Lives of the Unconscious. A Podcast on Psychoanalysis and Psychotherapy
von Cécile Loetz & Jakob Mueller
- monatlichErscheinungsrhythmus
- 35 mintypische Länge
- 25. Apr. 2025letzte Folge
This podcast is devoted to topics on psychotherapy, contemporary psychoanalysis, and psychodynamic therapy methods, as well as social issues. A new episode is published every Friday. Recommended readings can be found attached to each respective episode.
Website: psy-cast.org
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Episode 37: Male Perversion and Sexual Violence
Lives of the Unconscious Support our project and get access to the scripts for all episodes: https://www.patreon.com/lives Summary: From catcalling and unsolicited “dick pics” to upskirting and other forms of sexual assault—sexualized viole
Episode 36. What poverty does tu us. And what it has to do with our history.
Lives of the Unconscious Summary: "Behind what is referred to in psychoanalysis as fate neurosis or repetition compulsion often lurks the uncanny magnetism of one's own social class" Support us on Patreon and get the scripts to the episodes
Episode 35. Envy. A hidden force within human relations
Lives of the Unconscious Summary: Envy can arise wherever there exists inequality between people: in societies and families, between siblings, genders, and generations. “Envy is the tax which all distinction must pay” (R.W. Emerson). Envy h
Episode 34. Dissociative Identity Disorder - Secret Lives
Lives of the Unconscious Summary: The idea of split personality is fertile ground for stories of great imagination—while regrettably also inspiring and perpetuating numerous misunderstandings that continue to cling to the kind of personalit
Episode 33.The Phantom of Emptiness. On the Psychodynamics of White Depression.
Lives of the Unconscious Summary: In contrast to “black depression,” white depression denotes an often inconspicuous, insidious affliction that can last a lifetime. Its distinguishing quality is a feeling of meaninglessness and emptiness th
Episode 32.The Pseudo-Community. Or: The Family behind the Rubber Fence
Lives of the Unconscious Summary: “You’re free to do anything you want! But this man, of all people—you’ll never be happy with him.” Or: “Of course, if you don’t have time, you don’t have to come to the birthday dinner. But Uncle Henry will
Episode 31. A Lover's Bind: The Psychoanalysis of Romantic Relationships
Lives of the Unconscious Summary: One couple fights over household responsibilities. Another is trapped in a cycle of jealousy and control. Still another strives for total harmony and oneness—only to be tormented by intense anxiety the mome
Episode 30: On the psychoanalysis of addictive disorders
Lives of the Unconscious Summary: Addiction is one of the most widespread forms of mental illness. However, it is also burdened with many stigmas, and those suffering from it are often stigmatized. Treating it is considered difficult. But w
Episode 29: The Anorexic Dynamic. Or: Why eating disorders are not about the food
Lives of the Unconscious Summary: “You are what you eat.” We are continuously negotiating our identity through food, setting the boundaries of the self. Inscribed into the symptoms of anorexia is an unconscious conflict of identity, which h
Episode 28: Malignant Narcissism: A Reservoir of Hatred and Violence
Lives of the Unconscious Summary: History has certainly never failed to offer reasons and occasions to cause violence of all sorts; making it understandable how Freud arrived at the following verdict towards the end of his life: “Homo homin
Episode 27: The Tragedy of Narcissism
Lives of the Unconscious Summary: The diagnosis of “narcissism” appears to have come into vogue, not only in the field of clinical psychology. It is an inescapable diagnosis for just about any critique of contemporary society. But what exac
Episode 26: Grief. The path through the realm of shadow.
Lives of the Unconscious Summary: Grief is one of life’s inevitable experiences, for we live in a world that is fleeting. Processing loss is one of the most difficult mental processes and yet every human being must face it. Some mourning pr
Tales of Therapy—Alex. Part Three. The Night has an End.
Tales of Therapy Summary: After the previous phases of therapy, in which Alex’s symptoms and later his own life story took center stage, the outbreak of the Corona crisis sends the therapeutic work into turmoil. Fears of infection, but also
Tales of Therapy—Alex. Part Two. The Lost Self.
