Reflections on Psychiatry, Therapy, and Mental Health

Those of us in the profession of therapy know that we practice an art, yet live with the fact that our art is practiced in private and so is rarely if ever displayed to the public. This is not pleasant as artists have a natural tendency to want to share their work. Yet, if one views the third episode in the series, 'Adolescence,' one will be a fly on the wall, watching two actors create a very genuine and deep portrayal of what a good therapeutic session is like. The setup

Coping with the Early Days of Grief and Loss The other day a patient came into the office reporting that his mother had died only a few weeks before from a heart attack. The encounter reminded me that it's not unusual for those of us in the business of mental health to be faced with the need to console a patient experiencing acute loss. Due to the complexity and individuality of each person's experience, I try to find words that are broad enough to provide some comfort in t

Winnicott famously coined the term 'holding environment' to describe the experience of safety and support that constitutes a good therapeutic alliance with a patient. Psychological space is a phrase I have been using in recent years to capture the capacity of a patient to bear psychological tension long enough to resolve or find creative pathways to deal with matters that are troubling him or her. The following is a little vignette that emerged during a Ketamine-enhanced ther