Search Results for: Robert%20Firestone

Psychological Defenses in Everyday Life

by Robert W. Firestone, Ph.D. Joyce Catlett, M.A. Psychological Defenses in Everyday Life is a rich resource that broadens personal understanding by examining the origins of childhood pain, subsequent defense formation, and the pervasiveness and destructiveness of resulting maladaptive, addictive behaviors in adults. The authors point a way toward reversing the damaging process that keeps individuals from experiencing genuine satisfaction. The cl…

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Creating a Life of Meaning and Compassion: The Wisdom of Psychotherapy

by Robert W. Firestone, Ph.D. Lisa A. Firestone, Ph.D. Joyce Catlett, M.A. Creating a Life of Meaning and Compassion offers a compilation of therapeutic insights that are valuable in achieving a better way of living. It describes a unique experience in applied psychology whereby a group of individuals challenged a wide range of defensive behaviors and transformed their lives. The authors indicate how these insights can be applied by therapists in…

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The Ethics of Interpersonal Relationships

by Robert W. Firestone, Ph.D. Joyce Catlett, M.A. Forward by Jon Carson PsyD, Ed, ABPP. This work is an attempt to explain the source of destructive behavior and how it manifests itself in personal relationships between couples, families and in the social arena. It presents a position that offers a hope of altering the destiny of humankind’s unethical behavior. From the Authors’ Introduction ‘Our inspiration for writing this book springs from a d…

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Beyond Death Anxiety: Achieving Life-Affirming Death Awareness

by Robert W. Firestone, Ph.D. Joyce Catlett, M.A. Beyond Death Anxiety: Achieving Life-Affirming Death Awareness assists mental health practitioners in helping their clients learn to accept and face their mortality. They describe the many defenses of death anxiety, and suggest methods to cope directly with fears of death; an approach that, ironically, can lead to a greater appreciation of life. This book examines the many destructive consequences…

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Sex and Love in Intimate Relationships

by Robert W. Firestone, Ph.D. Lisa A. Firestone, Ph.D. Joyce Catlett, M.A. Sex and Love in Intimate Relationships proposes that sexual problems are largely related to defenses acquired through painful childhood experiences, and that individuals can be helped to overcome these challenges and become physically and emotionally closer to their partners. Sexuality can be one of the most fulfilling pleasures in life. Yet it is an aspect of relationship…

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What Drew Me to Meditation

…I asked them to please teach me how to meditate so I sat with the husband, Robert, and he gave me meditation instruction and what I discovered that day was that I could not sit still for five minutes. That I was actually coming out of my skin and it was awful. It was scary and when we finished the five minutes, I said, “That was terrible. I could not even be still for a second and my mind was racing.” And he said well that’s what you discover in m…

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Withholding: A Personal Story

…f my family and friends, understanding the brilliant and necessary work of Robert Firestone and most recently, delving into Earnest Becker’s book The Denial of Death, I have come to fully appreciate, and have more compassion for, the horrific truth we as humans face. From the moment we are brought into this world, we instinctively do what we have to in order to survive physically and emotionally. Like the fences we build around our homes and our c…

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relationship fix

How to Fix a Relationship

…tart to engage in a “Fantasy Bond.” A fantasy bond is a term coined by Dr. Robert Firestone describing a state two people enter, in which they relate as a single unit. In this state, the couple stops seeing each other as autonomous individuals. They stop showing respect and love for each other and, instead, relate out of form. When in a fantasy bond, a couple will often start to project onto each other and relate to each other based on projections…

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CE Webinar: The Self Under Siege

…e approach to increasing differentiation, a four-step process developed by Robert Firestone, Ph.D. that involves: 1. Breaking with internalized thought processes, that is, the critical, hostile attitudes toward self and others. 2. Altering the negative personality traits in oneself that represent an incorporation of the aversive traits of one’s parents. 3. Identifying and relinquishing patterns of defense formed as an adaptation to painful events…

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7 Steps to Living the Life You Imagined

…hey impact our careers, relationships and our goals in life. My father Dr. Robert Firestone describes this process of differentiation, as a four-step method for freeing yourself from past prescriptions and becoming who you really are. On June 4, I will host a free Webinar “Becoming the Real You” to further explore this complex subject. I will discuss the steps of differentiation and describe key principles to keep in mind when embarking on this ch…

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