Dr. James Husen, Licensed Psychologist, Licensed Attorney, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist

 I've been studying Systems Theory, Attachment, and Psychoanalysis as it relates to Family Conflict and how to ameliorate or help such families. I thought I would leave some of my readings on my Blog for others and myself: 1.      Pocock on Working with Emotional Systems 2.     

  I have been studying human development and writing a little piece thereon lately. In my studies I was reminded of Freud's "Formulations on the Two Principles of Mental Functioning" If desired you can listen to me read the entire paper--it's not long. Just click the link below highlighting Freud's title for his paper: Freud, S. (1911) Formulations on the Two Principles of Mental Functioning. The Standard Edition of the Complete Psychological Works of Sigmund Freud 12:213-226 The essence of the the paper is captured in the following quotes:

In some of my studies this morning I was reminded of the great pediatrician D. W. Winnicott and his observations of children and the capacity to be alone as associated with emotional maturity. I therefore thought I would read that short chapter. The link and reference for the work is as follows: Winnicott, D. W. (1965). The capacity to be alone (pp. 29-35). In M. M. R. Khan (Ed.), The maturational processes and the facilitating environment: Studies in the theory of emotional development. M. M. R. Khan (Ed.). London: Hogarth Press. Original article published in 1958.

 I am studying this morning and came across two articles I think important to understanding coparenting conflicts and the effect the same has on children. The scientific literature has identified problematic coparenting after the breakup / divorce as a "mediator" of child adjustment: 1.  Dallos, R. & Vetere, A. (2012). Systems theory, family attachment and processes of triangulation: Does the concept of triangulation offer a useful bridge? Journal of Family Therapy, 34 , 117-137. 2.  Woodcock, Jeremy (2009). Love and hate and the oedipal myth: The perfect bridge between the systemic and the psychoanalytic. In C. Flaskas & D. Pocock (Eds.), Systems and psychoanalysis : Contemporary integrations in family therapy . (pp. 199-222). Taylor & Francis Group, 2009.   London: Karnac Books.

Here I read Baumeister 1991 book entitled Escape from the Self. I was so impressed with Baumeister's work on the self in his 2022 book entitled The Self Explained that I wanted to read this one which deal with different ways we use to escape from the burden of the self. That burden as described by Baumeister in his more recent book involves his theory that the self evolved to facilitate complex social organization. As such the self is intimately bound to issues of reputation and impression management.  If you're interested in such constructs as I am read with me. Preface 1. Identity: Paradise or Prison? 2. Why Escape the Self?--The Burden of the Self. 3. The Self Against Itself 4. The Process of Escape 5. 

 Beginning about 2008 when I read Dr. Daniel Siegel's book entitled Mindsight, I have enjoyed the mental and stress reduction provided by mindfulness.  Later, in my doctoral studies 2012 to 2014 I was impressed with the concept of intrinsic motivation and what has come to be called Self-Determination Theory. In the Handbook of Mindfulness there is an article which discusses the two and although I have read it before have forgotten what I read. I therefore produce my reading this morning to you and myself to be listened to later. To cite the work use the following: Deci, E. L., Ryan, R. M., Schultz, P. P., & Niemiec, C. P. (2015). Being aware and functioning fully: Mindfulness and interest taking within self-determination theory. In K. W. Brown, J. D. Creswell, & R. M. Ryan (Eds.), Handbook of mindfulness: Theory, research, and practice , (pp. 112-129). New York: The Guilford Press (Kindle Edition). To access the recording of my reading with the text you can listen along wit

 I have been wanting to read Miller & Rollnick's Motivational Interviewing: Preparing People for Change (preparing myself for change) since I was in my Master's Program studying Counseling Psychology at California Baptist University in Riverside. With an upcoming seminar I plan to attend on the topic, I thought it a good time to read the book. It's going to be an effort because as I peruse the book before reading it, I note there are 45+ contributing authors in addition to Miller and Rollnick. The book contains four parts with 25 chapters. That means to finish the book by Friday, May 6, 2022, I'll need to read about two chapters a day. To cite the book use the following APA citation: Miller, W. R., & Rollnick, S. (2002). Motivational interviewing (2nd ed.). New York: Guilford Press.  Part I: Context 1. Why do people change? 2. Ambivalence: The dilemma of change 3. Facilitating change Part II: Practice 4. What is Motivational Interviewing? 5. Change and resistanc