READINGS

THEORY AS STORY

READ BY: Ava Pasewicz.

CITATION: Modlin, N., Stubley, J., Maggio, C., & Rucker, J. (2023). On Redescribing the Indescribable: Trauma, Psychoanalysis & Psychedelic Therapy. British Journal of Psychotherapy, 39: 551-572.

ABSTRACT: The psychedelic state can be thought about as an interdependent intrapsychic, somatic, interpersonal & spiritual happening which encourages, perhaps both to the relief & dismay of those participating in the experience, the shocking & impressive emergence of one’s unconscious desires & traumata's; a state which may be experienced as cathartic or healing, and as anxiety-provoking & confusing. Often, in clinical trials investigating psychedelics in mental health conditions, these go hand-in-hand. Amid a renewed, at times hyperbolic, interest in psychedelics as a potential treatment for mental illness, significant gaps of knowledge remain. Additional studies exploring the impact of the extra-pharmacological factors & adjunct therapeutic models on treatment outcomes are needed. Drawing from psychoanalytic perspectives, this paper explores points of intersectionality between psychedelic therapy under investigation & psychoanalysis in the context of traumatic stress. To that end, the psychedelic state will be considered an attempt to make the unconscious conscious by immersing self in a bewildering waking-dream to better tolerate reality; immersing self in a willful state of vulnerability, to develop trust in one’s agency & capacity to trust others; immersing self in an indescribable experience to learn how to redescribe, to self & to others the traumatic past.

REDESCRIBING THE INDESCRIBABLE

CITATION: Shedler, J. (2021). The personality syndromes. In R. Feinstein (Ed.), A Primer on Personality Disorders: Multi-Theoretical Viewpoints. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
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KEY POINTS:

Personality refers to an individual’s characteristic patterns of thought, feeling, behavior, motivation, defense, interpersonal functioning, and ways of experiencing self and others. Clinical knowledge accrued over generations has given rise to a taxonomy of familiar personality syndromes. Personality syndromes exist on a continuum of functioning from healthy to severely disturbed. There is no discontinuity between normal and pathological personality.

Understanding personality syndromes requires an understanding of underlying personality processes such as inner conflicts, defenses, and motives. A diagnostic prototype is provided for each personality syndrome, which describes the syndrome in its “ideal” or pure form. A practical diagnostic method based on pattern recognition is provided, whereby clinicians consider the overall resemblance between patients and diagnostic prototypes.

The personality constructs provide the broad strokes of clinical case formulations. They can explain and contextualize presenting symptoms and disorders. Each personality syndrome is a distinct pathway to depression and requires a different treatment focus.
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Read by: Isabel P.

SoundLab Export

THE PERSONALITY SYNDROMES

Download a PDF of this book at https://dn710208.ca.archive.org/0/items/frankl-viktor-mans-search-for-meaning-1963/FRANKL_Viktor_Man%27s_Search_For_Meaning-1963_text.pdf.

𝗖𝗜𝗧𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡: Frankl, V. (2006). 𝘔𝘢𝘯’𝘴 𝘴𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘩 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨. Beacon Press.

𝗔𝗕𝗦𝗧𝗥𝗔𝗖𝗧: 𝗜𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸, 𝗙𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗸𝗹 𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝗺𝗲𝗺𝗼𝗶𝗿 & #psychology, 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗛𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗰𝗮𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲𝘀 & 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗹𝗼𝗴𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗽𝘆, 𝗵𝗶𝘀 #existential 𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝘁𝗼 #therapy. Frankl argues that humans can endure profound suffering if they find meaning, even in the bleakest circumstances. 𝘍𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘬𝘭 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 #resilience, 𝘱𝘶𝘳𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘦 & 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘤𝘢𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘪𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺 & 𝘷𝘢𝘭𝘶𝘦𝘴.

Man's Search for Meaning (pgs. 65-91)

INTEGRATIVE DBT & PSYCHOTHERAPY