I wanted to update my page on Psychology Today. So I composed this and asked Gemini to look it over.

Prospective clients, couples or individuals, usually come to therapy with a somewhat defined focus.  Often this focus is articulated in some sort of diagnostic terms that define what’s wrong with my spouse and hence describe a treatment plan of which therapy is seen as the way of remedying the defined problem. This view is a rather truncated view of reality which ignores significant portions of the advances in modern science. In the modern science worldview, we no longer live in an individualistic world with individual problems, and discreet diagnoses. We live in a participative universe where we are all active creators of the reality in which we live, including a couple’s relationship. In this model the context, the here and now and the there and then of how we interact with each other is of primary importance. Because the history and the current manner in which we engage in interactions with each other shapes and forms the relationship in ways that we believe to be important.

If you view my training history, you’ll see that take some thoughts from CBT, mostly from John Gottman and some depth therapy people including attachment researchers, intersubjective systems from Bob Stolorow,  interpersonalist ideas from Harry Stack Sullivan and his followers, relational thinkers Heinz Kohut and Steven Mitchell to name just a few. My role as a therapist is to help both people to move away from their rather truncated view of their relationship to a larger, broader, deeper more interconnected, participative systemic organic model. 

If you’d like me to further explain all of those rather heady concepts, contact me we can set up an initial evaluation session. We can discuss if this model and my style of doing therapy is a good fit for you or not. If it turns out that my model and my way of doing therapy is a good fit for you, I’d be honored to engage in a therapeutic process with you.

Too heady and too much academic jargon, they said. Too far from potential client’s experience. So they suggested a more “experience near” re-write. I used it.

Some backstory.

I graduated in the bottom quarter in my High School class of nearly 1000 students. A’s in Chemistry, C’s, D’s and otherwise in everything else. I felt stupid and thought I was. College was too expensive and besides I was not capable. I was not smart.

After spending 6 years in food service, I joined the Air Force in 1972 and found out slowly that I was capable of collage work. Years later I finished college in the very top of my class. Not bad for dumb kid!. I completed Graduate training, becoming a Psychologist.

But the shame stays with me. I have now gathered 2 Doctoral degrees and numerous certificates. I have made a personal mission of studying philosophy, because smart people understand philosophy. I have accumulated and consumed a veritable library of contemporary psychoanalysis, philosophy, theology, and neuroscience etc. with my computer filled with notes. And plans of proposed but never completed articles and books.

So, here i was again, trying to show how smart I am. Will it ever be enough? This blog is an attempt to finally publish some of those writing fragments. My hope is that writing will force to organize my thoughts.

Maybe my sharing my journey can help some of you along in your journeys.