by Joel Blackstock LICSW-S MSW PIP | Apr 29, 2025 | Psychology Topics
Psychology, as a field, stands at a critical juncture. Over the past few decades, the focus has shifted away from the fundamental nature of human consciousness and towards a more mechanistic, symptom-focused approach to mental health. Manualized therapies, diagnostic...
by Joel Blackstock LICSW-S MSW PIP | Apr 29, 2025 | Comparative Religion, Jungian Concepts
Gnosticism as a Metaphor for Consciousness: Meaning, Evolution, and Healing Gnosticism is an ancient spiritual and philosophical worldview that offers a profound metaphor for the nature and dilemmas of human consciousness. While Gnosticism should not be taken as a...
by Joel Blackstock LICSW-S MSW PIP | Mar 8, 2025 | Jungian Concepts, Spirituality and The Transcendant Function
Is Religious Cosmology Just the Unlived Life of the Parent? A commonly quoted fact about astronomy is that the Universe is “expanding”, but that’s not really true. Our universe is nothing more than a giant ball of rules that we can measure. Rules like time,...
by Joel Blackstock LICSW-S MSW PIP | Mar 3, 2025 | Anthropology and Evo Psych, Phenomenology and Existential Psychology, Philosophy
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 | Feb 18, 2025 | Jungian Concepts, Phenomenology and Existential Psychology, Philosophy
How to Use Philosophy in Existential Therapy Philosophy and psychology have long been intertwined, both seeking to understand the complexities of the human mind and experience. By applying philosophical frameworks as lenses of inquiry, we can gain deeper insights into...
by Joel Blackstock LICSW-S MSW PIP | Nov 4, 2024 | Metamodernism and Deconstruction
Who is Seth Abramson? As we navigate the complexities of the early 21st century, marked by rapid technological change, globalization, and a pervasive sense of existential uncertainty, the question of how to approach the healing of the human psyche has taken on a...
by Joel Blackstock LICSW-S MSW PIP | Oct 27, 2024 | Jungian Concepts, Phenomenology and Existential Psychology, Philosophy
The Search for Meaning in Existentialism and Indigenous Thought Existentialist philosophy and indigenous worldviews offer contrasting but potentially complementary perspectives on one of life’s biggest questions: What is the meaning and purpose of human...
by Joel Blackstock LICSW-S MSW PIP | Oct 27, 2024 | Anthropology and Evo Psych, Jungian Concepts
Insights from Global Cultures on the Nature of Pain and Healing What can therapy learn from ancient cultures? Suffering is a universal human experience, yet the way we make meaning of our pain is profoundly shaped by our cultural context. By examining diverse...
by Joel Blackstock LICSW-S MSW PIP | Oct 15, 2024 | Anthropology and Evo Psych, 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 | Nov 6, 2023 | Dreams and the Unconcious, Symbolism and Meaning
What is the symbolism of different colors in dreams? What does the color red mean in dreams: In dreams, colors wield the power to mirror our deepest emotions and psychic states, and red, with its primal force and psychological weight, offers a particularly vivid...
