Big Heart Healing
« Previous EntriesThe Case of Tommy Continued
Thursday, February 2nd, 2012Adults who behave as if they look at life in this immature way often suffer from arrested development caused by traumatization under the age of three years. Given the developmental stage at which the second hospitalization occurred, it is likely that Tommy interpreted the pain and separation of heart surgery as […]
The Case of Tommy Continued
Tuesday, January 31st, 2012At age 18 months when Tommy had his heart surgery, most children have attained secure object constancy but their notions of cause and effect are still primitive and magical. They cannot distinguish clearly between fantasy and reality. It is the stage of omnipotent wishes and fears. If toddlers want something and […]
The Case of Tommy Continued
Thursday, January 26th, 2012After hearing his story, I immediately suspected that Tommy had been misdiagnosed and that his underlying problem was Posttraumatic Stress Disorder. The ages of his hospitalizations were key to his specific PTSD symptoms. At age 8 months when Tommy was first hospitalized, most babies have bonded to their mothers or […]
The Case of Tommy Continued
Tuesday, January 24th, 2012Tommy had been hospitalized seven times in childhood for sudden and serious medical problems: at 8 months for subdural hematoma following a fall on his head, at 18 months for heart surgery, at 8 years for pneumonia and later the same year for meningitis, at 9 years for a ruptured appendix, […]
The Case of Tommy Continued
Thursday, January 12th, 2012Three years before, Tommy had made a serious suicide attempt while away from home at college, slashing his wrist following a painful breakup with a girlfriend in the midst of other school problems. He was hospitalized, diagnosed as having a Major Depressive Disorder and treated with antidepressants and counseling, neither of […]
The Case of Tommy
Tuesday, January 10th, 2012Tommy’s story offers a dramatic example of how important developmental cues can be for accurate diagnosis and treatment. Tommy was a 27 year old college student who came in suffering from lingering anxiety two months after a panic attack that occurred while he was on summer break living with his parents […]
Developmental Issues
Thursday, January 5th, 2012In the last century, psychoanalysts and researchers into cognitive development made major contributions to our understanding of the child’s inner life at various developmental stages. I am fortunate to have received training and supervision from child analysts in the clinical application of these developmental principles. A working knowledge of child […]
Adult State of Consciousness to Help Patients Release Trauma
Thursday, December 29th, 2011Psychotherapists use many different methods to facilitate recovery and integration of repressed trauma from intrinsic memory. I prefer the body centered desensitization technique to bring painful and frightening memories into conscious awareness and release the emotional charge on them, along with Voice Dialogue, journaling exercises and Inner Child work to […]
Psychological Integration
Thursday, December 22nd, 2011Less emphasized than catharsis in early psychoanalytic theory is the “working through” process native to all forms of psychotherapy that accomplishes the second step of psychological healing: the cognitive retraining required for integration of recovered memories into a mature and effective coping strategy for dealing with present and future stressful […]
Identification with the Aggressor
Thursday, December 15th, 2011Abused children tend to go on inflicting what they have suffered on themselves or others. Psychoanalysts described this behavior pattern as identification with the aggressor. If we look at the pattern adaptively as well as defensively, however, it might be regarded as a confused and self-destructive attempt to master the […]
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