Quotes on Therapy

[Daniel E.]

"Instead of regarding human experiences such as anxiety, alienation and depression as implying the presence of mental illness, existential psychotherapy sees these experiences as natural stages in a normal process of human development and maturation. In facilitating this process of development and maturation, existential psychotherapy involves a philosophical exploration of an individual's experiences stressing the individual's freedom and responsibility to facilitate a higher degree of meaning and well-being in his or her life."

~ Existential Therapy (Wikipedia)

 

[Daniel E.]

“It’s the relationship that heals, the relationship that heals, the relationship that heals—-my professional rosary.”

― Irvin D. Yalom, Love's Executioner

 

[Daniel E.]

“All I can do in one session is to be real, to leap into the patient’s life, to offer observations in the hope that he’ll be able to open doors and explore some new parts of himself in his ongoing therapy.”

― Irvin D. Yalom, Creatures of a Day: And Other Tales of Psychotherapy

 

[Daniel E.]

“Anything that's human is mentionable, and anything that is mentionable can be more manageable. When we can talk about our feelings, they become less overwhelming, less upsetting, and less scary."

- Fred Rogers

 

[Daniel E.]

"What works best for you may be radically different than what works for other people."

- Albert Ellis

 

[Daniel E.]

"I think the most common meme is that it’s too difficult to change. It’s too risky to change. My nature doesn’t allow me to change. When you’re thinking that, you’re not understanding what your nature is."

~ Wayne Dyer

 

[Daniel E.]

“Shame is a soul eating emotion.”

~ Carl Jung

 

[Daniel E.]

"We spend the first half of our lives shutting down feelings to stop the hurt, and the second half trying to open everything back up to heal the hurt."

~ Brené Brown, The Midlife Unraveling

 

[Daniel E.]

"As old psychiatry recognised, many of the phenomena that are seen to define mental illness are in fact efforts to battle against it."

~ Darian Leader, How psychiatry became a damage limitation exercise

 

[Daniel E.]

Containing No-Things
by Barry Brody, PhD

W.R. Bion utilized the term "no-thing" to refer to a dimension of ineffability. Experiences, words, thoughts, dreams and feelings. That which is non-sensible. The world of "things" refers to that which can be perceived via the 5 senses. That which can be observed and measured. The world of logic, rationality and science. Where there is not space for unexplained phenomenon, always answers and solutions and fixes. Always something to do. As the surgeon said following the operation, "The operation was a success. It was by the book. I don't understand why the patient died".

And yet, in the consulting room, it seems to me that there is a lot of "no-things" which can't be contained and are perhaps searching and waiting for a container...

 

[Daniel E.]

"The purest form of listening is to listen without memory or desire."

"Every session attended by the analyst must have no history and no future. What is 'known' about the patient is of no further consequence: it is either false or irrelevant. If it is 'known' by patient and analyst, it is obsolete...The only point of importance in any session is the unknown. Nothing must be allowed to distract from intuiting that. In any session, evolution takes place. Out of the darkness and formlessness something evolves."

~ Wilfred Bion

 

[Daniel E.]

“Anytime you’re gonna grow, you’re gonna lose something. You’re losing what you’re hanging onto to keep safe. You’re losing habits that you’re comfortable with, you’re losing familiarity.”

"To hope for nothing, to expect nothing, to demand nothing. This is analytical despair."

"Sometimes we act in order not to see."

―James Hillman

 

[Daniel E.]

"There are three musts that hold us back: I must do well. You must treat me well. And the world must be easy."

― Albert Ellis

 

[Daniel E.]

How to Grow from Your Pain | Mark Manson

 

[Daniel E.]

“I told her once I wasn’t good at anything. She told me survival is a talent.”

― Susanna Kaysen, Girl, Interrupted

 

[Daniel E.]

We all say and do stupid, mindless things. We all have feelings we can't explain to ourselves and consider ridiculous. We are all in some ways repeat offenders in life, making the same mistakes over and over and over...

I know that finding one’s own answers can be a difficult task to tolerate and that there will be people who will leave my office after one visit to search for a therapist who will give them their answers. My role as a therapist is to guide you through the process so that you can find your own answers.

~ Barry Brody

 

[Daniel E.]

Healthy therapy NEVER includes blame, shame, and condescension. We are all doing the best we can based on both nature and nurture. Indeed, people do horrible, destructive things to themselves and others, but if we truly listen to people without prejudice, we learn that everyone has drama, everyone is still, on some level, just as vulnerable as they were they day they were born, and everyone has a painful story behind the curtain of protection. Only compassion can help undo this suffering.

~ Noah Rubinstein

 

[Daniel E.]

"The opposite of addiction is not sobriety. It is human connection."

~ Johann Hari

 

[Daniel E.]

“If you really want to communicate something, even if it’s just an emotion or an attitude, let alone an idea, the least effective and least enjoyable way is directly. It only goes in about an inch. But if you can get people to the point where they have to think a moment what it is you’re getting at, and then discover it, the thrill of discovery goes right through the heart.”

― Stanley Kubrick

 

[Daniel E.]

"Whether an illness affects your heart, your arm, or your brain, it's still an illness, and there shouldn't be any distinction. We would never tell someone with a broken leg that they should stop wallowing and get it together. We don't consider taking medication for an ear infection something to be ashamed of. We shouldn't treat mental health conditions any differently. Instead, we should make it clear that getting help isn't a sign of weakness—it's a sign of strength—and we should ensure that people can get the treatment they need."

— Michelle Obama