PsychSessions: Conversations about Teaching N' Stuff

Garth Neufeld, Eric Landrum
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The PsychSessions podcast is co-hosted by Garth Neufeld from Cascadia College and Eric Landrum from Boise State University. We leverage our connections with psychology teachers from all levels (high school, community college, college, university) and individuals from other occupations to have meaningful conversations about what it means to be an educator. Of course, we veer away from the teaching conversation from time to time to hear about origin stories and the personal perspectives of our guests, touching on current events and topics of interest. Check us out at psychsessions.org

  1. 18 hr ago

    IMMH S2E6: Cultural Competence in Working with Male Clients

    Dr. Andrew Smiler's book Clinical Work with Men: Understanding Masculinity in Psychotherapy was recently released by the American Psychological Association. Andy shared his professional journey from five years in community mental health working with teenage boys, through a PhD in Developmental Psychology, academic work, and eventually into full-time private practice. He traced his entry into men's psychology to a pivotal graduate course on the psychology of gender and formative moments at APA conventions where he encountered Jim Mahalik discussing the CMNI and connected with Fred Rabinowitz from Division 51. The conversation then turned to his book's motivation: with ~80% of mental health professionals female and growing, and existing clinical books on men dating back 20–30 years, he wrote to translate research into practice for clinicians working with male clients. The book is structured with a cultural competence argument, an introduction to his Multifaceted Masculinity Framework (MFMF), and seven composite case studies. Andy then walked through the four facets of the MFMF. Throughout, he challenged the false stereotype that men are simple, emphasizing instead the full complexity of male psychology and inner life.

    IMMH S2E6: Cultural Competence in Working with Male Clients

  2. 18 hr ago

    IMMH S2E5: Lou Levy: How Men's Circles Build Real Friendships

    Lou walks us through exactly what happens inside a men's circle: the opening rituals, the talking stick, the accountability stretches, and yes, even the drumming. He explains the concept of "clearings," a structured practice for owning your own projections rather than directing anger outward, a tool so powerful it was even brought inside Folsom Prison. He's honest about the barriers men face walking into these spaces for the first time, the fear, the unfamiliarity, the cultural scripts that tell men to keep it all in, and why the hardest part is simply getting through the door. He also gives a clear picture of how the Mankind Project works and the remarkable cross-section of men you'll find in these circles: police officers, ex-convicts, CEOs, new fathers, grieving fathers, all showing up and speaking from the heart. And at the center of it all, Lou makes the case that the greatest gift men's work has given him isn't a skill or a technique — it's deep, lasting male friendship, the kind that's increasingly hard to come by as men get older.

    IMMH S2E5: Lou Levy: How Men's Circles Build Real Friendships

  3. 18 hr ago

    IMMH S2E4: The Healing Power of Faith: Religion and Spirituality for Men's Mental Health

    I welcomed back Dr. Anthony Isacco to discuss men, religion, and spirituality. Anthony reflected on his personal journey from mandatory childhood Catholicism to a deliberate adult choice to deepen his faith commitment, a decision he credits as transformative. Despite attending Catholic universities for his master's and Ph.D., he struggled to find guidance integrating spirituality into clinical work until his doctoral internship supervisor, John Davies, created space for this integration. Grounding his work in empirical research, Will Courtney's documentation of men's poor health behaviors and research on men's help-seeking resistance, Dr. Isacco connects a striking gap: regular religious practice is a health-promoting behavior comparable to exercise, yet men engage less with religion than women. This reflects a broader field problem: mental health professionals largely don't identify as religious and don't prioritize spirituality in clinical training. He identified two core barriers: gender socialization leaving young men without male mentors in female-dominated parishes, and attachment wounds where paternal relationships shape views of God. We also discussed forgiveness as countercultural masculine virtue, grounded in service and restoration rather than revenge, exemplified by quite different but helpful examples of Pope John Paul II and the Apple TV show Ted Lasso. Young men, he also emphasized, are hungry for meaning, dignity, and purpose. After recently speaking to young men on ontological worth, he witnessed profound resonance as men as they expressed desires for family, meaningful work, and service. Dr. Isacco also proposed the idea of an ordered masculinity, or a purposeful manhood grounded in virtue, morality, vocation, and service-dimensions psychology is less equipped for but for which religion can provide a framework.