Tales of Therapy Summary: Alex, a man in his mid-thirties, comes to therapy with psychosomatic symptoms and anxiety attacks, for which initially there appears to be no explanation. In the first phase of therapy, this often first involves fi
Tales of Therapy—Alex. Part One. Searching for Words
Tales of Therapy Summary: This case study is about Alex, a man in his mid-thirties, who spent over four years in analysis, most of that time with three sessions a week. Alex came into therapy with psychosomatic symptoms and anxiety attacks
Winter break
Lives of the Unconscious We well be back in March with new episodes! See you soon Your Lives-of-the-Unconscious-Team Visit our website: http://www.psy-cast.org or our youtube-channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/LivesoftheUnconscious Join our
Episode 25: “O Parting, Fountain of all Words.” — Why progress is grounded in loss
Lives of the Unconscious Summary: Attachment, love, always goes hand in hand with losses—thus happiness and sadness are also close relatives. In this episode we will hear more about why separation and loss not only mean suffering, but also
Episode 24: The Concepts of Contemporary Psychoanalysis
Lives of the Unconscious Summary: Psychoanalysis is often equated with the work of Sigmund Freud. Contemporary modes of thought and therapeutic approaches such as relational psychoanalysis or mentalization-based therapy methods are often le
Episode 23: On the Psychoanalysis of Conspiracy Theories
Lives of the Unconscious Summary: Conspiracy phantasma derive their power from affects, not from arguments. They cannot be understood by differentiating them from some supposedly reasonable normality – for normality may not be so reasonable
Episode 22: C.G. Jung and the Collective Unconscious
Lives of the Unconscious Summary: “The school of C.G. Jung has played a controversial role in psychoanalysis. More than almost any other psychological school, it grants a greater role to the symbolic world of the psyche, fairy tales, myths,
Episode 21: The Long Shadow of Trauma – Transgenerational Transmission
Lives of the Unconscious Summary: “A trauma does not disappear through silence; it cannot be silenced out of existence. It remains effective in fantasies, dreams, and experiences, but eludes language and thus understanding. It only becomes
Episode 20: Trauma – The wounded soul. Post-traumatic disorders.
Lives of the Unconscious Summary: “It is important to emphasize that in every victim of trauma there is a desire for vitality and healing. Consciously and unconsciously, the injured psyche tries to understand what has happened, to mitigate
Episode 19: Trauma – The wounded soul. Early childhood trauma
Lives of the Unconscious Summary: “What remains unresolved in the mind knows no time.” This episode is the first of a three-part series on the psychoanalysis of trauma. In the first part we will hear about attachment and early childhood tra
Summer break
Lives of the Unconscious We wish you a relaxing summer! See you soon Your Lives-of-the-Unconscious-Team Visit our website: http://www.psy-cast.org or our youtube-channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/LivesoftheUnconscious Join our newsletter:
Episode 18: Healing Through Understanding—How psychoanalysis works
Lives of the Unconscious Summary: “And how is this supposed to work here?” This is the question that quite a few patients ask at the beginning of psychotherapy. How psychotherapy works—especially psychoanalytic treatment—is, at first glance
Episode 17: Repression, Rationalization, Sublimation – The “mature” defense mechanisms.
Lives of the Unconscious Summary: Over the course of a therapeutic session, a depressed patient talks about his work colleagues with whom he is working on a group project for his studies. The patient says: "Yesterday we wanted to meet to di
Episode 16: Denial, Splitting, Projection – The early defense mechanisms
Lives of the Unconscious Summary: The division head of a company has called an important meeting. All employees are present at the agreed upon time, except for the boss. Only once an employee calls him does he remember the meeting and arriv
Episode 15: Compulsion, Obsessiveness, and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorders
Lives of the Unconscious Summary: Everyone has their rituals that they insist upon observing more or less fastidiously and, if interrupted, would react to sensitively. From adhering to a particular daily routine, say, before an important ex
Episode 14: The Oedipus Complex. Timeless or obsolete?
Lives of the Unconscious Summary: When this term comes into play, all analytical alarm bells start going off: Oedipus Complex. This concept seems to epitomize everything disreputable in all those abysmally-fanciful psychoanalytic concepts,
Episode 13: Borderline—A balancing act between psychological extremes
Lives of the Unconscious Summary: Children are existentially reliant upon their primary caregivers concerning almost every sphere of life and, most of all, in relation to their need for love. If the caregivers are also those who attack this
