Author Archives: Shervan K Shahhian, LIBERTY PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION, The Most Comprehensive Online Library Regarding Mental Health, Psychology and Parapsychology in the World.

Doctored Degree in Clinical Psychology (PSYD) (ABD) All But Dissertation, a Masters (M.A.) in Clinical Psychology, a Bachelor's Degree (B.A.) in Psychology, a Associate Degree (AA) in Liberal Arts with an emphases in Psychology, Certification in Anger Management, Certification in MRT-Moral Reconation Therapy®, Certification in Clinical Hypnotherapy, and Certification in Advanced Hypnotherapy.

Excoriation Disorder, what is it:

Excoriation Disorder (Skin-Picking Disorder)

Excoriation disorder could be a mental health condition where a person repeatedly picks at their skin, leading to noticeable damage (like sores, scars, or infections). It may fall under Obsessive-Compulsive.

Key Features:

Recurrent skin picking resulting in lesions
Repeated attempts to stop or reduce the behavior
Significant distress or impairment (social, emotional, or functional)
Not better explained by another medical or psychiatric condition: CONSULT WITH A PSYCHIATRIST

Common Triggers:

Stress, anxiety, or boredom
Feeling imperfections in the skin (real or perceived)
Emotional tension followed by relief after picking

Areas Commonly Affected:

Face
Arms and hands
Scalp
Legs

Associated Behaviors:

Using fingers, nails, or tools (tweezers)
Spending long periods picking
Hiding skin damage (makeup, clothing)

Treatment Options:

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), especially Habit Reversal Training (HRT)
Medications: CONSULT WITH A PSYCHIATRIST
Stimulus control (keeping nails short, covering mirrors)
Stress management techniques

Important Note:

It may not just be a “bad habit” it could be a recognized condition that can be distressing and difficult to control without support.

Shervan K Shahhian

Habit Reverse Psychology, what is it:

Habit Reversal Training (HRT) rather than “reverse psychology” in the usual sense. They’re could be very different concepts, so let’s clarify both:

Habit Reversal Training (HRT)

HRT is a behavioral therapy used to reduce unwanted repetitive habits.

Commonly used for:

Nail biting
Hair pulling (Trichotillomania)
Skin picking (Excoriation Disorder)
Tics (e.g., in Tourette Syndrome)

Core components:

Awareness Training
You learn to notice when and why the habit happens.
Competing Response
You replace the habit with an incompatible action
(clenching fists instead of biting nails).
Stimulus Control
Modify your environment to reduce triggers
(wearing gloves, removing mirrors).
Social Support / Reinforcement
Encouragement and accountability.

HRT could be evidence-based and often part of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT).

Reverse Psychology (Different Concept)

Reverse psychology could be a persuasion tactic where you suggest the opposite of what you want, hoping the person will resist and do what you actually intend.

Example:

Telling someone “Don’t study too hard…” hoping they’ll study more.

This may not be a therapeutic method for habits, and it can backfire, especially if used manipulatively.

Is There a “Hybrid” Idea?

Some people informally may use the phrase “habit reverse psychology” to mean:

Creating internal resistance against a habit
Or reframing it so the mind rejects it

But clinically, this could be closer to:

Cognitive restructuring (CBT)
Motivational interviewing
Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (ACT)

May not be true reverse psychology.

Summary:

HRT: structured, evidence-based treatment for habits
Reverse psychology: persuasion tactic, not reliable for behavior change

Shervan K Shahhian

Contextually Awareness, explained:

Contextual Awareness could be referring to the ability to understand a situation by recognizing and interpreting the context surrounding it. It means being aware not only of what is happening, but also of the environment, relationships, timing, intentions, and background factors that influence what is happening.

Simple Definition

Contextual awareness: understanding behavior, events, or information within the situation and circumstances in which they occur.

Possible Key Elements of Contextual Awareness

Environmental Awareness
Noticing what is happening around you (people, location, atmosphere).
Social Awareness
Understanding social cues, roles, and interpersonal dynamics.
Temporal Awareness
Recognizing timing, when something is appropriate or inappropriate.
Cultural Awareness
Understanding cultural norms and meanings behind behavior.
Psychological Awareness
Interpreting emotional states, motivations, and intentions of others.

