Author: Michael Kinsey, Ph.D.

psychodynamic definition

Everything you need to know about psychodynamic psychology

Published by Michael Kinsey, Ph.D.

Psychodynamic meaning / Psychodynamic definition The American Psychological Association Defines psychodynamic theory as: “a constellation of theories of human functioning that are based on the interplay of drives and other forces within the person, especially (and originating in) the psychoanalytic theories developed by Sigmund Freud and his colleagues and successors, such as Anna Freud, Carl Jung, and Melanie Klein. Later psychodynamic theories, while retaining concepts of the interworking of drives and motives to some degree, emphasize the process of change and incorporate interpersonal and transactional perspectives of personality development.” APA Dictionary Characteristics of Psychodynamic theory There is an unconscious As much as we want to be self-governing, rational beings, we mostly are not.  Starting from this assumption allows for a coherent understanding of why people act either irrationally and/or in ways that hurt us more than help us.   Most of the time we don’t have good reasons why we act the way we do.  The unconscious mind helps to explain this.  Consciousness has influence over things.  In fact, the subjective experience of consciousness does an …

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parents borderline personality disorder

Are the parents of individuals suffering from BPD aware of the role they had to play in the development of this disorder?

Published by Michael Kinsey, Ph.D.

The most widely held theory of etiology for BPD is that sufferers of borderline personality disorder have both a temperamental predisposition (genetic emotional sensitivity and receptivity to one’s emotional environment) AND an emotionally invalidating environment during sensitive developmental periods. I would add that the larger context for both of these etiological factors is an intergenerational history of trauma.  Explaining this is beyond the scope of this question, but an important point to hold in mind. This context is necessary to answer the question, since we have to consider how likely parents are to really empathize with the pain of their children. And, the short answer is that parents are not likely to fully comprehend how they have contributed to their child’s BPD.  The reasons for this are as follows: Parents don’t tend to be aware of their contributions to the disorder without significant soul-searching because they are the source of the emotionally-invalidating environment.   “Awareness” as used in the original question, in my reading, implies more than just intellectual understanding.  Parents can cognitively “understand” that they …

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Schizoid Personality Disorder

How does the modern world promote schizoid personality disorder?

Published by Michael Kinsey, Ph.D.

Schizoid Personality Disorder is a pervasive pattern of asociality, and is what many people refer to when they colloquially describe someone as “antisocial” (in the sense of lacking interest in socializing with others). Before getting into factors in modern society that promote the schizoid personality type, here are a few things to understand about schizoid PD: Schizoid PD has been grouped with other “Cluster A” personality disorders.  Cluster A personality disorders are marked by “odd or eccentric behavior.” Other Cluster A disorders include Paranoid Personality Disorder & Schizotypal Personality Disorder Schizoid PD is theorized to be on the Schizophrenia spectrum, meaning that the genotype and phenotype of schizoid PD are “cousins” of schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders. Recent estimates suggest that 1% of the population meets criteria for schizoid personality disorder Identical twin studies show that there is a 30% concordance rate of schizoid PD between twins While there may be a significant genetic component of schizoid pd, many have speculated that aspects of modern life may be responsible for a growing number of cases …

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antisocial personality disorder

Are psychopaths aware of their condition? Do they care?

Published by Michael Kinsey, Ph.D.

Why are we so interested in psychpaths? Cold-blooded psychopaths and criminals are fascinating (and terrifying!) creatures. They fascinate us so much because they seem to express normal animalistic feelings, like rage, without much fear of social consequences, shame, or rejection.So what is the subjective world of the psychopath really like? Admittedly, it seems quite foreign to me, but let me take a stab (figuratively speaking–no one was harmed in the writing of this post) at an explanation. Psychopathy and antisocial Personality disorders are personality pathology Psychopathy and antisocial traits are fundamentally deficiencies in personality (i.e., they are personality disorders). A defining feature of personality disorders are that the “symptoms” are baked into someone’s day-to-day experience, and are therefore invisible–like water to a fish. The psychology jargon for this is that the traits are “egosyntonic”. In treating personality disorders, the first step is to build a discrepancy between the patient’s sense of social reality and a more widely-held feeling of social experience. Personality disorders bloom in families that are both extreme, harsh, and/or abnormal in their …

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feelings as facts in bpd

“My truth”: Why Sufferers of Borderline Personality Disorder Treat Feelings as Facts

Published by Michael Kinsey, Ph.D.

