The purpose of The Living Fossils is to communicate how the application of evolutionary ideas can help explain the sources of psychological suffering and well-being, in the service of improving our understanding of mental health.
| Platform |  | Pricing | Only free issues | Publishes | Weekly |
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| Issues | 171 | Founded | 4 years ago | Last Issue | 5 days ago |
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Frequencies & Whole Objects
Let’s face it, most research in psychological science has little to no bearing on the real world.
The study of how people reason about frequencies and probabilities is an exception.
Consider this problem, drawn from a paper by two psychol...
Thinking Wrong for the Right Reasons
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) has made a handful of so-called “cognitive distortions” central to its project of helping clients think—and therefore feel and act—differently.
The problem is that, from an evolutionary perspective, many...
Why I Avoid the Word “Innate”
The word “innate” irritates me. In this post, I’ll explain why without getting too deep into the philosophical and semantic weeds.
Let’s consider three things:
A) Definitions of “innate.”
B) The opposite of “innate.”
C) Traits that peop...
Material Stress, n.
On a Wednesday afternoon a few weeks ago, I had a fairly typical therapy session. The client arrived a few minutes late and spent the next ten minutes running through everything that had gone wrong that day. Her car was making a noise. Zoom...
Psychotherapy's Six Biggest Mistakes
The list below lays out six of psychotherapy’s biggest mistakes. These are not its only mistakes, but I think they are among the most common, consequential, and correctable.
- Overlooking the Obvious
Therapists tend to overlook two...
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Authors
The writers behind this newsletter.
The Living Fossils team consists of three people with expertise in psychology, evolution, and therapeutic practice. They believe that it is important to take science, but not themselves, very seriously.
Shani Robins, Ph.D. pioneered the field of Wisdom Therapy in 1998, is president of the Wisdom Therapy Institute (wisdomtherapy.com), a California Board Licensed Psychologist, a Stanford University instructor, and a corporate consultant.
Mental health counselor & Living Fossil who splits his time between providing therapy and writing about how to better provide therapy. Has been practicing for 8+ years. Other interests include literature, sports, and being outside.
Evolutionary psychologist. PhD in Psychology UCSB, MPA from Fels Institute of Government. Author of All the Feels (coming 9/30/2026), The Hidden Agenda of Political Mind (with Jason Weeden), and Why Everyone (Else) is a Hypocrite. Mostly retired.
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