    IMMH S2E4: The Healing Power of Faith: Religion and Spirituality for Men's Mental Health

  4. 2 days ago

    E019: RE-RELEASE: Lee Gurel

    In this Re-Release episode Garth interviews Lee Gurel, who retired from the Chief of Research in Mental Health and Behavioral Sciences position from the Veteran's Administration Hospital in Washington, DC. On receiving the APA Presidential Citizen Psychologist Citation, Lee reflected on his interests in helping high school teachers of psychology have additional professional development opportunities. The conversation includes the importance of his immigrant roots, the special role of Clark University, and more. Lee Gurel passed away on July 24, 2023, at the age of 96. We are grateful for the opportunity to have interviewed him and to preserve a part of his story and legacy.

    E019: RE-RELEASE: Lee Gurel

  5. 11 Aug

    E257: Virginia (Ginger) Wickline: Insights, inspirations, purpose, and power

    In this episode Eric interviews Virginia (Ginger) Wickline from Georgia Southern University in Savannah, GA. Ginger begins with the origin of her name and her career path from a visiting position at the College of Wooster to a decade at Miami University of Ohio and then Georgia Southern in 2018, where she earned tenure again. She describes supportive teacher-parents, being a high-achieving multi-activity student, and switching from English to psychology at Anderson University, including service trips abroad that shaped her diversity interests. Trained in Emory's clinical psychology track, she worked at Grady Hospital under Nadine Kaslow and studied with Scott Lilienfeld. Ginger discusses teaching stats/methods, service learning, study abroad, careers, ethics, personality, and diversity, as well as her varied scholarship (syllabi impressions, intercultural competence, adjustment, nonverbal communication). She highlights the STP-hosted Online Career Exploration Resource 2 (2025), updating Drew Appleby's 300+ psychology career list into a searchable website. Link to online resource: Online Career Exploration Resource (OCER-2) [Note. Portions of the show notes were generated by Descript AI.]

  6. 4 Aug

    E018: RE-RELEASE: Michael Wertheimer

    Step into psychology history with Michael Wertheimer. In this (Re-Release) episode of PsychSessions, Michael reflects on his remarkable career, his educational journey, and what it was like growing up as the son of Max Wertheimer, founder of Gestalt psychology. Along the way, he shares stories from serving as a teaching assistant at Harvard for E. G. Boring and B. F. Skinner, plus insights on balancing work, life, and a lifelong love of travel. Listen wherever you get your podcasts. 🎧

    E018: RE-RELEASE: Michael Wertheimer

  7. 28 Jul

    E256: Nancy Segal: Twin studies, identity mysteries, and genetic reflections (with guest host Jane Halonen)

    In this episode Garth and special guest host Jane Halonen interview Nancy Segal from California State University, Fullerton in Fullerton, CA. Nancy discusses her lifelong twin research, books, and current projects. She describes how an undergraduate essay sparked her career, her work with the Minnesota twins reared-apart study, and how behavioral genetics became more accepted as evidence accumulated. She previews her trade book Twinship: What Twins' Ties Reveal About Relationships and notes she has nine published books, including work on Auschwitz twins, switched-at-birth Colombian identical twins, and a case involving gay fathers and twin sons. Nancy discusses twin-loss research, expert-witness cases, and doppelgangers used to counter "treated alike" critiques. She explains rising twinning rates (delayed childbirth, IVF), emphasizes twin studies' relevance to everyone, rejects evidence for "twin telepathy," and invites participation via her website and twin study center. [Note. Portions of the show notes were generated with Descript AI.]

  8. 21 Jul

    E017: RE-RELEASE: Carol Tavris

    🎙️ How do we separate good science from good storytelling? In this RE-RELEASE episode of PsychSessions, Garth sits down with Carol Tavris to discuss scientific integrity, critical thinking, cognitive dissonance, and the responsibility of communicating psychology accurately to the public. This thought-provoking conversation is a powerful reminder that evidence—not popularity—should guide what we believe and teach. 🎧 Listen now and be inspired to think more critically.

    E017: RE-RELEASE: Carol Tavris
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The PsychSessions podcast is co-hosted by Garth Neufeld from Cascadia College and Eric Landrum from Boise State University. We leverage our connections with psychology teachers from all levels (high school, community college, college, university) and individuals from other occupations to have meaningful conversations about what it means to be an educator. Of course, we veer away from the teaching conversation from time to time to hear about origin stories and the personal perspectives of our guests, touching on current events and topics of interest. Check us out at psychsessions.org

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