Joseph Breuer described Bertha Pappenheim as an intelligent, curious twenty one year old woman, trapped in a genteel existence. Bertha would later condemn this life as made up of "insipid trivia," directed merely at "passing the time." If we imagine the emptiness of Bertha … [Read more...] about Daydream Believer
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Dorothy Pappenheim?
Sitting with a psychotherapy patient, a therapist can suddenly feel pain, empathy, fear, rage, envy and even boredom. Images and memories spring to mind. Meanwhile, as far as the patient is concerned, they are simply telling their story. For them, little is happening. … [Read more...] about Dorothy Pappenheim?
It began with a nasty cough, it usually does.
Joseph Breuer first attended Bertha Pappenheim for a nasty cough. In my experience, most therapies begin with a nasty cough. That is not to say that the issues that lead people to seek help are minor. Patients present because they are in pain. However, as with the case of … [Read more...] about It began with a nasty cough, it usually does.
The Heart is Abloom
In 2000, the Irish rock band U2 released their tenth studio record, All That You Can’t Leave Behind. The first track on the album was titled, Beautiful Day. The band’s lead singer, Bono, said the song was about losing everything but still finding joy in what you have. The song … [Read more...] about The Heart is Abloom
Into Our Bodies
In the last blog, I talked about patients who tend to live mainly in their heads. They can describe a moment when they were angry, the reason why they were angry, and, sometimes, how their anger relates to their upbringing. I now tend to be more interested in how they … [Read more...] about Into Our Bodies