Anaesthesia or psychotherapy: Eradicating thoughts or working them through

The author presents two sessions from the analysis of a depressive narcissistic doctor, which are characterised by a mixture of co-operation and pseudo-co-operation. The dialogue is in parts intellectualised, complicated, lifeless and schizoid. Points at which the patient shows surprising insights are then partly denigrated by him, on the basis that change is not to be expected. Semi-lifeless contact assists the defensive claustrophobia that he experiences in meaningful contact. It becomes very clear that he is then afraid of entering into an openly aggressive conflict that entails the existential threat of object loss. However, this has so far been avoided. The secret pleasure in an anal-narcissistic, sadomasochistic addiction to doubt persists in the partial denigration. The patient's artificially maintained self-doubt and doubt of the object reinforce a genuine confusion that consists in never knowing exactly what lies behind the helpful and needed object.     

Field or print

Hard-nosed physicists are content with elementary quantum mechanics as it is. Deep searchers desire a deeper comprehension of the theory or rather of reality. Observable internal correlations in micro-systems and external correlations between widely separated parts can be calculated at the office. But how can for that purpose indispensable information be observed, coded and stored and transmitted in the real systems? A spectacular example is Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen entanglement. ‘How can one part know what has been or will be happening at the other distant part?’.     

Danger or Opportunity

SUMMARY

Countertransference is the sine qua non of all human relationships. The manner in which the couples therapist deals with countertransferential feelings can have a powerful impact as either a force for healing or a force for destruction. Based on the tenets of Integrity Therapy, this paper offers a philosophical and clinical examination of countertransference in couples therapy. Focusing on the areas of rigid adherence to therapeutic dogma, emotional expression at all costs, negative countertransference and projective identification, teaching unauthentic ways of interacting, and co-therapy issues, this paper explores the ways in which traditional dynamic, humanistic and emotionally centered couple therapies can both therapist and patient into a betrayed of self and of the couple relationship.     

Destiny or Illusion

ABSTRACT

The potential influence of problematic family-of-origin patterns varies in degree and significance among pre-marital couples. Having witnessed the effects of family conflict or irresponsible parental behavior during their formative years as children, either or both partners become dispirited and feel trapped in a perceived intergenerational process destined to fail. This paper discusses clinical intervention with couples who are considering first time marriage and who report fear regarding the infiltration and eventual emergence of dysfunctional family-of-origin patterns within their own relationship. A three phase treatment program that involves disclosing fears of destiny, the promotion of skepticism, and relationship maintenance is outlined, discussed, and augmented by case vignettes.     

Together or Apart

Psychotherapists often mistake their theories for realities that they are not and thus may operate with an overly confident sense of "knowing" what is true about a particular couple relationship. Many schools of therapy tend to "pathologize" the dynamics of couple interaction and practitioners need to guard against being too inducted into any one world view. Facility with the theories and techniques of many different couples counseling strategies (psychodynamic, behavioral, structural and strategic approaches) can increase flexibility and the "working base" of therapists. Ultimately, however, the personhood of therapists, their awareness of their own biases (about levels of connection, emotional expressivity, feminism, or power relationships) and their ability to adopt a neutral, therapeutic stance are the essential ingredients for meaningful and curative couples counseling.     

Mind or Virtue

Abstract— Traditional research on human learning has neglected people's beliefs about learning, the role of culture in shaping those beliefs, and people's consequent learning behavior. Recent research provides evidence that cultural beliefs about learning are essential in influencing individuals' beliefs and their actual learning. This article reviews research on Western learning beliefs, which emphasize the mind, and Chinese learning beliefs, which emphasize personal virtue, as well as on the differences these beliefs produce in people's actual learning. Developmental evidence is also presented to show that the cultural influences begin early. Future research directions are discussed.     

Tokenism or reality

Journal of Contemporary Psychotherapy -     

Publish or Perish

Funds and positions in philosophy should be awarded through systems that are reliable, objective, and efficient. One question usually taken to be relevant is how many publications people have in a group of well‐respected journals. In the context of significant competition for jobs and funding, however, relying on quantity of publications creates a serious downside: the oft‐lamented demand that we publish or perish. This article offers a systematic review of the problems involved in contemporary academic philosophy, and argues that the resulting situation is bad not just for individual philosophers but also for philosophy itself: we are not working as a discipline to as high a standard as we might. The article then suggests some potential solutions, including some more detailed considerations around what seems a particularly promising option: a professional code of conduct for philosophers.     

机会或选择

你看,朋友,我们所有的人都会遇到问题,也会渡过艰难困苦的时光。但那些积极应对和处理这些问题的人,最终在生活中获得了成功。掌握你的生活不是碰运气,而是你自己是否选择了幸福和成功。因为,人们用最好的方法使事情朝好的方向发展,就会有最好的结果。