We all know this story. The hero faces the monster and seems to have defeated it only to discover that the monster has not really been encountered in its full form. The hero is then forced to face the monster in the monster’s lair. Only when we reach the point where it seems the hero … Continue reading Overcoming the Monster: Facing the Endgame of COVID-19.
Object Relations Theory: A Quick Look
By the end of World War II, psychoanalytic theory was beginning to be influenced by pediatrics, child development theorists and observations of psychoanalysts who were calling into question the idea that humans are motivated purely by drives and needs to satisfy their own internal wishes and desires. It was Melanie Klein, a prominent British child … Continue reading Object Relations Theory: A Quick Look
Giving up old habits
The ego is not the master of it's own house. — S. Freud Photo by Goochie Poochie Grooming on Pexels.com The ways we learn have been the subject of scientific interest for many years. Along with the ways we learn are the ways in which our behavior is reinforced or extinguished. The two forms of … Continue reading Giving up old habits
Halloween and being scared
Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there, wondering, fearing, doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before.–Edgar Allan Poe You get your popcorn, soda and maybe even a box of Milk Duds. Settling into your seat just as the lights go down you hear the soft whir as the projector comes … Continue reading Halloween and being scared
“White” Melancholia
In mourning it is the world which has become poor and empty; in melancholia it is the ego itself. – S. Freud In 1917, Freud wrote his paper on “Mourning and Melancholia”. In this paper Freud talked about the differences between mourning (the process of grief and moving on) and melancholia (a pathologic process in … Continue reading “White” Melancholia
