by Brian Balke | Aug 28, 2021 | Book Reviews
American exceptionalism was formed in the shared struggle of World War II and cemented in the mass-marketing of consumer goods in the 1950s. The seeds of destruction of that social consensus came with mass-marketing of oral contraceptives in 1960. A whole new world of...
by Brian Balke | Aug 23, 2021 | Book Reviews
When I invite a client to put love at the center of their world view, often I am asking them to take a leap of faith. To give love is to be vulnerable; to receive love is to be changed. While we desire both, as we go about learning those skills, we make mistakes, and...
by Brian Balke | Jul 10, 2021 | Book Reviews
If one was to specify an affliction ideally suited to investigation of personality structures, depression qualifies. The condition is progressive, starting as a mood that, left unchecked, slides into debilitation. While it can be comorbid with suicidal ideation, the...
by Brian Balke | Jun 22, 2021 | Book Reviews
It is hard enough for doctors. A patient ignores the warning signs, arriving for treatment with a life-threatening condition. The doctor’s tone is determinative. Reassurance galvanizes the body, rallying healing powers that are essential to recovery. But when...
by Brian Balke | May 12, 2021 | Basics, Book Reviews
Milton Erickson, the mid-century guru who revived academic interest in hypnosis as a therapeutic tool, was inspired to his studies by his recovery from polio. As he retold it, Erickson recovered the ability to walk by studying his baby sister as she learning to take...
by Brian Balke | Feb 16, 2021 | Book Reviews, Mind Management
The US military has a fragile relationship with the mental health industry. The conditions of employment are mentally debilitating, and loss of fortitude carries large costs – both operationally and institutionally. Thus the military invests both in instilling courage...