Authors

Aaron Beck

Aaron Beck was an American psychiatrist who is considered the father of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). He developed Cognitive Therapy, which later evolved into CBT, one of the most widely used therapeutic approaches today. Beck also created the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), a tool that has become a standard for measuring the severity of depression. His introduction of cognitive distortions as a key concept in mental health disorders has had a profound impact on psychological treatment.

Albert Ellis

Albert Ellis was an American psychologist and psychotherapist who founded Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT), a precursor to modern cognitive-behavioral therapies (CBT). He emphasized the role of irrational beliefs in emotional distress, advocating for the use of rational thinking to improve mental health. His work laid the groundwork for the cognitive approaches that dominate psychotherapy today.

Alfred Adler: Inferiority Complex

Alfred Adler introduced the concept of the inferiority complex, which refers to a deep feeling of inadequacy and insecurity that arises from perceived physical or psychological deficiencies. This complex often drives individuals to overcompensate by striving for superiority and success.

André Green - Dead Mother Complex

Introduced by psychoanalyst André Green, the Dead Mother Complex describes a psychological state in which an individual, usually a child, experiences emotional abandonment by a primary caregiver, often the mother. The "dead mother" is not physically dead but is emotionally unavailable, leading to profound feelings of loss, emptiness, and a struggle to connect with others later in life.

Bessel van der Kolk (Body Keeps Score)

"It is so much easier for traumatized patients to talk about what has been done to them - to tell a story of victimization and revenge - than to notice, feel, and put into words the reality of their internal experience" — Bessel van der Kolk, The Body Keeps the Score

I'll add it's often fairly easy to tell who has benefited from meaningful psychotherapy and who has not. Those caught in what vdK calls the "story of victimization and revenge" have not. Those able to reflect on their experience in more complex and nuanced ways, in the context of a larger integrated narrative of the arc of their lives, have.

It breaks my heart that we have "therapists" whose approach to trauma reinforces the former instead of helping patients work toward the latter.

Donald Winnicott

Donald Winnicott was a British pediatrician and psychoanalyst whose work has had a profound impact on our understanding of child development and the mother-child relationship. He introduced the concept of the "Good Enough Mother," suggesting that ordinary, non-perfect parenting is essential for healthy child development. Winnicott also developed the ideas of the "True Self" and "False Self," exploring how these aspects of personality form in early childhood.

Edward Bernays - PR

Frank Yeomans

Frank Yeomans is an American psychiatrist and psychoanalyst who is a leading expert on personality disorders, especially borderline personality disorder (BPD). He has played a key role in the development of Transference-Focused Psychotherapy (TFP), a treatment specifically designed for BPD. Yeomans' contributions have significantly advanced the understanding and treatment of personality disorders using psychodynamic approaches.

George Loewenstein's "Hot-Cold Empathy Gap"

Definition to be added

Herbert Rosenfeld

Herbert Rosenfeld was a British psychoanalyst known for his work with patients suffering from severe mental illnesses, particularly schizophrenia. He integrated Kleinian theory into the treatment of psychosis, developing the concept of "destructive narcissism" and exploring its role in psychotic states. Rosenfeld's work has been influential in the psychoanalytic treatment of severe mental disorders.

He focused on how internalized objects (representations of others) contribute to the development of narcissistic defenses, which protect the self from feelings of vulnerability or annihilation.

Herbert Rosenfeld: Thick Skin and Thin Skin Narcissist

Rosenfeld distinguished between thick-skinned narcissists, who appear invulnerable and dismissive of others, and thin-skinned narcissists, who are hypersensitive to criticism and prone to feelings of humiliation. Both forms represent defenses against underlying fragility.

Jaak Panksepp

Definition to be added

Jeffrey Schwartz OCD 4 Steps

Definition to be added

Jennifer Freyd

Jennifer Freyd is an American psychologist known for her pioneering work on memory, trauma, and interpersonal betrayal. She developed the concept of Betrayal Trauma Theory, which explores how trauma involving betrayal by a trusted person affects memory and consciousness. Freyd's research has also highlighted the dynamics of abuse and emphasized the importance of institutional courage in addressing such issues.

Jennifer Skeem Papers on Psychopaths

Definition to be added

John Bowlby

John Bowlby was a British psychologist and psychoanalyst who is best known as the father of Attachment Theory. He argued that early emotional bonds between children and their caregivers are crucial for psychological development. Bowlby's work identified different attachment styles—secure, insecure, and disorganized—and showed how these early experiences shape emotional and relational patterns throughout life.

