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The Old Bells
by Paul Wadey 02.01.2024 Whispers of time, soft and deep, ache,In relentless pain, unyielding, our children break,Each moment calls for change, so rare,New bells might ring clear, in crisp calm air. Memories hold, old tunes that pine,Unyielding to the new, in time’s own line,Echoes break, past stories, lore,New bells might sound change, forevermore. Not just… Continue reading
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G.K.’s Fence
Chesterton’s Fence is a principle that stresses the importance of understanding the rationale behind existing traditions or norms before attempting to change or abolish them. The idea was first put forth by G.K. Chesterton, a renowned British writer and philosopher, in his 1929 book, ‘The Thing.’ The principle argues that we should not blindly dismantle… Continue reading
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Genoveva (v.1.9)
by Paul Wadey, 07.12.2023 You were Genoveva, the artisan of shadow-laden reveries, and you embroidered your cryptic arras in the chiaroscuro of your cloistered domain. Beneath the polarity of nocturne and lunar radiance, your narrative unfurled—a tessellation of luminescence and obscurity. Your digits, akin to crepuscular arachnid limbs, pirouetted across the loom, each gesture a… Continue reading
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Twilight
by Paul Wadey, 04.12.23 In a realm where twilight spiders a web of shadows, an abode stands, kissed by an ethereal sigh of dusk. Evening descends, not with a sombre touch, but as a painter, stroking the world’s canvas with great daubs of introspective hues, reflecting a tumult sea of thoughts churning within its walls.… Continue reading
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Goodbye
(To my sister, Ayisha) —by Paul Wadey, 27.11.2023 In whispered tones, may one impart the sound Of hearts o’erfilled, by fate’s own hand so bound? Doomed to rupture, lone, sans witnesses ear, In future’s veiled embrace, unknown, unclear. Oh, for the power in mere words to seize This fleeting life’s mortality, and freeze. Would that… Continue reading
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For dark matters
— by Paul Wadey, 26.11.2023 In this boundless realm, where earth in twain is riven, Naked to the marrow of verity, our spirits shiv’n, Where lone thought’s susurrus in murmuring concession, Mirror the heart’s pulsing, strange, yet calls to session. In this hush, my soul, in stellar cloister set apart, Craves not for touch, but… Continue reading
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Melanie Klein: Psychoanalytic Practice and Dialectic Theory
Abstract This paper explores Melanie Klein’s life and work, interpreting her radical psychoanalytic position theory—paranoid-schizoid and depressive (Ps-D)—as a circular progression of consciousness, experience, and realisation. Analysing Klein’s biography and clinical observations, the prerequisite of ambivalence is emphasised in the development of the ‘Ps’ and ‘D’ positions to precisely echo the development of contradiction as… Continue reading
Analyses, Bob Hinshelwood, Charles Taylor, Dialectical Synthesis, Hegelian dialectic, Julia Kristeva, Kleinist, Melanie Klein, Paranoid-Schizoid, Ps-Dacademic discourse, ambivalence, British Psychoanalytical Society, child analysis, clinical observation, clinical research, Consciousness, counter-transference, defense mechanisms, depressive position, Developmental psychology, dialectical process, Dialectical Synthesis, ego development, Freudian theory, Hegel, Hegelian dialectic, infant mental life, infantile anxiety, intellectual history, internal world, manic-depressive illness, maternal representation, Melanie Klein, Mental health, mental well-being, neurosis, Object Relations, paranoid-schizoid position, Paul Wadey, philosophical psychoanalysis, philosophical tension, preoedipal phase, Ps-D model, psychic conflict, psychoanalysis, psychoanalytic practice, psychoanalytic theory, psychological development, psychosis, symbolic formation, therapeutic encounter, therapeutic implications -
Snare
Remembering 7 October 2023 I In Genesis, Abraham’s faith burned as a molten star— Three pyres in Baal’s twilight, beacons in obsidian dark. From Ur’s ziggurats to Canaan’s dunes, destiny not far— Three cosmic arcs, his covenant leaves its ineffable mark. Shackled in Egypt’s grasp, heaven’s marvels they beheld— Liberty bought with plagues, and Sinai’s… Continue reading
7 October 2023, Ancestry, Conflict, Cultural Legacy, culture, Despair, Destiny, Emotion, Emotional Exploration, Epic, Faith, Generational Struggles, Historical Reflection, History, Hope, identity, Journey, Legacy, Memory, Narrative, Nature, Paul Wadey, Poetic Journey, Redemption, Spiritual, Spiritual Quest, Struggle, Suffering, Testament of Faith, Time, Triumph, Triumph over Adversity -
The Return of the Repressed: Pseudonymisation in the Digital Age
How is our online world reshaping the unconscious? This essay insightfully dissects how perceived anonymity online enables the return of repressed impulses, for better or worse. Blending psychoanalytic theory with ethics, it investigates digital self-expression through the veil of pseudonyms. A thoughtful read for understanding technology’s impacts on psychology and society. Continue reading
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The Raft
“The Raft” navigates existential and quantum quandaries through poetic form, challenging traditional boundaries while exploring love, isolation, and freedom. Spanning ten stanzas, the poem creates a dialectical space where human emotion intersects with cosmic indifference. Utilising intricate narrative and reader engagement, it delves into identity, choice, and the chaotic order of existence. This work transcends… Continue reading
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Towards a Mindful Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy
