This masterful new book presents for the first time an approach to psychotherapy based on Shapiro's classic Neurotic Styles. A series of eloquent chapters, illustrated with clinical vignettes, bring to bear his brilliant ideas about character development on the actual conduct of psychotherapy. "This long awaited volume richly fulfills its promise. Few writers on the psychotherapy scene have as interesting, or as important, things to say. This beautifully written book is fresh, insightful, and wise".--Paul Wachtel, Ph.D. Index.
In this pathbreaking work, the authors detail different organizational neuroses and show how these neuroses affect planning, decision making, and organizational cultures. Complete with numerous case histories, the authors uncover the underlying causes behind problematic organizationl behavior--and the often unconventional measures needed to restore the neurotic organization to health.
Admissions rates of 6 percent? Kids applying to thirty-two colleges? Sixteen-year-olds with more impressive resumes than Fortune 500 CEOs? Has the nation lost its mind? Why yes, it has! J.D. Rothman, the Neurotic Parent of blog fame, takes readers on a hilarious satiric journey through today’s insane college admissions process. The vividly illustrated book takes you from the Itsy-Bitsy Fiske Guide and Junior Kumon Tips for Preschoolers through Rejection Letters from the Heart and Bed Bath & Bye-Bye.
Has self-improvement really improved the self? More than ever people are on a quest for self-improvement and enlightenment. People are "watching" their egos or losing their egos in order to find peace of mind or to get along better with others. And yet, the more we try to lose our ego, the more of it there is to lose. The more we try to make peace, the more we find conflict. It is exactly what happens when we try not to think of the number 3 and that is all we can think about. Our efforts seem to have the opposite effect and this is due to the way the left side of the brain processes information. Neuroscience discovered that the left brain makes up elaborate stories and convincing explanations. It is the left brain that makes up the most elaborate and convincing story of all, the story of who you think you are. And the more we try to get out of this story, the deeper we find ourselves in it because it is the function of the left brain to work on the law of opposition. Try not to be anxious and that's exactly what happens. Try not to worry and you will be flooded with anxious thoughts. And the same is true for self-improvement. The more we try to improve our story, the more the story needs to be improved. The left brain excels at these games even when it plays by pretending not to play. If I said that all attempts at self-improvement are futile, how would you respond? Would you reflexively think I'm wrong? Is there any way not to play these games of the left brain? Which part of your brain do you think is asking this question? This book was written for the ordinary person who has an extraordinary curiosity for who they are, how thoughts work and why they cannot control their thoughts. It is a practical guide that uses examples from my kids, favorite movies and TV shows from the 80s and 90s along with simple exercises so you can see for yourself if any of this is on track. While no special knowledge of neuroscience is required, you may understand many of the examples if you've seen an episode or two of Star Trek or Seinfeld. While this work is based on the teachings of Alan Watts and Eckhart Tolle it integrates the findings of modern neuroscience which surprisingly reveals a similar message. It is the desire for enlightenment that is the biggest block to happiness and peace, in fact, it is the only block. It is not until one gives up the quest to find oneself, improve oneself or be more spiritual, that one can ever find the peace they are looking for. And it is not your ego that gives up this quest, it is you. For more info please see my blog at http://worriedbuddha.com/
This new book by David Shapiro, author of the classic Neurotic Styles, throws light, from a clinical standpoint, on a subject of importance, both theoretically and for therapeutic practice, for psychoanalysts and psychotherapists, as well as for those with general interests in philosophy or psychology. A Psychodynamic View of Action and Responsibility explores the individual’s experience of ownership or responsibility for what he or she does, says, and even believes, and their avoidance of that experience. David Shapiro considers the self-deception necessary for these disclaimers of responsibility and the surrender of personal conviction and autonomous judgment. With numerous excerpts from therapeutic sessions, he shows these to be self-protective reactions forestalling or dispelling the anxiety of internal conflict and also, as in false confessions, external threat or intimidation. Shapiro presents this important thesis in his usual lucid way and in many contexts. Its recognition, in his view, is critical for therapeutic work. This book demonstrates the central place in psychological dynamics of the subjective sense of personal responsibility or ownership of what one says or does. The subject is nowhere treated with the depth and emphasis on subjective experience seen in these chapters. A Psychodynamic View of Action and Responsibility will appeal to professionals and students of psychoanalysis and psychodynamic psychotherapy, as well as clinical psychologists, CBT practitioners, philosophers, and legal scholars.
