manner. That said, it is ethically warranted that I disclose conflicts of interest when present. In this…

“18 to 24 Months to Live”

Jenni Barebitsky

Dr. Jenni Kleinman Berebitsky shares why honesty is important to living with ALS.

Honestly confronting mortality as a human is psychologically challenging—especially when faced with a terminal illness.

This topic has been especially relevant to my life of late as my mother, Dr. Karen J. Warren, faces her own mortality.

This guest blog by Dr. Jenni Kleinman Berebitsky describes…

I Just Received a Media Request… What Should I Do?

The Opportunities and Ethical Challenges of Media Interaction for Psychologists

People are consuming and interacting with the media at increasingly high rates. Generally defined as a means of mass communication (“Oxford Dictionaries,” n.d.), the media includes radio, television, film, published written content, and the internet. According to 2017 data from Statistica (www.statistica.com) the…

Stupid. Ugly. Sloppy. Lazy. Undisciplined. Fat.

Exploring women’s experiences with weight stigma and sizeism in psychotherapy.

Lake Constance Courtesy of photosforyou, Pixabay

Stupid. Ugly. Sloppy. Lazy. Undisciplined. Fat. These are all words frequently used to describe people who are overweight or obese in Western cultures. A new special issue of Women & Therapy (2019) titled, Make Space for Every Body: Ending Sizeism in Psychotherapy and…

Why Have Overdose Rates Risen for Middle-Aged Women?

The role of body image and weight concern in drug use. Source: Pexels http://ow.ly/png630nTkoM

Drug overdoses have skyrocketed in a population you might not expect: Middle-aged women.

A recent report published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reviewed death-certificate data from individuals who died in the United States between 1999 and 2017 (VanHouten, Rudd, Ballesteros, &…

From Grand Rounds to Dr. Phil: Can Psychologists Be on TV?

Five ethical issues and recommendations for psychologists working in the media.

The world is consuming and interacting with the media at increasingly high rates. According to Statistica, in 2017, Americans spent an average of over 12 hours a day (721 minutes) engaging with the media. Specifically, television was the most consumed medium, watched by an estimated 75 percent of the US population.…

“Protect the lie and you protect the village…”

“You will be surprised what they will believe.” -Stonekeeper, Smallfoot (2018)

  As the mother of two small children, I see a lot of kid’s movies. Some have meaningful take-home messages, whereas others are purely entertaining without a meaningful lesson.

Recently, I took my kids to the newly released movie Smallfoot (2018). Woven into the entertaining animated storyline was one of the most…

Suicide in the United States

Understanding the warning signs and steps to intervene can save a life.

Anthony Bourdain. Kate Spade. Robin Williams. Chester Bennington. Chris Cornell. In the last year, a number of very public deaths have brought the topic of suicide to the forefront of public health.

And rightfully so, because research suggests that suicide rates are on the rise. A report published by the Center for Disease…