Example

A person says:
“That’s interesting.”

Without contextual awareness:
You assume they mean it positively.
With contextual awareness:
You notice their tone, facial expression, relationship to you, and situation, and realize they might actually mean skepticism or sarcasm.

Possibly, In Psychology

Contextual awareness could be related to several areas such as:

Situational Awareness
Theory of Mind
Mentalization

Contextual awareness maybe important in clinical assessment, behavior interpretation, and interpersonal dynamics, because behavior rarely makes sense outside its context.

Example in Psychology

A patient appearing emotionally flat may mean?

depression
trauma dissociation
medication effects: CONSULT A PSYCHIATRIST
cultural communication style

Context might determine interpretation.

Short Formula

Behavior, Environment, Timing and Relationships: Contextual Meaning

Shervan K Shahhian

Codependency Exactly, explained:

Codependency could be a relational pattern where a person becomes overly focused on meeting another person’s needs, often at the expense of their own emotional, psychological, or even physical well-being.

At its core, it’s not just “caring too much”, it’s a loss of healthy boundaries and self-identity within relationships.

Core Features of Codependency

1. Excessive emotional reliance

You may feel responsible for another person’s feelings, problems, or behavior, almost as if their emotional state is your job to fix.

2. Poor or blurred boundaries

Difficulty saying no, setting limits, or recognizing where you end and the other person begins.

3. Self-worth tied to others

Your value comes from being needed, helpful, or approved of rather than from an internal sense of self.

4. Caretaking / rescuing role

You often take on the role of “helper,” “fixer,” or “rescuer,” especially with people who are struggling (addiction, mental health issues).

5. Fear of abandonment or rejection

This can lead to people-pleasing, tolerating unhealthy behavior, or staying in harmful relationships.

Psychological Perspective

Codependency could be often linked to:

Early attachment patterns (especially inconsistent or neglectful caregiving)
Family systems involving addiction or dysfunction
Learned beliefs like: “I must earn love by taking care of others”

It could overlap with concepts from:

Attachment theory
Family systems theory
Trauma and developmental psychology

Healthy Care vs Codependency

Healthy Care	Codependency
You support others	You feel responsible for them
You have boundaries	Boundaries are weak or absent
You can say no	Saying no causes guilt or anxiety
You maintain identity	Identity revolves around others

Clarification

Codependency might not be an official diagnosis, but it could be widely used in:

Clinical practice
Self-help frameworks
Addiction and recovery fields

Deeper Insight

From a possible psychological lens, codependency can be understood as:

A maladaptive regulation strategy for anxiety and attachment insecurity
A form of externalized self-regulation (you regulate yourself by regulating others)
Sometimes even resembling a behavioral addiction to relational validation

In One Sentence

Codependency: losing yourself while trying to take care of someone else.

Shervan K Shahhian

Meaning-Centered Therapy (MCT) Part 2, explained:

Meaning-Centered Therapy (MCT) could be a structured, evidence-based psychotherapy could be designed to help people find or reconnect with a sense of meaning, purpose, and value in life, especially when facing suffering, illness, or existential distress.

It could be strongly rooted in the work of Viktor Frankl, who developed logotherapy, the idea that the primary human drive is the “will to meaning.”

Core Idea

MCT could be built on a simple but powerful premise:

Even when we cannot change our circumstances, we can change how we relate to them, and still find meaning.

Key Themes of Meaning in MCT

MCT might help clients explore different sources of meaning, such as:

1. Creative Sources

What you give to life (work, contributions, legacy)

2. Experiential Sources

What you receive from life (love, beauty, relationships)

3. Attitudinal Sources

The stance you take toward unavoidable suffering

This third category is especially central, echoing Frankl’s experience during the Holocaust.

Core Components of Therapy

MCT could typically structured and time-limited (often 7–8 sessions), focusing on:

Life review (identity, values, personal history)
Meaning-making exercises
Exploration of legacy (what you leave behind)
Responsibility and choice
Facing mortality and limitations
Reframing suffering

Possible Techniques Used

Guided reflection and discussion
Narrative reconstruction (rewriting one’s life story)
Legacy projects (letters, recordings, symbolic acts)
Experiential exercises (e.g., “What matters most?”)

