America On The Couch

Trauma

The Worldwide Stage, and Trauma, of the American Revolution

Pythia Peay on March 16, 2020

British, Irish, and Scottish scholars bring knowledge and compassion to the American Revolution.

British, Irish, and Scottish scholars bring knowledge and compassion to the American Revolution.

Trauma

The Worldwide Stage and Trauma of the American Revolution

Pythia Peay on March 14, 2020

British, Scottish, Irish, and American scholars educate and instill compassion for the European—and domestic—sides of the Revolutionary War.

British, Scottish, Irish, and American scholars educate and instill compassion for the European—and domestic—sides of the Revolutionary War.

Trauma

The Worldwide Stage—and Trauma—of the American Revolution

Pythia Peay on March 12, 2020

Could learning about the American Revolution from the British, Irish, and European sides help to humanize your understanding of history?

Could learning about the American Revolution from the British, Irish, and European sides help to humanize your understanding of history?

Spirituality

The First Moon Landing Wasn't Just a Space Event

Pythia Peay on July 19, 2019

Celebrating the 50th anniversary of the moon landing stirs up more memories than those of Armstrong's first step.

Celebrating the 50th anniversary of the moon landing stirs up more memories than those of Armstrong's first step.

Unconscious

An Interview With the Late Jungian Analyst Edward Edinger

Pythia Peay on January 13, 2018

"America is a kind of advanced laboratory for the world...We are the one nation that on principle has turned itself into a microcosm of the world."

"America is a kind of advanced laboratory for the world...We are the one nation that on principle has turned itself into a microcosm of the world."

President Donald Trump

Jungian Analyst Marion Woodman on the American Psyche

Pythia Peay on May 18, 2017

Your ancestors went through the anguish of breaking with their mother country [Britain], even fighting and killing the soldiers of “the mother.” Marion Woodman

Your ancestors went through the anguish of breaking with their mother country [Britain], even fighting and killing the soldiers of “the mother.” Marion Woodman

Unconscious

The Psychological Hero

Pythia Peay on July 19, 2016

"The Hero-myth is the central myth of Jungian psychoanalysis, because for Jung the hero’s 'grand opus' concerns the relations with the unconscious." Jungian analyst Erel Shalit

"The Hero-myth is the central myth of Jungian psychoanalysis, because for Jung the hero’s 'grand opus' concerns the relations with the unconscious." Jungian analyst Erel Shalit

Psychoanalysis

Psychoanalyst Michael Eigen on Violence

Pythia Peay on December 10, 2015

Eigen has spent over half a century confronting in his patients the boiling lava and fiery agonies of humankind’s darkest side: its evil, madness, and sheer, psychotic craziness.

Eigen has spent over half a century confronting in his patients the boiling lava and fiery agonies of humankind’s darkest side: its evil, madness, and sheer, psychotic craziness.

Alcoholism

Honoring My World War II Veteran Father

Pythia Peay on November 11, 2015

Like many in my Baby Boomer generation, I was late to arrive at an appreciation for my gruff-spoken, close-to-the-chest, Greatest Generation father’s military service. Maybe it was years of dealing with his alcoholic, crazy parenting. But having only the fuzziest idea of what he’d done during the war, I grew up in the belief that Joe Carroll had been no great hero at all.

Like many in my Baby Boomer generation, I was late to arrive at an appreciation for my gruff-spoken, close-to-the-chest, Greatest Generation father’s military service. Maybe it was years of dealing with his alcoholic, crazy parenting. But having only the fuzziest idea of what he’d done during the war, I grew up in the belief that Joe Carroll had been no great hero at all.

Unconscious

Analyzing America's "Gun Complex"

Pythia Peay on October 12, 2015

Psychologists today understand that when individuals act against their own better interests, unconscious processes in the form of a complex are most likely at work. These same unconscious processes can also operate in a nation's psyche: that force field made up of symbols and historical memories accumulated by a people over time.

Psychologists today understand that when individuals act against their own better interests, unconscious processes in the form of a complex are most likely at work. These same unconscious processes can also operate in a nation's psyche: that force field made up of symbols and historical memories accumulated by a people over time.

Career

The Analyst and the Author

Pythia Peay on September 21, 2015

I was well into my second decade of analysis when I hit a wall in my freelance writing career. It was early 2000, and, gathering my courage, I’d submitted a query to George magazine—with its marriage of politics and celebrity, one of the coolest “glossies” on the newsstands at the time—only to have it politely rejected.

I was well into my second decade of analysis when I hit a wall in my freelance writing career. It was early 2000, and, gathering my courage, I’d submitted a query to George magazine—with its marriage of politics and celebrity, one of the coolest “glossies” on the newsstands at the time—only to have it politely rejected.