John Gunderson

John Gunderson was an American psychiatrist widely recognized as a leading expert on Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD). He played a crucial role in defining and refining the diagnosis of BPD and contributed to the development of BPD-specific treatment models, including Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT). His work has been instrumental in shaping contemporary approaches to understanding and treating BPD.

Jonathan Shedler SWAP Methodology

Defines 23 mental health signs: - 23 Psychotherapy Outcomes Defining Mental Health - Guide to SWAP-200 Interpretation

Judith Beck - Socratic Questioning and Psychotherapy, and Cognitive Therapy Judith Beck

Definition to be added

Judy Singer (Neurodiversity)

Definition to be added

Kahneman and Tversky

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Heinz Kohut

Heinz Kohut was an Austrian-American psychoanalyst who founded Self Psychology. Kohut focused on the development of the self and the critical role of empathy in therapeutic relationships. His contributions include the concepts of "Selfobjects" and the exploration of narcissistic needs in personality development.

Kohut Mirroring

Heinz Kohut introduced the concept of mirroring as part of his Self Psychology theory. Mirroring refers to the process by which parents (or others) reflect back a child's feelings, thoughts, and actions, validating their experience and helping to build a healthy sense of self. A lack of adequate mirroring can lead to issues with self-esteem and identity.

Kohut's Tragic Man + Imago

Heinz Kohut, a psychoanalyst, developed the concept of the "tragic man" as part of his self-psychology theory. This concept suggests that individuals are inherently flawed due to their vulnerabilities and inevitable disappointments in life. The "imago" refers to an idealized image of self or others, which often contrasts with reality and can lead to narcissistic injuries.

Kohlberg's Levels of Morality

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Lorna Smith Benjamin

Lorna Smith Benjamin is an American psychologist and psychoanalyst renowned for her contributions to the field of interpersonal psychotherapy, particularly in understanding personality disorders. She is best known for developing the Structural Analysis of Social Behavior (SASB) model, which provides a framework for analyzing interpersonal relationships and understanding personality disorders through the lens of these relationships.

Margaret Mahler

Margaret Mahler was a Hungarian-American psychoanalyst who made significant contributions to the understanding of child development through her Separation-Individuation Theory. This theory explores how children develop a sense of individuality through the process of separating from their primary caregivers. Mahler's research on the mother-child dyad has been pivotal in understanding the emergence of the self.

Marsha Linehan DBT

Definition to be added

Martin E. P. Seligman

Learned helplessness

Melanie Klein

Melanie Klein was an Austrian-British psychoanalyst who was one of the pioneers of child analysis and the development of Object Relations Theory. Her work focused on how early relationships, particularly those in infancy, shape the psyche. Klein introduced the concepts of the "paranoid-schizoid" and "depressive positions" in child development, which have become foundational in psychoanalytic theory.

Nancy McWilliams

Nancy McWilliams is an American psychologist and psychoanalyst recognized for her work in psychodynamic therapy and personality assessment. She has authored influential texts on psychoanalytic diagnosis and psychotherapy, advocating for a deep understanding of personality organization in clinical practice. Her work emphasizes the complexity of human psychology and the importance of a nuanced approach to treatment.

Otto Kernberg

Otto Kernberg is an Austrian-American psychoanalyst who is particularly noted for his work on personality disorders, especially borderline and narcissistic disorders. He developed Object Relations Theory, which has been crucial in understanding the internal world of individuals with severe personality disorders. Kernberg's work on the diagnosis and treatment of these disorders has had a lasting impact on psychoanalytic theory and practice.

Ronald David Laing

Ronald David Laing, commonly known as R.D. Laing, was a Scottish psychiatrist famous for his unconventional views on the nature of psychosis. He challenged traditional psychiatric approaches to schizophrenia, arguing that psychosis could be understood as a response to difficult social and existential circumstances. His seminal work, "The Divided Self," explores the existential and social dimensions of psychosis, positioning him as a significant figure in the anti-psychiatry movement.

Theodore Millon, Personality Disorders and Narcissism Traits

NPD is a disorder because it's dysfunctional as there are negative outcomes to the person with NPD. Disorder can't work in teams etc but traits they can.

Theodore Reich

Definition to be added

William Glaser Psychiatrist

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