While reading an interesting article in the Sunday New York Times about research on psychotherapy (I’ll have more to say about that article later), I came upon a quotation from a psychoanalyst I greatly admire and whose writings were highly influential in shaping the direction of psychoanalysis in recent years. It is a quote that […]
Many people these days are complaining of exhaustion and the inability to concentrate or think clearly. There is a phrase for it: “Pandemic fog.” Of course, it is an extremely stressful time with uncertainty about nearly everything and a constant sense of threat. An article I recently saw and will include here gives some explanation […]
Thoreau wrote “Simplify, simplify, simplify” before he went off to live in the woods (well, really the pond in town) for what turned out to be a short stay. And while human beings are complex creatures, and psychotherapy and psychoanalysis endeavor to understand a person’s complexity, it is useful to simplify at times. So I […]
Recently I spoke with some prospective clients who had inquired specifically about Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). In each case my hunch proved correct: someone, such as a psychiatrist, who doesn’t practice psychotherapy, had recommended this form of therapy. These callers didn’t really know what it was or if that was what they wanted; they were […]
Of course, it doesn’t happen every day. But frequently enough it does happen that a client lets me know through words or changes in behaviors the positive impact our work is having. And those moment are, well, they are just the best. Recently I had such a moment. A client said, “You know, it’s really […]
To me it isn’t the exotic that makes travel so magical. Sure, it is fascinating, sometimes spell-bounding, to witness different rituals, traditions, ways that people live. Whether it is crossing a local bridge or traveling to the other side of the world, the miracle of travel is about sameness. Everywhere, no matter where you are, […]
Perhaps it might be true to say that at its core psychotherapy provides an environment for change through the experience of recognizing that there is help out there. That might be the best synonym for psychotherapy: help on the way. Often people who come to therapy come from histories where that was not the case. […]
Call me old-fashioned. I just think that someone’s best friend should be another human being (closely followed by a dog; sorry cat lovers). So you can imagine my reaction to an article in the SF Chronicle focusing on an app designed to be someone’s best friend. While many of my clients use apps for meditation, […]
There are many times when I am just amazed by what we do – my clients and me. What we do in psychotherapy and psychoanalysis. I think “amazed” is the right word. We affirm that there is a place, amidst this swirling, busy and often chaotic world, to sit (sometimes lay on the psychoanalytic couch) […]
Recently I came across a short article that clearly articulates some of the main differences between psychotherapeutic approaches that I offer. The article from Psychology Today, The Difference Between Psychoanalysis and Psychotherapy, addresses basic difference between the two approaches and in the process gives a good, albeit broad, summary of both. I’d like to include […]
