" Love's Executioner and Other Tales of Psychotherapy".
Irvin D. Yalom
Professor of psychiatry Irvin Yalom has written quite a number of books and this one at 270 pages contains ten stories based on his real life experience with ten clients. A great read for anyone wanting to understand the therapist - client relationship and to be reassured of the quality of the process that can occur and the benefits of psychotherapeutic work. There is great awareness, honesty, empathy and warmth in these engaging tales from the therapy room.
Another book that examines the therapist - client relationship with great clarity and elegance is "The Examined Life" by Stephen Grosz.
Stephen Grosz is a practising psychoanalyst—he has worked with patients for more than twenty-five years. Born in America, educated at the University of California, Berkeley, and at Oxford University, he teaches at the Institute of Psychoanalysis and in the Psychoanalysis Unit at University College London. Click on the image for more reviews and information.
The Voices in my Head
This is a BBC documentary which expires for viewing in early November 2018. It is a moving account of how three people live with voices within them; how they are affected, feel and cope. Often these voices give expression to our unconscious feelings. Below is the BBC website description of the programme.
"Documentary using audio reconstruction to take viewers in to the world of three people who hear voices as a result of mental illness. Around 1 in 10 adults hear voices in their heads as a result of a number of mental illnesses, including schizophrenia.
Kyle started hearing a voice after he lost his job, house and girlfriend in quick succession, he then attacked himself. As Kyle tries to control the voice, he has to come to terms with the possibility that he may have to get used to life with it.
Emmalina has been hearing a collection of voices since she was a child and has found that by welcoming them in, they can all live relatively peacefully - except when the voice of 'the devil' appears. After traumatic experiences earlier in her life, the voices have become a source of comfort and companionship, but they have also made her more isolated. We follow Emmalina as she strives to become more independent.
After four years Chaz is still fighting her voice, which keeps up a steady stream of abuse in Chaz's ear. She has jumped off a bridge twice, leaving her reliant on a wheelchair - but still she feels drawn back to a nearby bridge. The film follows her attempts to resist, as she looks to poetry as a way to cope."
To view just click on the image.
Depression, anxiety, OCD - running helped us beat them
4 August 2018
When documentary photographer Martin Eberlen was diagnosed with ADHD in his early 30s, he turned to running to help manage his condition.
Martin describes being in a "long-term relationship with running".
"Running helps me control my thoughts, it slows me down, and gives me the opportunity to focus on the things I need to focus on," he says.
Click on the image.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/in-pictures-44440369
Transactional Analysis Ego States & Making a Contract
Click on the photo to visit Matthew Robinson's website which provides helpful articles that explain the TA concept of ego states and how we "contract". There are also articles on Dealing with Chronic Shame and the Obsessive Compulsive Personality.
