[As I was about to publish this post, it occurred to me that its intellectual subject matter was a way to escape from the intensely emotional focus and interactions with readers from my last post — a defense mechanism at work!] As I’m thinking ahead to the the participatory research project I have planned for […]
From Intellectualization to Depersonalization: A Spectrum Read More »
On the occasion of my new book’s launch, I’d like to tell you a story about something that happened to me nearly 13 years ago; it will help to explain why today means so much to me and why I’m experiencing the publication of this book as a kind of “corrective emotional experience” for an
From Heartbreak to Redemption Read More »
I’ve been meaning to write this post for more than a year now; from the beginning, I’ve had this particular title in mind although I’m not 100% sure that it’s the right one. If anyone has a better suggestion for how to name this particular mental process, feel free to submit a comment. I call
Projecting and the Law of False Attribution Read More »
The 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 suggest you give it read. Researchers uniformly focus on lack of empathy as the best
Empathy for the Psychopath Read More »
Clients often react to their therapists’ vacation breaks as a kind of “abandonment”, responding in ways that shed light on their feelings about neediness and dependency.
Vacation Breaks in Psychotherapy and Defenses Against Need Read More »
The upcoming revision to the APA’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual will purportedly eliminate Asperger’s Syndrome as a diagnosis, once again calling into question the scientific precision and validity of psychological diagnosis.
Autism Symptoms Get a Second Look Read More »
Mindfulness meditation techniques are a useful adjunct to psychotherapy, allowing you to see your defense mechanisms in action and to disengage from them, rather than a replacement for it.
Anxiety Symptoms, Mindfulness and the Enlargement of the Self Read More »
Unconscious rage plays an important role in depression symptoms. Bringing that rage into awareness often leads to an improvement in those symptoms.
Depression Symptoms and the Role of Rage Read More »
Countertransference in the broad sense means all your thoughts, feelings and fantasies during a psychotherapy session. It’s a useful tool for understanding your clients, especially those suffering from depression where anger and rage are an unconscious issue.
Countertransference Issues in Treating Depression Read More »
Sometimes anger can have a “hardening” effect, working as a kind of defense to ward off other painful feelings such as fear, exhaustion or emotional thinness.
Not Your Usual Anger Management Techniques Read More »