Evidence & Effectiveness

Research might show MCT can:

Reduce existential distress
Decrease depression and hopelessness
Improve spiritual well-being and quality of life

It’s especially effective in:

Palliative care
Grief and bereavement
Trauma and identity crises

How It Could Differ from Other Therapies

Therapy	Focus
CBT	Thoughts and behaviors
Psychodynamic	Unconscious conflicts
MCT	Meaning, purpose, existential identity

MCT could be less about symptom control and more about:
“What makes life worth living, even now?”

Possible Clinical Insight

MCT is particularly interesting because it:

Bridges existential psychology and spiritual meaning systems
Can incorporate transpersonal or anomalous experiences without pathologizing them
Aligns with frameworks like:
- Meaning-making in grief
- Survival-of-consciousness interpretations (if handled carefully)

Possible Limitations

Not ideal as a standalone treatment for acute psychosis
Requires some level of reflective capacity
May feel abstract for highly concrete thinkers

In One Sentence

Meaning-Centered Therapy might help people endure and transform suffering by reconnecting with what gives their life meaning, no matter the circumstances.

Shervan K Shahhian

Meaning-Centered Therapy (MCT), explained:

Meaning-Centered Therapy (MCT) is a psychotherapy approach that might help people find, restore, or deepen a sense of meaning and purpose in life, especially when facing suffering, illness, loss, or existential distress.

It could be strongly inspired by the ideas of Viktor Frankl and his work in Logotherapy, which emphasizes that the primary human motivation is the search for meaning.

Core Idea

Meaning-Centered Therapy could propose that psychological suffering often intensifies when people feel:

Life has lost meaning
They have no purpose
Their suffering seems pointless
Their identity or legacy feels threatened

The therapy helps people reconnect with sources of meaning, even in very difficult circumstances.

The approach could be widely used in psycho-oncology, palliative care, and existential psychotherapy.

Main Goals

Meaning-Centered Therapy could help individuals:

Rediscover purpose in life
Understand their life story
Create a sense of legacy
Find meaning in suffering
Strengthen spiritual or existential identity

Four Major Sources of Meaning

Meaning might come from four main sources:

1. Creative Sources

Meaning through what we give to the world.

Examples:

Work
Creativity
Contributions
Helping others

2. Experiential Sources

Meaning through what we receive from life.

Examples:

Love
Beauty
Nature
Art
Relationships

3. Attitudinal Sources

Meaning through how we face unavoidable suffering.

Examples:

Courage
Dignity
Compassion
Resilience

Frankl emphasized this most strongly.

4. Historical Sources

Meaning through our personal story and legacy.

Examples:

Life narrative
Family history
Cultural identity
Values passed to others

Typical Structure of Meaning-Centered Therapy

The therapy is often short-term and structured, usually 7–8 sessions.

Common topics explored:

Concept of meaning
Life as a story
Identity and values
Creativity and contribution
Experiences of love and beauty
Attitude toward suffering
Legacy and life meaning

Clinical Uses

Meaning-Centered Therapy could commonly used for:

Cancer patients
Terminal illness
Palliative care
Existential depression
Grief and loss
End-of-life counseling

It overlaps with roles such as:

End-of-Life Doula
Death Midwife

Possible Psychological Benefits

Research shows MCT can:

Reduce existential distress
Reduce depression
Increase spiritual well-being
Improve sense of dignity
Strengthen resilience

Example of a Meaning-Centered Question

A therapist may ask:

“When in your life have you felt most meaningful or purposeful?”
“What do you want your life to stand for?”
“What legacy would you like to leave?”

Simple Example

A patient with terminal illness may initially feel:

“My life is ending. Everything was pointless.”

Meaning-Centered Therapy helps them rediscover:

The love they gave their children
The values they lived by
The courage they showed in hardship

Thus the narrative shifts from “pointless suffering” to “a meaningful life story.”

