Search Results for: Robert Firestone

Is Being Proud of Your Kids Really about You?

…an attempt to be connected to the accomplishment. My father, psychologist Robert Firestone, has developed the concept of a “fantasy bond” to help parents understand their exaggerated desire to connect with their children. A fantasy bond describes an illusion of fusion between two people that replaces real love and relating. This bond can create a false sense of security, however it can also impair the child’s budding individuality and actual sens…

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low self-esteem

Low Self-Esteem: What Does it Mean to Lack Self-Esteem?

…n ways that we regret and may deplore.” This harsh inner critic, which Dr. Robert Firestone refers to as the Critical Inner Voice, contributes to a negative perceived self. Having a negative perception of oneself can have serious consequences. For example, if someone believes that other people don’t like them, they are more likely to avoid interactions with others and are quicker to react defensively, cynically, or even lash out. Rosenberg and Owe…

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relationship

Cynical About Relationships: Is Cynicism Ruining Your Love Life?

…ould argue that what’s fueling this cynical attitude is what my father Dr. Robert Firestone calls our “critical inner voice.” The critical inner voice describes a negative thought process we all experience to different degrees that harshly criticizes us and others. For many of us, this voice gets loudest when it comes to our romantic life. Our critical inner voices can act as a barrier to getting close to someone else. Like the world’s worst match…

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Creating a More Positive Identity

…t. So, how can we separate from this identity? Together with my father Dr. Robert Firestone, who developed Voice Therapy, we’ve collectively written and produced dozens of books, blogs, films, articles, Webinars, workshops, and studies, discussing what works in relation to overcoming this inner critic. Recently, when talking to my father about the critical inner voice and identity, he brought up an important component to continuously resist the in…

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Conquer Your Critical Inner Voice: An Adjunct to Clinical Practice

…that can sabotage, diminish, or undermine us. Psychologist and author Dr. Robert Firestone often refers to this internal enemy as an “anti-self” or “critical inner voice.” Learning to deal effectively with the “critical inner voice” is central to all areas of life: personal development, healthy relationships, self-esteem, and career success. This CE Webinar provides participants with an introduction to Voice Therapy, a technique that can enhance…

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The Many Benefits Of Self-Compassion

…d punishes us for our mistakes. This is the side of us that my father, Dr. Robert Firestone has called the “anti-self.” In my and my father’s work, we often talk about how and why this anti-self emerges and how to challenge the negative line of thinking it perpetuates, which we call the “critical inner voice.” One exercise we ask people to try is writing down their self-critical thoughts in the second person (i.e. “You are such a loser. You can’t…

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Fear of Intimacy

By Robert W. Firestone, Ph.D. Joyce Catlett, M.A. In Fear of Intimacy, the authors bring almost 40 years of clinical experience to bear in challenging the usual ways of thinking about couples and families. They argue that relationships fail not for the commonly cited reasons, but because psychological defenses formed in childhood act as a barrier to closeness in adulthood. A wide range of cross-generational case studies and powerful personal acco…

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How Standing Up for Yourself Helps You Fight Depression

…depression means taking on this inner voice or “anti-self.” My father, Dr. Robert Firestone, created Voice Therapy as a therapeutic approach to conquer your critical inner voice, and in our book of that tile, which I co-authored with my father, we discuss specific ways people can start to challenge this inner enemy. Here are some of the valuable steps that can help people to start to recognize and counter these destructive thought processes. 1. Id…

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True Love or a Fantasy Bond?

…Fantasy Bond is a concept developed by my father, psychologist and author Robert Firestone, to describe an illusion of connection people form to create a sense of safety and security. As a relationship becomes more intimate and more important to us, we start to feel vulnerable and afraid that things will change. Our worry that we will be hurt or rejected is often apparent to us. But there is another element that threatens us of which we are often…

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7 Behaviors That Ruin a Relationship

…oneness with a relationship partner, a concept elucidated by my father Dr. Robert Firestone. When couples enter into this type of bond, they substitute a fantasy of being connected in place of real relating. They start to put form over substance, and the relationship starts to deteriorate. The degree to which an individual in a couple enters into a fantasy bond exists on a continuum. In the beginning, people usually open up to one another and rela…

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