Creative Explorations

In Art, Literature, Science and the Everyday

Albert Rothenberg, M.D.

Alcoholism and Creativity: The Case of John Cheever

John Cheever's writing of his most outstanding work, the novel "Falconer," was interrupted by a bout of severe alcoholism. After treatment, his creativity powerfully returned.

Empathic Therapy

Empathy in Art and Psychotherapy

Empathy is a crucial factor in creating art and is meaningfully effective in psychodynamic psychotherapy. Examples from the therapies of a woman and a male are described.

The Link Between OCD and Eating Disorders in Adolescence

Although anorexia has long been considered to be a manifestation of depression, it may be more helpful to view it as a kind of OCD.

The Homospatial Process in Visual Art

The homospatial process is a key element in the production of metaphors both visual and verbal. Entire works of art and literature may function as aesthetic metaphors.

Creative Process in Poetry

James Merrill used the sep-con articulation process to create the central metaphor of his poem about making bombs in the basement of his childhood home.

A Mutual Creative Process in Psychotherapy

In the mutual creative process of effective psychotherapy, a patient and therapist engage in the sep-con articulation process.

Poetry and Psychotherapy: Kinships and Contrasts

Poetry writing and psychotherapy share significant psychological features, but are different with respect to resolving conflict. Psychological freedom is engendered by both.

Creativity in Architecture: The Case of Louis Kahn

Creative architect Louis Kahn regularly used the homospatial process in architectural design and in the design of the Congress Hall in Venice.

Creativity: Glistening and Attainable

The terms "creative," "creativity," and "creation" are often used to apply to making something different, unusual, and pleasant—rather than meaningful art, literature, and science.

What Is the Motivation for High-Level Creativity?

The emotional basis of creativity in science, art, and other fields involves strong motivation to create—to produce an entity, theory, or perspective that is both new and valuable.

Artistic Creation of a Self-Portrait Masterpiece

Rembrandt created a genre of self-portraiture, which are masterful works of creativity.

The Story of Evolution

The theory of natural selection was proposed by Wallace and Darwin, influenced by divergent social attitudes. A new theory is based on the genome.

Creativity and Psychotherapy

Both patients and therapists are oriented to, and engaged in, facilitating creation.

The Mutual Creative Process of Psychotherapy

Psychotherapy is a mutual creative process involving both therapist and patient that produces beneficial change in the patient.

A Creative Discovery About Dinosaur Extinction

Together with his son Walter, Nobel laureate Luis Alvarez developed the widely accepted and validated theory of the complete extinction of dinosaurs on earth.

Teaching Poetry to Adolescents With Schizophrenia

Although poetry writing by schizophrenic adolescents can be disruptive and inappropriate, correcting conceptual difficulties can be beneficial for mental illness and literature.

The Creative Process of a Nobel Laureate

A psychological test with female executives and an intensive interview with a female Nobel laureate shows orientation and capacity for creative cognition.

The Beneficial Use of Humor in Psychotherapy

Humorous remarks are sometimes considered denigrating or hostile but the use of thoughtful and meaningful use of humor by the therapist can be both facilitative and comforting.

Psychotherapy as a Mutual Creative Process

Psychotherapy is a mutual creative process producing effective change in the patient's self and behavior. The therapist uses the homospatial process for metaphor and empathy.

Are Brilliance and Genius Often Associated with Disturbance?

There is a long tradition linking brilliance, genius, and creativity with mental disorders, but the connection is refuted by experimental and intensive interview research.

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder and Secrecy

People suffering from OCD are often secretive about their symptoms, which makes it more difficult for them to receive key treatments.

Inspiration, Insight, and the Literary Creative Process

Although inspiration appears to be a matter of psychological insight, the two phenomena differ radically in the literary creative process.

The Mystique of the Unconscious in Creativity

The Unconscious is not simply not-consciousness but is a repository of socially and personally unacceptable concepts and feelings which do not generate creative art or science.

Madness And Glory (Postscript)

The story of Dr. Phillipe Pinel who struck the chains and shackles from the hospitalized mentally ill during the French Revolution and, before Freud, developed basic psychotherapy.

Madness and Glory (40): Truth in Dreams

This is the story of Dr. Phillipe Pinel who stuck the chains and shackles from the hospitalized mentally ill and, before Freud, developed meaningful psychotherapy.

Madness and Glory (39): Arrest

This is the story of Dr. Phillipe Pinel who struck the chains and shackles from the hospitalized mentally ill and, before Freud, developed meaningful psychotherapy.

Madness and Glory (38): Triumvirate

This is the story of Dr. Phillipe Pinel, who struck the chains and shackles from the hospitalized mentally ill and, before Freud, developed meaningful psychotherapy.

Madness and Glory (37): Continued Courtship

This is the story of Dr. Phillipe Pinel who struck the chains and shackles from the hospitalized mentally ill and, before Freud, developed meaningful psychotherapy.

Madness and Glory (36): Progress

This is the story of Dr. Phillipe Pinel, who struck the chains and shackles from the hospitalized mentally ill and, before Freud, developed meaingful psychotherapy.

Madness and Glory (35): Downfall

This is the story of Dr. Phillipe Pinel who struck the chains and shackles from the hospitalized mentally ill and, before Freud, developed meaningful psychotherapy.

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