Beyond Genetics: A New Equation for Understanding Psychiatry

When it comes to Mental health, we’ve all heard the phrase: “It runs in the family.” And it’s true—psychiatric conditions like autism and schizophrenia have a clear genetic component. But if genes were the whole story, identical twins (who share 100% of their DNA) would always share the same fate. In reality, if one identical […]

Who Are Boys’ Role Models Today?

Andrew Tate—online content creator, podcaster, former kickboxer, and subject of ongoing human trafficking investigations—has gained widespread influence with millions of men and boys. Tate promotes financial independence, being “mentally and physically strong,” and being successful with women, interspersed with (sometimes violent) misogyny. For my Ph.D. research, I worked with 30 boys and young men aged […]

Your Happiness Calendar for Educators for May 2025

Our monthly Happiness Calendar for Educators is a day-by-day guide to well-being. This month, we hope it helps you reconnect with the natural world and inspire wonder in your school community. We also invite you to join our free community meeting for educators in May as we welcome special guest John Muir Laws of the […]

Is Time Management a Strength or a Challenge For You?

Time management is often framed as a simple life skill, but did you know it’s a complex, brain-based skill? That’s right! Many times, it’s assumed that if we’re running late, we must be disrespectful, uncaring, or lazy! In fact, our brains manage how we perceive, plan, and operate within time, and like any brain-based function, […]

The Psychological Toll of Harsh Immigration Policies

From changes to asylum laws and removal of temporary protected status, to the separation of families at the U.S. border and threats to end the protections guaranteed under the Deferred Childhood Arrivals Act (DACA), harsh immigration policies enacted over the last 10 years have left behind serious psychological trauma for many Latinx adults, youth, and […]

How to Teach Students to Embrace Wonder

Heidi Lawrence’s path to awe started more than a decade ago when she began working on ideas for her Ph.D. in English literature. Exploring Madeleine L’Engle’s A Wrinkle in Time and other adolescent novels, she began noticing patterns of connection between the characters’ inner worlds and their relationships with nature—specifically, the ways characters’ emotional worlds […]

Peace Psychology in a Time of War

Last week, as I was scrolling through my phone, I came across disturbing images of violence and unrest in Kashmir, including recent news reports of tourists tragically dying. The news deeply affected me because I had been there as a child as well as a tourist. It had been years since I visited the valley, […]

When Healing Feels Lonely: What I Now Know About Peace

“Avoiding your triggers isn’t healing. Healing happens when you’re triggered and you’re able to move through the pain, the pattern, and the story, and walk your way to a different ending.” ~Vienna Pharaon I thought I had figured it out. For a year, I had been doing the “inner work”—meditating daily, practicing breathwork, journaling, doing […]

How Moments in Nature Help Kids Thrive

Awe doesn’t often make the headlines. But on April 9, 2024, the front page of the New York Times read, “A Divided America Agrees on One Thing: The Eclipse Was Awesome.” All photos by Deborah Farmer Kris of her children in nature Though our town was about three hours south of the path of totality, […]

Dancing with Darkness: How to Reclaim Your Whole Self

“Shadow work is the way to illumination. When we become aware of all that is buried within us, that which is lurking beneath the surface no longer has power over us.” ~Aletheia Luna For years, I believed healing was about transcending pain. I took the courses, read the books, learned every energy-healing technique I could […]