Articles by Max Vogt

1) Imus, Insults and Ignorance
"Sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never harm me." Look, let's get things into perspective, shall we? There's hate and then there's hate. There's simple ignorance which slips out of every human being at times, and then there is deliberate, deadly, strategic hate. The first was perpetrated by a person called Imus, the second was, is and shall be perpetrated by the Bush... » read more

2) Fear, Pain, Trauma... and Personal Courage
A few years ago, the experts in my field of psychology and psychiatry finally realized what everyone already knows--and published it in our main diagnostic manuals. They looked at the experiences of trauma and pain and recognized that everyone is different, and that you can't define trauma and pain in general terms that apply to everyone. Everyone feels pain differently and uniquely. What one person... » read more

3) Rapper Diddy's Fear of Failure in Marriage
He's still not ready for marriage. Sean "Diddy" Combs, mega mogul of music and business, and his longtime girlfriend Lisa Porter became parents for the second (or actually third) time last fall to twins Jessie James and D'Lila. Diddy says he loves being a father and is "having the time of his life." They have another child, 10 year old Christian. But even though Diddy claims he would "love to... » read more

4) Parents -- Let the Kids Be Kids
Teenagers are perfect and wonderful. Contrary to popular opinion, teenagers are very easy to understand. It's parents that are difficult to comprehend. Let's start with the easy job, defining the adolescent. An adolescent is a child becoming an adult, not a young adult. The brain of an adolescent has simply not developed the capacity for future orientation, frustration... » read more

5) Is Your Marriage in Danger?
Many couples need guidance in identifying the specific problems they can tackle in improving their marriages or relationships. You might feel that "something is wrong" or something hurts or doesn't feel right, but you can't exactly put your finger on it. It can frequently be helpful to have something like a "danger signs" chart (like used in helping people diagnose cancer or other disorders). This... » read more

6) Marriage Advice : "Next Time I Will Choose Better -- and Choose My Soul-Mate!"
It's a common enough thought -- I just chose the wrong person for a partner, and if given a chance, I will choose better (I hope) next time. I heard it just yesterday in the checkout stand at Long's. Two women were talking about their former relationships and one spoke of her ex-husband as "the wrong guy," though her words about him were far more ferocious and graphic than this. You'd have thought the... » read more

7) Men and Women Are Different? Wrong!
One thing I want you to totally get out of your mind right now is the idea that at the deep psychological level that there are any absolutes about "what women want" or "what men want." I tell you, I've seen absolutely every variation on this old saw in the so called "literature" of my field, in the popular literature, in television, movies, magazines, workshops, and I'm totally unconvinced that at the... » read more

8) Great Relationships: Set Aside Your Prejudices About Men and Women
Great Relationships are a step beyond "good relationships" because the "ordinary myths" about relationships need to be broken to get to that "extraordinary" level of "Greatness." If you are OK with ho-hum relationships, that's fine. Go for it. But if you want something really powerful and deep, you've got to go beyond the "ordinary." You've got to set aside your prejudices about men and women and... » read more