How therapy explores reality
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.From Mr Lawrence A. Suss
Sir: I was disappointed at how uninformed Brian Appleyard is about psychotherapy ("Nightmare cures for unhappiness", 3 May).
What his piece failed to recognise is that good psychoanalytic psychotherapy aims to hold both the inner world reality and the outer world reality of the client in play. In brief, it is often the interplay between these realities that forms the focus of the work of psychoanalytic psychotherapy. The phrase I regularly hear used by psychotherapists is "reality testing" (see, for example, Charles Rycroft, A Critical Dictionary of Psychoanalysis, for a definition).
Mr Appleyard would have us believe that psychotherapists ignore outer reality but, unfortunately for him, he has fallen into his own trap by ignoring a real aspect of our work and believing his own inner fantasies.
Obviously anyone seeking psychotherapy should choose a registered therapist, and the UK Council for Psychotherapy has such a register.
Yours faithfully,
LAWRENCE A. SUSS
Brighton
3 May
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments