Beyond Freud

A dose of common sense.
by Lawrence Blum, M.D. and Leon Hoffman, M.D.

DSM Fantasies

The DSM is built on the fantasy that we can ignore fantasy and mind in psychiatric diagnosis. A further remarkable fantasy of the DSM is that doing so leads to more scientific, rather than less scientific, diagnosis. This article explores some of the key fantasies upholding the DSM. Read More

"I Had a Normal Childhood."

It is not unusual for a patient to tell me that he or she had a normal childhood. This always alarms me. Childhood has so many conflicts and worries, so many triumphs and disappointments - how can one reduce it to a notion of normality? What does invoking this concept conceal? Maybe the idea of a normal childhood is a wishful, childlike fantasy. Read More

Penis Size: A Consideration of Fantasy and Reality

Many men are worried about penis size and concerned they may be "too small." This topic is often joked about, but seldom discussed seriously. Psychoanalytic therapies employing dynamic understanding of emotional conflicts and child development can help many men to become more mature and less worried that they are inadequate. Read More

The Candidates and the Wish to Kill

All people have wishes to kill. How these wishes are handled has a profound influence on personal and national politics. Democrats tend to be more uncomfortable with their aggression and to inhibit its expression. Republicans tend to be more comfortable with their aggression and to express it more freely. Read More

Moms in the Workplace

To feel more in charge of their own feelings and create a better balance between work and home, moms who work outside the home need to accept their own ambivalent feelings and try to ensure that their spouses or partners participate in homemaking and child-rearing activities. Read More

Behavioral Health Reports Are Depressing Me

Behavioral health reports are depressing me. This feeling exists only in my mind and doesn't alter my behavior. Read More

Helping Parents Help Kids Face Trauma

All people respond to trauma and stress in their own individual ways. Practitioners who have learned the art of listening are most helpful to people in time of stress and crisis. Read More

Focus on Brain Limits Therapeutic Science

Can selective attention to the brain lead to an unscientific avoidance of the mind? Read More

A Dangerous Method: Psychology, Development, and Psychotherapy

The current movie, A Dangerous Method, touches many issues of contemporary interest. The complex relationships among C. G. Jung, Sabina Spielrein, and Sigmund Freud a century ago illustrate a variety of psychological, developmental, and therapeutic factors relevant in the 21st Century. Read More

Autonomy and Intimacy: Compatible or Incompatible States of Being?

All of us have a mixture of various desires: to be autonomous, to be connected, to achieve pleasure, and to hurt those who interfere with the achievement of our various goals. Read More

Emotions Affect Cognitions

David Brooks, from the New York Times is a very perceptive observer and commentator on culture, including knowledge of contemporary brain and mind science. On October 20, 2011 (http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/21/opinion/brooks-who-you-are.html?_r=1&ref=davidbrooks) he wrote: Read More

Back to School: A New Opportunity for Parents and Children

As September rolls around every year, going to school for the first time or going back to school for the next grade, is a developmental milestone for both children and parents.

September is, of course, an opportunity for development in many areas. There are new children to play with, new activities to participate in, new grown-ups to get to know, and new skills to master. Read More

The King's Psychotherapy

In The King’s Speech, Prince Albert gets the royal treatment – by being treated the same as everyone else. Albert’s good fortune, his path toward emotional liberation, is that his speech therapy incorporates so many features of psychoanalytic therapy. Read More

Father's Day: Dads and Their Teen Daughters

How does a great day between a dad and his teenage daughter suddenly turn on a dime? One great day can end in screaming and yelling, and the good feelings recede as a distant memory. Understanding that something might be going on beneath the surface of his teenage-daughter's outburst can help a dad respond in a more effective manner. Read More

A Father's Importance for Children: Thoughts for Father’s Day

What Is Father's Special Role? Read More

It's Lonely At The Top

Business leaders are often lonely and find it difficult to seek help. But economists and businessmen are beginning to recognize how much human irrationality influences business and consumer decisions. Read More

Mothers and Mother's Day

For all children, "My mommy" is the most important person in the world. Mom gratifies our needs, takes care of our hurts, and is our first teacher. But she is also the one who can intrude into our personal space and is the first one to limit and control us. Read More

Listening to Our Children’s Voices – Harder Than It Sounds

On May 1-6, 2011, we will observe National Children's Mental Health Awareness Week. And, on May 6, 2011, we will celebrate the birth of Sigmund Freud, the originator of the Talking Cure, or, as we prefer to say, "The Listening Cure." To honor these occasions, we propose paying extra attention to listening to our children, which is more complicated than it sounds. Read More

Our Children, Our Future

The current temporary government funding bill passed by Congress will soon expire, and the battle will resume with the House pursuing a budget that will make devastating cuts to programs for children. Read More

Beyond Freud Bloggers

Lawrence Blum, M.D., is a clinical assistant professor of psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania.

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Leon Hoffman, M.D. is the Co-director of the Pacella Parent Child Center, New York Psychoanalytic Society and Institute. He is a member of the American Psychoanalytic Association.

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