''Psychology Today'' is an American media organization with a focus on

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries betwe ...

and human behavior. It began as a bimonthly magazine, which first appeared in 1967. The ''Psychology Today'' website features therapy and

health professionals A health professional, healthcare professional, or healthcare worker (sometimes abbreviated HCW) is a provider of health care treatment and advice based on formal training and experience. The field includes those who work as a nurse, physician (suc ...

directories and hundreds of blogs written by a wide variety of

psychologist A psychologist is a professional who practices psychology and studies mental states, perceptual, cognitive, emotional, and social processes and behavior. Their work often involves the experimentation, observation, and interpretation of how ...

s, psychiatrists, social workers, medical doctors, anthropologists, sociologists, and science journalists.

Online presence and magazine circulation

''Psychology Today'' is among the oldest media outlets with a focus on behavioral science. Its tagline is “Here to Help” and its mission is to cover all aspects of human behavior so as to help people better manage their own health and wellness, adjust their mindset, and manage a range of mental health and relationship concerns. ''Psychology Today'' content and its therapist directory are found in 20 countries worldwide. ''Psychology Today'''s therapist directory is the most widely used and allows users to sort therapists by location, insurance, types of therapy, price, and other characteristics. It also has a Spanish-language website. The print magazine's circulation is 250,000, with 15.02 readers per copy, totaling an audience of 3.75 million. ''Psychology Today'' has a social media presence with 7.5 million Facebook followers, more than 1 million Twitter followers, more than 600,000 Instagram followers, and more than 800,000 LinkedIn followers as of October 2022.

History and mission

Founded in 1967 by Nicolas Charney, Ph.D., to make the burgeoning psychology literature accessible to the general public, Psychology Today features reportage and information that looks inward at the workings of the brain as well as outward to the bonds between people. It draws on research reports and interviews with experts on topics ranging from human motivation to personality development, from

intelligence Intelligence has been defined in many ways: the capacity for abstraction, logic, understanding, self-awareness, learning, emotional knowledge, reasoning, planning, creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving. It can be described as the ...

child development Child development involves the Human development (biology), biological, developmental psychology, psychological and emotional changes that occur in human beings between birth and the conclusion of adolescence. Childhood is divided into 3 stages o ...

and parenting practices, from

schizophrenia Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by continuous or relapsing episodes of psychosis. Major symptoms include hallucinations (typically hearing voices), delusions, and disorganized thinking. Other symptoms include social wi ...

to sexuality, from

leadership Leadership, both as a research area and as a practical skill, encompasses the ability of an individual, group or organization to "lead", influence or guide other individuals, teams, or entire organizations. The word "leadership" often gets v ...

to addiction, from

anxiety Anxiety is an emotion which is characterized by an unpleasant state of inner turmoil Turmoil may refer to: * ''Turmoil'' (1984 video game), a 1984 video game released by Bug-Byte * ''Turmoil'' (2016 video game), a 2016 indie oil tycoon video ...

politics Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that stud ...

—the vast range of the human behavior, with coverage of animal behavior as well. With articles on groupthink by Irving Janis, Ph.D., learned helplessness by Martin Seligman, Ph.D., and

management Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities ...

by Peter Drucker, Psychology Today earned a wide readership among professionals and the public. Psychologist Abraham Maslow described his ideas on peak experiences and self-actualization in Psychology Today. Other articles explored biofeedback, brain imaging, body language, and the halo effect of beauty. The magazine was among the bestselling general interest periodicals on the market: In 1976 ''Psychology Today'' sold 1,026,872 copies. The circulation of the magazine was 1,171,362 copies in 1981 and 862,193 copies in 1986. In 1992, after several changes in ownership and a publishing hiatus of two years, Psychology Today resumed publication as a general magazine, adding distinguished science journalism to cover a rapidly expanding field of human knowledge. Culturally relevant articles on

bullying Bullying is the use of force, coercion, hurtful teasing or threat, to abuse, aggressively dominate or intimidate. The behavior is often repeated and habitual. One essential prerequisite is the perception (by the bully or by others) of an i ...

, bias, and behavioral economics join the now-famous Hare checklist of psychopathy and portraits of perfectionism. The magazine has won numerous awards from the Society of Publication Designers. From June 2010 to June 2011, it was one of the top ten consumer magazines by newsstand sales. The Psychology Today website, in addition to archiving magazine articles since 1992, features a continuous stream of blogs by laboratory researchers, clinical practitioners, and writers with a broad range of expertise. Daily reports of the findings of new research on human behavior accompany accounts of common concerns and explorations of the impact of current events on mental health. The website is also the primary portal to a comprehensive directory of psychologists, psychiatrists, and other mental health professionals in the U.S. and around the world. The New York Times recommends this therapist finder when considering the costs involved in seeking therapy.

Leadership

From 1983 to 1987, ''Psychology Today'' was owned and managed by the

American Psychological Association The American Psychological Association (APA) is the largest scientific and professional organization of psychologists in the United States, with over 133,000 members, including scientists, educators, clinicians, consultants, and students. It has ...

. It is currently owned by Sussex Publishers.

Content and standards

The magazine is not peer-reviewed, but all expert author content is reviewed, edited and fact-checked for accuracy, objectivity and to ascertain that the author has relevant domain expertise by the editorial staff. ''Psychology Today'' features many of its contributors as experts in their fields who hold academic degrees.

Editors in chief

* Anastasia Toufexis, 1998–1999 * Robert Epstein, 1999–2003 * Kaja Perina, 2003–present

References

External links

*{{Official website, http://www.psychologytoday.com/magazine 1967 establishments in California Bimonthly magazines published in the United States Science and technology magazines published in the United States Health magazines Magazines established in 1967 Magazines published in California Magazines published in New York City Popular psychology magazines