Lessons from the psychotherapy chair
I have been in both chairs in the psychotherapy room, and I have learned the value of good therapy, and I have learned the value of bad therapy. Not only have I learned the value of therapy, but I have also learned a lot of lessons in both chairs. Today, I occupy the psychotherapist chair and sometimes the client chair, and I continue to learn lessons that both surprise me and teach me that a graduate degree does not guarantee expertise or even basic knowledge about mental health in today's world. I want to share some of the things that I have learned from both chairs that have set the course of my journey both as a therapist and a human being. These are the lessons learned by an OG WooWoo Therapist during 28 years in the therapist chair.
Lessons from the psychotherapy chair
More about attachment
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Today I talk about attachment theory, attachment wounding, and attachment trauma.
Here is a list of resources if you want to go deeper.
John Bowlby
Bowlby, J. (1969). Attachment and loss: Vol. 1. Attachment. Basic Books.
Mary Ainsworth
Ainsworth, M. D. S., Blehar, M. C., Waters, E., & Wall, S. (1978). Patterns of attachment: A psychological study of the strange situation. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Allan N. Schore
Schore, A. N. (2003). Affect dysregulation and disorders of the self. W. W. Norton & Company.
Judith Herman
Herman, J. L. (1992). Trauma and recovery: The aftermath of violence—from domestic abuse to political terror. Basic Books.
Bessel van der Kolk
van der Kolk, B. A. (2014). The body keeps the score: Brain, mind, and body in the healing of trauma. Viking.
World Health Organization
World Health Organization. (2019). International classification of diseases (11th ed.). https://icd.who.int/
Richard C. Schwartz
Schwartz, R. C. (1995). Internal family systems therapy. Guilford Press.
Schwartz, R. C. (2021). No bad parts: Healing trauma and restoring wholeness with the Internal Family Systems model. Sounds True.
Sue Johnson
Johnson, S. M. (2004). The practice of emotionally focused couple therapy: Creating connection (2nd ed.). Brunner-Routledge.
Johnson, S. M. (2019). Attachment theory in practice: EFT with individuals, couples, and families. Guilford Press.
Jeffrey Young
Young, J. E., Klosko, J. S., & Weishaar, M. E. (2003). Schema therapy: A practitioner’s guide. Guilford Press.
Peter A. Levine
Levine, P. A. (1997). Waking the tiger: Healing trauma. North Atlantic Books.
Levine, P. A. (2010). In an unspoken voice: How the body releases trauma and restores goodness. North Atlantic Books.
Stephen W. Porges
Porges, S. W. (2011). The polyvagal theory: Neurophysiological foundations of emotions, attachment, communication, and self-regulation. W. W. Norton & Company.
Peter Fonagy
Fonagy, P., Gergely, G., Jurist, E. L., & Target, M. (2002). Affect regulation, mentalization, and the development of the self. Other Press.
Fonagy, P., & Bateman, A. W. (2006). Mentalization-based treatment for borderline personality disorder: A practical guide. Oxford University Press.
Edward Tronick
Tronick, E. (2007). The neurobehavioral and social-emotional development of infants and children. W. W. Norton & Company.
Daniel J. Siegel
Siegel, D. J. (2012). The developing mind: How relationships and the brain interact to shape who we are (2nd ed.). Guilford Press.
Pat Ogden
Ogden, P., Minton, K., & Pain, C. (2006). Trauma and the body: A sensorimotor approach to psychotherapy. W. W. Norton & Company.