[Emptty]

I'm not sure how it started but I asked T if I could read one of his articles. It was interesting and he said he had another one I might like so I read that... now I'm reading a book and more articles. There's so much information to be absorbed and everything I learn is helping me. I'm recognizing why I do what I do and at the same time I'm really enjoying the reads. A lot of it is about trauma and treating trauma patients, understanding dissociation, transference and contertransference. My favorite was an article about the development of self-states.

I wanted to suggest to anyone who has the time and struggles between session to try reading psychoanalytic articles. It's amazing what can be learned in some of these writings...

Does anyone do this already? I can imagine there are those who do..

[AngelWolf3]

Hmm that is a good idea. My T is part of a lot of stuff, and probably has some articles floating about. I will look into it...thanks!

My T hasn't published that much, as far as I know, but I've read one article by him which was pretty interesting. (That was before my first meeting with him.)

Writings by others, though, yes, definitely. I try not to read up too much on everythibg because I tend to over-intellectualise a bit as a defense mechanism against having to, you know, feel things (ick!)

But yes, getting oneself informed--with actual facts and not, for instance, blog posts based on one individual's opinions--is always a good thing. Good thread, Emptty!

[Sannah]

Yes, info is wonderful and has contributed in a major way to my healing (just understanding).

Sometimes for me it just becomes information. I still need that other person so I can process inside.

Reading has really helped me understand myself and my feelings. I can explore myself freely and without fear. It has also allowed me to understand others.

Sometimes, I mention what I have learned to my doctor and we discuss it.

Everyone is different I think. My T adviced me not to read too much but feel and get in contact with my emotions and try to put them in to my own words instead helping me understand my issues from within not just look them up in a textbook.
She did not see it as a goal in my therapy that I came in and qouted psych articles and used medical terms within our "relationship". And that this was not a psych exam in my case. I don´t think it is very helpfull if one have a tendency to interlectualize in order to avoid emotions to do ones "homework" that way in therapy. I have to admit it was hard to not read about everything that was happening, but it has been the most helpfull way to go so far. For me anyways. But we are all different.

[CantExplain]

I looked for my T's writings but couldn't find anything of interest.
She's a practitioner rather than a theorist.

[autotelica]

I don't like reading too much about psychology stuff--particularly as it relates to my diagnoses. Sometimes I do out of boredom and sometimes I do find good information, but most times I feel like it's unproductive navel-gazing that doesn't really give me insight into myself.

I think I'm also concerned that it may lead to hypochondria. Or some subconscious adoption of symptoms just so that I can "fit in" better with the case studies I come across.

I usually only read psychiatric/neurological literature because this resonates better with me as a scientist than the psychoanalytical stuff.

[Asiablue]

Yes! there has been many things i've read that have given me ' AHA.. so that's why i do/feel A,B,C..." and it's helped me sooo much, because once i understand why something has happened to me, the emotions surrounding it lessen quite a bit, like it normalizes how i'm feeling and it also makes me brave enough to talk to my T about things.

[Perna]

I read young adult fiction novels, about teens or young twenty-somethings that were growing up and becoming themselves, like I was, hopefully, in therapy :-) They would have to struggle and face similar problems to ones I was working on.