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RSSThe New York Times magazine ran a chilling article yesterday about psychopathic children, and how the features that lead to anti-social personality disorder and sociopathy may be identified as early as age five. If you haven’t already seen it, I … Continue reading
When the Therapist Falls Asleep During Session
I dozed off for about ten seconds during a session today. Over the last 30 years, this has happened to me three times that I recall. The first time was with an elderly client, benignly psychotic but disengaged from the … Continue reading
Contempt as a Defense (Mine)
Last week, I decided to withdraw from my contract with New Harbinger for the publication of my book on defense mechanisms. If you’ve read my earlier post where I discussed what this book deal meant to me, you’ll understand this … Continue reading
Anders Breivik, You and Me: What We Have in Common
When an anti-Islamic loner explodes a bomb outside a government building, killing eight people, then travels to a nearby island where he guns down 69 more, we naturally view that man as a dangerous lunatic. His paranoid tirades against multi-culturalism … Continue reading
Shame Trading
In a very early post on this site, I described people who view the world in terms of winners and losers, where one person will shore up his own self-image by triumphing over someone else, usually by demonstrating that he’s … Continue reading
Video #3 – “The Transference Begins”
I’ve now uploaded the third installation in my series on psychodynamic psychotherapy, which you can access through the video frame below. This one covers early manifestations of the transference and includes a lot of examples from recent sessions in my … Continue reading
Mothballing Your Parents
Last night, we were out at our favorite restaurant, celebrating my daughter Emma’s birthday. After a fine meal, we came home and sat up late, discussing, as we often do, the fact that she seems more like 26 than 14 … Continue reading
Psychodynamic Psychotherapy Video No. 2: The Early Weeks
This is the second installment in my video series about what to expect in psychodynamic psychotherapy, focusing on what happens during the early weeks. In addition to developing a deeper understanding of the client’s past and current emotional issues, these … Continue reading
‘Butterfly’s Child’ by Angela-Davis Gardner: A Review
For the last 12 years, I’ve belonged to a writer’s group that meets every Thursday afternoon for two hours. We read our works-in-progress, giving support and constructive criticism to each other; we spend years reading and listening to different drafts … Continue reading
Why I’m a Therapist
When people find out I’m a therapist, they usually assume I chose my profession because I want to help others. While I derive a deep sense of satisfaction from doing just that, I mostly chose to become a therapist because … Continue reading