Trauma

The Traumas of 9/11 and its Effects on the American Psyche

Pythia Peay on September 10, 2015

"[t]he culture of fear that emerged out of 9/11 has to be understood in the context of an apocalyptic experience, as much as the actual event itself. Because it was so intense, so awful, such a surprise and so totalistic, our experience of it was apocalyptic. But we have to distinguish between what the event actually was, and our experience of it." Charles B. Strozier

"[t]he culture of fear that emerged out of 9/11 has to be understood in the context of an apocalyptic experience, as much as the actual event itself. Because it was so intense, so awful, such a surprise and so totalistic, our experience of it was apocalyptic. But we have to distinguish between what the event actually was, and our experience of it." Charles B. Strozier

Cross-Cultural Psychology

The Gun, the Bomb, and the Wound That Will Not Heal

Pythia Peay on August 6, 2015

"I say this again and again—but it happens that we were the ones to make the bomb first, and to use it, and this has had its impact on us. The raw nerve exists because we have a need to fend off any kind of guilt or self-condemnation." Psychohistorian Robert Jay Lifton, M.D.

"I say this again and again—but it happens that we were the ones to make the bomb first, and to use it, and this has had its impact on us. The raw nerve exists because we have a need to fend off any kind of guilt or self-condemnation." Psychohistorian Robert Jay Lifton, M.D.

Memory

Reflections on the Soul of Washington, D.C.

Pythia Peay on July 2, 2015

"In my view, Washington is the spiritual center of the country. I don't mean that in terms of a church or beliefs. I mean that in the very real sense of a religious way of being." Thomas Moore

"In my view, Washington is the spiritual center of the country. I don't mean that in terms of a church or beliefs. I mean that in the very real sense of a religious way of being." Thomas Moore

Career

Which of Us Has Looked Into His Father's Heart?

Pythia Peay on June 19, 2015

A man of his time, Joe Carroll had been shaped by previous eras as much as his era had shaped my own. Like one of those Chinese nesting boxes, his psyche had been formed by the psyches of each of his own parents, who had in turn been shaped by events of their time—and so on back through generations.

A man of his time, Joe Carroll had been shaped by previous eras as much as his era had shaped my own. Like one of those Chinese nesting boxes, his psyche had been formed by the psyches of each of his own parents, who had in turn been shaped by events of their time—and so on back through generations.

Trauma

On the Battlefield of the Psyche

Pythia Peay on May 25, 2015

Decker said, "I once had an interview with the Tibetan Buddhist leader, the Dalai Lama. When I asked him for his advice on how to work with veterans he said . .first, they had to have some kind of spirituality. And secondly, they had to know that it was their job—their duty—to kill people.He also made a distinction between having to kill during war, and committing murder."

Decker said, "I once had an interview with the Tibetan Buddhist leader, the Dalai Lama. When I asked him for his advice on how to work with veterans he said . .first, they had to have some kind of spirituality. And secondly, they had to know that it was their job—their duty—to kill people.He also made a distinction between having to kill during war, and committing murder."

Cross-Cultural Psychology

If the Earth Spoke, Would We Listen?

Pythia Peay on April 21, 2015

It has often seemed to me that the only way humankind will change in time to avert its headlong course toward environmental destruction will be through the emergence of a new myth. Gary S. Bobroff, a Jungian-oriented psychologist, has devoted his life to studying the emergence of just such a history-changing myth: the emergence of . . .the phenomenon of crop circles.

It has often seemed to me that the only way humankind will change in time to avert its headlong course toward environmental destruction will be through the emergence of a new myth. Gary S. Bobroff, a Jungian-oriented psychologist, has devoted his life to studying the emergence of just such a history-changing myth: the emergence of . . .the phenomenon of crop circles.

Spirituality

At the Intersection of Psychology and Spirituality

Pythia Peay on January 17, 2014

In the third installment of my interview with Thomas Moore on his book, "A Religion of One’s Own: A Guide To Creating a Personal Spirituality in a Secular World," we examine the psychological dimension of a spiritual practice. In the absence of culturally sanctioned religious authorities, for instance, how do we handle feelings of guilt? What are we to make of our dreams?

In the third installment of my interview with Thomas Moore on his book, "A Religion of One’s Own: A Guide To Creating a Personal Spirituality in a Secular World," we examine the psychological dimension of a spiritual practice. In the absence of culturally sanctioned religious authorities, for instance, how do we handle feelings of guilt? What are we to make of our dreams?

Religion

Simple Acts of Spiritual Depth: Creating Your Own Religion

Pythia Peay on January 15, 2014

In Part Two of our interview, Thomas Moore says that while he encourages individuals to develop their own personal spirituality outside religious traditions, he is not against religion. Rather, he advocates…finding a “different way of dealing" with religion by studying the world's traditions—then composing those tenets into a faith of one's own.

In Part Two of our interview, Thomas Moore says that while he encourages individuals to develop their own personal spirituality outside religious traditions, he is not against religion. Rather, he advocates…finding a “different way of dealing" with religion by studying the world's traditions—then composing those tenets into a faith of one's own.

Spirituality

The Religion With No Name: An Interview With Thomas Moore

Pythia Peay on January 10, 2014

In his latest book, former monk, bestselling author and psychotherapist Thomas Moore offers a new vision of how seekers can fashion their own unique connection to the sacred out of the materials of ancient faiths and everyday life. The first in a three-part interview.

In his latest book, former monk, bestselling author and psychotherapist Thomas Moore offers a new vision of how seekers can fashion their own unique connection to the sacred out of the materials of ancient faiths and everyday life. The first in a three-part interview.