Posts by Tiffany McLain
Upward Mobility Downfalls, Part 3: Getting to the Bottom of Money Woes
Molly initially sought therapy because she wanted tools to cope with her overwhelming anxiety. Despite working feverishly, Molly felt as though she was drowning. She had used student loans and credit cards to get through school and now this debt was accruing at an exponential rate. She’d moved to San Francisco because of the booming…
Upward Mobility Downfalls, Part 2: When Upward Mobility Threatens You Relationship
Willa and her boyfriend, Ben, moved to San Francisco together five years ago. Willa was eager to say goodbye to her small town in order to pursue greater professional opportunity. Ben was happy to join her. Given her willingness to “lean in”, Willa excelled at a tech start-up and developed an active social network. Though…
Leveling Up: Avoiding the Downfalls of Upward Mobility
We don’t often hear about the negative psychological implications of moving up the professional ladder. Many of us are unaware of the stress that results from the subtle ways we are called upon to shift identities in order to meet the expectations our external environment.
Power Coupling: From Fighting Against to Fighting For Your Relationship
Suck it up and do it. Fight for your relationship by looking at your part and get an expert if you can’t.
Darling, You’ve Gotten, Well… Fat.
In our culture, the concept of being “Fat” is often equated to laziness, associated with the lack of motivation or desire to grow. Thus, pointing out that your partner has packed on the pounds can feel like a landmine.
Treyvon Martin or Miley Cyrus: The Psychology of Denial
The deadline for this article was fast approaching and I found myself bereft of ideas. Bewildered, I searched the TMZ headlines for some story – any story – that could be ripe for pop psychoanalytic scrutiny: What might Renee Zellweger’s astonishing new look say about the state of women in society today? What does Chris…
Psychotherapy and the Fundamentals of Life
As a young person, I hated math. By the time I made it into 1st grade, I began to sense a connection between those drills, 100 problems in 90 seconds, and my own flimsy mortality. I decided early on that numbers were created for no other purpose than to torture the pure of heart and, thus,…
Listening to Depression: The Choice of a New Generation
Meet Poppy. She’s spunky, hip and successful. She’s the V.P. of marketing at a happening firm and recently got married to a successful lawyer. She and her beau are also in the process of baby-making talks. Life is, well… perfect. Only, it isn’t. In those rare moments of inactivity, Poppy increasingly finds herself feeling exhausted,…
A Message to the Last Single Lady in San Francisco
Many of us have been witness to the confusing phenomenon, which I will call the Accidental-Man-of-My-Dreams Syndrome, or AMMDS for short. It goes like this: Your best friend (or colleague or younger sister, or other single lady), declares she isn’t all that interested in settling down. She is happy focusing on the job that she…