2022-11-22 Tue 17:00 PM ![[DALL·E 2022-11-23 09.04.06 - the soul grows like a tree from small beginnings to cosmic magnificence. digital art.png]] > [!-cf-]+ [[Related notes]] > - [[Dodo bird verdict - everybody has won, and all must have prizes]] > - [[Effective personal growth involves skillful navigation of state-space of consciousness in ways that gradually optimize one's trait-space position]] > - [[Valence and performance]] > - [[Full-spectrum flourishing]] > - [[Internal Family Systems (IFS)]] - 2022-11-22 Tue 17:02 PM [[Ref. Nancy McWilliams 2011 (og 1994) - Psychoanalytic Diagnosis 2nd ed]] - > First, the DSM lacks an implicit definition of mental health or emotional wellness. Psychoanalytic clinical experience, in contrast, assumes that beyond helping patients to change problematic behaviors and mental states, therapists try to help them to accept themselves with their limitations and to improve their overall resiliency, sense of agency, tolerance of a wide range of thoughts and affects, self-continuity, realistic self-esteem, capacity for intimacy, moral sensibilities, and awareness of others as having separate subjectivities. Because people who lack these capacities cannot yet imagine them, such patients rarely complain about their absence; they just want to feel better. - 2022-11-22 Tue 17:01 PM [[Ref. Shedler 2010 - The efficacy of psychodynamic psychotherapy]] - these might include the capacity to - have more fulfilling relationships, - make more effective use of one’s talents and abilities, - maintain a realistically based sense of self-esteem, - tolerate a wider range of affect, - have more satisfying sexual experiences, - understand self and others in more nuanced and sophisticated ways, and - face life’s challenges with greater freedom and flexibility. - Such ends are pursued through a process of self-reflection, self-exploration, and self-discovery that takes place in the context of a safe and deeply authentic relationship between therapist and patient. - As noted earlier, the goals of psychodynamic therapy include, but extend beyond, alleviation of acute symptoms. Psychological health is not merely the absence of symptoms; it is the positive presence of inner capacities and resources that allow people to live life with a greater sense of freedom and possibility. - Schedler-Westen Assessment Procedure (SWAP)'s definition of mental health: (SWAP–200; Shedler & Westen, 2007) - Is able to use his/her talents, abilities, and energy effectively and productively. - Enjoys challenges; takes pleasure in accomplishing things. - Is capable of sustaining a meaningful love relationship characterized by genuine intimacy and caring. - Finds meaning in belonging and contributing to a larger community (e.g., organization, church, neighborhood). - Is able to find meaning and fulfillment in guiding, mentoring, or nurturing others. - Is empathic; is sensitive and responsive to other people’s needs and feelings. - Is able to assert him/herself effectively and appropriately when necessary. - Appreciates and responds to humor. - Is capable of hearing information that is emotionally threatening (i.e., that challenges cherished beliefs, perceptions, and self-perceptions) and can use and benefit from it. - Appears to have come to terms with painful experiences from the past; has found meaning in and grown from such experiences. - Is articulate; can express self well in words. - Has an active and satisfying sex life. - Appears comfortable and at ease in social situations. - Generally finds contentment and happiness in life’s activities. - Tends to express affect appropriate in quality and intensity to the situation at hand. - Has the capacity to recognize alternative viewpoints, even in matters that stir up strong feelings. - Has moral and ethical standards and strives to live up to them. - Is creative; is able to see things or approach problems in novel ways. - Tends to be conscientious and responsible. - Tends to be energetic and outgoing. - Is psychologically insightful; is able to understand self and others in subtle and sophisticated ways. - Is able to find meaning and satisfaction in the pursuit of long-term goals and ambitions. - Is able to form close and lasting friendships characterized by mutual support and sharing of experiences. - 2023-03-13 Mon 14:26 PM > For the sake of discussion, let me describe an ideal psychological development (highly theoretical and improbable as this may be). The conscious and unconscious parts of the psychic system work together in a balanced and harmonious interplay, and this takes place in part between the anima/us and the persona. Here the ego is not flooded by material from without or within but is rather facilitated and protected by these structures. And life energy—libido—flows in a progressive movement into adaptation to the tasks and demands of life. This is a picture of healthy, highly functioning personality with access to inner resources and skilled at outer adjustment. The attitude toward the outer world is balanced, and it is complemented by an attitude toward the world within. Neither is out of joint or inadequately developed. The persona is able to adapt to the demands of life and to manage stable relations with the surrounding social and natural worlds. Internally there is well managed and steady access to a wellspring of energy and creative inspiration. Outer and inner adaptations are adequate to the demands of life. > –[[Ref. Murray Stein 1998 - Jung's map of the soul]] (pp. 132-133) > My life is a story