For those of us who learnt of the tragedy through the media, the anguish and grief of the family who lost their two youngest children in the icy depths of Lake Wakatipu is painful even to imagine. We ... (627 words)

The idea that low self-esteem is the cause of violent behaviour has been current for some time. Many years ago I attended numerous education meetings where I heard that certain (male) individuals ... (836 words)

Cellulite - Just a Euphemism for Fat Cellulite is the term used by women's magazines to describe dimpled fat. It has no scientific or anatomical validity and it is simply ordinary fatty tissue that ... (1333 words)

One possible source of the outlandish reports given by children in cases such as the Christchurch Civic Creche affair was described at the 2003 Skeptics' Conference. In recent years the western media ... (478 words)

Justice Minister Phil Goff has won the first-ever Bent Can Opener Award from the New Zealand Skeptics, for "refusing to open the can of worms that is the Christchurch Civic Creche case". For the past ... (377 words)

Yet Another Alternative to Evidence Based Medicine Eloquence based medicine The year round suntan, carnation in the button hole, silk tie, Armani suit and tongue should all be equally smooth. ... (1284 words)

It was sad to see - two shelves of Lynley Hood's A City Possessed, heavily discounted at Whitcoulls. Released only last October it hasn't taken long for the book to hit the bargain bin. Perhaps it ... (373 words)

People involved in incidents such as rail crashes, bombings or armed robberies may suffer more in the long run if they undergo intensive counselling, some psychologists believe. "Debriefing" - in ... (242 words)

Paper prepared for the 1999 Skeptics Conference, Auckland, 28-29 August. Our children are our greatest investment, our hope for the future. The best thing we can do as a society is to nurture the ... (3098 words)

Counselling, Criticism and Skepticism I was interested to read the letters by Jim Ring and Felicity Goodyear-Smith to my article with the above title [NZ Skeptic 47]. Jim reiterates his view that the ... (1142 words)

An article by Gordon Hewitt in NZ Skeptic 47 states, "In June 1995...an article appeared in this publication saying counselling was no use. This judgement was based on a single study conducted in ... (567 words)

As a counsellor and psychotherapist also trained in science and in scepticism I have been disappointed in the apparent lack of depth to the sceptical analysis of counselling that seems to be present ... (738 words)