Clinical Psychology @ Ashoka University Class Blog

 Elvina Ann Charly  Intergenerational trauma refers to how traumatic events faced by one generation affect the psychological and emotional wellbeing of subsequent generations, directly or indirectly. The phenomenon has been studied extensively in the descendants of holocaust survivors (Weiss & Weiss, 2000) and more recently in Native American and immigrant populations. A literature of intergenerational trauma in the Latinx community however, is lacking; owing to the absence of a common trauma (Cerdena et al., 2021).  Encanto (Merino & Spencer, 2021) is a Disney animated movie about a magical Colombian family’s journey towards healing their intergenerational trauma. The movie begins with the grandmother or Abuela Alma explaining the source of their family’s powers to a young protagonist- Mirabel. A Colombian civil war- possibly the 1899 War of the Thousand Days (Demarest, 2001)- forces Abuela Alma and her husband Abuelo Pedro to flee their homes with their new-bor...

 Ashruth Marla TW: Sexual Assault, Gaslighting, Near-Death Experiences, Body-shaming, Slut-shaming and Coercion.  Conventional ideas of “fame” commonly exhibit boundaries—one between the unreachable, pedestalized celebrity and the fan. However, the advent of democratic mediums like YouTube has started to make the process of “getting famous” more accessible, deepening interpersonal relationships. Given that narcissism is a predictor of social-media posting (Damon & Louis, 2011; Alloway et al., 2014), it becomes essential to interrogate how this newfound-accessibility to fame is conducive to the overrepresentation of narcissistic-traits on such mediums. This prompts a deeper exploration of how such grandiose-narcissistic-tendencies can be fuelled by internet-fan-culture. This blog post aims to study narcissistic-traits, and how they aid the pursuit of internet fame, precipitating detrimental effects to interpersonal and parasocial relationships by discussing the case of Davi...

Introduction From its Greek etymology of ‘diseased mind’ (Skeem et al., 2011) to the list of twenty characteristics that oft-represent it (Hare, 2003), psychopathy’s history is convoluted — much to the disarray of Clinical and Research psychologists’ views. A suitable method of identifying and diagnosing individuals had to prevail, leading to the inception of the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R) (Hare, 2003). The PCL-R would later morph into a “gold standard” (Vitacco et al., 2005) for psychopathic traits’ evaluation and psychopathic convicts’ recidivism.  However, numerous psychologists have criticised the PCL-R for its pseudo-spectral approach and questionable operationalisation (Venugopal, 2020). A breakdown of the aforementioned psychologists’ arguments and an investigation into the PCL-R’s efficacy in diagnosing psychopathy is what follows in this blog. Background A nuanced understanding of the PCL-R’s criticisms necessitates an understanding of its radices. Despite Rober...

  Do you know people who are witty, charming, extremely fun to spend time with, and have good intentions, yet contrastingly can lie flawlessly and exploit to some extent? Or specific individuals who are uncaring, refrain from abiding by social norms, and display no remorse for their wrongful actions? Can you think of a friend who acts hastily, destructively, and dangerously without remorse when their activities cause harm to you or others? These are symptoms of Antisocial Personality Disorder. So here’s the thing: we have known these individuals for a very long time;  ignore certain actions by saying, “they are like this only. Don’t worry about it, or don’t take them seriously”. However, are there times when you question these acts? Suggest them to take help? Do you know people who are witty, charming, extremely fun to spend time with, and have good intentions, yet contrastingly can lie flawlessly and exploit to some extent? Or specific individuals who are uncaring, refrain fr...