Geoffrey W. Sutton PhD, Psychology and Culture

  Unmarked grave of Grandmother Mary Sutton and daughter Margaret A Day of Remembrance I began thinking about Memorial Day in a different way this year. I especially like the old name of Decoration Day—a day to decorate the gravesites and honour those who died while they were in service. Memorial Day has to be different for we immigrants who do not have close connections to family members or close friends who actually died in service. Yet we can appreciate their sacrifice and the freedoms we enjoy. At some point, I learned the difference between Memorial Day and Veteran’s Day. In an era of considerable travel, we are often far away from the graves of those who have passed. I recall visiting some European cemeteries where many young Americans are honoured. But they are so far from families in North America. What makes things different this year is the experience of visiting grave sites and a memorial in England of family members who I can no longer greet. I can appreciate mo...

  Do you know someone who died from COVID? It was, 10 April 2020 when Sara Trollope died. That was another Easter weekend—Good Friday then. It’s hard to believe three years have passed since our healthcare professionals were overwhelmed as they courageously struggled to meet the needs of the sick and dying.     Sara was one of those people who are gifts to humanity. Sara lovingly cared for others as a nurse matron at London’s Hillingdon Hospital. She was so close to retirement when COVID hit, which placed Sara on the front line battling a merciless and devastating virus. Alas, she was struck down during the call of duty. She passed from this life and left one of those unfillable heart-holes as such people do. I was to have been in England the month before Sara passed but Covid changed all that. Instead, I watched her mum and a few family members at the online service thousands of miles away yet virtually close. I’ve been thinking of her mum this Easter weekend. Ou...

  Dietrich Bonhoeffer/ Bing Search A Story of Moral Courage   I’m writing this post at the end of Good Friday 2023 and I’m reflecting on the story of a man who knowingly put his life at risk. On 8 April 1945 Dietrich Bonhoeffer was sentenced to death for his participation in the German resistance movement and the plot to overthrow the murderous Nazi regime. The next day, 9 April 1945, Bonhoeffer was hanged.   This year Easter Sunday is 9 April—the day Bonhoeffer was hanged. However, for years Dietrich Bonhoeffer had lived an authentic life as a living sacrifice. Sacrificial lives are gifts to humanity.     Most of us can hardly imagine the anguish of carrying out a protest that will likely result in severe punishment if not a painful death. Jesus of course took on the oppressive juggernaut of his religious leaders and the Roman rulers who were ready for trouble during Passover celebrations of ancestors who escaped the brutality of the Egyptian empire. ...

Photo credit Dennis Jarvis  2016 Many of us have noticed the biblical connection between music and symptom relief in the story of David and King Saul of ancient Israel. More than some 2,000 years ago, David, the man credited with writing many psalms played a lyre for his king (See 1 Samuel 16). Apparently, the people had observed the connection between music and relief because they offered to find a musician for Saul. David was called into service based on his reputation. When he played the lyre or harp, Saul experienced relief from his torment attributed to an evil spirit from God. Although some Christians view Saul's distress as caused by a literal supernatural being, others view the story as an ancient way of understanding mental illness. Obviously, it's speculative to make a diagnosis on limited descriptions from thousands of years ago.  It's tempting to view Saul's distress as a cyclical mood disorder. Regardless of Saul's biopsychological condition, the value ...

  New Year's Resolutions are popular but there isn't much research about how well we do. Fortunately, Martin Oscarsson and his team studied over a thousand people to see what works. Not surprisingly, they found that the most popular resolutions were physical health, weight loss, and eating habits. Goals Make a Difference After a full year, the most successful group reached nearly 59%  compared to a group that reached about 47%. The difference between the groups was the type of goal. Successful people focused on goals they reached for (approach-oriented). The lower success people worked on goals to avoid something (avoidance oriented). Support  Helps The participants were randomly assigned to 3 groups. Group 1 did not receive support. Group 2 received some support-- they learned about the value of support and received information and guidance on achieving personal goals. Group 3 received extended support beyond that received in Group 2. For example, they learned more about...

  A Circle of Well-Being Gratitude and Joy One of the beautiful holiday connections in the United States is the Thanksgiving to Christmas festivities. Just after Thanksgiving, I noticed that a former student posted a photo of an ultrasound. She and her husband had smiles as they hugged. She posted her Spring due date. Great Expectations! We know a lot about gratitude. Saying thanks, writing gratitude letters, and keeping a gratitude journal are annual reminders of things we can do to promote our wellbeing and make the world a nicer place. That’s Thanksgiving. But psychologists have also begun the study of joy, which until recently has been hidden amongst a sea of happiness research. Enter Philip Watkins and his colleagues who find evidence that sets joy apart from other good feelings. Psychologists link the emotion of joy to good news. It’s not just any good news but something we long for—something we look forward to, hope for, and expect. Moreover, joy is not like getting ...

  Can the practice of gratitude actually improve mental health? Many studies extol the benefits of expressing gratitude. What’s different about this study by Joel Wong and his colleagues are the participants. All of them were psychotherapy patients. The research question: Would gratitude writing add value to psychotherapy?   The patients All 293 volunteers were young adults having an average age of 22 and the youngest were age 18. Most were women (65%). And most identified as “White/European.” They were seeking psychotherapy services at a university. The plan The researchers randomly assigned the patients to one of three groups. 1. Gratitude Letter writing and Psychotherapy . In three gratitude sessions, the participants wrote letters of thanks to people—most wrote to friends, mothers, and fathers. They had the option to send their letters or not—23% sent a letter. 2. Expressive Writing and Psychotherapy . In their sessions, the expressive writing group wrote...