BiteSize Therapy

The desire to excel must be differentiated from the desire to be perfect.
- Glen Gabbard

Psychodynamic theory is clinically useful but often buried under a mound of jargon and negative stereotypes. This paper explores what can be done about that.

From Object Relations to Public Relations: Making Psychodynamic Theory Accessible | The Psychoanalytic Review This contribution advocates for the clarity and accessibility of psychoanalytic writing and public communications. Reflecting on her own experience as a clinician and a reader, the author argues that ...

A paper about making psychodynamic theory accessible is now accessible - free until October 24th

guilfordjournals.com/doi/10.1521/...

Identity is important not because we are always the same - if we were, we would scarcely think about our identities…It is precisely because we can be so different in different contexts that we need to ask ourselves “who am I?”
- Paul Wachtel

Currently in denial over here.

MARTIN SHORT: Who’s sexier, me or Steve Martin?

DIANE KEATON: I mean, you’re both idiots.

On being realistic about session frequency:
“If my analyst asked me how often do you want to come, I would have said once a year. If you can promise to change my life if I come once a year, why come more often?”
- Sheldon Bach

“I’ve trained scores of therapists only to find that the self-doubting ones worry me a lot less than those that are overly certain.”
- @aaronbalick.com

A great article 👏🏻

An Encomium for Jonathan Lear....and Other Books I did not mean to leave so large a gap on here, having posted nothing since March. I have several times gestured wanly in the direction of m...

An encomium for the late Jonathan Lear, and thoughts on his books and those of others, including Laplanche on Freud and sex, Bion on psychosis, and Todd McGowan on Hegel and alienation--and many others!

booksinpsychotherapy.blogspot.com/2025/10/an-e...

For therapy to be therapeutic, it is more important for the clinician to understand people than to master specific treatment techniques…Unless one understands someone’s unique, personal subjectivity, one cannot infer the best treatment approach for that individual.
- Nancy McWilliams

The impact of AI on psychotherapy is no joke. The practice next door is now a “Spirit Halloween”

I don’t know why psychoanalysts get blamed for talking about penis envy when Taylor Swift is clearly the person responsible.

Reflection is under siege. We have devices in our pocket that allow top of mind thoughts to be broadcast in an instant. Since “hot takes” tend to be popular, impulsivity gets rewarded, making reflection even less likely. Thinking gets replaced by checking notifications.

“We’ve tried nothing and we’re all out of ideas” is 10/10 perfection. No notes.

Trying to unearth the meaning of a psychoanalytic paper

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Not knowing about the power of unconscious life, nor the dynamics that occur relationally between client and therapist, can result in frustration and even treatment failure.
- Kautz & Piotrowski (2019)

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Managed care and short-term behaviorally based treatments have privileged symptom reduction and undervalued in-depth approaches, sometimes resulting in clinical impasses…

After some time most beginners become more comfortable as their self expands to fit their new role…The high art of psychotherapy requires that one be true to oneself (i.e. to one’s selves) while at the same time putting oneself at the disposal of another.
- H. Schlesinger

No two people truly speak the same language. Rather, they have enough denotation and connotation to succeed, on the whole surprisingly well, in sharing ideas. Well, but only “on the whole.”
- Warren Poland

Westen (2002) discussed the importance of clear writing for assisting with clinical work. There is room for a more poetic style of writing, but I think the question is: Who is your audience? I don’t think clear language is a lesser form of psychoanalytic scholarship.

Keep an eye on the anxiety thermometer; too little makes for pleasant conversation but not much therapy, too much creates excessive discomfort for the patient.
- Summers, Barber, & Zilcha-Mano (2024)

Psychology word of the day:
De-escalation.

Psychoanalytic Conceptions of Agoraphobia | The Psychoanalytic Review This contribution addresses the agoraphobic syndrome in several important ways. Tracing the different formulations of agoraphobia reveals shifts in psychoanalytic theorizing. The etiology and maintena...

Eagle’s paper is a great example of how psychoanalytic writing can be useful to any practitioner. He tackles theoretical complexity and clinical applications without jargon or obfuscation. He knows what he’s talking about and ensures the reader does, too.

guilfordjournals.com/doi/abs/10.1...

“What different fears have in common is the experience of anxiety generated by the feeling of being cut off from, and not having immediate and direct access to, home or a safe base.”
- Morris Eagle

Big Porridge™️ paid for product placement

🤣👏🏻
The core conditions will be empathy, congruence, and unconditional positive rascality.

The glass 🤣
The Gloria films are interesting n’ stuff but I think trainees would profit from an update.

From Object Relations to Public Relations: Making Psychodynamic Theory Accessible | The Psychoanalytic Review This contribution advocates for the clarity and accessibility of psychoanalytic writing and public communications. Reflecting on her own experience as a clinician and a reader, the author argues that ...

If psychoanalytic communication is not useful to a reasonable number of practitioners, it becomes not only exclusive but also exclusionary by definition.

guilfordjournals.com/doi/10.1521/...