Midlands Psychological Associates

Ron Johnson

  • I Don’t Want to Live

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    Ron Johnson
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    I have the opportunity of hearing things from people that they have never told anyone else. This is a tremendous privilege that we therapists have. Close family members, good friends, pastors, doctors, and bartenders often hear private things from people, but there is something almost sacred about the therapy office, especially after trust is established…

  • Social Esteem

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    Ron Johnson
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    Much has been written about self-esteem including thousands of professional journal articles and hundreds of books. When we are discussing self-esteem, we are looking at low self-esteem, namely where one does value oneself or feels inadequate in some way, or perhaps many ways. I remember doing a project in graduate school on self-esteem looking at…

  • Men’s Greatest Fear

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    Ron Johnson
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    I just finished an hour with a patient I have been seeing for some time. Andy (let’s call him Andy) has what I call the “typical male disease.” He is afraid of female disapproval. We spent much of the hour dealing with how he can honorably and gracefully deal with the disapproval he regularly gets…

  • Responsibility Reframed

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    Ron Johnson
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    Responsibility in life is central. I once heard a musician (Richie Havens) talk at his concert about responsibility being the “ability to respond.” There is some important truth to this simple understanding of the word. Importantly, people have different natural abilities, and hence different abilities to respond, and hence different kinds of responsibilities. In other…

  • “Unacceptable” is Unacceptable

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    Ron Johnson
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    The term “unacceptable” has become popular among parents in recent years. I find the word unacceptable. Let me explain. The term “unacceptable” does not assist children in understanding their difficult behavior and ultimately adjusting such behavior. Furthermore this word and several other such words are harmful to the children who hear them. Let me explain.…

  • Having a Love Problem

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    Ron Johnson
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    A patient I have seen in my office off and on for a number of years told me of a disturbing experience he had had on Christmas. I diagnosed his problem. He had a love problem. I see a lot of people with love problems. And I am not talking about relationships, at least not…

  • Honest “I Don’t Know’s

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    Ron Johnson
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    As I continue to move onward in my early 70’s I realize more and more how much I don’t know or don’t understand. It seems the natural humbling experience of growing older. Beliefs and assurances now come rarely, and sometimes not at all. Life was so much easier when I was 20 and convinced of…

  • The 4-8-12 Phenomenon

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    Ron Johnson
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    There is a very common phenomenon among the children that I see in my office. I call it the “4-8-12” phenomenon although I also call it the “5-7-9” phenomenon and other variations depending on how old the child is. However, these number can be multiplied in many ways as I will explain. I have been…

  • The 10-2-1 Decision-Making Procedure

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    Ron Johnson
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    There is a relatively new body of thinking and research in psychology that examines the phenomenon of intuition. Intuition is commonly expressed as “gut feeling”. Previously, gut-feelings and the like have been seen with some derision because the thinking was that decisions were made with some combination of thinking and feeling. Now, it seems there…

  • Don’t Be Careful

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    Ron Johnson
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    I just spent the weekend with my grandchildren: Alexis, three and a half, and her brother, Gavin, 9. The negative rules of our house are: no TV, no electronics, and no snacks. The positive rules of the house are: play table games a lot, talk a lot, read a lot, and generally explore the world…