psychology – Page 4 – LIBERTY PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION

Psychological Autopsy, an explanation:

“Consult with a trained forensic psychologist or psychiatrist“

Psychological Autopsy is a structured, retrospective investigative method used to reconstruct a deceased person’s mental state, intentions, and circumstances prior to death, most commonly in cases of suspected suicide.

It is NOT a literal medical autopsy of the body. Instead, it is a forensic psychological evaluation conducted after death.

Purpose

Psychological autopsies are conducted to:

Determine whether a death was suicide, accident, natural, or homicide
Understand the decedent’s psychological functioning
Assess intent and state of mind
Clarify ambiguous deaths (e.g., overdose, single-vehicle crash, firearm deaths)
Provide information for legal proceedings or insurance claims
Assist families seeking understanding or closure

What It Involves

A trained forensic psychologist or psychiatrist gathers data from multiple sources:

1. Interviews

Family members
Friends
Coworkers
Treating clinicians

2. Records Review

Medical and psychiatric records
Therapy notes
Medication history
Police and coroner reports
Suicide notes (if present)
Digital footprint (texts, emails, social media)

3. Behavioral Reconstruction

Investigators look for:

Prior suicide attempts
Verbalizations of hopelessness
Recent stressors or losses
Substance use
Personality traits
Major psychiatric disorders
Changes in behavior before death

Core Psychological Questions

A psychological autopsy attempts to answer:

Was there evidence of suicidal intent?
Was the individual experiencing major depression, psychosis, trauma-related distress, substance intoxication, or other impairments?
Were there protective factors?
Did the person show planning behaviors?

In Clinical & Research Context

Beyond legal investigations, psychological autopsies are used in:

Suicide prevention research
Epidemiological studies
Public health policy

They help identify patterns in:

Risk factors
Sociocultural influences
Psychiatric comorbidities

Important Distinction

A psychological autopsy:

Is retrospective
Relies on collateral data
Cannot establish absolute certainty
Is probabilistic, not definitive

It differs from:

Forensic pathology (physical cause of death)
Clinical diagnosis (which requires direct assessment)

In Context

Psychological autopsies are (Might Be) especially relevant when evaluating:

Complex trauma histories
Dissociative states prior to death
Severe depression with psychosis
Ambiguous self-inflicted injury cases

There could be growing discussion about integrating:

Trauma-informed reconstruction
Attachment history analysis
Neurocognitive vulnerability mapping
Shervan K Shahhian

Internal Voices vs Psychotic Voices, what are the differences:

The distinction between internal voices and psychotic voices is clinically important, especially in trauma work, dissociation, and psychosis-spectrum conditions.

Below is a structured comparison from a psychological lens.

Internal Voices (Non-Psychotic)

These are usually understood as forms of inner experience, not hallucinations.

They may occur in:

Normal inner speech (self-talk)
High stress
Trauma-related dissociation
Parts-based personality structures (e.g., IFS-style parts)
Grief
Intense imagination

Characteristics

Experienced as coming from inside the mind
Recognized as “my thoughts” or “a part of me”
Often dialogical (self arguing with self)
Usually retain reality testing
Can be influenced intentionally
Person knows they are not external beings

Examples:

“Part of me wants to leave, part of me wants to stay.”
Hearing a deceased loved one’s voice internally but knowing they are not physically present.
Critical self-talk with a tone or personality.

Neurocognitively, these relate to variations in inner speech generation and monitoring, often involving prefrontal–temporal circuits.

Psychotic Voices (Auditory Verbal Hallucinations)

These are typically associated with disorders like:

Schizophrenia
Schizoaffective disorder
Bipolar disorder (with psychotic features)
Severe major depression with psychosis

Characteristics

Experienced as external (outside the head)
Often perceived as autonomous entities
Not recognized as self-generated
May comment, command, or converse
Frequently intrusive and uncontrollable
Often accompanied by delusions
Impaired reality testing

Examples:

“The government is speaking to me through the wall.”
Voices giving commands.
Multiple distinct voices arguing about the person.

Neuroimaging studies suggest altered activity in speech perception areas (e.g., superior temporal gyrus) and impaired source monitoring.

“CONSULT WITH A NEUROLOGIST, and a PSYCHIATRIST”“

Trauma-Related Voices (The Gray Area)

This is where things get clinically nuanced.

In conditions like:

Dissociative identity disorder
Complex PTSD
Severe developmental trauma

Voices may:

Feel separate or “not me”
Have distinct identities
Represent dissociated self-states
But still exist within a dissociative framework rather than primary psychosis

Key difference:
Reality testing is often largely intact, and the voices are psychologically meaningful (linked to trauma memory, internalized figures, attachment disruptions).

