Home
In 1984, Manhattan-based psychologist Glenn Ellenbogen founded the Wry-Bred Press in order to publish a humorous and satirical journal of psychology – the Journal of Polymorphous Perversity® – with the goal of “injecting into the aging veins of Psychology a dose of humorous medicine.” Over the course of the next 20 years (1984-2003), the Journal of Polymorphous Perversity® showcased hundreds of zany spoofs of Psychology, Psychiatry, and Medicine. Such pieces as “Psychotherapy of the Dead,” “Oral Sadism and the Vegetarian Personality,” “Franchising Unorthodox, Eclectic Psychotherapeutic Services: Psychotherapists-R-Us,” “Short-Term Cognitive Therapy for Authors of Rejected Manuscripts,” “Antidotes to Your Shrink’s Falling Asleep During the Therapy Session: A Patient’s Guide to Keeping the Therapist’s Attention,” “Understanding Managed Care: Therapists Are From Mercury, Case Managers Are From Uranus,” “You Can Bet Your Bottom Dollar That This Article Will Stir Up a Hornet’s Nest Among Those Clinicians Specializing in Differential Diagnosis: Diagnosis By Cliché,” and “Assessment and Treatment of Depression in a Machine: The Case of the Little Engine That Couldn’t.” Where else would one turn to but the Journal of Polymorphous Perversity® for an over-the-top advertisement for a provocative new perfume – Borderline by Calvin Klein? Or for the first, and no doubt last, guide for those considering entering therapy for the first time: “A Primer for Psychotherapy Patients.” Or, for the release of a new, state-of-the-art antidepressant medication – Welloft? And, did we mention dogs? Everyone loves dogs. So, there’s “Adult Pets of Divorced Owners (APDOs): A Three-Stage Conceptualization of the Emotional Effects of Owner Divorce on Pets,” highlighting such key concepts as: “The Adult Pets of Divorced Owners (APDO) treatment model teaches pets that . . . life can be unmanageable for a quadruped with a nonprehensile tail; . . . they are not alone in their phyla; and . . . without language there is no serenity prayer.” You are invited to explore deeper into this website to find out why The Wall Street Journal called the Journal of Polymorphous Perversity® “a social scientist’s answer to Mad magazine.” And don’t miss the four books – collections of humor pieces drawn from the Journal of Polymorphous Perversity®.