About mirel

Counselor and Psychotherapist in New Jersey for OCD, social anxiety, anxiety. College professor, author
28 08, 2025

Unlocking the Heart of Psychoanalytic Therapy: A Comprehensive Course for Therapists

2025-09-03T15:08:09+00:00

A Sneak Peek Inside the Course

We’re excited to share a short preview of the first video in the course so you can experience the teaching style for yourself. This opening session sets the stage for what makes therapy “psychoanalytic” and introduces the guiding principles that […]

Unlocking the Heart of Psychoanalytic Therapy: A Comprehensive Course for Therapists2025-09-03T15:08:09+00:00
20 08, 2025

Fathers, Authority, and the Power We Project

2025-08-20T01:42:03+00:00

Lately I’ve been reflecting on the role of fathers, grandfathers, and other paternal figures who come to symbolize authority, strength, and the transmission of tradition across generations. In many ways, their function is to set limits, to push us toward individuation and separateness, […]

Fathers, Authority, and the Power We Project2025-08-20T01:42:03+00:00
1 08, 2025

Esti and The Space Between Us: A Therapy Anecdote

2025-08-01T19:12:30+00:00

Esti had stepped into my life, and I into hers.

We were circling something in our sessions, something neither of us could quite name. It felt like an elephant in the room.

Esti seemed to want […]

Esti and The Space Between Us: A Therapy Anecdote2025-08-01T19:12:30+00:00
30 07, 2025

Why Tools Alone Aren’t Enough (and Why Silence Matters Too)

2025-07-30T18:09:27+00:00

CBT and psychoanalysis:

When Devorah came to see me, she sat down quietly and looked around the room. There was a long pause, one of those silences that can feel heavy and uncomfortable.

Part of me wanted to jump in, make small talk, help her feel safe. […]

Why Tools Alone Aren’t Enough (and Why Silence Matters Too)2025-07-30T18:09:27+00:00
27 07, 2025

Why “Cheering Someone Up” Can Backfire

2025-07-27T19:22:02+00:00

When we’re in distress, our first need often isn’t to fix the feeling, it’s to get it out. To hand it over to someone else who can hold it. This isn’t immaturity. It’s a deeply human process rooted in our earliest experiences.

Why “Cheering Someone Up” Can Backfire2025-07-27T19:22:02+00:00
17 07, 2025

When the Mind of the Other Feels Dangerous: Why Some of Us Struggle to Understand What Others Feel

2025-07-22T04:57:12+00:00

Many people struggle with the ability to mentalize—to understand and reflect on what others are thinking or feeling—especially if they grew up with caregivers who expressed envy, hostility, or passive aggression. This blog explores why the minds of others can feel dangerous, how trauma can lead to either emotional shutdown or hyper-mentalizing, and why facing the truth about our early relationships is essential for breaking painful patterns and forming healthier connections.

When the Mind of the Other Feels Dangerous: Why Some of Us Struggle to Understand What Others Feel2025-07-22T04:57:12+00:00
29 06, 2025

When Ordinary Feels Empty: Understanding the Craving for Intensity

2025-07-22T04:57:12+00:00

For many people, intensity isn’t just exciting—it can feel necessary to feel alive. Some people feel shame over this or believe it means they’re addicted to drama, trauma, or pain. There is some truth to this, but we need to frame it […]

When Ordinary Feels Empty: Understanding the Craving for Intensity2025-07-22T04:57:12+00:00
22 06, 2025

The Sadistic Internal Figure: How Longing Can Distort the Mind

2025-07-22T04:57:12+00:00

It’s strange how quickly the people we love can turn into monsters in our minds—especially when we’re waiting, needing, or not getting what we long for.

One moment, someone feels warm and safe. The next, they seem cold, distant, withholding. And […]

The Sadistic Internal Figure: How Longing Can Distort the Mind2025-07-22T04:57:12+00:00
21 05, 2025

Whose Desire Are You Carrying?”

2025-07-22T04:57:12+00:00

Many of us live our lives chasing something—a kind of fulfillment, recognition, achievement, or type of partner or friend- without realizing that the thing we’re after might not be ours to begin with.

Unconsciously, we often absorb […]

Whose Desire Are You Carrying?”2025-07-22T04:57:12+00:00
16 05, 2025

How Therapy Can Detoxify Shame

2025-07-22T04:57:12+00:00

Each of us carries secret, private thoughts or moments we feel embarrassed or ashamed about—sometimes for deeply personal, idiosyncratic reasons. And yet, when we dare to share those hidden parts of ourselves with another person, and they’re not only accepted, but affirmed, it […]

How Therapy Can Detoxify Shame2025-07-22T04:57:12+00:00
Go to Top