BiteSize Therapy
@bitesizetherapy.bsky.social
Psychologist. Personal thoughts, not professional advice. An account for therapists.
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Defenses, even when they have painful consequences, are comfortable in the sense that they lower anxiety. Forgoing the defenses raises anxiety, so there is discomfort inherent in therapeutic progress.
- Nat Kuhn
- Nat Kuhn
November 11, 2025 at 5:55 PM
Defenses, even when they have painful consequences, are comfortable in the sense that they lower anxiety. Forgoing the defenses raises anxiety, so there is discomfort inherent in therapeutic progress.
- Nat Kuhn
- Nat Kuhn
The supply of interpretations far exceeds the demand.
- Harry Stack Sullivan
- Harry Stack Sullivan
November 8, 2025 at 4:49 PM
The supply of interpretations far exceeds the demand.
- Harry Stack Sullivan
- Harry Stack Sullivan
It is much easier to talk about psychotherapy than it is to do it.
www.psychiatrymargins.com/p/from-here-...
www.psychiatrymargins.com/p/from-here-...
November 7, 2025 at 8:50 PM
It is much easier to talk about psychotherapy than it is to do it.
www.psychiatrymargins.com/p/from-here-...
www.psychiatrymargins.com/p/from-here-...
Salman Akhtar’s definition of humility:
November 7, 2025 at 4:08 PM
Salman Akhtar’s definition of humility:
In the collegial sphere, the majority of eye-rolling events can be traced back to the nearest better-knower. This is the person who travels with a portable lectern so that they can speechify on-the-go.
www.psychiatrymargins.com/p/from-here-...
www.psychiatrymargins.com/p/from-here-...
November 6, 2025 at 8:12 PM
In the collegial sphere, the majority of eye-rolling events can be traced back to the nearest better-knower. This is the person who travels with a portable lectern so that they can speechify on-the-go.
www.psychiatrymargins.com/p/from-here-...
www.psychiatrymargins.com/p/from-here-...
Humility is often mentioned as 𝘢𝘯 important quality in a therapist, but given its impact on the other virtues, it might be 𝘵𝘩𝘦 most important quality in a therapist.
From Here to Humility
Guest post by @bitesizetherapy.bsky.social on the foundational importance of humility in psychotherapy
At every stage, a clinician must be willing to acknowledge that they do not have all the answers
www.psychiatrymargins.com/p/from-here-...
Guest post by @bitesizetherapy.bsky.social on the foundational importance of humility in psychotherapy
At every stage, a clinician must be willing to acknowledge that they do not have all the answers
www.psychiatrymargins.com/p/from-here-...
From Here to Humility
At every stage, a clinician must be willing to acknowledge that they do not have all the answers
www.psychiatrymargins.com
November 6, 2025 at 5:46 AM
Humility is often mentioned as 𝘢𝘯 important quality in a therapist, but given its impact on the other virtues, it might be 𝘵𝘩𝘦 most important quality in a therapist.
Reposted by BiteSize Therapy
![“… the work of therapy is so difficult, and its strains on our normal self-esteem and exhibitionism so great, that [therapists] need narcissistic stabilization more than other people do and therefore seek out-of-the-office opportunities to be bigshots (McWilliams & Lependorf, 1990, p. 438).”](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:o3vabq2mcbzg54o364id2pf4/bafkreigylcnr6pu5jr4xue2t4uxahmoruf3rgnf6kwz4y2vjur4xdwvcum@jpeg)
There is a difference between sharing knowledge and being a know-it-all; the first is a bid for connection, the second is a barrier to it.
From Here to Humility
Guest post by @bitesizetherapy.bsky.social on the foundational importance of humility in psychotherapy
At every stage, a clinician must be willing to acknowledge that they do not have all the answers
www.psychiatrymargins.com/p/from-here-...
Guest post by @bitesizetherapy.bsky.social on the foundational importance of humility in psychotherapy
At every stage, a clinician must be willing to acknowledge that they do not have all the answers
www.psychiatrymargins.com/p/from-here-...
From Here to Humility
At every stage, a clinician must be willing to acknowledge that they do not have all the answers
www.psychiatrymargins.com
November 5, 2025 at 3:33 PM
There is a difference between sharing knowledge and being a know-it-all; the first is a bid for connection, the second is a barrier to it.
Psychotherapy is an ongoing education in humility.
-Nancy McWilliams
-Nancy McWilliams
November 5, 2025 at 4:09 AM
Psychotherapy is an ongoing education in humility.
-Nancy McWilliams
-Nancy McWilliams
I knew I had been reading too much psychoanalytic literature when I said the clocks regressed by one hour.
November 2, 2025 at 9:38 PM
I knew I had been reading too much psychoanalytic literature when I said the clocks regressed by one hour.
Truly humble people, I suspect, never describe themselves as such; rather, they worry about their own pride, arrogance, and hubris.
- Donna Orange
- Donna Orange
November 1, 2025 at 8:58 PM
Truly humble people, I suspect, never describe themselves as such; rather, they worry about their own pride, arrogance, and hubris.
- Donna Orange
- Donna Orange
I was super excited to get a “Firefighters 2026 Calendar” but it turned out to be an IFS thing.
