Sympathy usually means entering into and sharing feelings that another person has verbally and intentionally expressed; empathy involves intuiting something unspoken, of which the other person may sometimes be entirely unaware. A psychotherapist’s ability to empathize with and understand unconscious parts of a client’s communication depends in large part upon feeling comfortable with those parts within him- or herself. Personal psychotherapy must therefore play a central part in training.
Category: Rules of the Road
Some basic assumptions about human nature.
How to Tell if You’re Projecting
Knowing how to identify when we’re projecting is extremely difficult, but an overly intense focus upon the behavior or attributes of another person may be a sign.
The Tenacity of Defenses
Psychological defenses are deeply etched neural pathways, like deep ruts in a well-traveled road, impossible to remove. Under psychological and emotional pressure, they will always come automatically and feel like the easiest, most natural response.
Envy and Jealousy
A discussion of envy and how the envious person wishes to spoil or destroy the object of envy. This article includes a clinical example from one psychotherapy case, as well as a personal example of envious behavior from the author.
The Toilet Function of Friendship (and Other Relationships)
Some people use their friends as a kind of “toilet” into which they can dump all their bad feelings. These individuals rely on a primitive kind of projection to evacuate experience they are unable to tolerate.