Core Differentiators

Feature	Internal Voices	Psychotic Voices
Location	Inside mind	External space
Ownership	Recognized as self/part of self	Experienced as other
Reality testing	Intact	Impaired
Control	Some influence possible	Little to none
Associated symptoms	Dissociation, stress	Delusions, disorganization
Insight	Usually present	Often absent

Important Clinical Note

Voice hearing alone does not equal psychosis.

Many non-psychotic individuals report voice-like experiences, especially:

Trauma survivors
Highly imaginative individuals
Individuals under extreme stress
People in bereavement

The key question is:

Is reality testing intact?

From a Depth Psychology Perspective

Internal voices can represent:

Internalized parental objects
Superego structures
Dissociated ego states
Unintegrated affective fragments

Psychotic voices tend to reflect:

Breakdown in ego boundaries
Failed source monitoring
Projection of internal content into perceived external reality
Shervan K Shahhian

Self-Visualization, what is it:

Self-visualization is the deliberate use of mental imagery to imagine yourself thinking, feeling, or performing in a particular way. It’s widely used in psychology, performance training, and psychotherapy.

Guided, intentional self-imagery that influences cognition, emotion, and behavior.

1. What It Is (Psychological Definition)

Self-visualization involves:

Mentally picturing yourself (first-person or third-person)
Engaging sensory details (sight, sound, body sensation)
Rehearsing a desired state or outcome
Linking imagery to emotional and somatic experience

It activates neural pathways similar to real behavior, a principle strongly used in performance psychology and sports science.

2. Two Main Forms

First-Person (Internal) Visualization

You see through your own eyes.

You feel the body
You experience emotions directly
More effective for emotional conditioning and nervous system regulation

Third-Person (Observer) Visualization

You see yourself from outside, like watching a movie.

Good for identity restructuring
Helpful for self-concept work
Used in trauma distancing techniques

3. Clinical & Performance Applications

Performance Psychology

Used by athletes to mentally rehearse races.

Mental rehearsal improves motor coordination, reaction time, and confidence.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

Visualizing successful coping
Replacing catastrophic imagery

Trauma Therapy

Safe-place visualization
Rescripting traumatic memory imagery
Strengthening ego-state stability

Identity & Self-Concept Work

Used in:

Future-self work
Self-compassion imagery
Rebuilding identity after destabilization

4. Nervous System Effects

(CONSULT A NEUROLOGIST)

When done properly, self-visualization can:

Reduce sympathetic arousal
Increase vagal tone
Strengthen neural circuits of desired behavior
Create state-dependent memory encoding

If emotionally overwhelming, it can also:

Trigger dissociation
Activate trauma networks
Intensify shame or fear imagery

So regulation capacity matters.

5. Psychological Mechanisms

Self-visualization works through:

Neuroplasticity
Mirror neuron activation
Emotional conditioning
Implicit memory reconsolidation
Expectancy effects

The brain does not sharply distinguish between vividly imagined and actual experience at the neural activation level.

6. Healthy vs Unhealthy Self-Visualization

Healthy

Grounded in reality
Enhances functioning
Builds embodied confidence
Improves adaptive behavior

Unhealthy

Grandiose fantasy
Escape from reality
Reinforces avoidance
Inflates unstable identity

Shervan K Shahhian

Self-Visualization, what is it:

Guided, intentional self-imagery that influences cognition, emotion, and behavior.

1. What It Is (Psychological Definition)

Self-visualization involves:

Mentally picturing yourself (first-person or third-person)
Engaging sensory details (sight, sound, body sensation)
Rehearsing a desired state or outcome
Linking imagery to emotional and somatic experience

It activates neural pathways similar to real behavior, a principle strongly used in performance psychology and sports science.

2. Two Main Forms

First-Person (Internal) Visualization

You see through your own eyes.

You feel the body
You experience emotions directly
More effective for emotional conditioning and nervous system regulation

Third-Person (Observer) Visualization

You see yourself from outside, like watching a movie.

