About Phil Hickey Ph.D

I am a licensed psychologist, presently retired. I have worked in clinical and managerial positions in the mental health, corrections, and addictions fields in the United States and England. My wife Nancy and I have been married since 1970 and have four grown children.

Homosexuality: The Mental Illness That Went Away

October 8, 2011 By Phil Hickey |

Post edited and updated January 2, 2013, to reflect clarifications as a result of interactions with the many people who have left comments. I thank them for their input. ******************** According to the American Psychiatric Association, until 1974 homosexuality was a mental illness. Freud had alluded to homosexuality numerous times in his writings, and had… Continue Reading

Legacy of Abuse

October 2, 2011 By Phil Hickey |

Psychiatry likes to present itself as a helping profession, but even a cursory look at its history suggests otherwise. Here are some of the “treatments” that this pseudo-science has promoted for its pseudo-illnesses. STERILIZATION It is estimated that 65,000 people were sterilized in America under various eugenic statutes. This practice, which was used between the… Continue Reading

A Blood Test for Depression

August 24, 2011 By Phil Hickey |

Daniel Carlat in his blog post of August 15 mentions, and critiques, a so-called blood test for depression marketed (for $745) by Ridge Diagnostics. The essence of Dr. Carlat’s criticism is that the test is not predictive of depression, but merely enables one to tell (with some degree of accuracy) whether or not a person… Continue Reading

Behavior Therapy

August 8, 2011 By Phil Hickey |

In a comment on my post on Natural Correction, Nanu Grewal raised a question concerning the addressing of behavioral problems. This is a huge topic, and I feel the reply warrants a post. There are others who could do a better job than me, but here’s my take on it. Traditional behavior therapy starts with assessment. … Continue Reading