Dr. James Tobin Ph.D. - Psychologist
Parenting, Adolescence, and Child Development
The Relational Parenting Approach
In this talk, James Tobin, Ph.D., presents his Relational Parenting approach, a pragmatic guide for parents to help resolve parent-teen conflict and family systemic issues. The approach emphasizes the role of relational effectiveness in supporting parents’ attempts to positively influence their children.
The Child’s Psychological Use of the Parent: A Workshop
This workshop is designed for parents who would like to improve the quality of their relationship with their children. Dr. Tobin provides a road map for parents based on a core paradox of the human condition, i.e., the initial need to bond (to form and sustain early life) and the subsequent need to separate/individuate (in order for the child to secure a distinct personal identity unencumbered by unresolved issues with the family of origin). According to Dr. Tobin, both the parent and the developing child simultaneously press for separation/ individuation and resist it. This workshop attempts to alert parents to the underlying dynamics that prolong this ambivalence and provides pragmatic suggestions for how parents can be “of use” psychologically so that their child is more successfully primed for the achievement of autonomy.
The Dynamics of Process and Content in Parent-Teen Communication: A Coding Manual
This coding manual is designed to provide parents with an approach to understanding their communication and relational difficulties with their children. According to Dr. Tobin, the parent-teen relationship is usually conflictual yet parents often do no understand the specific dynamics of their family system that often result in arguing, stonewalling, oppositionality, distance, and withdrawal. Drawing from scientific research of the conflict dynamics of romantic couples, Dr. Tobin has designed an exercise that consists of the audiotaping of a parent-teen discussion of an issue or problem between them. A set of content codes outlined in the manual is then applied to the transcribed audiotaped dialogue. The scoring sheet for the codes is designed to showcase how what is said, when it is said, and by whom it is said contributes to the facilitation or obstruction of the dialogue. In this way, Dr. Tobin contends that the architecture of the parent-teen relationship can be uncovered and ultimately used in parent guidance and family therapy to improve parents’ relationships with their children.
Academic Cheating Among Youths: A Causal Pathway Model
Academic cheating is a problem more commonly manifested among children and adolescents than one might expect. Researchers estimate that approximately 75% of high school students cheat at some point during their course of academic study (e.g., McCabe, Trevino, & Butterfield, 2001; Whitley, 1998). While cheating appears to be widespread, it has been under-emphasized in the empirical literature and poorly understood as a behavioral phenomenon despite its association with a range of youth risk factors (including low self-esteem and poor academic performance) and its capacity to predict more severe problems in later adolescence and young adulthood. Conducted by co-authors Nicolette de Sumrak, M.A. and James Tobin, Ph.D., this review attempted to organize the current research findings on academic cheating into a comprehensive causal pathway model. Empirical findings were categorized into (1) individual, (2) contextual and (3) moderating factors that interact to increase the likelihood of the onset and maintenance of cheating behavior.
Learn More About All of Dr. Tobin's Services
Visit Dr. Tobin's Office
15615 Alton Parkway
Suite 450
Irvine, CA 92618
Hours
Monday: 8am - 8pm
Tuesday: 8am - 8pm
Wednesday: 8am - 8pm
Thursday: 8am - 8pm
Friday: 8am - 8pm
Saturday: Closed
Sunday: Closed
jt@jamestobinphd.com
(949) 338-4388
Schedule Today
Visit Dr. Tobin's Office
15615 Alton Parkway
Suite 450
Irvine, CA 92618
Hours
Monday: 8am - 8pm
Tuesday: 8am - 8pm
Wednesday: 8am - 8pm
Thursday: 8am - 8pm
Friday: 8am - 8pm
Saturday: Closed
Sunday: Closed
jt@jamestobinphd.com
(949) 338-4388
Schedule Today
