ExperiMentations

Bullying

Are You Bullying on Social Media Without Realizing It?

Grant Hilary Brenner MD, DFAPA on May 26, 2026

Many who bully online don't feel like bullies—they feel right. A look at how cruelty can set in by degrees, often unnoticed, and how to recognize it in oneself and others.

Many who bully online don't feel like bullies—they feel right. A look at how cruelty can set in by degrees, often unnoticed, and how to recognize it in oneself and others.

Therapy

Does Psychotherapy Still Need a Human?

Grant Hilary Brenner MD, DFAPA on May 24, 2026

Depth therapy is surging as AI reshapes a strained mental healthcare system. When only a human relationship will do isn't clear — and the next few years will decide what's what.

Depth therapy is surging as AI reshapes a strained mental healthcare system. When only a human relationship will do isn't clear — and the next few years will decide what's what.

Cognition

On Experience Merging into Meaning

Grant Hilary Brenner MD, DFAPA on May 21, 2026

Much of what we know, we know first by feel. The subtle quality arriving before words is raw psychic material. Paying attention to that layer can be illuminating.

Much of what we know, we know first by feel. The subtle quality arriving before words is raw psychic material. Paying attention to that layer can be illuminating.

Cognition

The Many Meanings of Silence

Grant Hilary Brenner MD, DFAPA on May 14, 2026

Silence can mean myriad things. So could a market signal, a diagnostic result, an AI output. The move isn’t simply tolerating ambiguity—it’s knowing which kind you’re in.

Silence can mean myriad things. So could a market signal, a diagnostic result, an AI output. The move isn’t simply tolerating ambiguity—it’s knowing which kind you’re in.

Consciousness

How We Make Use of Our Inner Worlds

Grant Hilary Brenner MD, DFAPA on May 10, 2026

The tentacles of the mind are numerous, but do we fully grasp our own internal capabilities?

The tentacles of the mind are numerous, but do we fully grasp our own internal capabilities?

Artificial Intelligence

The Pluripotent Ocean of Emerging AI

Grant Hilary Brenner MD, DFAPA on April 25, 2026

Life emerged from the fabled primordial soup, some antediluvian sea. These systems seem alive, and humans increasingly wonder if they are conscious, because they sure feel real.

Life emerged from the fabled primordial soup, some antediluvian sea. These systems seem alive, and humans increasingly wonder if they are conscious, because they sure feel real.

Parenting

The Intergenerational Transmission of Parenting

Grant Hilary Brenner MD, DFAPA on April 22, 2026

There's no rule book for parenting. Trying to break destructive cycles often leads to repetition of old patterns. What are flexible ways to get there while the kids are still home?

There's no rule book for parenting. Trying to break destructive cycles often leads to repetition of old patterns. What are flexible ways to get there while the kids are still home?

Transference

More Us Than It: Why LLMs Are More Transference Than Machine

Grant Hilary Brenner MD, DFAPA on April 21, 2026

What we encounter in LLMs is largely ourselves. A psychoanalytic AI take on transference, countertransference, and the psychological rigor these machines need us to have.

What we encounter in LLMs is largely ourselves. A psychoanalytic AI take on transference, countertransference, and the psychological rigor these machines need us to have.

Cognition

Probing the "Black Box" of Consciousness

Grant Hilary Brenner MD, DFAPA on April 20, 2026

You reach for your coffee mid-conversation and find it already in your hand. That gap between intention and action is where the mind actually lives.

You reach for your coffee mid-conversation and find it already in your hand. That gap between intention and action is where the mind actually lives.

Loneliness

What Happens When We Simultaneously Seek and Avoid Intimacy?

Grant Hilary Brenner MD, DFAPA on April 4, 2026

How we manage or mismanage intimacy is one of the core drivers of whether we find a balance among solitude, isolation, and connection.

How we manage or mismanage intimacy is one of the core drivers of whether we find a balance among solitude, isolation, and connection.

Artificial Intelligence

Is War With AI Unavoidable?

Grant Hilary Brenner MD, DFAPA on April 2, 2026

The biggest risk may not be AI's intentions, but ours. How one perceives and approaches threats shapes outcomes, often more than the threats themselves.

The biggest risk may not be AI's intentions, but ours. How one perceives and approaches threats shapes outcomes, often more than the threats themselves.

Artificial Intelligence

Unconsciousness, Consciousness, Computsciousness

Grant Hilary Brenner MD, DFAPA on March 25, 2026

The human psyche may be reorganizing around a third register. What happens when computation joins psyche, not just a tool beside it? Are we seeing the emergence of Psyche 2.0?

The human psyche may be reorganizing around a third register. What happens when computation joins psyche, not just a tool beside it? Are we seeing the emergence of Psyche 2.0?

Consciousness

How Does the Brain Know Itself?

Grant Hilary Brenner MD, DFAPA on March 13, 2026

The mechanisms of subjective experience—what we understand, what we don't, and why it matters more than ever.

The mechanisms of subjective experience—what we understand, what we don't, and why it matters more than ever.

Therapy

Denial of Brain: How Therapy Can Struggle With Neuroscience

Grant Hilary Brenner MD, DFAPA on March 8, 2026

Personal Perspective: As science advances, we have a better understanding how how neuroscience can inform the work of psychotherapy.

Personal Perspective: As science advances, we have a better understanding how how neuroscience can inform the work of psychotherapy.

Artificial Intelligence

Are You a Doomer, a Zoomer, or a Tuner?

Grant Hilary Brenner MD, DFAPA on March 5, 2026

A fictional AI scenario moved markets in just a few hours. This is what your reaction reveals about your thinking — and what to do differently next time.

A fictional AI scenario moved markets in just a few hours. This is what your reaction reveals about your thinking — and what to do differently next time.

Artificial Intelligence

How Do Human Beings Stay Relevant in an AI-Fueled Future?

Grant Hilary Brenner MD, DFAPA on February 26, 2026

In what ways does AI need humanity, and how can we define what makes us unique and essential in the face of this strange new technology?

In what ways does AI need humanity, and how can we define what makes us unique and essential in the face of this strange new technology?

Artificial Intelligence

Could AI Hijack the Human Psyche?

Grant Hilary Brenner MD, DFAPA on February 22, 2026

Is humanity at a crossroads, potentially in the crosshairs of malign AI? We may not know, but best not to ignore the possibilities.

Is humanity at a crossroads, potentially in the crosshairs of malign AI? We may not know, but best not to ignore the possibilities.

Intuition

How Science Is Learning to Explore Ground Truth

Grant Hilary Brenner MD, DFAPA on February 20, 2026

A study reveals random exploration outperforms focused analysis—shedding scientific light on non-ordinary ways of knowing.

A study reveals random exploration outperforms focused analysis—shedding scientific light on non-ordinary ways of knowing.

Artificial Intelligence

Accomplishment Hallucination: When the Tool Uses You

Grant Hilary Brenner MD, DFAPA on February 19, 2026

Dancing with the ultmate "Yes-Man" can be a heady experience. But if you aren't careful, you can head for disaster when you use a tool which can use you back.

Dancing with the ultmate "Yes-Man" can be a heady experience. But if you aren't careful, you can head for disaster when you use a tool which can use you back.

Artificial Intelligence

How Do Humans Stay Essential in an AI Economy?

Grant Hilary Brenner MD, DFAPA on February 9, 2026

AI tracks its own work automatically. The harder question is how to recognize what humans bring. The phantastic concept of Human Agency Tokens is a way to begin to think about it.

AI tracks its own work automatically. The harder question is how to recognize what humans bring. The phantastic concept of Human Agency Tokens is a way to begin to think about it.