Why It Matters (Psychologically)

Meaning acts as a buffer against existential despair.
Even in extreme conditions, humans can maintain psychological stability when they feel their lives have purpose or significance.

This insight came directly from Frankl’s experiences during the The Holocaust.

Interesting that some clinicians might link meaning-centered approaches with spiritual or transcendent experiences, possibly including anomalous experiences and existential awakening.

Shervan K Shahhian

Modern Grief Psychology, an explanation:

Modern grief psychology could be the contemporary scientific understanding of how people experience, process, and adapt to loss, especially the death of a loved one. Unlike some of the older theories that saw grief as a fixed sequence of stages, modern approaches view grief as dynamic, individualized, and influenced by psychological, social, cultural, and biological factors.

Below are possibly the core ideas in modern grief psychology.

Moving Beyond the “Stages of Grief”

For many years, grief might have been associated with the five stages:

Denial
Anger
Bargaining
Depression
Acceptance

Modern psychology might recognize that these are not fixed stages. People may:

Skip some
Experience them in different orders
Feel several simultaneously
Move back and forth between emotions

Grief today could be understood as non-linear and highly personal.

The Dual Process Model

Possibly, one the influential modern theory could be the Dual Process Model.

It proposes that healthy grieving involves oscillating between two modes:

Loss-oriented coping

Crying
Remembering the deceased
Feeling sadness or longing

Restoration-oriented coping

Adjusting to life changes
Taking on new roles
Engaging in everyday activities

Healthy grief could involve moving back and forth between these states, not staying permanently in one.

Continuing Bonds Theory

Earlier psychology might suggest people should “let go” of the deceased.

Modern research, might show that many people maintain continuing bonds with loved ones.

Examples include:

Talking to the deceased internally
Keeping meaningful objects
Feeling guidance or presence
Rituals of remembrance

These bonds can actually support psychological adaptation.

Meaning-Making in Grief

Contemporary grief research highlights meaning reconstruction.

Loss could disrupt a person’s sense of meaning and identity. Healing often involves:

Reinterpreting the loss
Rebuilding personal identity
Integrating the loss into one’s life story

This process could often deeply existential or spiritual, which may resonate with individuals engaged in spiritual or anomalous experience exploration.

Complicated or Prolonged Grief

Modern psychology might recognize that some individuals develop persistent, debilitating grief.

This condition is now could be recognized as
Prolonged Grief Disorder.

Characteristics include:

Intense longing for the deceased
Persistent emotional pain
Difficulty accepting the death
Identity disruption
Impaired daily functioning

Treatment may include therapies such as:

Complicated Grief Therapy
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
Meaning-centered therapy

Neuroscience of Grief (CONSULT WITH A NEUROLOGIST)

Recent research could show grief involves brain systems related to:

Attachment
Reward
Memory

The brain may continue expecting the loved person’s presence, which explains experiences like:

sensing the person nearby
hearing their voice internally
dreaming vividly about them

These might often be part of normal bereavement phenomena rather than pathology.

Cultural and Spiritual Dimensions

Modern grief psychology may recognize that grief is shaped by:

cultural rituals
spiritual beliefs
community support
personal worldview

Some people may engage in existential or parapsychological exploration, grief may also include:

anomalous experiences of the deceased
spiritual interpretation of death
altered states of consciousness

Some researchers might increasingly study these as meaningful aspects of bereavement, not simply symptoms.

In summary:
Modern grief psychology might view grief as:

Nonlinear
Individualized
Relational (continuing bonds)
Meaning-seeking
Influenced by brain, culture, and spirituality

Grief might no longer be seen as something to “get over,” but rather something people integrate into their ongoing life narrative.

Shervan K Shahhian

Dynamic Process of Adaptation to Loss, explained:

The dynamic process of adaptation to loss may refer to how people actively and continuously adjust, emotionally, cognitively, behaviorally, and even biologically, after experiencing a significant loss (such as death, separation, or major life change). It’s not a fixed sequence, but an evolving, nonlinear process.

Here could be the key ways modern psychology understands it:

1. Not Linear, but Oscillating

Denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance suggested a progression, but research now shows:

People move back and forth between different states
Emotions can recur, overlap, or intensify unexpectedly
There is no universal “endpoint”

2. Dual Process Model (Core Modern View)

This is one of the most influential frameworks.

