The Honest Psychologist

Dr. Whitney Graff and Dr. Paige Hover
  • 5.0 (1)
  • Society & Culture

Welcome to The Honest Psychologist podcast, where two licensed clinical psychologists have joined the chat. honestpsychpod.substack.com

  1. 16h ago

    What does a top ADHD researcher say about the current state of the field?

    This week the docs couldn’t be more honored to welcome Dr. Edmund Sonuga-Barke, a psychologist and research scientist who has been focused on ADHD for the past 35 years. He tells us where things stand in the field right now, the ways he has diverged from his colleagues on how ADHD is understood and discussed, viewing ADHD as a set of traits on a continuum rather than a diagnosis or disorder, his adoption of language like “neurodivergence,” and his commitment to helping people with this condition. Dr. Sonuga-Barke said we should ask an A.I. to write a bio for him and here it is: Edmund Sonuga-Barke is Professor of Developmental Psychology, Psychiatry and Neuroscience at King's College London, where he leads the Experimental Psychopathology and Neurodevelopment research group. He's one of the most highly cited researchers in psychology and psychiatry globally, best known for reshaping how we understand ADHD — moving the field from a fixed-deficit theory of attention to a modern view centered on decision-making, reward processing, and the interplay between environment and constitution. He's a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences and the British Academy, and in 2019 was elected a Skou Professor at Aarhus University. He also currently serves as editor-in-chief of the Journal of Child Psychology & Psychiatry. (He would also like to add his work on the English and Romanian Adoptee (ERA) project.) This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit honestpsychpod.substack.com/subscribe

    What does a top ADHD researcher say about the current state of the field?

  2. Sep 5

    Why is it harder to diagnose ADHD in adulthood?

    This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit honestpsychpod.substack.com This week the docs are letting our listeners in on the trickiest parts of our jobs doing adult ADHD testing. We cover how genetics factors in, the role of childhood development, hidden criteria in the diagnostic manual that are frequently overlooked, other conditions that can mimic ADHD and the false binary of either-ADHD-or-you’re-not-really-struggling…

    Why is it harder to diagnose ADHD in adulthood?

  3. Aug 31

    Do you lack object permanence?

    This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit honestpsychpod.substack.com This week, after a DWTS-related cold open, the docs want to clarify what this term has always meant in the field of psychology and child development and how online videos are re-interpreting? this idea. Could you live independently if you lacked object permanence? After the subscriber break: how we went from cognitive-behavioral therapy to mindfulness e…

    Do you lack object permanence?

  4. Aug 12

    Why is it hard to be an honest psychologist?

    This week the docs get candid about what it’s like to be psychologists in a world where everyone has something to say about psychology. We talk about what happens when popular conversations get diagnoses wrong, how culture shapes the way we understand mental illness, how and why psychology is such a popular topic and feels like it belongs to everyone, resisting the urge to “well, actually…” everyone, and what happens when people we love start relying heavily on diagnostic labels to explain their experiences. We talk about why those labels can be useful but can also be limiting, inaccurate, or a little too simplistic when human experience is anything but tidy. This is a more personal and frank conversation about the psychology we encounter in everyday life, with no outside research, just our experiences, observations, and thoughts. The Honest Psychologist Podcast is a listener-supported publication. Please consider supporting the work we do here! honestpsychpod.substack.com This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit honestpsychpod.substack.com/subscribe

    Why is it hard to be an honest psychologist?

  5. Aug 4

    Feeling Forgetful? Me Too! Let's Talk Executive Functioning.

    This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit honestpsychpod.substack.com Paige is on vacation this week, so Whitney is flying solo…and summer is taking its toll on her. Have you been feeling forgetful, disorganized, or like you’re hanging on by a thread? You’re not alone. In this episode, Whitney breaks down executive functioning, what it is, why it’s much more than being organized, and why it can suddenly seem to fall apart…

    Feeling Forgetful? Me Too! Let's Talk Executive Functioning.

  6. Jul 30

    Could personality explain more than a diagnosis?

    In another what-we’re-thinking-about-this-week episode, the docs revisit the topic of the Big 5 Personality factors, also known as the Five Factor Model of Personality. Where do you fall on a continuum for each of these traits: openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and (the unfortunately named) neuroticism? Could variations in this set of universal traits do a better job of explaining why we act the way we do than a laundry list of psychiatric diagnoses? And why on earth are we suddenly stanning for horoscopes? Plus, is this a new segment called, what made us mad on social media this week? Mentioned in this episode: Personality: What makes you the way you are by Daniel Nettle This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit honestpsychpod.substack.com/subscribe

    Could personality explain more than a diagnosis?

  7. Jul 14

    What does concept creep have to do with the mental health crisis?

    This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit honestpsychpod.substack.com This week the docs go deep on concept creep. We look at work by Australian researcher Nick Haslam that questions how expanding definitions of harm-related concepts have influenced our perception of worsening mental health. From his most recent article, linked below (2026): “In essence, cultural changes, some of which are intended to increase our knowled…

    What does concept creep have to do with the mental health crisis?

  8. Jul 10

    How did trauma become part of everyday life?

    In the third installment of our trauma series, the docs bring the discussion of trauma into the present. Paige gives us some fascinating research from the world of social psychology. We look at how the term “trauma” gets used in different ways, concept creep, adverse childhood experiences (ACE’s), The Body Keeps the Score, how social media reflects (often inaccurate) representations of trauma, how shifting definitions and expanding use of trauma to explain psychology impacts how real people feel, and more. Mentioned in this episode: New article by Nick Haslam on “concept creep” Article by Michael Scheeringa: Evaluating evidence behind popular trauma narratives: Neurobiological and treatment claims in The Body Keeps the Score This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit honestpsychpod.substack.com/subscribe

    How did trauma become part of everyday life?
See All (45)

About

Welcome to The Honest Psychologist podcast, where two licensed clinical psychologists have joined the chat. honestpsychpod.substack.com

Information

  • Creator
    Dr. Whitney Graff and Dr. Paige Hover
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    45
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Whitney & Paige
  • Show Website
    The Honest Psychologist

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