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Adolescence

Psychoanalysis with Children and Adolescents: Making Space for the Unconscious


Psychoanalytic theory and practice is based on extensive research and observation of infant and childhood development. In fact, as a part of my psychoanalytic training in working with children and adolescents, I had to observe the development of an infant and his relationship to his mother for two years, for a couple of hours every week. Much of what we deal with in psychoanalysis involves experiences prior to language development or beyond words and you can...

General

5 Books You Should Read to Learn More About Psychoanalytically Informed Clinical Work

For better or worse, psychoanalytic concepts are interwoven into so many theories and schools of thought that it feels overwhelming to simply name them all. The everyday usage of words like “the unconscious,” “Oedipus Complex,” “transference,” “dream analysis,” “projective identification,” etc. serve to help us identify a common way of speaking about clinical issues but can also be used to repress what is really at work in the subject and in the clinic. As patients become...

General

“The Handmaid’s Tale”: The Human Spirit in the Face of Atrocity


I heard about the Handmaid’s Tale when it first came out on Hulu last year from my neighbors and friends. At first, it sounded too dark and dramatic to watch so I avoided seeing it for just about a year. When people continued talking about the series and one of you even recommended that I see it , I decided to take the plunge. Needless to say, I ended up obsessing over it, caught up on all...

Adolescence

Abortion, Rape and Domestic Violence in the HBO Drama “Big Little Lies”


I am on my way to the Annual Training in Lacanian Psychoanalysis in Quebec City, Canada, lead by the teaching analysts at the Freudian School of Quebec. I have a copy of “Big Little Lies” in my carry-on and my memories from watching the HBO Series last summer. The topics of the feminine, the masculine, women and motherhood have been recurring issues that the School has examined, along with the main topics discussed such as “Transference...

Acting out

School Violence and Sexual Assault on Men: #MeToo Movement & “13 Reasons Why” Season 2


It has taken me some time since the first blog post on 13 Reasons Why to get to the second, and for a good reason. What I am about to talk about makes me cringe on the inside (alert, this blog posts contains spoilers for the series 13 Reason Why and may be triggering to those, who have a history of sexual violence in their past). I have heard stories similar to these...

Boundaries

The Function of the Father in Psychoanalysis

  

The question of fatherhood is an important one not only for the individual and for psychoanalysis but for our society as a whole. In times when traditional family structures are changing and parenthood is no longer restricted to a man and a woman per se, the role of the father needs to be revisited. I just finished reading Michelle Obama's book "Becoming" and she has some beautiful examples of fatherhood -  the role her father played...

Addiction

Coping with Grief and Loss in the Movie “Wild”

 It's been awhile since this movie came out but I wanted to draw your attention back to it as Reese Witherspoons' activism and recent work has been truly inspiring for all women. I admire her work and the efforts she puts in raising awareness around women's issues, including the Time's Up movement and how women are portrayed in the film industry.

I still plan on getting to Big Little Lies but for now, let's look at "Wild,...

Art

When Words Are Not Enough: Coping Through Visual Arts

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When words are not enough to express what’s working within the human body and soul, psychoanalysis urges us to find alternative ways to express ourselves. As a psychoanalytically oriented clinican, I am often put in a position to listen to the unspoken and to find ways to put it into words. This may sound somwhat enigmatic but it is almost like telepathy of sorts - when a clinican is...