Beginning with a discussion of the problem of autonomy in dynamic psychiatry and a review of its development from infancy to adolescence, the author of Neurotic Styles explores, with numerous clinical examples, the distortion of the development of autonomy in obsessive-compulsive conditions, in sadism and masochism, and, finally, in paranoia.
Like Emily Dickinson, master illustrator John Cuneo has spent years generating a huge oeuvre of work that has never been published anywhere. Unlike Ms. Dickinson, however, Cuneo's consists of stacks and stacks of weird, perverse, erotic, hilarious, and disgusting images delineated in his sketchbooks. But make no mistake, these full-color sketchbook drawings are as lushly finished as his prize-winning illustration work for such magazines as Esquire (where he illustrates the sex column), Rolling Stone, Mother Jones, Entertainment Weekly, and TheAtlantic...nEuROTIC is a sharply designed little full-color hardcover that collects the very best of Cuneo's humorous erotica. p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.9px Arial; color: #424242}
The Netherlands has been one of the world's most distinctive and sophisticated football cultures. From the birth of Total Football in the sixties, through two decades of World Cup near misses to the exiles who remade clubs like AC Milan, Barcelona, Arsenal and Chelsea in their own image, the Dutch have often been dazzlingly original and influential. The elements of their style (exquisite skills, adventurous attacking tactics, a unique blend of individual creativity and teamwork, weird patterns of self-destruction) reflect and embody the country's culture and history. This book lays bare the elegant, fractured soul of the Dutch Masters and the culture that spawned them by exploring and analysing its key ideas, institutions, personalities and history in the context of wider Dutch society.
**A New York Times Editor's Choice selection!** This outrageous and hilarious memoir follows a film and television director’s life, from his idiosyncratic upbringing to his unexpected career as the director behind such huge film franchises as The Addams Family and Men in Black. Barry Sonnenfeld's philosophy is, "Regret the Past. Fear the Present. Dread the Future." Told in his unmistakable voice, Barry Sonnenfeld, Call Your Mother is a laugh-out-loud memoir about coming of age. Constantly threatened with suicide by his over-protective mother, disillusioned by the father he worshiped, and abused by a demonic relative, Sonnenfeld somehow went on to become one of Hollywood's most successful producers and directors. Written with poignant insight and real-life irony, the book follows Sonnenfeld from childhood as a French horn player through graduate film school at NYU, where he developed his talent for cinematography. His first job after graduating was shooting nine feature length pornos in nine days. From that humble entrée, he went on to form a friendship with the Coen Brothers, launching his career shooting their first three films. Though Sonnenfeld had no ambition to direct, Scott Rudin convinced him to be the director of The Addams Family. It was a successful career move. He went on to direct many more films and television shows. Will Smith once joked that he wanted to take Sonnenfeld to Philadelphia public schools and say, "If this guy could end up as a successful film director on big budget films, anyone can." This book is a fascinating and hilarious roadmap for anyone who thinks they can't succeed in life because of a rough beginning.
"Hand-Washers Unite, Online" - Rolling Stone "Does it make me neurotic that I find this site immensely soothing to read? Soothing " - Scott Lamb, Buzzfeed You can′t get through the day without checking to see if your front door is locked three times. You take exactly two tablespoons of cream in your coffee which must be swirling while you pour or else it just doesn′t take right. The worst part is that you have to do all your neurotic habits discretely because you don′t want people to know. You′re not alone though. iamneurotic.com is a collection of anonymously submitted neuroses revealing the habits that we take care to hide from others. While sitting in the bathroom stall waiting for everyone to leave, Lianna Kong realized her own neurosis: she can′t use the bathroom when other people are around. I am neurotic was born. What started as a blog where Lianna and her friends could share and joke about their own neuroses turned into a form of confessional therapy for others. People eager to unburden themselves of their hidden habits began to anonymously confess their neuroses and in turn learned they were not the only ones to sniff their floss or avoid the cracks in the sidewalk. I am neurotic congregates the best neuroses from the website and unseen submissions accompanied by photographs. The result is a book that will demonstrate how neurotic behavior is highly amusing, shocking at times, and ultimately a great human equalizer.
