Bluepete’s psychology blog

Playing is one of the most important things we do in childhood because it allows us to learn. So, in the spirit of Winnicott and other psychology theorists, I want to make this blog a playful space to explore ideas.

To start off with, some quotes from some of my favourite theorists. The quotes are a bit of a mish-mash but hopefully set the scene for more detailed and focused blogs in future.

“For Freud …. We are all in recovery from having been children.” – Adam Phillips

“But what are our selves? Everything, good or bad, that we have gone through from our earliest days onwards, all that we have received from the external world and all that we have felt in our inner world, happy and unhappy experiences, relationships to people, activities, interests and thoughts of all kinds — that is to say, everything we have lived through — makes parts of our selves, and goes to build up our personalities.” — Melanie Klein, 1937 (cited in Hayes, 2006)

Freud, Klein, Winnicott – I almost feel a bit embarassed using these names here but you can’t avoid them. Psychology for me traces its roots back to Freud, and Adam Phillips, who is also the Penguin Freud editor, brings out those links better than anybody.

“Today’s analysis consists not of the earth-shattering realization, insight or interpretation, but of the slow building up of conditions in which it is possible for the patient to understand herself afresh and to construct a meaningful relationship with the therapist in which she feels more fully accepted and understood. …. These can be the small moments of emotional settling, when what has been misplaced or sat awkwardly outside the patient’s experience is incorporated in a new way into the individual’s psyche.” — Susie Orbach, The Impossibility of Sex

I love the way that Susie Orbach (who is also a therapist and a writer) brings fresh light and insight into the therapeutic relationship.

“… being a Community Psychologist is a question of identity, a definition of who we are and who we want to be. … As whole people, our personal, political and professional selves are intertwined.” — Nelson & Prilleltensky, 2005

This quote reminds me that psychology is as much about the social as it is about the individual. Likewise, Critical Psychology points to the fact that the psychological knowledge which we take for granted is a social project and that it needs to be understood in context.

“Money can’t buy you happiness, but it does bring you a more pleasant form of misery.” — Spike Milligan