The People’s Therapist received an interesting and important letter a few weeks ago from a 3L (I’ve redacted it and altered some details to preserve anonymity): Mr. Meyerhofer, I have a question (or perhaps a topic suggestion for a post, as I’m sure many students are wondering about this) about the character and fitness part [...]
Archive for March, 2010
Chimpanzees, Nazis, Republicans and healthcare
Posted in Current Events, Thoughts and Musings, tagged Auschwitz, chimpanzees, Freud, Glenn Beck, healthcare, Hitler, in-group/out-group psychology, Obama, Republicans, Solahütte, Tea Party movement, Theodor Cardinal Innitzer on March 28, 2010 | 18 Comments »
The first researchers to observe chimpanzees in the wild were left with an idyllic impression of our close ape cousins. They appeared to be a peaceful tribe of vegetarians, who cuddled and groomed and cared for one another in extended family units, sharing fruit and showering their young with affection. Only later, when in-depth studies [...]
You need a vacation.
Posted in Thoughts and Musings, tagged dreams, Ernst Kris, Friedrich Nietzsche, play, regression, regression in the service of the ego, sleep, sleep deprivation, vacation on March 19, 2010 | 4 Comments »
I write a lot about unconscious regression – mostly how to prevent it. That’s because you want to learn to parent yourself – to live your life as an adult, not a child, to be awake and embrace awareness so you can take charge of the life you lead. On the other hand, sometimes being an [...]
You’re in trouble
Posted in AboveTheLaw series, Thoughts and Musings, tagged anxiety, cognition, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, predictive thoughts, PTSD, shell shock on March 17, 2010 | 46 Comments »
Remember when you were a kid, and you got caught doing something you shouldn’t, and a big cloud formed over your head? You were “in trouble.” The other kids sort of inched out of your path and exchanged looks. They didn’t want any piece of what you had coming. Mom was going to talk to [...]
Why you love Prince William and Kate Middleton
Posted in Current Events, Intriguing Patients, Thoughts and Musings, tagged British Royal Family, Elizabeth II, infantilize, Kate Middleton, Louis XIV, play, Prince Andrew, Prince Edward, Prince Philip, Prince William, Versailles on March 14, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
I wrote a column a few weeks back on Prince William and Kate Middleton. I possess no expertise in the British royal family. I merely stumbled upon an article in a gossip mag comparing the Prince’s girlfriend to his mother, and it provided an excuse to discuss why you might choose a spouse who resembles your [...]
What a fool I was at 80…said the 90 year old man.
Posted in Thoughts and Musings, tagged Bodhisattva, Bodhisattva of Compassion, Buddhism, enlightenment, Gerald Lucas, Lena Furgeri, regret, remorse, wisdom on March 12, 2010 | 6 Comments »
One of the hard parts of psychotherapy - and the unavoidable realities - is remorse. Inevitably, once you become more aware of who you are, and how you’re living your life…you wish you’d done so sooner. Patients are always telling me they’re kicking themselves for not getting to my office (or at least someone’s office) years before. One [...]
Popping pills at the office
Posted in AboveTheLaw series, Thoughts and Musings, tagged anti-depressant medication, anti-depressants, erectile dysfunction, neurotransmitter levels, pharmaceutical industry, psychotherapists, psychotherapy, sexual side effects, side effects on March 10, 2010 | 18 Comments »
A New York Times article from a few weeks ago holds enormous potential ramifications for lawyers bent over their desks at big law firms. The tentative conclusion of the piece was simple: if you are dealing with minor depression, or in fact, with anything other than massive, serious depression, popping anti-depressant pills is probably a [...]
Gay, meet straight
Posted in Radio, tagged LA Talk Radio, LGBT, Terry LeGrand, The Alternative on March 9, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
The People’s Therapist had fun the other night on the radio, chatting with LA Talk Radio host Terry LeGrand about some common misconceptions that gay and straight people hold about one another. Here’s the interview. I come on about 10 minutes into the show. Terry is an interesting guy – and his show – “The [...]
Who are all these other people??
Posted in Thoughts and Musings, tagged 12-step group, AA, Alcoholic's Anonymous, conjoint therapy, cross-talk, drop-in, gay men, Group therapy, HIV, psychotherapy group, support group, transference on March 5, 2010 | 9 Comments »
I was working this morning with a patient I’ve been seeing for a few months. At the end of our session I suggested he join one of my psychotherapy groups that meet once a week in the evenings. “What? You can do psychotherapy in a group? How does that work?” I was a bit surprised [...]
Alone in a crowd
Posted in AboveTheLaw series, tagged alone, big firms, isolation, law firms, psychotherapy on March 3, 2010 | 49 Comments »
Last week I did a first session with a typical client – a young lawyer worried about starting at a big firm. I couldn’t do real psychotherapy with this guy. Some lawyers are like that – they don’t trust anyone enough to open up. It was more like an awkward coaching session. When I tried [...]
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