Dr. John Deri’s next Blog Talk Radio Show: Healthy Mind and Body will be on Wednesday, January 26, 2011  from 8-9 PM Pacific Time.

The topic of the episode will be:  How Does Psychotherapy Heal, Part II – Psychotherapy and Dependent Origination

The Buddhist theory of dependent origination will be discussed as a perspective on transference and countertransference in psychotherapy. These psychological phenomena will be explored as a medium for the healing of early childhood trauma in psychotherapy.

During the  Blog Talk Radio Show: Healthy Mind and Body, Dr. John Deri will present a clinical case as an example of the work.

To listen to the show you can:

Dial the phone in telephone number at (347) 989-0560

OR

Tune in to our online channel at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/Healthy-Mind-Body

Dr. John Deri’s next Blog Talk Radio Show: Healthy Mind and Body will be on Wednesday, January 19, 2011 from 8-9:00 PM Pacific Time.

The topic will be: Dissociation

Dissociation refers to the splitting off of painful experiences from awareness. Dissociation is the hallmark of trauma.

In this episode, Dr. John Deri will discuss dissociation as a psychic defense of last resort. He will describe the effects of dissociation on the emotional lives of affected people. Finally, Dr. Deri will share his thoughts regarding the treatment of dissociation, including conditions for healing and paths to integration.

To listen to the show you can:

1.    Dial the phone in telephone number at (347) 989-0560

OR

2.    Tune in to our online channel at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/Healthy-Mind-Body

Dr. John Deri’s next Blog Talk Radio Show: Healthy Mind and Body will be on Wednesday, October 6, 2010  from 8-9 PM Pacific Time.

The topic of the episode will be:   Psychotherapy and Dependent Origination

The Buddhist theory of dependent origination will be discussed as a perspective on transference and countertransference in psychotherapy. These psychological phenomena will be explored as a medium for the healing of early childhood trauma in psychotherapy.

During the  Blog Talk Radio Show: Healthy Mind and Body, Dr. John Deri will present a clinical case as an example of the work.

To listen to the show you can:

Dial the phone in telephone number at (347) 989-0560

OR

Tune in to our online channel at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/Healthy-Mind-Body

Dr. John Deri’s next Blog Talk Radio Show: Healthy Mind and Body will be on Wednesday, July 21, 2010 from 8-9:00 PM Pacific Time.

The topic will be: Dissociation

Dissociation refers to the splitting off of painful experiences from awareness. Dissociation is the hallmark of trauma.

In this episode, Dr. John Deri will discuss dissociation as a psychic defense of last resort. He will describe the effects of dissociation on the emotional lives of affected people. Finally, Dr. Deri will share his thoughts regarding the treatment of dissociation, including conditions for healing and paths to integration.

To listen to the show you can:

1.    Dial the phone in telephone number at (347) 989-0560

OR

2.    Tune in to our online channel at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/Healthy-Mind-Body

Dr. John Deri’s next Blog Talk Radio Show: Healthy Mind and Body will be on Wednesday, July 7, 2010 from 8-9:00 PM Pacific Time.

The topic will be: The Human Family

In this episode, Dr. John Deri will discuss the dissociation that pervades our society. He will elaborate on this theme as the illness of our times.

The practices of openness and compassion will be presented as the antidote to this illness. Openness and compassion are forces of unification, of healing and of integration. Through engaging in these practices, we can come to recognize our true identities as indivisible spirits constituting one human family.

To listen to the show you can:

1.    Dial the phone in telephone number at (347) 989-0560

OR

2.    Tune in to our online channel at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/Healthy-Mind-Body

The topic of the episode will be:   Psychotherapy and Dependent Origination

The Buddhist theory of dependent origination will be discussed as a perspective on transference and countertransference in psychotherapy. These psychological phenomena will be explored as a medium for the healing of early childhood trauma in psychotherapy.

During the  Blog Talk Radio Show: Healthy Mind and Body, Dr. John Deri will present a clinical case as an example of the work.

To listen to the show you can:

Dial the phone in telephone number at (347) 989-0560

OR

Tune in to our online channel at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/Healthy-Mind-Body

Like all of us, I am in a transitional state. I feel an increasing sense of urgency to articulate my beliefs in regard to the relationship between psychological healing and spiritual growth. The rigid, categorical thinking that pervades psychiatry feels more and more oppressive and confining to me. The “medical model,” which consists of eliciting “symptoms,” establishing a “diagnosis” and formulating a “treatment plan,” is mechanistic, soulless and heartless. All too often, the treatment offered consists of psychiatric medication, with minimal or no psychotherapy. It seems to me, that with each passing year, the doctor-patient relationship is approaching a limit of zero.

Perhaps this trend within psychiatry is of a piece with the evolution of our overall communication and relationships, from embodied to virtual. Dissociation seems to be increasingly pervasive and characteristic of our society. We have moved from speech to text messaging, from emotions to emoticons. There is a loss of soul in our society that is causing immense psychic distress.

This week provided me with a convergence of opportunities that constituted an antidote to this illness of our times. I had the great good fortune to receive teachings from the Dalai Lama, on a Buddhist text known as the Heart Sutra, in Bloomington, Indiana. At the same time, my trip to Bloomington offered me the possibility of a reunion with family members, with whom I had not spent time in many years.

