Author Archives: Anna Blundy
Why are psychologists so interested in your mother?
A psychoanalyst once summed up glibly the two approaches: Freudian—your mum was mean to you. Kleinian—you think your mum was mean to you
If you're not attracted to your therapist, let's face it: you will be
It was my own urge to sexualise all my relationships that made me so defensive about my feelings for my analyst
Does online therapy work? It's a lot better than nothing
There are challenges to long-distance therapy. But it also allows sessions to take place from anywhere
My patient didn't think he was cured—he just wanted to dump me before I could dump him
I worry I didn’t describe the process well enough to him at the beginning, but it’s almost impossible to describe what relative wellness feels like before it has happened
What kind of madness is forgivable? The psychology of murder
There are people in prison who should be in hospital
Freud isn’t sexist—in fact, psychoanalysis is feminist
The discipline runs into trouble with Freud on feminine sexuality, but personally, I sense a truth in his thinking
The idea that all therapists are content is stubborn—but wrong
Crucially, that doesn't stop them being able to do their jobs well
Life of the mind: A perfect lie
"Sitting there looking at this crushed girl, I really started to hate this guy."
Life of the mind: The constant life companion
Some patients, I know, imagine indifference in a therapist just doing the job. The opposite is true"
View from Italy: The People’s Republic of Prato
Tuscany's Chinatown is shrugging off the slump, but integration remains a challenge
Life of the mind: The itch to diagnose Trump
"Diagnosis is comforting, mainly for the diagnoser"
Life of the mind: The talking cure
"When we have words to describe our emotional state, things immediately feel more manageable"