“While arising from different traditions, psychoanalysis and mindfulness offer complementary windows into the workings of the mind. Psychoanalysis reveals the depths of the unconscious forces shaping personality, while mindfulness illuminates the nature of conscious experience. Integrating these perspectives provides a more holistic understanding of the factors generating suffering and pathways for healing.” Continue reading
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Questioning the Question: A Therapist’s Guide to the Delicate Art of Interventive Interviewing
In psychotherapy the questions we ask signally shape the therapeutic process. Karl Tomm’s inspiring paper ‘Interventive Interviewing: Intending to Ask Lineal, Circular, Strategic or Reflexive Questions?’ provides critical insights into the impactfulness of different questioning techniques. This essay will focus specifically on the role of questioning in relational-based psychotherapy. I want to examine three questions… Continue reading
Analyses, analytical history, Communication, Essay, Experience, Paul Wadey, Polite Assertiveness, Psychoanalytic psychotherapy, Psychoanalytical History, Psychodynamic, psychotherapy, artificial intelligence, aura, Freud, psychoanalysis, therapy, technology, ethics, humanism, automation, virtual therapy, chatbots, medical model, insight, meaning, self-knowledge, rapp, Questioning, Relational psychoanalytic, skills, techniques, Traumacircular questioning, clinical psychology, counselling, cultural competency, culture, Dialogue, diversity, Ethics, inclusion, inquiry, interventions, lineal questioning, multicultural counselling, Paul Wadey, psychologist, Psychotherapy, Questioning, questioning techniques, rapport, reflexive questioning, relational psychotherapy, relationship, skills, strategic questioning, techniques, therapeutic relationship, therapist, therapist skills, therapist training, therapy, Trauma, trauma-informed care, trust, types of questions -
The Work of Therapy in the Age of Artificial Reproduction
Benjamin argues aura persists where transmissible experience still resists mechanisation. hence the obligation of facing fragile personhood endures beyond digitizing therapy’s surface features. While technology cannot replace moral presence, it may widen therapeutic outreach if guided by ethical care rather than vulgar profit. Benjamin exposes grave loss but also emancipatory openings when historic auras fade.… Continue reading
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Beyond the Pleasure Principle
“As psychotherapists, we are neither casual observers nor scientists studying the journeying of the Other from afar. We are fellow travellers, experienced ethical people navigating the contoured landscape of human experiences, sharing insights along that shared path, gently challenging assumptions or biases, and learning from our clients as they chose a path away from the… Continue reading
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The Myth of Fear | w4dey
In the library of literature on human emotions fear holds a unique space in our fascination, and for good reason. It is a fundamental emotion, its phylogenetic roots measured in evolutionary time. It is not hyperbole to say that natural history, our societies, our histories, even our identities have all, to some degree, been carved… Continue reading
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Avoidance and Sociability: A Psychoanalytic Introduction | w4dey
Avoidance and sociability are fundamental aspects of human functioning that play a significant role in shaping our interactions with others and our psychological well-being. In psychoanalysis, these phenomena are explored through the lens of unconscious and intrapsychic processes. While psychoanalytic concepts offer valuable insights into the dynamics of avoidance and sociability, they have limitations in… Continue reading
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Assumption and Disappointment: An introduction | w4dey
Between assumption and disappointment, acceptance beckons our sensibilities towards meaningful change. How can we better understand the complex interplay between assumption and disappointment? How can we better live within the space between assumption and disappointment? Continue reading
Always being right, Analyses, analytical history, Assumption, Clinical, Common-sense, Communication, Criticism, Disappointment, Existentialism, Experience, Human Condition, Inference, interdisciplinary, Pathological behaviours, Pathology, Perception, Personality, Psychoanalytic psychotherapy, Psychoanalytical History, Reflections, Reflexivity -
Decoupled
by Paul Wadey, 10.01.2024 Decoupled in a public sphere Where truth—now a nomad—dwelt, Scales weigh unevenly, Truth became untrustworthy, displaced by Dunning-Kruger’s map, And or Bonhoeffer’s guide to idiocy. That where fleeting glimpses of valid coherence twinkle, Darting, speedy, caught for a moment, Thus we’re left to communicate, detached, unanchored, Neither cohesion nor congruence to… Continue reading
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Soft Ruby Promises (For Sarah)
— by Paul Wadey, 24.10.2023 In your gaze, a trove unveiled— Depths uncharted, yet absolving, While warm summer showers paint my view anew. Still this path, Be clear, my love, Reveal simplicity’s truth. I see gifts within your smile, Like dawn’s sunbeams gently waking. Dance the merciful hue of a song once lost, Now found—… Continue reading
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For the smile of a child
— by Paul Wadey, 24.08.2006 In pursuit of a child’s radiant beam, With artful brush, I’d recast the sphere: In vibrant tints of a dreamer’s dream, Transforming dread to whimsy sheer. For the smile of a child, that treasure so wild. With hands, scarred yet firm and tender, I’d forge a haven from ruins of… Continue reading
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Beyond Belief
—Paul Wadey, 22.10.1984 In realms where thought’s lone profit doth seem slight, A jest, perhaps, yet holds potential vast; If darkened minds would wed their brooding plight To philosophies where compassion’s cast. What faith remains, unsullied by the taint Of cynic’s sneer or sceptic’s cold disdain? A shadowed knight in adamant restraint Might shield us… Continue reading