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 and “Eurabia”, along with his grandiose view of himself as crusading member of the fictional… Continue reading Anders Breivik, You and Me: What We Have in Common
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 more successful, better-looking, wealthier, more popular, etc. Feelings of contempt for the “loser” usually go… Continue reading Shame Trading
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 practice. It’s a useful counterpart to my earlier post on the subject, fleshing out the… Continue reading Video #3 – “The Transference Begins”
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 — not precocious in a pseudo-mature way, but genuinely older than her age. People with… Continue reading Mothballing Your Parents
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 sessions involve a fair amount of education about the process itself: how it’s the job… Continue reading Psychodynamic Psychotherapy Video No. 2: The Early Weeks