Subpersonalities: The People Inside Us, Part 5 I had a sense of my own subpersonalities since I first realized my imaginary friends were imaginary, but it wasn’t till I started to read Jung, long before I thought of being a therapist, that the nature of these non-being beings became clear. Jung introduced me to theContinue reading “Going Deeper with Jung”
Tag Archives: Psychology
Freud and the Fight of the Subpersonalities
Part IV of Subpersonalities: The People Inside Us Freud’s unconscious is a site of dramatic struggle between subpersonalities. The Id, the Super-Ego, and the Ego have been described as a gorilla and a schoolmarm fighting in a dark cellar, refereed by a nervous bank clerk. Deals are struck between the three, resulting in character andContinue reading “Freud and the Fight of the Subpersonalities“
Making Sense of the Voices in Your Head
Part III of Subpersonalities: The People Inside Us Let’s begin to take a look at the many kinds of psychotherapies that address subpersonalities. My guide on the subject has been John Rowan in Subpersonalities: The People Inside Us(1990). But here, I must leave him for a bit to talk about one therapy that has comeContinue reading “Making Sense of the Voices in Your Head”
Where to Find Your Subpersonalities
Part II of Subpersonalities: The People Inside Us Where do we get the idea that there are subpersonalities inside us? We’ve always seemed to have it. Primitive cultures have been fascinated with altered states of consciousness and spirit possession. They are the stock in trade for shamans. Ancient people seem to have conceived of subpersonalitiesContinue reading “Where to Find Your Subpersonalities“
What Do I Do with the People Inside My Head?
Part I of Subpersonalities: The People Inside Us It’s not uncommon to feel that there is more than just you inside your head. There seems to be a board of directors, at best, or a squabbling family, a mutinous crew, or a polarized congress up there, at worse. You may feel that someone sort ofContinue reading “What Do I Do with the People Inside My Head?”
Venting
I lot of people mistake venting for therapy. They think that if they can say what’s on their mind, they’ll feel better and get that problem off their chest. They will, up to a point. If you have something you’re trying to figure out, or something you need to be honest about, then vent away.Continue reading “Venting”
Continuous Revolution
Part 7e of Meeting the Voices in My Head and Searching for an Inner Adult Revolution gives over to tyranny. Having won the right to untuck my shirt from my Simulated Parents, I needed to continue marching against my Simulated Peers or they would be the next oppressors. Usually people exert some independence, but getContinue reading “Continuous Revolution”
The Self Concept
Chapter 7b of Meeting the Voices in My Head and Searching for an Inner Adult The mission of the Rebel is to claim certain feelings, beliefs, and practices as my own, distinct from others. It establishes the boundaries of the Self and assiduously patrols them. It guards my individuality and protects me from losing myContinue reading “The Self Concept”
The Rebel
Chapter 7a of Meeting the Voices in My Head and Searching for an Inner Adult Your head must be reeling with all the inhabitants of my mind I’ve introduced so far. How do you think I feel, with everyone chattering away, wanting me to do what they say? Between the Innermost Child, The Face ofContinue reading “The Rebel”
Are the Inner Voices of My Parents My Inner Adults?
Chapter 4b of Meeting the Voices in My Head and Searching for an Inner Adult Parents hope you will install bots of themselves in your brain for when they can’t be around to stop you from doing things they would disapprove. If your father was the kind that yelled at you when you swiped aContinue reading “Are the Inner Voices of My Parents My Inner Adults?”