In the current phase of human civilization and development, rationalism and science appear to reign as the supreme authorities in matters of what is deemed real or true. As Carl Jung writes in Psychology and Religion: West and East, “a scientific theory that simplifies matters is a very good means of defense because of the …
Continue reading Attitudes, Experience, and the Role of the Unconscious
Assign me my fate, and I won't hesitate. Pause for a moment and do a brief retake. Distort the original, and the copies die at a slow rate. Line me up at the starting line, and I will run the race. Start me in the blocks, and I will write the page. Transmute me into …
Working as a mental health professional is taxing on the individual. Some recent studies have shown that 78% of psychiatrists and more than 50% of psychotherapists reported work-related burnout, according to self-reports (Summers et al., 2020; Olazagasti et al., 2021) As a psychotherapist myself, I can speak to the reality of this experience; however, I …
Continue reading Being a Psychotherapist: The Role of Transference
Emotions are energetically charged psychic content. The magnitude and direction of this charge can be mediated or controlled by conscious cognitive processes, such as thinking, and less conscious aspects, such as attitudes. Emotional charges have affinities for like-charged units and tend to form clusters that increase their gravity (psychic significance) and complexity. Moreover, these aspects …
One of the hallmarks of Carl Jung's work is his conceptualization of the shadow. Roughly speaking, the shadow consists of instincts, aspects, qualities, and the like that are unrecognized or repressed in oneself. Jung did not believe that the shadow was only comprised of bad things but also included good parts and positive potentialities (Sharp, …
ADHD continues to gain interest throughout those who do and do not have the diagnosis alike. Why is interest in this neurodevelopmental disorder gaining traction? Likely, it is a confluence of events, namely the movement toward neurodiversity, increasing acknowledgement of adult-diagnosed ADHD, and a continued normalization of mental health, in general. As one of the …
The mind is prone to wandering. The ego has a tendency toward striving. To ground oneself becomes a continual challenge while withstanding the pushes and pulls of life. It is as if you are a boat being pushed to and fro by the turbulence of the sea in search of an anchor to drop, which …
One of the principle issues in philosophy is causality. Whether engaged in from an academic viewpoint or not the matter of causality is inescapable. In order to have an ordered view of our worlds’, we must have some degree of an organizing principle. And, in order to do this, we also must be able to …
Cognitive ease states that how efficiently we process information influences our attitude and feelings toward whatever that something is that we are mentally engaged with; moreover, our motivation to expend effort and move toward (approach) or opt for conserving energy and not taking action toward whatever the perceived end goal might be is also affected …
Continue reading Psychological Fragments: Ease and Uncertainty
A Two Sided Truth 