October 31, 2025 at 3:47 PM
I was super excited to get a “Firefighters 2026 Calendar” but it turned out to be an IFS thing.
The seven primary emotional systems:
SEEKING, RAGE, FEAR, LUST, CARE, GRIEF, PLAY
- Jaak Panksepp
SEEKING, RAGE, FEAR, LUST, CARE, GRIEF, PLAY
- Jaak Panksepp
October 30, 2025 at 8:30 PM
The seven primary emotional systems:
SEEKING, RAGE, FEAR, LUST, CARE, GRIEF, PLAY
- Jaak Panksepp
SEEKING, RAGE, FEAR, LUST, CARE, GRIEF, PLAY
- Jaak Panksepp
If only this were a cardigan, he could be “Therapist Batman”
October 30, 2025 at 4:45 PM
If only this were a cardigan, he could be “Therapist Batman”
This conversation captures what psychoanalytic thought has to offer, which is an understanding beyond the seemingly rational.
youtu.be/a4b6XBVG034
youtu.be/a4b6XBVG034
why are we so afraid of talking about suicide? ft. dr. kristian kemtrup
YouTube video by wtf is life
youtu.be
October 28, 2025 at 3:15 PM
This conversation captures what psychoanalytic thought has to offer, which is an understanding beyond the seemingly rational.
youtu.be/a4b6XBVG034
youtu.be/a4b6XBVG034
Psychoanalysis is the disciplined study of whatever it is the patient does not want to know about himself.
- Warren Poland
- Warren Poland
October 27, 2025 at 2:50 PM
Psychoanalysis is the disciplined study of whatever it is the patient does not want to know about himself.
- Warren Poland
- Warren Poland
🧵
1/2
The envious person, instead of being aware of his envy, tries, usually unconsciously, to stir it up in other people, making others aware of his particular qualities and capacities…Of course, it creates further problems…
1/2
The envious person, instead of being aware of his envy, tries, usually unconsciously, to stir it up in other people, making others aware of his particular qualities and capacities…Of course, it creates further problems…
October 26, 2025 at 3:18 PM
🧵
1/2
The envious person, instead of being aware of his envy, tries, usually unconsciously, to stir it up in other people, making others aware of his particular qualities and capacities…Of course, it creates further problems…
1/2
The envious person, instead of being aware of his envy, tries, usually unconsciously, to stir it up in other people, making others aware of his particular qualities and capacities…Of course, it creates further problems…
How people think psychotherapists look vs. how they actually look
October 23, 2025 at 4:18 PM
How people think psychotherapists look vs. how they actually look
The crucial element for becoming competent at any complicated endeavor is to experience feedback as desirable - feedback from supervisors, clients, colleagues, students, from reality. A pitch you cannot hit is itself a master teacher, not a humiliation.
- Michael Karson
- Michael Karson
October 23, 2025 at 2:44 PM
The crucial element for becoming competent at any complicated endeavor is to experience feedback as desirable - feedback from supervisors, clients, colleagues, students, from reality. A pitch you cannot hit is itself a master teacher, not a humiliation.
- Michael Karson
- Michael Karson
Accessible writing opens the door. It extends the reach of psychoanalytic theory to non-analytic clinicians. From there, people can seek out what fits with their interests and taste.
Now kick back and relax with a copy of Bion’s “The Grid and Caesura”
Now kick back and relax with a copy of Bion’s “The Grid and Caesura”
October 21, 2025 at 4:10 PM
Accessible writing opens the door. It extends the reach of psychoanalytic theory to non-analytic clinicians. From there, people can seek out what fits with their interests and taste.
Now kick back and relax with a copy of Bion’s “The Grid and Caesura”
Now kick back and relax with a copy of Bion’s “The Grid and Caesura”
There is always in our work a dimension that is beyond words…In all of us there are some things which will never be within our reach; there is always a mystery at the heart of every person, and therefore in our job as analysts.
- Nina Coltart
- Nina Coltart
October 21, 2025 at 2:04 AM
There is always in our work a dimension that is beyond words…In all of us there are some things which will never be within our reach; there is always a mystery at the heart of every person, and therefore in our job as analysts.
- Nina Coltart
- Nina Coltart
“We tend to underestimate the power of the unspoken affect organizing our viewpoint…Our dreams reveal to us our demands and terrors, as do our sudden rages, longings, reveries, bursts of laughter, or quietly unsettling angst; a key analytic idea starting with Freud.”
- Darren Haber
- Darren Haber
Having a Word — Tap Magazine
Bewitchment and confusion in analytic dialogue
tapmagazine.org
October 19, 2025 at 10:14 PM
“We tend to underestimate the power of the unspoken affect organizing our viewpoint…Our dreams reveal to us our demands and terrors, as do our sudden rages, longings, reveries, bursts of laughter, or quietly unsettling angst; a key analytic idea starting with Freud.”
- Darren Haber
- Darren Haber
Man can no more survive psychologically in a psychological milieu that does not respond empathically to him, than he can survive physically in an atmosphere that contains no oxygen.
- Heinz Kohut
- Heinz Kohut
October 18, 2025 at 7:34 PM
Man can no more survive psychologically in a psychological milieu that does not respond empathically to him, than he can survive physically in an atmosphere that contains no oxygen.
- Heinz Kohut
- Heinz Kohut