Good for identity restructuring
Helpful for self-concept work
Used in trauma distancing techniques

3. Clinical & Performance Applications

Performance Psychology

Used by athletes to mentally rehearse races.
Mental rehearsal improves motor coordination, reaction time, and confidence.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

Visualizing successful coping
Replacing catastrophic imagery

Trauma Therapy

Safe-place visualization
Rescripting traumatic memory imagery
Strengthening ego-state stability

Identity & Self-Concept Work

Used in:

Future-self work
Self-compassion imagery
Rebuilding identity after destabilization

4. Nervous System Effects

(CONSULT A NEUROLOGIST)

When done properly, self-visualization can:

Reduce sympathetic arousal
Increase vagal tone
Strengthen neural circuits of desired behavior
Create state-dependent memory encoding

If emotionally overwhelming, it can also:

Trigger dissociation
Activate trauma networks
Intensify shame or fear imagery

So regulation capacity matters.

5. Psychological Mechanisms

Self-visualization works through:

Neuroplasticity
Mirror neuron activation
Emotional conditioning
Implicit memory reconsolidation
Expectancy effects

The brain does not sharply distinguish between vividly imagined and actual experience at the neural activation level.

6. Healthy vs Unhealthy Self-Visualization

Healthy

Grounded in reality
Enhances functioning
Builds embodied confidence
Improves adaptive behavior

Unhealthy

Grandiose fantasy
Escape from reality
Reinforces avoidance
Inflates unstable identity

Shervan K Shahhian

Performance Psychology, what is it:

Performance psychology is the scientific study of how thoughts, emotions, physiology, and behavior affect performance in high-pressure environments, and how to optimize them.

It sits at the intersection of psychology, neuroscience, and performance science.

Core Idea

Performance psychology focuses on helping people perform at their best when it matters most, not just when they feel comfortable.

It is used in:

Elite sports
Military and tactical units
Performing arts
Business leadership
Medicine (e.g., surgeons)
High-stakes public speaking

Historical Roots

Modern performance psychology developed largely from sport psychology, influenced by pioneers like:

William James: studied attention and willpower
Coleman Griffith: often called the “father of sport psychology” in the U.S.

Today it draws from cognitive psychology, behavioral science, trauma research, and neurobiology.

Key Areas of Focus

1. Arousal Regulation

Understanding and managing:

Fight–flight–freeze responses
Chronic hyperarousal
Performance anxiety

Balancing activation, not too anxious, not too flat.

2. Attention Control

Training:

Focus under distraction
Cognitive flexibility
Rapid recovery after mistakes

3. Emotional Regulation

Managing:

Fear
Anger
Shame
Self-doubt

Without suppressing emotion.

4. Mental Skills Training

Common tools:

Visualization / imagery
Self-talk restructuring
Breathwork
Pre-performance routines
Goal setting

The Flow State

Flow is the state where:

Action and awareness merge
Self-consciousness drops
Performance feels effortless
Time perception shifts

Performance psychology aims to increase the probability of entering flow though it cannot be forced.

Performance vs. Clinical Psychology

Since you’re a psychologist, here’s a nuanced distinction:

Clinical Psychology	Performance Psychology
Reduces dysfunction	Enhances functioning
Focus on pathology	Focus on optimization
Trauma stabilization	Stress inoculation
Symptom relief	Peak execution

But in reality, they overlap, especially with:

Trauma-informed performance work
Nervous system regulation
Identity resilience

Modern Developments

Performance psychology now integrates:

Polyvagal theory (autonomic regulation)
Neurofeedback
Cognitive behavioral frameworks
Somatic integration
High-performance habit design

In Essence

Performance psychology is about:

Performing effectively under pressure while remaining psychologically integrated.

Not just “winning.”
Not just suppressing fear.
But sustaining clarity, regulation, and execution under load.

Shervan K Shahhian

Psychological Free Fall, what is it:

Psychological free fall is not a formal diagnostic term, but it’s often used metaphorically to describe a sudden and destabilizing loss of psychological structure, meaning, or emotional stability.

It refers to the subjective experience of:

Losing your sense of identity
Losing your belief system or worldview
Emotional overwhelm without grounding
A collapse of certainty or control
Feeling like you are “falling” internally with nothing to hold onto

What It Feels Like

People describe it as:

“The ground disappeared under me.”
“Everything I believed is unraveling.”
“I don’t know who I am anymore.”
Intense anxiety or existential dread
Derealization or depersonalization
Sudden collapse of confidence

It can feel similar to:

An identity crisis
An existential crisis
Acute stress reaction
A depressive or anxiety episode

Common Triggers

Psychological free fall can be triggered by:

Divorce, betrayal, or relationship loss
Loss of career or status
Spiritual deconstruction
Trauma exposure
Public humiliation
Collapse of grandiosity or narcissistic defenses
Deep shadow confrontation (especially in intense self-exploration work)

This state often appears when illusions dissolve faster than the psyche can reorganize.

