by Joel Blackstock LICSW-S MSW PIP no. 4135C-S | Sep 10, 2025 | History of Psychotherapy, Industrial Organisational Psychology, Psychology of Media and Culture, Psychology Topics and Articles
The intersection of sociology, anthropology, and psychotherapy offers profound insights into human behavior, mental health, and healing. While therapists often focus on individual psychology, understanding the broader social and cultural contexts that shape our...
by Joel Blackstock LICSW-S MSW PIP no. 4135C-S | Jul 17, 2025 | Dreams and the Unconscious, Jungian Therapy and Depth Psychology, Psychology of Artists, Poets, and Writers, Psychology of Film and TV
Disclaimer: Neil Gaiman, the author of The Sandman, has been accused of serious misconduct. While we do not condone his alleged actions or endorse financially supporting him, his influential work has been significant in the fields of psychology, myth studies, and...
by Joel Blackstock LICSW-S MSW PIP no. 4135C-S | Mar 3, 2025 | Anthropology and Evolutionary Psychology for Therapy, Phenomenology and Existential Psychology, Philosophy for Therapists, Ritual and Initiation, Spirituality and The Transcendent Function in Psychotherapy
Why Does Psychology Ignore Philosophy and Anthropology? Time moves in one direction, memory in another.<br> We are that strange species that constructs artifacts intended to counter the natural flow of forgetting. – William Gibson, “Dead Man...
by Joel Blackstock LICSW-S MSW PIP no. 4135C-S | Feb 5, 2025 | Christian Mysticism in Therapy, History of Psychotherapy, Psychology
What are our psychological blindspots in mass and individual psychology? “Maybe the only thing each of us can see is our own shadow. We are all like the blind man in the dark room looking for the black cat that isn’t there.” – The Great...
by Joel Blackstock LICSW-S MSW PIP no. 4135C-S | Jan 15, 2025 | Anthropology and Evolutionary Psychology for Therapy, Psychology of Media and Culture, Psychology of Modernism Post Modernism and the Meta Modern
What is Biosemiotics? Biosemiotics is an emerging interdisciplinary field that explores how living systems create, interpret, and communicate meaning. It offers a unique lens through which to understand the intricate relationships between biology, consciousness, and...
by Joel Blackstock LICSW-S MSW PIP no. 4135C-S | Oct 27, 2024 | Anthropology and Evolutionary Psychology for Therapy, Comparative Religion for Therapy, Jungian Therapy and Depth Psychology, Ritual and Initiation
Anthropological Insights into Modern Psychotherapy Throughout human history and across cultures, rituals and storytelling have played a central role in addressing psychological ailments and facilitating healing. While modern psychotherapy can seem like a far cry from...
by Joel Blackstock LICSW-S MSW PIP no. 4135C-S | Oct 19, 2024 | Comparative Religion for Therapy, Depth Psychology Approaches and Techniques, Evidence Based Practice and Research Psychology, Trauma, Depth Psychology, and Social Work
Should Psychotherapy Ponder the Mysteries of Philosophy and Anthropology? The specialized and fragmented nature of modern psychology has led to an abstracted and decontextualized view of the self, one that is disconnected from the embodied, embedded, and enactive...
by Joel Blackstock LICSW-S MSW PIP no. 4135C-S | Oct 15, 2024 | Anthropology and Evolutionary Psychology for Therapy, History of Psychotherapy
1. Who Was Marcel Mauss? Marcel Mauss (1872-1950) was a pioneering French sociologist and anthropologist, best known for his influential essay “The Gift” (1925) and his role in shaping the development of social theory in the early 20th century. A nephew...
by Joel Blackstock LICSW-S MSW PIP no. 4135C-S | Oct 15, 2024 | Anthropology and Evolutionary Psychology for Therapy, Jungian Therapy and Depth Psychology, Psychology of Modernism Post Modernism and the Meta Modern
What Was The Universe 25 Experiment? In the 1970s, ethologist John B. Calhoun conducted a famous experiment called Universe 25. In the study, a colony of mice was placed in a utopian enclosure called a “mouse paradise” with unlimited access to food, water,...
by Joel Blackstock LICSW-S MSW PIP no. 4135C-S | Sep 24, 2024 | Psychology of History, Symbolism and Meaning in Psychotherapy
Costumes as a Reflection of Societal Change Halloween, celebrated annually on October 31st, has its roots in the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain, which marked the end of the harvest season and the beginning of winter. The Celts believed that on this night, the...