It describes adaptation as an oscillation between two modes:

Loss-oriented coping
- Grief, yearning, remembering
- Emotional pain, rumination
Restoration-oriented coping
- Adjusting to new roles and life changes
- Distraction, rebuilding, problem-solving

Healthy adaptation involves moving back and forth between these, not staying stuck in one.

3. Meaning Reconstruction

Loss might disrupt one’s assumptive world (identity, beliefs, purpose)
Adaptation involves:
- Reconstructing meaning (“Why did this happen?”)
- Rebuilding identity (“Who am I now?”)
- Integrating the loss into one’s life story

4. Continuing Bonds

Instead of “letting go,” modern theory might emphasize maintaining a transformed relationship with the deceased or lost object:

Internal dialogue
Symbolic connection (dreams, memories, rituals)
Emotional presence without physical presence

This can be especially relevant to bereavement-related anomalous experiences you’ve been exploring.

5. Biopsychosocial Adaptation

Adaptation operates across multiple systems:

Biological: stress hormones, sleep disruption, immune changes
Psychological: emotion regulation, memory, identity shifts
Social: role changes, support systems, cultural expectations

6. Individual Differences

Adaptation varies based on:

Attachment style
Type of loss (sudden vs expected)
Cultural and spiritual framework
Prior trauma or resilience

7. When Adaptation Becomes Complicated

Sometimes the process becomes stuck or prolonged, leading to conditions like:

Prolonged Grief Disorder
Persistent inability to integrate the loss
Functional impairment over time

Integrative Insight (Clinical + Parapsychology Angle)

From a strictly clinical perspective, adaptation is about internal regulation and restructuring.

From a parapsychological perspective (which you’re familiar with), some researchers suggest:

Experiences like after-death communications or bereavement visions may facilitate adaptation by:
- Providing perceived continuity
- Reducing existential disruption
- Supporting meaning reconstruction

This overlaps with, but is interpreted differently than, conventional models.

Bottom Line

The dynamic process of adaptation to loss is:

An ongoing, oscillating reconstruction of emotional life, identity, and meaning in response to absence.

It’s less about “getting over it” and more about learning to live with it in a transformed way.

Shervan K Shahhian

Parapsychology and Bereavement Research, explained:

Parapsychology and Bereavement Research could be a field that explores unusual or anomalous experiences reported by people after the death of a loved one. It could sit at the intersection of psychology, grief studies, and parapsychology, and investigates whether these experiences are purely psychological, meaningful subjective events, or possibly evidence of phenomena not yet understood by conventional science?

This area is often discussed in terms of After-Death Communication (ADC), grief psychology, and anomalous experience research.

1. What Bereavement Research in Parapsychology Studies

Researchers may examine experiences reported by grieving individuals, such as:

Some common reported phenomena

Feeling the presence of the deceased
Dream visitations where the deceased appears vividly
Hearing the deceased’s voice or name
Seeing apparitions or visual impressions
Coincidences or synchronicities associated with the deceased
Electrical disturbances (lights, devices) linked symbolically to the deceased

These could often be called “post-bereavement experiences” or “after-death communications.”

2. Key Research Findings

Studies consistently could show these experiences maybe very common.

Research associated with organizations like the

Society for Psychical Research
Parapsychological Association

Could found that:

Some bereaved people report at least one anomalous experience after a death.
These experiences occur across cultures and religions.
Most people reporting them do not have mental illness.
They often reduce grief and provide comfort.

3. Psychological vs Parapsychological Interpretations

Psychological explanation

Mainstream psychology might suggest these experiences may arise from:

Memory activation
Attachment bonds continuing after death
Dream processing
Grief hallucinations
Cognitive expectation

For example, grief research might show the mind may create internal representations of the deceased to maintain emotional continuity.

Parapsychological hypothesis

Parapsychologists consider additional possibilities:

Survival hypothesis
Consciousness continues after bodily death.
Psi-mediated experience
The bereaved person may unconsciously access information via psi.
Actual after-death communication

4. Clinical Psychology Perspective

Modern grief therapy should take a non-pathologizing view of these experiences.

