Brian Collinson

Journeying Toward Wholeness

Entries Tagged as 'medicine'

Anxiety, Stress and Decisions

May 11th, 2010 · 3 Comments · Anxiety, decision, Individuation, midlife, Mississauga, Oakville, Psychology and Suburban Life, Psychotherapy, soul, unconscious, wholeness

A great deal of stress and anxiety in peoples’ lives is associated with making major decisions that deeply effect personal life.  Very often, people come into therapy because they are hung on the horns of a major dilemma, with a decision to be made between two or more possible decisions or paths to take. As [...]

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The Symbolic Power of Home, Part 1: Michaelle Jean

March 16th, 2010 · 2 Comments · archetypes, Current Affairs, depth psychology, Home, Hope, Identity, Jungian analysis, Jungian psychology, Mississauga, Oakville, soul, suburbia / exurbia, symbolism, The Self

I think that many Canadians’ imagination and empathy has been caught by news stories of our Governor General, Michaelle Jean, who has been in the news here quite a bit this week. Her Excellency is herself a native of Haiti who came to Canada at age 11 in 1968.  In the last few days, she has returned [...]

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Anima, Women, Men and Marilyn Monroe

March 7th, 2010 · No Comments · Anima, collective consciousness, feminine, Film, masculine, popular culture, soul

   Few people have gripped the imagination of popular culture in the era since World War II like Marilyn Monroe.  An iconic and fateful figure for both women and men.  A figure combining elements of both the erotic goddess and the cautionary tale.  Her story is disturbing.  In some important sense, she will not leave [...]

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Here in the Middle Years of Life: Is That All There Is?

February 28th, 2010 · 2 Comments · Anxiety, depression, depth psychology, Hope, Identity, inner life, life passages, Meaning, midlife, Mississauga, Oakville, Psychotherapy, soul, stress, suburbia / exurbia, The Self, therapy

The great jazz artist Peggy Lee performed the following beautiful, highly disturbing yet haunting song in 1969, at midlife, in her 50th year:    I doubt that questions get much more real than those in this song.  And the question that Peggy Lee sings about here is of the type, that, for many people, can become achingly [...]

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Beyond Cookie-Cutter Psychotherapy

February 22nd, 2010 · 1 Comment · depth psychology, Identity, inner life, Jungian psychology, Psychology, Psychotherapy, therapy, wholeness

In recent years, there have been certain strong and notable trends emerging in the field of psychotherapy.  Some have been very valuable, but some, unfortunately, have not been for the better. In many cases what's on offer doesn't seem to be anything that really helps people deal with their own personal uniqueness, or the individuality of their lives.  Nothing [...]

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Between Childrens' and Parents' Needs: the Generational Anxiety Sandwich

February 15th, 2010 · No Comments · complexes, compulsion, Current Affairs, depth psychology, Jungian analysis, parent-child interactions, parental complex, Psychotherapy, The Self, therapy, unlived life, wholeness

In this post, I would like to write about something that may have a sense of "taboo" about it.  For many of us in the present day world, a powerful struggle goes on in our middle years.  There are greater and greater demands on our personal reserves of compassion, empathy, time, energy and money.  These resources are [...]

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Does February Bring Any GIfts?

January 31st, 2010 · 2 Comments · depth psychology, Hope, Identity, Individuation, inner life, Jungian analysis, Jungian psychology, soul, The Self, therapy

Does February bring us any gifts? How could it?… Here are some things that might be helpful to think about at this time. They’ve proved valuable to me, so I leave them with you for your consideration

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Identity and Anxiety in the Film, "Up In the Air"

January 22nd, 2010 · 1 Comment · Anxiety, Current Affairs, depth psychology, Film, Identity, Individuation, life passages, Meaning, midlife, persona, puer aeternis, unlived life, wholeness, work

Make no mistake, moving is living.  -Ryan Bingham "Up in the Air", directed by Jason Reitman, stars George Clooney, Vera Farmiga and Anna Kendrick.  Clooney's character Ryan Bingham is a full-time corporate down-sizer whose life consists of an endless stream of business travel ("322 days last year").  He moves from place to place, letting people go [...]

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