Looking for patterns, this top ten list engages trends, innovations, and surprises that promote or narrow the expansion of empathy in the community. By definition, empathy is knowing what the other feels because I feel it too; not as a… Read More ›
psychotherapy
Hot Potatoes: Top Ten Misunderstandings about Psychoanalysis
I have been talking with people in the community about what is “psychoanalysis.” The result? Many people no longer understand what is psychoanalysis – if they ever did understand it – or, even worse, have confused ideas about it. For… Read More ›
Update: What to look for in selecting a psychotherapist
Three criteria are front and center in selecting a psychotherapist: empathy, schedule, and cost. I might say “empathy, empathy, and empathy,” but cost and schedule are important too. Absent a warm empathic, gracious and generous listening, many people find that psychotherapy is indistinguishable from going to the dentist – i.e., painful. When delivered in a context of empathy, psychotherapy can make a difference in getting unstuck, eliminating or reducing emotional upset, and expanding possibilities for personal growth. My commitment is to deliver empathy.
Review: Failure Has a Great Future: The Analysis of Failure by Arnold Goldberg – a Resounding Success
For complete review, click here: GoldbergAnalyticFailureReview2014 Short Review: Two thumbs up. The power of Arnold Goldberg’s approach in The Analysis of Failure: An Analysis of Failed Cases in Psychotherapy and Psychoanalysis (Routledge) is twofold. First, if a practice or method cannot… Read More ›
A Rumor of Empathy in the Struggle Against Domestic Violence (Update: 2014-03-21)
Here is a sixteen minute educational video produced and edited by yours truly featuring Serena Low, Executive Director of Apna Ghar (“Our Home”) which operates a shelter and crisis hot line for women in Chicago. She nets out a forty… Read More ›
Empathy is the new love – and what that means!?
You know how in the world of high fashion grey is the new black? Well, empathy is the new love. Okay, enough with the tenuous humor. What does this mean? Culturally? Politically? Psychodynamically? Polemically? Critically? Culturally, the context is a… Read More ›
Variations on Empathy IN TREATMENT
Your psychotherapy session is now a major HBO Miniseries, In Treatment. Mine too. Two obvious questions occur. One for prospective clients, one for therapists. If I go to see a therapist about some personal issues and problems, is this what… Read More ›
Empathy in the Context of Psychotherapy (Talk Therapy)
Absent a gracious and generous listening (empathy), psychotherapy is hard to distinguish from a dental procedure, probing sensitive, tender spots with sharp instruments. Empathy makes all the difference. If a person is going to express difficult and sensitive personal content,… Read More ›