Beyond Freud

A dose of common sense.

Lawrence D. Blum M.D., Leon Hoffman M.D.

The Importance of Dreams and Unconscious Mental Activity

Understanding dreams can help us understand our unconscious motivations.

Modern Psychotherapies: One Is Either Freudian or Anti-Freudian

Sigmund Freud's birthday on May 6 is a time to reflect on his many contributions to the field of modern psychology.

How Obsessive-Compulsiveness Affects Psychiatry and Psychology

Most professionals benefit from having some obsessive-compulsive traits. These traits have advantages and disadvantages, both of which have had a profound influence on our field.

Memories Are Forever

'Shtisel' is a fictional depiction of complex family interactions, losses, as well as hopes for the future. The impact of memories of those who have died, both positive and negative, are present.

When Fathers Undermine Their Sons

A lesson for fathers from the TV series, "Shtisel."

An Opportunity for Our Children

Making children our highest national priority is overdue and will help everyone.

Resilience ("Ordinary Magic") in School-Aged Children

Resilience has been called “ordinary magic”: It's the ability to adapt to various stresses in life. Helping a child deal with negative emotions is a good way to promote his resilience.

How Children Cope During the Pandemic

Understanding defense mechanisms: A parent can help the child by reflecting and moving away from denial and disavowal, becoming available for affiliation and promoting sublimation

Getting in Touch With Adverse Childhood Experiences in Film

Popular movies like "Black Panther" illuminate a key determinant of growth and development.

Why Don't College Students Follow COVID-19 Guidelines?

College students do what college students do.

Counterdependency and American Health

What do postpartum depression, the opiate crisis, and the gaps in our social safety net have in common? Counterdependency.

The Importance of Beauty Salons in the Age of COVID-19

People need to take care of their bodies (how they look, how they think they look, and how they feel): beauty salons, barbers, hair salons, and gymnasiums are very important.

Anxiety During COVID-19

First and foremost, listen. When someone is anxious and wants to share, they are looking for a listening ear.

Navigating Mother's Day in 2020

A mother's inner conflict over her own personal wishes as well as her feelings toward her children can cause guilt and anxiety. Understanding this is the key to balance.

Are You Grieving Yet?

In the era of covid-19, how we mourn matters.

A Novel Way to Teach Psychoanalysis

Classic children's literature and child psychoanalytic case studies provide the most direct way to learn about child development and basic psychoanalytic principles.

Resilience in the Age of COVID-19: Parents Helping Children

How can parents develop greater resilience in themselves and promote greater resilience in their children?

COVID-19 Pandemic, Social Distancing, and Adolescence

It would be more valuable to engage the adolescent or young adult in an intellectual discussion about the problem. Questions should be addressed to promote youngsters' autonomy.

How Parents Can Help Their Children During the Pandemic

The importance of parents as role models.

Helping Parents and Toddlers When Baby Comes Home

“Oh, I see. When daddy was holding the baby you felt left out. Maybe next time daddy or mommy does something that makes you feel bad you can tell us in words and not by hitting.”

What Guns Often Protect Is a Sense of Manhood

Mass murders with guns continue to occur with great frequency. This article examines a seldom-discussed obstacle to gun control.

Doctors and Guilt

Struggles with guilt can prompt a career in medicine and other helping professions, but he guilt is a risk factor for later burnout and depression.

Thoughts About Fatherhood and Father’s Day in the #Metoo Era

Fathers can encourage the development of autonomy and assertion rather than destructive aggression in both boys and girls.

Defense Mechanisms in Therapy and Parenting

Defense mechanisms, a psychoanalytic construct that has been empirically studied and validated, is likely one of Freud’s most original contributions.

Home for the Holidays

What happens during holidays and family festivities? Our routines change, our moods change, and there is a mixture of feelings.

Three Identical Strangers

Psychoanalysts study how people, including themselves, unconsciously deceive themselves. Three Identical Strangers forecloses that discussion.

Manipulators of Our Unconscious Desires

We all are vulnerable to the entreaties of hucksters and tricksters.

Countertransference in Psychoanalysis and Psychotherapy

By recognizing the complex interplay between patient and analyst in the sessions, the analyst helps the patient understand the nature and origin of his/her maladaptive interactions

How Psychoanalysis Helps: Part 2

A major tool utilized in a psychodynamic therapy is what is labeled as addressing or analyzing the transference.

How Psychoanalysis Helps

Why do people seek a talking treatment?

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