The hCG Diet Myth: Why Would a Pregnancy Hormone Make You Skinny?
Quick quiz: does pregnancy cause weight loss or gain? It seems like a dumb question but it’s a test that the promoters of the “hCG diet” seem to have failed.
Szalavitz's latest book is Born for Love: Why Empathy Is Essential — and Endangered. It is co-written with Dr. Bruce Perry, a leading expert in the neuroscience of child trauma and recovery.
Maia Szalavitz
Maia Szalavitz is a neuroscience journalist obsessed with addiction, love, evidence-based living, empathy and pretty much everything related to brain and behavior. She is the co-author of Born for Love: Why Empathy is Essential — and Endangered (Morrow, 2010) and The Boy Who Was Raised as a Dog (Basic, 2006), both with Dr. Bruce D. Perry. Her 2006 book, Help at Any Cost: How the Troubled-Teen Industry Cons Parents and Hurts Kids (Riverhead, 2006) is the first book-length exposé of the “tough love” business. Szalavitz has been published in TIME Magazine, the New York Times, Elle, Scientific American Mind, the Washington Post, New Scientist and Psychology Today, among many others. She has been awarded the American Psychological Associations Division 50 Award for Contributions to the Addictions and the Media Award from the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology.
Articles from Contributor
Q&A: Can We Protect Ourselves from the ‘Superbug’ MRSA?
You’re going to want to wash your hands after you read this post. Author Maryn McKenna, or “Scary Disease Girl,” as she’s known to her colleagues, talks about MRSA — a potentially lethal bug that has jumped from hospitals into …
Is Teen Binge-Drinking Really a Harbinger of Alcoholism?
Is teen binge-drinking “just a phase?” Or do most teens who drink heavily become alcoholics?
I’m Not Goofing Off. I’m Getting Inspired!
During the lead-up to nearly every major event or holiday — the Super Bowl, the Oscars, Thanksgiving — a swell of media reports describe how people’s preoccupation with the event causes lost productivity. Last year, for …
Outlawing ‘Legal Highs:’ Can Emergency Bans Hinder Drug Development?
As states race to outlaw synthetic drugs sold as “bath salts” or “fake marijuana,” there would seem to be little downside to banning these untested and possibly dangerous chemicals. But prohibiting “legal” intoxicants — many of …
Should Parents Let Kids Drink at Home? New Data Show Many Do
Among American teens aged 12 to 14 who report drinking alcohol, nearly 30% were given the booze by their parents or other adult relatives, according to new statistics released by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
Ecstasy as Therapy: Have Some of its Negative Effects Been Overblown?
Although ecstasy (MDMA) — a drug best known for enhancing feelings of empathy and love — has been demonized by parents and politicians, researchers have been quietly studying its potentially therapeutic effects, and they’ve …
Sidewalk Rage: Mental Illness or ‘Altruistic Punishment?’
For many residents of New York City, our bodies are our cars. So rather than engaging in “road rage” against slow or erratic drivers on a highway, New Yorkers descend into “sidewalk rage,” paroxysms of fury directed at people who …
How to Find the Best Drug Treatment for Teens: A Guide for Parents
Getting your child treatment for, say, cancer presents numerous challenges — but most of them don’t involve determining whether the therapies offered by major medical organizations are backed by data. Unfortunately, that’s …
Can You Use Crack ‘Socially?’ Addiction Myth Watch: Charlie Sheen Edition
The subject of addiction swirls with myths and misinformation. It doesn’t help that so many people seem to believe that their own struggle with addiction — or a few drop-ins to Alcoholics Anonymous meetings — make them …
Rebooting Valentine’s Day as Generosity Day
Single? In a bad relationship? Or so in love that the idea of celebrating only your own romance on Valentine’s Day seems too small to capture the abundance of unity and connection in the world?
Q&A: How the New Science of Adult Attachment Can Improve Your Love Life
People tend to think of “attachment” and “bonding” as the subjects of child psychology, but in fact, these factors are just as important to adult health and happiness. So what defines the healthy adult relationship — is there such a thing as too “clingy” or “dependent?” — and can people change in order to find lasting love?
Should the ‘Love Hormone’ Oxytocin Be Used in Couples Therapy?
From Arizona comes word that oxytocin — known as the “cuddle chemical” or “love hormone” for its role in bonding parents to children and lovers to one another — is being used on couples in marriage therapy.
