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Therapeutic relationships

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Difficult emotions

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Feeling nothing can be as devastating as feeling too much

Emotional ‘emptiness’ is a damaging, underexplored phenomenon. Better understanding it could help steer people to fulfilment

by Christopher J Hopwood

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Mental health

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Why we’re hopeful about mental health videos on TikTok

People are broadcasting their psychological self-diagnoses on TikTok. Some experts are worried, but we see an opportunity

by Elliot Jurist & Julia Jurist

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Psychotherapy

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Getting what we think we want can reveal just how complex desire is

Helping my clients probe their unspoken wants creates a space of freedom to express the possibilities that lie dormant

by Charlotte Fox Weber

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Self-harm and suicide

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The violence of suicide reverberates in, and through, us all

A psychodynamic perspective on suicide can help us all reckon more honestly with the interconnectedness of psychic pain

by Kyle Boyd

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Psychotherapy

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Psychotherapy under the microscope: how exactly does it work?

To improve psychotherapy, researchers are looking beyond what happens in a session to learn exactly how change is achieved

by Ciarán O’Driscoll

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Love

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What I’ve learned about relationships as an agony uncle

I am an agony uncle. This is what I’ve learned about men, women and how relationships work in my 10 years of giving advice

by James McConnachie

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Psychotherapy

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What does it mean to be an expert in psychodynamic therapy?

In a field with no easy answers or quick fixes, what does it mean to say that you have the expertise your patients need?

by Darren Haber

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Therapeutic relationships

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Homeless, delusional, and brave, Mrs A taught me a powerful lesson

How a homeless woman with frostbitten feet taught me what it means to stand up for another when the stakes are high

by Patricia Steckler

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Therapeutic relationships

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What my patient with paranoia taught me about fear and humanity

John was a paranoid patient who sat in my therapy room and scared me – until I realised I was not without paranoia myself

by Patricia Steckler

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Psychoanalysis and the unconscious

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The power of slow therapy, revealed in two pioneering memoirs

Two therapy memoirs by Lucy Freeman, an overlooked mental health pioneer, remind us of the value of slow, convoluted therapy

by Elliot Jurist

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Therapeutic relationships

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Either/or questions are part of psychotherapy’s language games

When a patient poses a binary question, it’s tempting to give a straight answer, but they are often seeking so much more

by Darren Haber

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Therapeutic relationships

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Psychodynamic therapy helped me overcome trauma when CBT couldn’t

The toxic memories of trauma governed my life for years. But psychodynamic therapy made me feel seen and set me free

by Lucia Osborne-Crowley