Category: Psychodynamic Perspective

Contents of the unconscious – demystified

~ Brian Coon ~ Leave a comment

Lately I’ve been working on identifying both the content and operation of the unconscious in everyday life.  Why?  I want to be a better listener and better observer.  Below is a list I’ve been building for a while now – the column on the left titled "General”.  That column contains examples from everyday life that … Continue reading Contents of the unconscious – demystified

Question from the field:  “Do ACT and the unconscious have any common ground?”

~ Brian Coon

This week I was asked, “What common ground is there between Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and ‘the unconscious’?  And if there is any common ground, how can it apply to addiction counseling and addiction recovery?”  To me, the common ground is cognitive dissonance.  In my opinion, that was an interesting question. Here’s why.  Acceptance and … Continue reading Question from the field:  “Do ACT and the unconscious have any common ground?”

Using Both Lenses: Academic/Evidence-Based and Psychodynamic

~ Brian Coon

Disclaimer:  nothing in this content should be taken or held as clinical instruction, clinical supervision, or advisory concerning patient care.  One way to think about clinical work in addiction counseling is through the lens of academic and evidence-based practices.  And another way is to use the lens of psychodynamic approaches. Below, find a simplified way … Continue reading Using Both Lenses: Academic/Evidence-Based and Psychodynamic

An Introduction to Psychodynamic Foundations of Counseling and Related Clinical Supervision for SUDs

~ Brian Coon

Disclaimer: Nothing in this document should be taken or held as clinical instruction, clinical supervision, or advisory concerning patient care. Psychodynamic Models and SUD Severe FINALDownload This monograph responds...by introducing some elementary but foundational philosophical pre-conditions to psychodynamic models and their application to the SUD professional’s core function of case conceptualization.  Next, elementary entrance points to … Continue reading An Introduction to Psychodynamic Foundations of Counseling and Related Clinical Supervision for SUDs

When Evidence-Based Methods Don’t Seem to Fit: An Example During Cognitive Restructuring 

~ Brian Coon ~ 2 Comments

Disclaimer: Nothing in this document should be taken or held as clinical instruction, clinical supervision, or advisory concerning patient care. I attended an introductory training focused on cognitive restructuring.  Attending was nostalgic, humorous and odd for me because I received such focused and intense education and training on cognitive restructuring during graduate school within a department grounded … Continue reading When Evidence-Based Methods Don’t Seem to Fit: An Example During Cognitive Restructuring 

Depth Psychology Applied to Addiction Counseling

~ Brian Coon ~ 1 Comment

Disclaimer: Nothing in this document should be taken or held as clinical instruction, clinical supervision, or advisory concerning patient care. Below is the full text of a 98 page monograph I have written on depth psychology applied to addiction counseling. My plan is to eventually re-write the main content in the form of a simple … Continue reading Depth Psychology Applied to Addiction Counseling

Topic from the field: “Should artificial intelligence replace the addiction counselor?”

~ Brian Coon ~ 2 Comments

I’ve recently been presented with the topic of artificial intelligence (AI) replacing addiction counselors.  This post constitutes the current condition of my thinking about that question. By the way, I’ll say that artificial intelligence is an interesting topic on its own.  And on its own it’s one I’m not prepared to comment on in a … Continue reading Topic from the field: “Should artificial intelligence replace the addiction counselor?”