Word: psychologist
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...things that should be done in any case. But they are just the sort of pricey domestic programs we reward politicians for flaying. Consider that in the average school district, the harried psychologist must see 10 of his charges every day just to see each of his students once a year. In California, 50% of the schools don't even have guidance counselors. It's nearly impossible in such an environment to separate the kids tinkering with bombs in the garage from kids whose only offense is a love for Marilyn Manson...
...doesn't prevent the stepmother from taking on substantial maternal responsibilities. "Because of the way they've been socialized, and because of social expectations, typically women have more pressure put on them in stepfamilies to parent and to take care of the kids," says James Bray, a clinical psychologist who did a nine-year study of stepfamilies that was funded by the National Institutes of Health. Meanwhile, the first wife may be antagonistic toward her successor. These factors place a heavy burden on the new family. About 55% of second marriages fail, partly because of these issues...
First developed by psychologist Barbara Rothbaum and computer scientist Larry Hodges to combat fear of heights, VR exposure therapy works on the principle that if you can train people to relax in a simulation of a scary situation, they will relax when confronted with the real thing. I visited the Virtually Better clinic in Atlanta, which charges $150 for a one-hour session. It provides a headset and plane seat that immerse you in a 3-D virtual airplane, complete with vibrations, engine sounds, flight-attendant call bells, and--at touchdown--tire squeals...
...sounds a little weird, but it can't hurt, right? After all, no matter how scary the high-flying simulation gets, my feet will always be firmly planted on the ground. Before my virtual flight, psychologist Samantha Smith went over a few relaxation techniques: keep breathing, remember that the chance of dying in a plane crash is 1 in 10 million and use special tricks to distract myself from my mind's own in-flight horror movies. So far, so good. In fact, when I glanced over at the dorky plastic seat and headset I was about...
...used to this new world and began talking to the psychologist about my fears, I realized that the simulation was triggering frightening memories without actually making me scared. When I looked at them objectively, my fears seemed to lose their charge. For the first time, I felt safe in a plane. So what if it wasn't real...