It might seem somewhat ironic (and possibly hypocritical) to be posting a piece on the possible downside of the web in relation to mental health. After all, my hope is that people who are interested in mental health will read it – on the web! However, life is full of …
I’ve just been re-reading Freud’s An Outline of Psycho-Analysis1 which was his last attempt to give a concise exposition of his ideas and their clinical application. This paper was written in 1938, very near to the end of Freud’s life. I think this in itself is significant because by this …
The idea of homo psychologicus is that of the ‘little man’ (or woman) inside the human body which directs its affairs. It is related very closely to the idea of the Cartesian cogito and also to the notion of the ego or self. Homo psychologicus is a very lonely, isolated …
At the moment, at least in the UK, psychoanalysis is having a rough time of it. In fact, it’s probably fair to say that even if someone was feeling really desperate, a psychoanalyst is probably the last person they would think of contacting. As someone once said, psychoanalysis takes a …
Paradoxically, perhaps, it’s probably never been more difficult to find, let alone choose, a psychotherapist. This has nothing to do with ‘supply’: if anything the ‘market’ is saturated with talking therapists of all persuasions. Furthermore, the web has now made it easy to search for a therapist in a particular …
For some people going to see a psychoanalyst is the last resort. In fact, I’ve had a couple of people use that very term when they’ve come to see me. I guess there are several ways one could interpret this. Perhaps someone is that desperate they will try anything. Or …
Not a lot if you believe people like Ewan Morrison, who has argued that (i) the advent of self e-publishing marks the end of the world of writing and publishing as we know it1 and (ii) self e-publishing is the latest economic bubble, following on from the dotcom and sub-prime …
Or in other words, why pay for therapy (when you can get it for free)? It struck me recently that perhaps this question is not talked about enough. However, there is now plenty of therapy available for free – at least in the sense that the patient/client does not actually …
There has been a recent exchange of articles in Therapy Today (May- Sept 2011) on the merits or otherwise of Randomised Control Trials (RCTs) in the field of counselling and psychotherapy. This could be seen as part of a wider debate concerning the whole question of efficacy of various types …
For me, this is, ultimately, what brings people to analysis. What does this mean, i.e. to be lost for words? Not being able to speak? Maybe. Or is it rather a matter of being able to speak almost too well – except that nothing is really said at all? Many …