Structurally, What’s Happening?

Psychologically, it’s often:

Collapse of a stabilizing narrative
Ego destabilization
Temporary loss of meaning-making structure
Nervous system dysregulation

The mind feels like it is falling because its previous organizing framework no longer works.

Is It Pathological?

Not necessarily.

It can be:

A precursor to psychological growth
A transition phase toward maturity
A dismantling of false self structures

However, if prolonged or severe, it may indicate:

Major depressive disorder
Panic disorder
Trauma-related disorder
Dissociative instability

Duration, functionality, and level of impairment matter.

Growth vs Breakdown

There’s an important distinction:

Breakdown	Breakthrough
Disintegration without integration	Deconstruction followed by reconstruction
Loss of meaning	Rebuilding meaning
Chronic dysfunction	Temporary destabilization

The difference is whether new structure forms.

From a Depth Psychology Lens

Some might describe this as:

Ego death phase
Descent into the unconscious
Necessary disorientation before individuation

But without containment, it becomes fragmentation rather than transformation.

Stabilizing During Psychological Free Fall

Key interventions:

Nervous system regulation first (sleep, breathing, somatic grounding)
Reduce abstraction (stay concrete, practical)
Limit existential rumination
Strengthen routine and structure
Reality-based thinking over catastrophic interpretation

You don’t build meaning mid-air, you stabilize first.

Shervan K Shahhian

Borderline-Level Defenses, what are they:

Borderline-level defenses are a group of psychological defense mechanisms that are more primitive than neurotic defenses but more organized than psychotic defenses. They are typically associated with borderline personality organization.

These defenses are common in individuals with intense emotional instability, identity diffusion, and unstable relationships, but they can also appear temporarily in highly stressed individuals.

Core Borderline-Level Defenses

1. Splitting

Seeing people (or oneself) as all good or all bad, with no middle ground.

“They are perfect.”
Later: “They are evil.”

This reflects difficulty integrating positive and negative aspects of the same person.

2. Projective Identification

Not just projecting unwanted feelings onto someone else, but subtly behaving in ways that pressure the other person to actually feel or enact what is projected.

Example:

A person unconsciously feels anger.
They accuse the therapist of hostility.
Their behavior becomes provocative.
The therapist starts feeling irritated.

3. Primitive Idealization

Overvaluing someone unrealistically:

“You are the only person who understands me.”
“You are extraordinary.”

Often followed by devaluation when disappointment occurs.

4. Devaluation

The flip side of idealization.

Sudden shift to: “You are useless.”
Intense contempt or dismissal.

5. Denial (Primitive Form)

Refusal to acknowledge emotionally threatening reality, even when evidence is clear.

6. Omnipotence

An exaggerated sense of power or specialness to defend against vulnerability.

“I don’t need anyone.”
“Rules don’t apply to me.”

Structural Context

Borderline-level organization includes:

Identity diffusion (unstable self-concept)
Primitive defenses (like splitting)
Intact reality testing (unlike psychosis)

This differs from:

Neurotic organization: repression, rationalization
Psychotic organization: severe reality distortion

Clinical Insight

Borderline-level defenses often appear in contexts of:

Intense attachment needs
Fear of abandonment
Grandiose or persecutory relational narratives
Rapid shifts in perception of mentors, institutions, or belief systems

Importantly, these defenses are not “bad”, they are protective adaptations formed early in development, often in response to inconsistent or traumatic attachment.

Shervan K Shahhian

Mental Health Subjectivism, explained:

Mental Health Subjectivism is the philosophical view that mental health is primarily determined by an individual’s personal experience rather than by objective, universal standards.

In simple terms:

A person is mentally healthy if they feel psychologically well or experience themselves as functioning well, regardless of external judgments.

Core Idea

Mental health is defined by subjective inner experience, such as:

Sense of meaning
Emotional satisfaction
Personal coherence
Self-acceptance
Felt well-being

This contrasts with approaches that define mental health through:

Functional impairment
Social norms
Biological markers

Philosophical Roots

Mental health subjectivism draws from:

Phenomenology
Existential psychology
Humanistic psychology

These traditions emphasize the first-person perspective over external classification.

Example

Two people meet criteria for depression:

Person A feels deeply distressed and hopeless.
Person B reports feeling at peace with their slowed pace of life and does not feel impaired.

A strict medical model may diagnose both.
A subjectivist approach would argue that Person B may not be “mentally ill” if their lived experience is not one of suffering.