of the self-realization of the unconscious. Everything in the unconscious seeks outward manifestation, and the personality too desires to evolve out of its unconscious conditions and to experience itself as a whole. > –[[Ref. Carl Jung 1961 - Memories, Dreams, Reflections]] (p. 13) > To be able to love, and to work. > —Freud, according to [[Ref. Irvin Yalom & Molyn Leszcz 2020 (og 1970) - The Theory and Practice of Group Psychotherapy]] > Seasoned analytic therapists know that we helppeople to become healthier, to build inner scaffolding, to change their intrapsychic architecture.... Seasoned analytic therapists know that we helppeople to become healthier, to build inner scaffolding, to change their intrapsychic architecture. > —[[Ref. Nancy McWilliams 2004 - Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy - A Practitioner's Guide]] > We may hold as our image of a successful therapyFreud’s notion of the person who has conquered repression, or Jung’s notion of individuation, or Bion’s ideal ofliving in O, or Winnicott’s concept of the true self, or Weiss and Sampson’s goal of abandoning pathogenicbeliefs, or Lacan’s idealization of the postsymbolic. Different psychoanalytic ideologies have different notionsabout where to locate the activity of forthright, clear-eyed acknowledgment, but they all share a commitment tothe mutual search for what feels true. > [[Ref. Nancy McWilliams 2004 - Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy - A Practitioner's Guide]] - 2023-10-31 Tue 19.07pm - To help with the [[Effective personal growth involves skillful navigation of state-space of consciousness in ways that gradually optimize one's trait-space position]] for improved [[Valence and performance]] - To [[Help people know and get what they want]] > Despite the fact that psychodynamic therapists try not to moralize or to impose their personal views on patients, and despite the historical concern of analysts to avoid being enforcers of the conventions of particular cultures or subcultures, psychoanalytic therapy is not, and has never pretended to be, free of either basic assumptions or organizing values. When we talk about improvement in therapy (under which rubric I include both weekly, face-to-face treatment and more intensive forms such as classical psychoanalysis), we refer implicitly to a range of goals that go beyond relief of the specific problem for which a person has sought help. Some clients share the treater’s broader vision of health and growth implicitly at the outset of treatment, and others come to it out of identification with the therapist during the course of their therapeutic work. > > This vision of the objectives of therapy includes the disappearance or mitigation of symptoms of psychopathology, the development of insight, an increase in one’s sense of agency, the securing or solidifying of a sense of identity, an increase in realistically based self-esteem, an improvement in the ability to recognize and handle feelings, the enhancement of ego strength and self-cohesion, an expansion of the capacity to love, to work, and to depend appropriately on others, and an increase in the one’s experience of pleasure and serenity. In addition, there is empirical as well as anecdotal evidence that when these changes occur, other specific improvements happen as well, including better physical health and greater resistance to stress (Gabbard, Lazar, Hornberger, & Spiegel, 1997). A comment on each area follows. > —[[Ref. Nancy McWilliams 1999 - Psychoanalytic Case Formulation]] p. 12 ![[Ref. Nancy McWilliams 1999 - Psychoanalytic Case Formulation#^2ncos51m1ma]] # [[Journal section]] ### 2023-11-20 Mon 21.44pm https://x.com/jonathanshedler/status/1726469108856967541?s=46&t=om05XiRgVuAcP9YNKgFInw ### 2023-12-04 Mon 20.12pm Intensive (classical) psychoanalysis for the "worried well"?: > Neurotic-level patients quickly establish with the therapist a working alliance in which the clinician and the observing part of the client are allies in accessing previously unconscious or disavowed defenses, feelings, fantasies, beliefs, conicts, and strivings. If the patient is seeking a thorough understanding of his or her personality, with the goal of the greatest possible degree of growth and change, intensive analysis should be considered. > ... > But people have a feel for the difference between behavior change that is possible in spite of one’s psychology and behavior change that has come to feel congruent with one’s insides. To move from the first to the second is one reason people may choose to stay in analytic treatment for the long haul. > —[[Ref. Nancy McWilliams 2011 (og 1994) - Psychoanalytic Diagnosis 2nd ed]] Chapter 4, therapy with neurotic-level patients ### 2024-01-14 Sun 16.59pm [[Ref. Liberation Institute (Libby) 2023 - Training Packet 2023]], consent for treatment form: > Psychological Services > At the Liberation Institute we believe that psychotherapy can offer many benefits, often leading to better relationships, increased self-awareness, and significant reductions in feelings of distress. Therapy also involves some risk. Since therapy often involves discussing unpleasant aspects of your life, you may experience uncomfortable feelings like sadness, guilt, frustration, and helplessness. No specific outcomes are guaranteed, but the more effort you put into the process the more likely you will experience growth and transformation. ### 2024-01-20 Sat 16.52pm Freud is quoted like this: Psychotherapy is about removing obstacles to love and work.