The Disintegrating Self: Psychotherapy of Adult ADHD, Autistic Spectrum, and Somato-Psychic Disorders

337 Pages·2015·1.86 MB·English

by  Phil Mollon

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CHAPTERTITLE I
THE DISINTEGRATING SELF
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THE DISINTEGRATING
SELF
Psychotherapy of Adult ADHD,
Autistic Spectrum, and
Somato-psychic Disorders
Phil Mollon
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First published in 2015 by
Karnac Books Ltd
118 Finchley Road, London NW3 5HT
Copyright © 2015 to Phil Mollon.
The right of Phil Mollon to be identified as the author of this work has been
asserted in accordance with §§ 77 and 78 of the Copyright Design and Patents
Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in
a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, e lectronic,
mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written
permission of the publisher.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A C.I.P. for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN 978 1 78220 210 3
Edited, designed and produced by The Studio Publishing Services Ltd
www.publishingservicesuk.co.uk
e-mail: [email protected]
Printed in Great Britain
www.karnacbooks.com
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CONTENTS
ABOUT THE AUTHOR vii
INTRODUCTION ix
Notes to the reader
CHAPTER ONE
Why this book was written—and why ADHD and 1
autistic spectrum conditions are of interest to
a psychotherapist
CHAPTER TWO
Some features of ADHD 11
CHAPTER THREE
Experiencing ADHD 47
CHAPTER FOUR
Some helpful and less helpful ways of viewing people 59
with ADHD and autistic spectrum conditions
CHAPTER FIVE
What is going on in the brain in ADHD? 75
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vi CONTENTS
CHAPTER SIX
Principles of psychotherapy with ADHD 107
CHAPTER SEVEN
The porous personality (and the “apparently 153
normal” persona)
CHAPTER EIGHT
The psychology and neurobiology of the autistic 171
spectrum
CHAPTER NINE
Psychotherapy with people on the autistic spectrum 203
CHAPTER TEN
Subtle energetic aspects of ADHD: reversed and 221
scrambled energy fields and yin–yang imbalance
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Somato–psychic fragility syndromes 237
CONCLUDING COMMENTS 249
APPENDIX I 251
Notes on medication for ADHD
APPENDIX II 255
Assessments for ADHD and autistic spectrum (Asperger’s)
conditions
APPENDIX III 259
Energy psychology methods for ADHD
NOTES 271
REFERENCES 275
INDEX 311
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Phil Mollon, PhD, is a psychoanalyst, clinical psychologist, and
energy psychotherapist. He is well-known as a writer and speaker
on topics including shame, trauma, dissociation, self-psychology, and
EMDR—and has pioneered the development of Psychoanalytic
Energy Psychotherapy. With 40 years of clinical experience, in both
the British National Health Service and private practice, he has
explored many different approaches, always seeking better ways of
helping those who are troubled with mental health problems. His
work remains rooted in psychoanalysis, whilst also incorporating
neurobiological, cognitive, and energetic perspectives. He can be
contacted via his website: www.philmollon.co.uk
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With gratitude to Dr Harold Maxwell, who first encouraged me
to write books, and to Dr Arthur Couch, who taught
classical Freudian psychoanalysis.
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INTRODUCTION
Notes to the reader
I hope the reader will be able to dip into any chapter and find some-
thing of interest. It is not necessary to start at the beginning and read
diligently to the end. For this reason, there is some overlap and
repetition among the chapters, although each has a particular theme
and focus. Some quotes from Freud are repeated in different places,
reflecting their importance.
I also hope the book may be accessible to some who personally
struggle with ADHD, autistic spectrum traits, high sensitivity, or
somato-psychic conditions.
My aim is to write in a way that does not require of the reader any
particular technical knowledge, and, therefore, I have tried to explain
all specialist concepts within the text.
A book that aims for scholarly integrity inevitably contains a large
number of references and citations, especially when dealing with
matters of scientific enquiry in neurobiology. These might, in places,
impede the flow of reading, but I hope they are of benefit to those who
wish to explore further. I have endeavoured at all times to make clear
whether statements are based on research findings, clinical observa-
tions, theoretical postulates, or merely personal opinion.
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