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Transcending the Past

From fate and yearnings to lessons learned.

Cognition
Are We Hardwired for Poetry?

Dale M. Kushner on April 30, 2024

How is neuroscientific research affirming that the pleasure of sound and rhythm is linked to the internal rhythms of our heartbeat, our breathing, and our pulse?

How is neuroscientific research affirming that the pleasure of sound and rhythm is linked to the internal rhythms of our heartbeat, our breathing, and our pulse?

Gender
Reframing How We Think About Women and Courage

Dale M. Kushner on March 27, 2024

What is courage? Is courage defined differently for men and women? Is courage socially conditioned, innate, or some mixture of nature and nurture? Can courage be learned?

What is courage? Is courage defined differently for men and women? Is courage socially conditioned, innate, or some mixture of nature and nurture? Can courage be learned?

Memory
Memory and Trauma: We Are More than What We Remember

Dale M. Kushner on January 23, 2024

An interview with neuroscientist Daniela Schiller about how current neuroscience research relates to psychotherapy and the close connection between memory and narrative.

An interview with neuroscientist Daniela Schiller about how current neuroscience research relates to psychotherapy and the close connection between memory and narrative.

Trauma
How the Brain Stores Traumatic Memories

Dale M. Kushner on December 28, 2023

An interview with neuroscientist Daniela Schiller, co-author of a recent study offering evidence that the brain encodes traumatic memories differently from other memories.

An interview with neuroscientist Daniela Schiller, co-author of a recent study offering evidence that the brain encodes traumatic memories differently from other memories.

Punishment
Revenge Is Rarely Sweet

Dale M. Kushner on November 29, 2023

Revenge is a universal human instinct, yet experimental research suggests its impact on us when we pursue it is more complex than we may realize.

Revenge is a universal human instinct, yet experimental research suggests its impact on us when we pursue it is more complex than we may realize.

Empathy
The Long Battle of Cruelty and Empathy

Dale M. Kushner on October 30, 2023

We have rationalized acts of cruelty since the beginning of humankind. How does empathy or the lack of empathy impact our capacity for cruelty?

We have rationalized acts of cruelty since the beginning of humankind. How does empathy or the lack of empathy impact our capacity for cruelty?

Anxiety
Making Uncertainty Your Friend

Dale M. Kushner on July 29, 2023

Current research explains how our nervous system responds to uncertainty and offers ways to reduce the anxiety and stress of not knowing.

Current research explains how our nervous system responds to uncertainty and offers ways to reduce the anxiety and stress of not knowing.

Narcissism
Understanding and Addressing Narcissism

Dale M. Kushner on June 29, 2023

A Jungian analyst and psychotherapist describes how narcissistic patterns can affect personal development and personal relationships.

A Jungian analyst and psychotherapist describes how narcissistic patterns can affect personal development and personal relationships.

Self-Esteem
Fatherless Daughters: The Impact of Absence

Dale M. Kushner on May 26, 2023

Daughters growing up without a father face specific challenges. Fathers influence their daughters’ relational lives, creativity, sense of authority, and self-esteem.

Daughters growing up without a father face specific challenges. Fathers influence their daughters’ relational lives, creativity, sense of authority, and self-esteem.

Cognition
The Healing Power of Poetry: Appreciating a Primal Pleasure

Dale M. Kushner on April 27, 2023

One of our earliest and most fundamental pleasures as humans is the sensory delight of language. Studies are finding that reading and writing poetry can have a therapeutic effect.

One of our earliest and most fundamental pleasures as humans is the sensory delight of language. Studies are finding that reading and writing poetry can have a therapeutic effect.

Fear
The Fear of Abandonment: Missing Mothers and Fairy Tales

Dale M. Kushner on March 31, 2023

Fear of abandonment has pervaded storytelling throughout the ages. Fairy and folk tales, in particular, capture a range of dimensions of loss and transformation.

Fear of abandonment has pervaded storytelling throughout the ages. Fairy and folk tales, in particular, capture a range of dimensions of loss and transformation.

Trauma
Treating PTSD and Complex PTSD: Changing the Ways We Adapt

Dale M. Kushner on October 23, 2022

In Part Two of his interview trauma therapist Brad Kammer explains the importance of agency and adaptive styles in how the NeuroAffective Relational Model treats trauma

In Part Two of his interview trauma therapist Brad Kammer explains the importance of agency and adaptive styles in how the NeuroAffective Relational Model treats trauma

Trauma
Diagnosing and Treating PTSD and Complex PTSD

Dale M. Kushner on September 28, 2022

Trauma therapist Brad Kammer explains how the NeuroAffective Relational Model diagnoses and treats PTSD and Complex PTSD.

Trauma therapist Brad Kammer explains how the NeuroAffective Relational Model diagnoses and treats PTSD and Complex PTSD.