These days it seems like we’re following the darkest timeline: our politics are broken, technology is disrupting society, and the planet is warming. But we’ve been here before, at least in the imaginary worlds of science fiction. Join psychologist Dr. Ali Mattu as he investigates how we got into this mess and what science fiction can teach us about getting out of it.
Dr. Ali Mattu is a clinical psychologist who specializes in the treatment of anxiety and body-focused repetitive behaviors (trichotillomania/hair-pulling disorder and excoriation/skin-picking disorder). He aspires to bring psychology to everyone, everywhere by hosting THE PSYCH SHOW (it’s a great YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/thepsychshow), writing about the psychology of science fiction at Brain Knows Better, presenting to the public, and advocating for the brain and behavior sciences through the American Psychological Association. Ali is an assistant professor at the Columbia University Medical Center. He received his B.A. from the University of California, Los Angeles where he majored in psychology and minored in Asian American studies. Ali received his Ph.D. in clinical psychology from The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. He completed a doctoral internship at the Bellevue Hospital Center and a post-doctoral fellowship at the NYU Langone Medical Center’s Child Study Center. Ali is known as a “forward thinker” in the field of psychology and was named one of The Mighty’s mental health heroes of 2015.