Mary Joan Gerson, Ph.D, ABPP

Announcement: a recent opinion piece in the New York Times prompted me to write a blog called "The Fingerprint of Grief" in which I compare individual and collective mourning, defend Freud’s theoretical position, and fault our national culture for leaving us adrift in the Covid crisis.

The Fingerprint of Grief The varieties of grief and keeping the dead present.

I've always been interested in the concept of the afterlife and just posted a new blog about it on my Pychology Today site.

The Psychological Afterlife: Fears and Fantasies Reframing the end of life.

I've just posted a new blog about grief and humor, titled "Laughing Through Our Tears":https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/how-life-changes/202305/laughing-through-our-tears.

Dear Friends, I have recently committed to writing a blog about grief and loss with a particular emphasis on keeping those we’ve lost close to us and “alive” in our relationships and experience. I think that our culture interferes with this effort and leaves many grieving individuals embarrassed by the vibrant connection felt with those who’ve died, even though the griever has moved on and embraced life fully. We assume a very sharp boundary between death and life which is not culturally universal and perhaps not psychologically accurate or helpful.

I would be interested in your response to the blog entries I’ve posted on Psychology Today. Here is a link to my profile where you can find my recent blog posts!

https://lnkd.in/efey65k5

I am now posting on Medium alongside Psychology Today! Have a look at my post discussing the possibility that those who've died will talk to us through Alexa...

https://medium.com//an-alexa-seance-conversations-with-those-whove-died-41a3ef04a903

Though perhaps long overdue, I would like to share my book on this page for anyone who may benefit from reading it. Here is a description from my website:

When it was first published, The Embedded Self was lauded as "a brilliant and long overdue rapprochement between psychoanalysis and family therapy conceived by a practitioner trained and experienced in both modalities of treatment." Mary-Joan Gerson's integrated presentation of psychodynamic and family systems theory invited therapists of either orientation to learn the tools and techniques of the other, to mutual benefit. Firmly grounded in detailed case presentations, her focus on family therapy examined its history, organizing concepts, and developmental approaches, and addressed practical questions of diagnosis, clinical interaction, and referrals.

Today, the psychoanalytic community is more open to integrating perspectives, and the growth of analysts working with couples and families necessitates an update of the material presented in The Embedded Self. Similarly, the family therapy community has deepened its interest in individual dynamics within systemic patterning. From a new and revised perspective on the possibilities of integration, Gerson covers the latest research in neuroscience and the transmission of affect within intimate relationships, with a new chapter on attachment theory and emotionally focused therapy. Sections on narrative therapy and psychoanalytically-oriented family therapy are expanded as well.

A new blog post is up! Entitled 'We can no longer be afraid of the dark' I discuss how, as grief has a more prominent role in today's society, we must be courageous in embracing raw, intense sadness. We must create space for darkness.
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/how-life-changes/202207/expanding-our-cultural-experience-include-the-inevitability-grief

Expanding Our Cultural Experience to Include the Inevitability of Grief We can no longer be afraid of the dark.

If you haven't seen my previous post on Psychology Today, also check out 'How to Let Grief Grow and Keep the Dead Alive'. After my husband passed away I developed a new perspective on loss, one which departed from the extensive scholarship I had done throughout my career. I came to know that 'loss' is not really loss, that the dead continue to have a vital presence in the lives of those grieving.

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/node/1175685/preview

How to Let Grief Grow and Keep the Dead Alive There is no final good-bye.

Mary Joan Gerson, Ph.D, ABPP updated their address.

Now it's easier to contact Mary Joan Gerson, Ph.D, ABPP.