QueryTracker Blogger Carolyn Kaufman’s first book for writers, THE WRITER’S GUIDE TO PSYCHOLOGY: How to Write Accurately About Psychological Disorders, Clinical Treatment and Human Behavior hits shelves today!
To celebrate, we decided to interview her…and give away a signed copy of her book! To enter the drawing, just comment below. We’ll announce the winner in Friday’s Publishing Pulse.
Carolyn’s doctorate is in clinical psychology, and she is a former psychotherapist turned full-time psychology professor at Columbus State Community College in Columbus, Ohio. She is frequently consulted by journalists as an expert source, and her specializations are clinical/abnormal psychology and media psychology.
THE WRITER’S GUIDE TO PSYCHOLOGY has been praised by bestselling thriller writer and psychologist Jonathan Kellerman as “thoughtful, scholarly, comprehensive and a boon to writers aiming for accuracy when depicting the world of abnormal psychology and clinical treatment.” Another bestselling author, Jilliane Hoffman, adds, “Every writer who even thinks about creating or explaining a character with a psychological disorder should have a copy on their desk, right next to their dictionary and thesaurus. A well-written, easy-to-read guide to understanding the most complicated of psychological disorders that’s sure to help writers abandon the stereotypes and develop realistic characters.”
Why THE WRITER’S GUIDE TO PSYCHOLOGY? What prompted you to write it and what do you hope your readers will get out of it?
While I was in graduate school [to get a doctorate in clinical psychology], I noticed a lot of discrepancies between what I was learning in class and seeing in my therapy office, and what I saw in movies, books, and TV. When I started investigating the professional academic literature on misconceptions perpetuated by the media, I saw that the problem is one the psychology field is well aware of. But part of the problem, it seemed to me, was that the psychological professionals were mostly talking to each other – no one had yet figured out how to bridge the gap between professional psychology and the people producing the media: writers.
As I searched farther, I found some writers’ books dedicated to helping authors get their forensic psychology right. But there was absolutely nothing for those interested in clinical and counseling psychology – the people who do therapy. So I decided to write one.
I want to help writers get their psych right! So many beliefs about psychology are outdated or inaccurate, and because we keep seeing them in the media, we keep assuming they’re true – so they get passed on, one writer to the next, like urban legends. My book is an accessible, interesting, practical guide to help writers avoid all those common mistakes.
THE WRITER’S GUIDE TO PSYCHOLOGY helps writers get the psychology right in their stories. What are some common misconceptions you see in the media?
Many, many people believe that schizophrenia, “split” or multiple personalities, and bipolar disorder are the same thing. In fact, schizophrenia, multiple personalities (officially called “Dissociative Identity Disorder” or DID), and bipolar disorder are three distinct disorders.
- · Schizophrenia is a biologically-based psychotic disorder, which means that the individual has lost contact with “normal” reality and instead experiences hallucinations or delusions and possibly other unusual or even bizarre behaviors.
- · Dissociative Identity Disorder is a dissociative disorder caused by massive and often sadistic trauma/s during childhood, before the individual has developed adequate coping mechanisms. As a result, the trauma/s are “split” off from the rest of the personality. If they are “out” enough, those split-off parts can develop into separate personalities.
- · Bipolar disorder is a biologically-based mood disorder, with extreme downs (depressions) and ups (manias). Though many people feel good when they are manic, some become extremely irritable or volatile, and a few experience brief psychosis.
A few other misconceptions that are addressed in the book:
- · People don’t shake during “electroshock” therapy, nor are they awake.
- · Serial killers are almost never psychotic, though they may be psychopathic.
- · Not all therapists believe the examination of one’s childhood is important to therapy.
The book contains “Don’t Let This Happen to You!” sidebars, in which you describe mistakes other writers have made. Could you give us an example?
On a season eight episode of Smallville, a show that chronicles Clark Kent’s life before he becomes Superman, EMT Davis Bloome is unable to control his dark side, Doomsday. Desperate to stop turning into a monster, Davis steals packages of “antipsychotics used for multiple personalities.”
In reality, multiple personality disorder (aka dissociative identity disorder or DID) is not a psychotic disorder. Therefore, there is no such thing as an antipsychotic (or any other medication) that suppresses personality changes in DID. Sorry, Davis!
How much and/or what kind of research went into writing this book?
I researched everything. Even the facts that I knew, I verified with research. I have two big binders full of relevant journal and news articles, and I also relied on numerous professional books, interviews with other psychological experts (particularly people who understood medications, hospitalization, and electroconvulsive therapy) and even a couple of tours through psychiatric units.
What is your writing process like?
When it comes to nonfiction, I’m a very methodical person. I like to brainstorm, usually writing by hand on regular paper or on a Tablet PC. (For some reason, typing isn’t freeform enough for me when I’m brainstorming.) Then I like to gather research that supports the ideas, so I’m starting to build a framework to support the ideas. After that, it’s time to start writing. Since publication involves the production of a proposal, I’m usually able to pull summaries out of the material I’ve begun producing.
Honestly, writing nonfiction feels a lot like writing a (doctoral) dissertation to me!
In terms of actually writing, I sit down at the keyboard and just start pounding away. Even when it feels like I’m producing garbage, I keep going. Often it just feels like I’m producing garbage, and I’m actually doing just fine for a first draft. Editing is easier for me, anyways, so if I can get something on the page, I’m moving in the right direction. I learned to do this from writing fiction – just keep writing and worry about editing later!
Have you ever had writer’s block? If so, what do you do about it?
My biggest “writer’s block” trick is probably letting my unconscious roll the problem around and come up with some possible solutions. Psychologists call that “incubation” of an idea. Then I try to just start writing and hope I see some good stuff. And even if I don’t the next time I write, I’ve pushed the thought process forward and can let the problem incubate some more.
I also find that switching from typing to writing by hand can be helpful for me. Writing by hand is more right-brained for me, or something. I come up with ideas more easily that way.
How can we purchase your book?
The book is available from all the big and small online retailers like Amazon.com. You should also be able to find the book in brick-and-mortar stores like Borders!