Strengths

✔ Respects individual differences
✔ Avoids over-pathologizing
✔ Centers personal meaning
✔ Reduces stigma

Criticisms

✖ Risk of ignoring serious impairment
✖ Hard to standardize for treatment
✖ May conflict with public safety concerns
✖ Difficult in cases of poor insight (e.g., severe mania or psychosis)

In Clinical Psychology

In practice, most modern clinicians integrate both:

For example, even if someone feels powerful during mania, clinicians may intervene if the condition threatens safety.

Subjective distress
Objective dysfunction
Risk assessment
For example, even if someone feels powerful during mania, clinicians may intervene if the condition threatens safety.

Shervan K Shahhian

Neuropsychologist, who are they:

Neuropsychologists are Psychologists who specialize in the relationship between the brain and behavior. They focus on how brain structure and function affect thinking, emotion, personality, and everyday functioning.

Here’s the clean breakdown:

What neuropsychologists do

They assess, diagnose, and help treat conditions that affect the brain, such as:

Brain injuries (TBI, concussion, stroke)
Neurodevelopmental disorders (ADHD, autism)
Neurodegenerative diseases (Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s)
Epilepsy, tumors, infections
Cognitive and emotional changes due to medical illness
Effects of trauma on memory, attention, and executive function

Their core tool: assessment

Neuropsychologists are best known for neuropsychological testing, which evaluates:

Memory
Attention and concentration
Executive functions (planning, inhibition, flexibility)
Language
Visuospatial skills
Processing speed
Emotional and personality functioning

These tests help answer questions like:

Is this memory problem neurological or psychological?
What brain systems are likely affected?
How severe is the impairment?
What kind of support or treatment will help most?

How they’re trained

A neuropsychologist typically has:

A doctoral degree (PhD or PsyD) in psychology
Specialized training in brain–behavior relationships
A neuropsychology focused internship and postdoctoral fellowship
Clinical training in assessment, diagnosis, and rehabilitation

They are not medical doctors, but they work closely with:

Neurologists
Psychiatrists
Neurosurgeons
Rehabilitation teams

Where they work

Hospitals and medical centers
Rehabilitation clinics
Memory and dementia clinics
Universities and research centers
Forensic and legal settings
Private practice

How they differ from related roles

Neuropsychologist vs neurologist:
Neurologists treat brain disease medically; neuropsychologists assess cognitive and behavioral impact.
Neuropsychologist vs psychiatrist:
Psychiatrists prescribe medication; neuropsychologists specialize in detailed cognitive and behavioral evaluation.
Neuropsychologist vs clinical psychologist:
Neuropsychologists focus much more on brain-based causes of behavior.

Big picture role

Neuropsychologists sit at the intersection of neuroscience and psychology, translating brain function into real-world understanding of:

How a person thinks?
Why they behave the way they do?
What has changed?
What can improve? Shervan K Shahhian

Behavior Analysis, what is it:

Behavior analysis is the scientific study of how behavior works, specifically how behavior is learned, maintained, and changed by interactions with the environment.

At its core, it asks:

What happens before a behavior, what the behavior is, and what happens after that makes it more or less likely to happen again?

The basics

Behavior analysis focuses on observable behavior (what people do) and the conditions that shape it, rather than on assumptions about hidden causes.

A classic framework is the ABC model:

A – Antecedents: What happens right before the behavior
B – Behavior: The action itself
C – Consequences: What follows the behavior and influences whether it repeats

Key principles

Behavior is learned through experience
Consequences matter (reinforcement increases behavior; punishment decreases it)
Context matters (environment, cues, history, and current needs)
Function matters more than form (why a behavior happens is more important than what it looks like)

For example, two people might withdraw socially for totally different reasons,

avoidance of anxiety vs. conserving energy, so the function differs even if the behavior looks the same.

What behavior analysis is used for

Understanding habits and patterns
Behavior change (education, therapy, organizations)
Skill building
Reducing harmful or ineffective behaviors
Designing environments that support desired behavior

Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA)

ABA is a practical application of behavior analysis principles, commonly used in:

Autism support
Education
Behavioral health
Organizational behavior management

When done well, ABA is data-driven, individualized, and ethical, focusing on meaningful outcomes and quality of life.

How it differs from other approaches

It emphasizes what can be observed and measured
It avoids speculation unless it can be tested
It complements cognitive and emotional models rather than replacing them

In more modern practice, especially trauma-informed work, behavior analysis is often integrated with:

Emotional regulation
Somatic awareness
Cognitive processes
Contextual and relational factor
Shervan K Shahhian