by Luba Palter, MFT

I have this secret passion, no, an obsession to see psychoanalysis everywhere. I hear it in music, in everyday conversations between non-therapist coworkers, during Judge Judy reruns, in line at the grocery store as I watch a cashier interact with a customer, while I listen to my favorite fiction author’s interview, and as I read poetry.

You might as well know this, if it has not become obvious by now, one of my goals as the Editor-In-Chief of Impulse has been to introduce psychoanalytic ideas in a relatable and approachable way. I want to take away the elusiveness and exclusiveness of analytic ideas. Perhaps not everybody needs this. But I have often felt intimidated in psychoanalytic circles because at times those environments felt overwhelming for someone who deeply feels first and thinks second. I mistakenly thought that I needed to know all the theories in order to have a coherent and intelligent conversation. I was certain that my version of analytic practice was not legitimate. That was my story. That is now an old story.

by Lila Zimmerman, AMFT

THE PROVIDENCE OF AUGUST 

“The only thing August is good for is nature and friendship.” (Sigmund Freud, 1894)

There is a different cadence to psychotherapy in the summer. August is slow-moving. Patients are away. The consulting room feels lonely, and the sessions disjointed. Colleagues and supervisors are gone. My own mind wanders to my life outside of work. Taking longer mornings in bed, longer walks with my dog, and indulging in binges of Love Island. I want to be poolside, napping, slowly arranging my spice rack. I am not distracted but I am not focused. I forget about sessions as soon as they end. I make plans during the open hours my patients leave vacant. I am still working but the days stack together differently.