Posts Tagged ‘psychiatrist’
Blog Talk Radio Show: The Shadow Side of Human Nature
Dr. John Deri’s next Blog Talk Radio Show: Healthy Mind and Body will be on Wednesday, February 10, 2010 from 8-9:00 PM PST.
The topic will be: The Shadow Side of Human Nature. It will be a rerun of a recorded episode.
“Everyone carries a shadow, and the less it is embodied in the individual’s conscious life, the blacker and denser it is.” (Carl Jung, Psychology and Religion, p.131). All too often, we turn a blind eye to the shadow side of human nature. It is only with an enormous effort that we can acknowledge this side of ourselves. In the context of trauma, we invariably have to deal with a considerably intensified shadow. If such a person wants to be cured, it is necessary to find a way in which his conscious personality and his shadow can live together.
During the show Dr. John Deri will share with us:
➢ Why we turn a blind eye to our shadow side
➢ How we become aware of our shadow side
➢ How to integrate our shadow side.
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
.
How Does Psychotherapy Heal?
As we enter a new year, I am thinking of psychotherapy as a wellspring for new beginnings.
At the beginning of a lifetime, the infant forms its first relationship with its mother. The quality of this initial human bond will profoundly influence the nature of the child’s subsequent relationships.
This assertion is a central tenet of the school of psychology known as attachment theory. This theory was formulated by John Bowlby, a psychiatrist and psychoanalyst.
Subsequent observational research on infants and mothers established four distinct patterns of attachment: secure, anxious, avoidant and disorganized. Long term follow up study of these infants validated the predictive value of their mode of attachment to their mothers, with regard to the quality of their relationships in later life.
Trauma and neglect are the two most powerful forces leading to disturbances in attachment. Another significant determinant of the infant’s mode of attachment is the mother’s own early life attachment history. This influence undoubtedly accounts for a great deal of transgenerational transmission of trauma.
Environmental influences, however important, are never the whole story, where human development is concerned. Genetic factors may render an infant more or less vulnerable to the effects of early parenting.
Most people seek psychotherapy due to suffering caused by their relationships with others, and/or with themselves. The most important healing influence in psychotherapy is the experience of a healthy, trusting relationship. This environment provides the patient with a “secure base”. This safe haven offers the freedom and engenders the courage for a person to explore and to expand the realms of relationships with others and with the self. The medium of this secure base is the emotional bond between patient and therapist. In therapy as in life, people don’t care what you know unless they first know that you care.
A Psychiatrist’s Journey
Central Park Bridge, New York City
My childhood experiences were highly influential in my choice of profession.
My mother, Susan Deri, was a psychoanalyst. Trained in Budapest, she immigrated to the United States with my father during World War II. My father, Otto Deri, was a fine musician, a cellist. My parents divorced when I was six years old. Two years later, my brother (currently a psychologist in New York City) went away to boarding school. I was left at home alone with my mother.
She was a brilliant, highly creative thinker and clinician. She read widely in the domains of psychology, psychoanalysis, philosophy and religion. From my earliest childhood, she used me as a sounding board for her evolving ideas about symbolization and creativity. She ultimately wrote a book with that title, which was published after her death (Symbolization and Creativity, International Universities Press, 1984).
Both of my parents taught me how to listen. My mother challenged my young mind through communicating both concepts and emotional experiences that were way beyond my comprehension. In order to have a mother, I was forced to develop a precocious intelligence. I had to listen for dear life. My father taught me how to listen to music as a musician, a priceless gift.
Claude Levi-Strauss, the French anthropologist, has written that “the psychoanalyst listens; the shaman speaks.” In my work as a psychotherapist, I listen very closely to my patients. When I speak, I am serving as a channel for an intelligence that transcends my own. I bring the totality of my life experience into every moment that I share with each of my patients.
I am greatly blessed to love my work deeply. I would be honored to share it with you.