Dr. Max
@wtf_is_life_pod
Finder of feelings. Keen on meaning. Scientist of subjectivity. Punch-drunk on the brain/mind, consciousness/perception, language/symbols. Host of wtf is life.
Therapy is a sanctuary to understand what it means to be you as much as what it means to be human.
Psychoanalyst John Bowlby argued that the need for attachment is as essential as food or oxygen. When that need goes unmet, the developing mind seeks alternatives. Addiction becomes an emotional prosthesis, not to feel good, but to feel less alone and more regulated.
“… the mutually affective moment constitutes what is therapeutic between analytic therapist and patient. And that the therapist plays a critical role in helping patients compensate for early deficits in the ability to know, feel, name, express, and manage both the basic,…”
Psychiatry at the Margins has crossed 15K total subscribers! This publication has been one of the most meaningful projects I’ve ever taken on, and seeing how it’s been received has been a gift. psychiatrymargins.com/p/milestoneope…
I ‘lean’ psychodynamic as Newton ‘leaned’ into gravity: a ubiquitous context. psych: (noun.) of the mind or mental process + dynamic (adjective.) characterized by constant change or activity The mind IS dynamic...how else to helpfully approach, without first stipulating this?
Why do I lean psychodynamic in orientation: Honesty and love of truth We own difficult things to believe about ourself Acknowledging the power of the relationship (why AI will not replace this work)! Transference processing allowing a new depth of experience
Probing conversation: charting a course through the slippery terrain of psychotherapy supervision. The capable veteran psychodynamic psychotherapist @chris_cannida & host Dr Max @wtf_is_life_pod . Worth a listen, look forward to the next installment. youtu.be/sRfW8rLLwBM
1/ There is no substitute for a “good enough” childhood. None. Long-term therapy or analysis can be reparative - over time, and with willingness, one can get their stunted development back on track, or, at least understand where it derailed and learn to accept inherent
Jungian, Robert Johnson on how suffering is inevitable on the path to consciousness.
“What I really wanted was every kind of life, and the writer’s life seemed the most inclusive.” Susan Sontag #life #writer
“I dream my painting and I paint my dream.” – Vincent van Gogh
Just a quick update on the book Nancy McWilliams and I are co-authoring - Our deadline to get the complete draft to the publisher is the end of Sept. At this point, we have all 7 chapters written and are making some adjustments to concepts here and there.
“In order to find the patient, we must look for him within ourselves.” —Christopher Bollas
To love means to be actively concerned for the life and the growth of another. Irvin D. Yalom #love
Took some time to reflect on, appreciate, and honor the evolution of some of the most influential, internal psychoanalytic consultants that I carry with me in clinical work.
“the genome doesn’t owe us a specific answer when we interrogate it to study the etiology of something as complex as schizophrenia or bipolar disorder.” Psychiatric Genetics Beyond Heritability: Q&A with Michel Nivard psychiatrymargins.com/p/psychiatric-…
Your consciousness is not floating above your body — it is deeply entangled with it. To move, feel, and breathe is to be aware.