The Neuropsychology of Dreams

Mark Solms and Neuropsychoanalysis At a first glance, neuroscience and psychoanalysis seem to be an odd pair — just not if you ask Mark Solms, who is a neuroscientist and psychoanalyst. He might argue that the combination of the two, which called Neuropsychoanalysis, can help answer age old questions, such…

What I Read in July 2024

Are you a beginning psychodynamic practitioner looking for books to read? Welcome to your new home on the internet. I’m Alina, a German psychoanalyst in training and I love psychodynamic literature. So let me help you finding your next favourite read. In this podcast episode I reflect on four books…

Melanie Klein: The Paranoid-Schizoid and Depressive Position

Who’s afraid of Melanie Klein? Well, hopefully not you after this episode. We talk about Melanie Klein’s ideas surrounding the life and death instinct, the paranoid-schizoid position, and depressive position. This is the audio version from the YouTube video, which I recommend watching for helpful graphics here: ⁠https://youtu.be/DnT8o1DF0VE⁠ 💌 Melanie…

Defense Mechanisms

A Case For Defense Mechanisms Defense Mechanisms are our inbuilt anxiety management system. Denial, projection, repression, intellectualization, shield us from anxiety and protect our self-esteem.  Imagine your most embarrassing memories were playing in our head 24/7. Imagine you were constantly aware of the fact that everyone you love is going…

Object Relations Theory

How do our early experiences shape our perception, behaviour, and emotions? What is the link between our early relationships and relationships later in life? How does the way our parents treated us impact how we treat ourselves and others later on? These were the questions object relations theorists tried to…

Introduction to Alfred Adler

When Alfred Adler Broke With Sigmund Freud Alfred Adler (1870-1937) was next to Sigmund Freud and Carl Gustav Jung one of the three great psychodynamic thinkers of the last century. He was Sigmund Freud’s prodigy and supposed to be the heir of his psychoanalytic tradition that would then continue and…