The Dalai Lama’s Teachings

I am in no way qualified to relate the substance of the Dalai Lama’s teachings. Let me, instead, share with you the atmosphere and the spirit of the occasion. Thousands of people, from all over the world, converged on Bloomington, a quintessentially American small university town. Tibetan Buddhist monks, as well as lay people, from all over the world were in attendance. Despite the diversity of  nationalities and backgrounds of the audience, there was a powerful experience of the relatedness of a spiritual community. The Dalai Lama, with every breath and gesture, simultaneously honors the differences among peoples, and draws them together through the force of his brilliance, love, compassion, humility and spiritual depth. His driving motivation is to relieve suffering among all sentient beings. Through the strength of his motivation, he held all of us in his embrace. We were as one family.

Family Reunion

I was reunited with three members of my mother’s side of our family. During the time we spent together, we connected with each other at a level of depth that far exceeded any of our previous encounters with one another. A great deal of healing took place, both in relation to old family wounds and in regard to the  larger trauma of the Holocaust. Expressed emotion, face to face, catalyzes healing. Speaking the hitherto unspoken, responsively, in dialogue, releases the iron grip of ancient family, religious and cultural scripts or roles. This release engenders a freedom that allows for genuine openness to one another in the moment, with mutual compassion for self and other.

Openness and Compassion

These themes, openness and compassion, pervaded both my experiences with the Dalai Lama, and with my family. Openness and compassion are forces of unification, of healing and of integration. Inspired by the spirit of the Dalai Lama, it is my aspiration prayer to do my best to relieve the suffering of all beings, for as long as space endures. It is my intention to use every internal and external resource within my reach to inspire others to manifest their highest calling, to experience meaning and purpose in their lives, and to recognize our true identities as indivisible spirits constituting one human family.

Dr. John Deri’s next Blog Talk Radio Show: Healthy Mind and Body will be on Wednesday, May 19, 2010 from 8-9:00 PM Pacific Time.

The topic will be: The Human Family

In this episode, Dr. John Deri will discuss the dissociation that pervades our society. He will elaborate on this theme as the illness of our times.

The practices of openness and compassion will be presented as the antidote to this illness. Openness and compassion are forces of unification, of healing and of integration. Through engaging in these practices, we can come to recognize our true identities as indivisible spirits constituting one human family.

To listen to the show you can:

1.    Dial the phone in telephone number at (347) 989-0560

OR

2.    Tune in to our online channel at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/Healthy-Mind-Body

Dr. John Deri’s next Blog Talk Radio Show: Healthy Mind and Body will be on Wednesday, May 12, 2010 from 8-9:00 PM Pacific Time.

The topic will be: Dissociation

Dissociation refers to the splitting off of painful experiences from awareness. Dissociation is the hallmark of trauma.

In this episode, Dr. John Deri will discuss dissociation as a psychic defense of last resort. He will describe the effects of dissociation on the emotional lives of affected people. Finally, Dr. Deri will share his thoughts regarding the treatment of dissociation, including conditions for healing and paths to integration.

To listen to the show you can:

1.    Dial the phone in telephone number at (347) 989-0560

OR

2.    Tune in to our online channel at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/Healthy-Mind-Body

In the context of the original traumatic situation, this defense preserves the child’s sanity.  Unfortunately, dissociation tends to persist as the primary mode of psychic functioning throughout the lifetime of the individual.  Such people have great difficulty in knowing or communicating what they are feeling.  These deficits lead to an impoverishment of the person’s emotional life.  Such people tend to experience themselves as ephemeral, or insubstantial.  They usually have great difficulty in achieving or sustaining intimacy in their relationships.

Causes

There has been speculation regarding both biological and psychological causes of dissociation.  From a neurologic standpoint, studies have shown a decreased corpus callosum in traumatized people.  The corpus callosum connects the two hemispheres of the brain.  The right hemisphere processes emotional experience.  The left hemisphere includes the language region of the brain, in most people.  A constricted connection between the two hemispheres could result in a limited capacity for recognizing and articulating emotional states.

From a psychological point of view, Joyce McDougall, a French psychoanalyst, believes that dissociation is the effect of exposure to overwhelming emotion that threatens to attack an individual’s sense of integrity and identity.

Within a developmental context, a child acquires the capacity for emotional experience, regulation and expression, through the parent’s capacity for attunement to the child’s emotional state.  If the adult is incapable of recognizing and distinguishing emotional expressions in the child, it can impair the child’s capacity to experience his own emotional states.

Treatment

Psychotherapy offers a reparative experience for a person suffering from dissociation.  Suffering is actually a misleading term.  Many dissociated people are unaware of their own dissociation.  Often, such a person seeks psychotherapy due to a spouse’s frustration with them.

Working with a profoundly dissociated person in psychotherapy is challenging.  The engine for psyche change is psychic distress.  If the distress itself is dissociated, there may be minimal motivation to engage in psychological work.  Moreover, it is difficult to establish an emotional connection of any depth with a dissociated person.

Often a starting point involves gradually drawing the person’s attention to her state of dissociation.  The therapeutic process is one of symbolically reparenting the child.  The therapist, unlike the actual parent, is able to register and to articulate her patient’s emotional states.  Through repeated interactions in which the therapist is able to service this function accurately, the patient gradually internalizes the process.  As she incrementally acquires the capacity to recognize what she is feeling, the therapy gains traction.

As a person develops increasing awareness of his own emotional states, both present and past experiences come to life.  It becomes possible to narrate, to process and to release the previously frozen residue of early trauma.  As parts of the self that had been dissociated become available for integration, the personality becomes richer, more complex, more textured and more vibrant.

Dissociation makes people feel like ghosts or robots.  Experience has an “as if” quality.  Integration of a full range of feelings gives rise to a robust, embodied passion for life.

As Walt Whitman wrote in “Song of Myself”:

“Urge and urge and urge, 

Always the procreant urge of the world.”