People with a Borderline Personality Disorder diagnosis can often seem to overvalue their own thoughts and feelings.  In the cognitive behavioral therapy tradition, this phenomenon gets labeled as “emotional reasoning.”  The logic of emotional reasoning goes like this:  what I feel or think with conviction MUST be true because I feel so strongly that it’s true. The problem, of course, is many things feel true that aren’t.  For example, the earth feels flat, but isn’t.  A watched pot may feel like it takes forever to boil, but it always does given the burner works and is turned on. Here’s where it gets complicated.  People with BPD treat their thoughts and feelings as facts because: Caregivers historically have not taken their thoughts and feelings seriously at all (i.e., invalidating emotional environment) The invalidating emotional environment makes sufferers of BPD self-invalidate; this means, they don’t take themselves seriously! Why would someone who doesn’t really believe that their internal world matters treat their thoughts and feelings as factual?  The answer is quite simple: it’s too painful to relive …

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npd vs bpd

It’s not easy being green: Is envy in BPD the same shade as envy in NPD?

Published by Michael Kinsey, Ph.D.

Many have observed that borderline personality disorder and narcissistic personality disorder both share a common denominator of envy. Envy, since it’s a feeling of being or having less than someone else, is what points clinicians to the core feelings of emptiness at the heart of both disorders. But since the DSM-5 classifies these cluster B disorders as separate entities, does it naturally follow that envy presents differently in BPD vs NPD? Before addressing this question, I’ll start with several caveats: Envy is a natural emotion that everyone not only experiences, but also expresses in more than one way (Narcissism is also a trait that all possess and can express in numerous ways) BPD and NPD have many different expressions.  If you look at the criteria for BPD and NPD, then calculate all of the different ways someone can meet criteria for the disorder, you’ll find that there can be tremendous diversity in symptom clusters within the same diagnostic category Personality disorders are notorious for bleeding into one another.  Most people who meet criteria for one …

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Perception of online dating

Have an Unhealthy Relationship with Online Dating?

Published by Michael Kinsey, Ph.D.

What is a series about online dating doing on a psychology blog? The quality of a person’s relationships is synonymous with mental health.  And, if you’re single you’re in a relationship with dating.   You may be dating a lot, a little, or avoiding it entirely.  No matter which best describes you, you’re in a relationship with dating–and most likely online dating is a major part of this relationship. As a practicing clinical psychologist in New York City, adventures in online dating are a part of the conversation with literally every single one of the unattached patients I treat.   Some people do have success with online dating.  However, one thing I have never heard a patient say is: “I love online dating.  It’s so much fun.” I don’t claim my sample is representative, but my patients’ view is consistent with commentary I’ve received from friends and colleagues. The refrains are consistent.   “It’s annoying.”  “Lots of shady people.”  “It’s a major time suck.”   “People look nothing like their pictures.”  “She ghosted me.” And so on… With all …

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GameStop Short Squeeze

How Reddit’s Wallstreetbets Used GameStop to Attack Hedge Fund Narcissism

Published by Michael Kinsey, Ph.D.

What’s going on with the GameStop situation? What is the internet good for if not a tightly-knit network of folks doing a deep-dive into an obscure problem?  The fervent group of Redditors known as Wallstreetbets (WSB) are finance mavens who claim they’ve found a way to make themselves rich while taking down a cadre of slick, high-powered, hucksters on wall street. Many of these self-identified “diamond-handed” “apes” have already made millions buying GameStop (GME), a Texas-based company that political pundit Ben Shapiro calls “a swap meet meets blockbuster.” Many of these newly-minted millionaires are willing to lose millions to stay in the game. The talking heads ridicule the bros from Wallstreetbets because they’ve chosen to support a company that lost its competitive edge as online retail and digital media have proliferated.  If the historically brick-and-mortar company was not obsolete before the COVID-19 pandemic, its physical locations must be doomed as the world resigns itself to buying online. And yet, over the last few weeks, major hedge funds like Citadel and Melvin have allegedly lost billions …

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passive-aggressive behavior definition

What is the Definition of Passive-Aggressive? 13 Experts Weigh In

Published by Michael Kinsey, Ph.D.

Introduction Recently, I sought out a definition for passive-aggression–a term I felt I understood implicitly, but found difficult to define in precise terms.  I came across one cheeky definition that I found compelling in a book by Ashta-Deb; the author defined passive aggression in the following way: “Passive-Aggression – the act of being covertly spiteful with the intent of inflicting mental pain.” I still like this definition very much.  I find it especially validating when I’m on the receiving end of what I believe to be particularly nasty forms of passive-aggression. Though I like Ashta-Deb’s snappy definition, it still left me with unanswered questions.  For example, Is passive-aggression conscious or unconscious? Is it always “spiteful”? Is the “mental pain” it inflicts the same type of pain? I further realized in searching for a definition for passive-aggressive behavior, that even though the term can be found in the psychoanalytic literature, its use transcends any particular theoretical orientation and/or school of thought.  Over the years, the term appears to have been appropriated by the masses, which I …

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