In his autobiography, Based on a True Story, comedian Norm Macdonald details his years long gambling addiction, which cost him…
The Responsibility Dodger: Avoiding the Blame Game
Some people will watch you burn and pretend they had nothing to do with it, or worse, that you did…
The Dependent Personality and the Savior Therapist
Humans, like animals in pain, recoil from any perceived threat by hiding. Rejection sensitivity, common to various forms of personality…
The Therapist’s Shame: Understanding Projective Identification and Countertransference
Chronic defensiveness, like chronic avoidance, isn’t a victimless crime. In our self-protected cocoons, sheltering us from the exaggerated slings and…
Trauma and Toxic Masculinity
Culture and trauma can synthesize into an obsession with hyper-masculinity. Whether it’s Tony Soprano, any of James Cagney’s early portrayals,…
The Drama of the Gifted Child
Imagine living a life wherein unless it reached its full potential, you would die disgusted by its existence. I’ve put…
The Role of Distrust in Narcissism and the Spread of Misinformation
Being seen is often scarier than being invisible. Once perceived, you open yourself up to the possibility of falling into…
Vulnerability Can Be a Strength: Why Attachment Styles Matter
Perfectionists view their worlds in absolutes. Their sense of morality and their expectations apply to all environments, all of the…
The Divided World: Challenging Anti-Psychiatry
We love fighting demons. And nowhere is that more apparent than in the current geo-political sphere. Some of us fight…
The Complicated Answer to Whether Therapists Should Give Advice
People don’t need others to reason for them; but, often, they need someone to reason with them. Individualism permeates psychotherapy…