Violence, threat, and emotional "malnourishment": an interview with Dr. Dan Gottlieb

Daniel Gottlieb, Ph.D., is a psychologist and host of the National Public Radio (NPR) program Voices in the Family. He is interviewed here by Victor Schermer about his views on the increase in violence in American society. He sees violence to be partly a consequence of interpersonal "malnourishment," a lack of empathy, trust, and connectedness in our communities. Thus, the therapist's openness and non-judgmental reflection is helpful in establishing social connectedness and diminishing anger and violence. He advocates that therapists engage in social action by facilitating community meetings to bring people together to discuss their conflicts and find commonalities among them.