Efficacy of dynamic psychotherapy

The following post is an adaptation of an argument I presented on Sacramento Street Psychiatry, my blog on the Psychology Today website. As usual, I welcome your comments.

Western medicine’s great strides are largely due to understanding etiology (the biological basis of disease), defining a nosology (a system of categorizing diseases), and testing treatments aimed […]

If I accused you of being a Martian...

Cross-posted from “Sacramento Street Psychiatry“.

In dynamic psychotherapy, patients often say how hurt and victimized they feel as a result of unkind judgments or criticisms by others:

“My coworker called me a hypocrite!”

“My mother told me I neglect her by not visiting enough.”

“My husband complains I’m too self-centered.”

Although sharing such complaints with […]

Bull in a china shop

Reposted from Sacramento Street Psychiatry.

Sometimes an unruly character disrupts the surrounding peace and quiet. Loud, gruff words and ill-considered behavior mar the scene. Onlookers cringe, awaiting the impending destruction. For this beastly fellow is bound to break something: wreck a friendship or relationship, make a workplace intolerable. All the worse if the setting harbors […]

Would you trade years of life for happiness?

Cross-posted from “Sacramento Street Psychiatry“

The New York Times blog called “Well” recently asked: “Will Olympic Athletes Dope if They Know It Might Kill Them?” The answer is surprisingly clear: Many would if they could. In bi-annual surveys conducted from 1982 to 1995, researcher Bob Goldman asked elite athletes whether they would take a drug […]

Sailing between support and insight in therapy

Cross-posted from “Sacramento Street Psychiatry“

For more than a decade I’ve taught a seminar in dynamic psychotherapy to psychiatry residents. One tricky issue that arises every year is the apparent choice between conducting a “supportive” psychotherapy, versus an “analytic” or “insight-oriented” one. I developed a sailing analogy to clarify this issue, and to teach an […]

My new blog on Psychology Today

I had planned to submit articles to Technorati on occasion, but they are seeking short, newsy pieces that are not a good fit for me. This led me to look for other places to write. I found that Psychology Today has an active group of mental health bloggers on its site. I joined up and […]