A Psychology of Becoming

Here's where I share what I'm thinking about. I would love your comments.

12 Apr Let’s Not Call Them Mental Health Experts Anymore

Posted at 18:22h in Critical psychiatry, DSM-5, Human Development, Psychology of Becoming, Youth Development 2 Comments

Reprinted below is my Psychology Today column, "Danger! A Frightening New Mental Illness." A friend from South Africa contacted me today to see if I had read the article about a new diagnosis, sluggish cognitive tempo. I hadn’t. My first thought was that she must be referring to some parody of...

08 Apr Conceptual Oppression

Posted at 18:15h in Activity Theory, Learning Environments, Philosophy, Psychology of Becoming, Vygotsky, Wittgenstein 4 Comments

I spent the past weekend in Philadelphia at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association. One of the events I participated in was a half-day professional development course. My task was to share aspects of my version of cultural historical activity theory (CHAT) in relation to the issues...

16 Feb Beyond the Therapeutic State

Posted at 03:07h in Critical psychiatry, DSM-5, Events, I Like This, Psychology of Becoming, Psychotherapy, What's New 2 Comments

That’s the title of a conference taking place in Norway this coming June. I like the title for a few reasons. First, therapy has become “an arm” of the state. Second, I agree that we must believe in and work for something other than (“beyond”) the current therapy institution (what...

30 Jan The Mystery of Play at TEDx

Posted at 00:07h in Creativity, Culture, Events, Human Development, Play, Psychology of Becoming, Speaking Engagements, What's New 2 Comments

Announcing TEDxNavesink PLAY I'm happy to say that I'll be there in Red Bank NJ on May 10 2014. for this unique event on the subject of PLAY. I'll be one of two dozen presenters (list in formation). I titled my talk, "Unveiling the Mystery of How Play Helps Us to Grow at...

12 Jan What a thing is language!

Posted at 03:27h in Activity Theory, Creativity, Culture, Language, Philosophy, Popular Posts, Psychology of Becoming, Speaking Engagements 7 Comments

Here’s something I’ve been mulling over for a long time (decades!): the “blessing and the curse” that is human language. What an invention! Making sounds together creating meanings, meanings creating and shaping and reshaping perceptions, concepts, beliefs, feelings, relationships, images, imagination… What we have done and continue to do with, and...

27 Dec Reflections 2013

Posted at 22:13h in Interviews, Psychology, Psychology of Becoming, Publications 2 Comments

December 27, 2013 Last week I was invited to be profiled in The Psychologist, the monthly publication of the British Psychological Society. Their “One on One” section features informal, off-the-cuff interviews with psychologists, designed to show the range and diversity of work and opinions. The editor sent me a list of...

21 Dec How Do We See What We See?

Posted at 01:36h in Culture, Human Development, Philosophy, Psychology of Becoming 9 Comments

December 20, 2013 Ever since I heard long ago that “Eskimos have 100 words for snow” I’ve been fascinated by how we see, and the ways that our culture and language inter-relate with our perceptions. Never mind that the “words for snow” claim has been questioned and debated for more than...

29 Nov Introducing “Our” Vygotsky’s

Posted at 05:38h in Psychology of Becoming 0 Comments

In October and November, I led two Vygotsky seminars, one in person in NYC and the other online. About 40 people participated, many of them familiar with Newman and Holzman’s Vygotsky (what we call “our” Vygotsky in our writings) as practitioners in NYC, in other areas of the US and in many other...

21 Nov Freedom from Knowing

Posted at 22:44h in Creativity, Culture, Psychology of Becoming 13 Comments

November 21, 2013 Dear Readers, I'll be transferring this site to its newly designed, easier to navigate, and more intereactive format over this weekend. It's been nearly two months in the making and, while I'm pretty happy with it, what matters is if you are! The impetus for the redesign was my decision...

25 Oct Creativity in Play—It’s a Great Listen

Posted at 13:49h in Creativity, Culture, Education, Human Development, Performance Movement, Psychology of Becoming 0 Comments

October 26, 2013 If you think that creativity, play and imagination are vital to personal and social transformation, then I have some folks you need to meet—Steve Dahlberg and Mary Alice Long. Steve is director of the Connecticut-based International Centre for Creativity and Imagination, which applies creativity to improve the well-being of individuals, organizations...