About InPsych

Psychology is not just something to study and learn about, it is a gateway for understanding your Self, and the infinite complexities of the human experience. Everyone has been a psychologist; at some point in your life you’ve reflected on your emotions, thoughts, or behaviours, or those of others. Maybe you’ve questioned how nature and nurture interact in the development of phenotype, gotten lost in the infinite paradox of self-awareness, or sought the path to psychological peace.

The abstractions in many of these questions necessitates a varied and dynamic approach. The expansion of psychological research via Western scientific hegemony has constrained our understanding of the mind. Modern medical science is a miracle, there’s no doubt, and warranted attention is placed on how new research, in particular new neuroimaging tech, is developing our understandings of the mind. However, it confines itself to its own methodologies through the belief that only that which is provable is scientifically valid. Given all our current ignorance, the only acceptable approach is open-minded and holistic, incorporating all current understandings and approaches.

I started this journey through an exploration of my own mind, as a tool to reground myself during a time of existential distress and a profound internal isolation. I didn’t know it then, but I was deeply and almost compulsively motivated to understand how my mind could behave in such a way. Now my love for psychology is about satisfying an insatiable curiosity, providing depth and meaning to my life, enhancing my relationships with others, and as a way of promoting positive change and greater wellbeing. I hope to either be a clinical psychologist or existential psychotherapist one day, using my learned knowledge and experience to help someone out of the depths they may find themselves in. But psychology is not just about alleviating psychological difficulty, it is about exploring the infinite curiosities of existence; good, bad, and everything in between.

InPsych is where I document my curiosity as I study, work, and generally exist in psychology. It’s been a really fun project for a number of reasons. First, it help me to really engage with the ideas I come across, more so than when I’m just reflecting alone as I have to face the anxiety in knowing that someone else might read it. Also, I believe that if you really understand a concept, you should be able to explain it to anyone regardless of their previous knowledge. I try to orient this page around accessible but intellectually uncompromised writing. Second, it’s been a challenging process of web-development, something that I have no prior experience with. I’ve spent a stupid amount of time building and designing (but mainly fixing) this website, partly because I don’t like the templates offered by usual web-dev providers that don’t give you much freedom, and partly because I hastily committed to a whole year of the platform.

The content I write varies, but mainly consist of book reviews, discussions of interesting concepts or new research, some short-form answers to questions I or others been curious about, and some university essays from my recent MSc in Psychology. I hope you find some of it interesting. It doesn’t come naturally to write in this style (engagingly and informatively and not for academic reading) but the more I write, the more I feel it’s improving. This website also serves as a diary of how my writing improves as well as the progression of my ideas.

I should stress that I’m not an expert (yet), so when I delve into more sensitive topics anything I say is purely opinion, along with all its inherent flaws and biases, and should be taken as such. I am happy to be challenged and if you see something you don’t like/disagree with there’s plenty of space for any of your thoughts.

Thanks for reading!

Cameron