In many cases they are considered:

Normal components of grief
Continuing bonds with the deceased
Psychologically adaptive

Research might show that when clinicians do not dismiss these experiences, patients often experience:

Reduced anxiety
Less shame
Improved grief integration

5. Related Concepts in Bereavement Studies

Important frameworks could include:

Continuing Bonds Theory, maintaining a relationship with the deceased
Meaning reconstruction in grief
Transpersonal psychology
Anomalous bereavement experiences

These could overlap strongly with the broader field of parapsychological consciousness research.

6. Major Research Institutions

Some institutions could be studying these topics include:

Division of Perceptual Studies
Windbridge Research Center
Rhine Research Center

These groups study mediumship, near-death experiences, and after-death communication.

7. Example of Bereavement Phenomena Studied

Researchers might often analyze cases such as:

A widow hearing her spouse’s voice at the moment of death
A dream encounter with verifiable information
Apparitions reported simultaneously by multiple witnesses

These cases could be studied using qualitative interviews, surveys, and cross-cultural analysis.

Important insight:
Some researchers now consider anomalous grief experiences part of normal human grieving, regardless of whether they are interpreted as psychological, symbolic, or paranormal.

Shervan K Shahhian

Dynamic Process of Adaptation to Loss, explained:

The dynamic process of adaptation to loss could refer to how people actively and continuously adjust, emotionally, cognitively, behaviorally, and even biologically (Consult with a Neurologist), after experiencing a significant loss (such as death, separation, or major life change). It might not be a fixed sequence, but an evolving, nonlinear process.

Here are some possible key ways modern psychology understands it:

1. Not Linear, but Oscillating

Denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance, suggested a progression, but research now shows:

People move back and forth between different states
Emotions can recur, overlap, or intensify unexpectedly
There is no universal “endpoint”

2. Dual Process Model (Core Modern View)

This could describe adaptation as an oscillation between two modes:

Loss-oriented coping
- Grief, yearning, remembering
- Emotional pain, rumination
Restoration-oriented coping
- Adjusting to new roles and life changes
- Distraction, rebuilding, problem-solving

Healthy adaptation could involve moving back and forth between these, not staying stuck in one.

3. Meaning Reconstruction

Loss disrupts one’s assumptive world (identity, beliefs, purpose)
Adaptation might involve:
- Reconstructing meaning (“Why did this happen?”)
- Rebuilding identity (“Who am I now?”)
- Integrating the loss into one’s life story

4. Continuing Bonds

Instead of “letting go,” modern theory might emphasize maintaining a transformed relationship with the deceased or lost object:

Internal dialogue
Symbolic connection (dreams, memories, rituals)
Emotional presence without physical presence

This might especially be relevant to bereavement-related anomalous experiences.

5. Biopsychosocial Adaptation

CONSULT WITH A NEUROLOGIST

Adaptation could operate across multiple systems:

Biological: stress hormones, sleep disruption, immune changes
Psychological: emotion regulation, memory, identity shifts
Social: role changes, support systems, cultural expectations

6. Individual Differences

Adaptation could vary based on:

Attachment style
Type of loss (sudden vs expected)
Cultural and spiritual framework
Prior trauma or resilience

7. When Adaptation Becomes Complicated

Sometimes the process becomes stuck or prolonged, leading to conditions like:

Prolonged Grief Disorder
Persistent inability to integrate the loss
Functional impairment over time

Integrative Insight (Clinical + Parapsychology Angle)

From a strictly clinical perspective, adaptation could be about internal regulation and restructuring.

From a parapsychological perspective, some researchers suggest:

Experiences like after-death communications or bereavement visions may facilitate adaptation by:
- Providing perceived continuity
- Reducing existential disruption
- Supporting meaning reconstruction

This could overlap with, but is interpreted differently than, conventional models.

Bottom Line

The dynamic process of adaptation to loss could be:

An ongoing, oscillating reconstruction of emotional life, identity, and meaning in response to absence.

It could be less about “getting over it” and more about learning to live with it in a transformed way.

Shervan K Shahhian