CAVEATS TO MY POSTS

Things I want you to know that I know

I believe psychology is not always like the hard sciences or maths where there are concrete right and wrong answers. Sometimes there are, but more often, psychology is much more subjective.

I write from my clinical perspective after studying psychology, being trained as a therapist, and seeing clients AND I want to make it very transparent that I write from my personal biases because I am still me - with my life story and all of the experiences that have shaped who I am to this point. I don't believe it is possible for any therapist or any human being to ever be totally objective so I don't want to pretend or mislead you that just because I am a therapist, I have this magical ability to come to any of these topics I write about objectively. It's like when a jury hears something in a trial and is then directed to "disregard that last statement". How is that possible? We can't unhear something we heard!

When my clients directly ask me for advice, I do give it but I make sure I also tell them that if they lined up 10 psychotherapists, they would likely hear 10 different perspectives because most of the time, when it comes to the nuances of our lives and human emotions, there is not one correct answer.

When I write about the psychology in Formula One (or any sport or event in the media), I assume that from what I watch on the broadcasts and read in articles, I might be getting 1% out of the total 100% of what goes on in that world of whatever it is I am writing about. I see what Netflix shows me and what different news sources report and I understand that those sources often have their own biases.

So, please know that:

1.) I humbly acknowledge this and

2.) I don't presume to completely understand the psychology of any individual I write about

I write about Formula One racing because I think it is a fascinating sport from a psychological perspective. There is so much intensity and emotional engagement between the teams and the drivers that it is dripping with psychology in a palpable way unlike any other sport I have ever seen. I never thought I would be interested in cars or in the sport but it is psychologically captivating.

I have a HUGE love of sports and have since I was little. If I could retire now, I think I would alternate my time between laying on a tropical beach and reading, swimming in the ocean, going on adventures, and attending way too many sporting events!

I also write about movies, tv shows, events, and people in the public eye because all of this is so influential in American culture and in broader world culture. I sort of view this, on the one hand, as a negative but on the other hand, regardless of whether or not I like it, it is how the world is spreading information and connecting. So, I decided I might as well use the material we see in the news and throughout social media and analyze and learn from it because in that way, we are socially engaged and asking questions instead of just thoughtlessly ingesting what we are fed by the media.

So I encourage you to email me anytime if you read something I post that confuses you or that you disagree with or if you have any questions because I am happy to discuss any issues that arise from my posts. Ultimately, I went into the field of psychology to support people so hopefully, there will be things on here that can help!