The Fainting Couch

Grief

#BesideMyself: The History and Psychology of a Hashtag

Melissa Rampelli Ph.D. on May 19, 2023

Hashtag use is important to social and emotional learning. Here's one example of how.

Child Development

How Fiction Affects Children's Social-Emotional Learning

Melissa Rampelli Ph.D. on March 31, 2023

Another reason to curl up with a good (fiction) book

Chronic Pain

Why Do We Say People With Chronic Pain Are "Hysterical"?

Melissa Rampelli Ph.D. on March 21, 2023

What assumptions are at the root of chronic pain stigmas?

Anxiety

Growing Up With Anxiety and OCD in "Turtles All the Way Down"

Melissa Rampelli Ph.D. on March 7, 2023

What do coming-of-age tales and medical plots have in common? How can novels open up alternative "scripts" for young people grappling with mental illness?

Trauma

What a Literary Character's Healing Process Might Look Like With CBT

Melissa Rampelli Ph.D. on June 23, 2022

What would a Victorian character's process of healing his trauma look like today?

Trauma

Loss, Dissociation, and Trauma in "The Lifted Veil"

Melissa Rampelli Ph.D. on June 6, 2022

A literary look at the effects of loss and grief.

Trauma

The Double Mind in Eliot’s "The Lifted Veil"

Melissa Rampelli Ph.D. on May 15, 2022

What does this gothic novella have to do with dissociation?

Highly Sensitive Person

Managing High Sensitivity, Then and Now

Melissa Rampelli Ph.D. on January 18, 2022

Do we need to "fix" high sensitivity?

Highly Sensitive Person

What Causes High Sensitivity? A Historical Look

Melissa Rampelli Ph.D. on January 10, 2022

What causes sensitivity? Genetics and the environment might hold the answer.

Highly Sensitive Person

“Don’t Be So Sensitive!” The HSP Throughout History

Melissa Rampelli Ph.D. on January 3, 2022

Why do we get so worked up about sensitivity? A look back in time sheds some light.