The process of becoming a good clinical therapist is fraught with personal peril; we are indoctrinated pretty much from Day One with caveats about transference (when clients project their Stuff onto the therapist) and counter-transference (when the therapist projects his or her Stuff onto the client). I've encountered counter-transference with ( Read more... )

a significant repeating conversational theme this past week and a bit: the point of choice between emotional response and action, the point between being an emotional animal, and a human being who has, on some level, made a deliberate choice to act in accordance with a set of principles and values that were maybe not fully investigated (and perhaps ( Read more... )

i took yesterday off, today it's back to the homework. ( Read more... )

[Edit: There is a follow-up to this post here.]

In the context of relationships, there's a downside to working hard at being self-aware and conscious about decisions, actions, and repercussions: eventually, you get really tired of hearing the lazy people get away with saying, "I didn't mean to fall in love, it just kinda happened." ( Read more... )

... everything becomes easier to manage. (note: "easier". not "easy".) ( the weasels are losing, now. )

matthew and i engaged the processes tonight, and covered some valuable ground.

( the value of the hypothetical )

(yes, i know i'm writing the points out of order. deal :)

( Read more... )

( all around the mulberry bush, the monkeys chased the weasels )

okay, the fact that i'm now actively avoiding writing this out means it's time to write this stuff out. i hope ani will forgive me as i quote some stuff she's written recently (lacking just enough context to protect everyone but my own damned weasels).

( process work for the chronically self-awareness-impaired )

a friend i picked up a year ago (not only because she seemed really cool online *AND* in person, but because she's also in thick with other cool people i adore and love, so she came pre-vouched-for, so to speak) is currently working through some important life stuff of her own, and last night she made a filtered post that matthew called me to see, ( Read more... )