…amaging to the individuals in the couple and to their relationship. Robert Firestone has identified the destructive impact of the fantasy bond, a defensive reaction in which the members of a couple develop a fantasy of being one with their mate. Their real feelings of love and the delight they once took in interpersonal exchanges are slowly replaced by the fantasy of being merged with and magically connected to each other. How a Fantasy Bond (or f…
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…A “fantasy bond” is a concept developed by my father, psychologist Robert Firestone. When a fantasy bond develops real acts of love and relating are gradually replaced by the form of being in a relationship. When two people rely on each other to feel whole, they lose themselves in the process, forgoing independence, and often attraction, in the interest of feeling safe as part of a united couple. Sadly, the way they treat each other starts to det…
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…s as well as the feelings behind those thoughts. In this Webinar, Dr. Lisa Firestone will introduce an empowering approach to treating depression, while highlighting specific actions individuals can take that have been shown to reduce symptoms of depression. She will discuss a method in which therapists can help clients identify a destructive line of thinking known as the “critical inner voice” that can perpetuate a cycle of depression. When someo…
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…On-Demand Webinars In this Webinar: This online workshop with Dr. Lisa Firestone will provide tools to help people heal insecure attachment, resolve trauma, integrate their… Learn More Understanding the impact of our early experiences and how we adapted allows us to better understand ourselves as people and as parents. The influence of our early attachments on how we learned to relate should not be underestimated; it can offer us valuable insi…
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…f is key to improving every aspect of our lives. In this Webinar, Dr. Lisa Firestone will help individuals and therapists learn to: Challenge a destructive inner enemy that undermines, evaluates, comments, and coaches people on every aspect of their lives Identify an inherited negative sense of identity that keeps people from recognizing their real self Embrace self-compassion, as a powerful tool with benefits that differ from self-esteem and coun…
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…re able to more fully embrace love and the spirit of life. Read Dr. Robert Firestone’s Article on Factors that Increase or Suppress Death Anxiety Read Dr. Robert Firestone’s Article on Societal Defenses Against Death Anxiety References Florian, V., & Mikulincer, M. (2004). A multifaceted perspective on the existential meanings, manifestations, and consequences of the fear of personal death. In J. Greenberg, S. L. Koole, & T. Pyszczynski (Eds.), Ha…
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In this Webinar: This Webinar with Dr. Lisa Firestone will help individuals and therapists make sense of the serious psychological consequences of emotional hunger and will clarify the confusion between what might look like love from real, nurturing love. This distinction helps a person to understand and make sense of the impact of having an emotionally hungry parent on their psychological development and on their relationships, especially wi…
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…ur life today. In PsychAlive’s online course with Drs. Dan Siegel and Lisa Firestone, they walk you through the process of creating a coherent narrative to help you to build healthier, more secure attachments and strengthen your own personal sense of emotional resilience. When you create a coherent narrative, you actually rewire your brain to cultivate more security within yourself and your relationships. In a previous article, I noted that being…
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…ual within a family is something my father, psychologist and author Robert Firestone, has described as a “human rights violation.” He’s written extensively about the toll interpersonal pain and traumatic childhood conditions can have on a person’s freedom and expression of individuality, including that they lead to the formation of powerful psychological defenses. “No child is born bad or sinful; rather, the psychological defenses that children fo…
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In this Webinar: This Webinar with Dr. Lisa Firestone explores the many causes of violence. What are some of the psychological roots of violent behavior? How can we understand violence as it occurs in our society? Dr. Firestone will highlight some of the risk factors for violence. She will further illustrate effective treatments and methods to prevent violence. Ordering Information: Once payment is received, you will be emailed a full video r…
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