Meeting the Challenge of Polarization through Restorative Conversations
Discover this skill-building communication exercise where individuals can approach many conflictual situations with conviction and confidence. Drawing from the Restorative Justice Movement, this technique illustrates how to set limits with injustice while simultaneously offering an invitation of compassion in the service of reconciliation and connection.
The Difference Between Healthy Pride and Narcissistic Grandiosity
Most of us are drawn to or fascinated by successful people. It creates a sense of hopefulness and possibility, a belief that success is attainable, even for those who struggle with confidence or the lack of opportunity. So, how do we tell the difference between healthy pride/ambition and grandiose narcissism?
Podcast Featuring Dr. Patricia Gianotti Released on NPR
Announcing a recent podcast featuring Dr. Patricia Gianotti on the Earth and Spirit Podcast: NPR. Patricia Gianotti works with clients around issues related to trauma, shame, and narcissism and is the founder of the Center for Spiritual Integration.
Discovering the Light That Shines Within
The gathering of the family during the holidays has long been a celebrated tradition rooted in both social and emotional factors. Nevertheless, the expectation for family members to reconnect, strengthen, and/or renew bonds is a strong force that often creates internal pressure – feelings of hope and anticipation coupled with anxiety, ambivalence, guilt, and fear of disappointment.
Shyness, Introversion, and Social Anxiety – What’s the Difference?
Shyness, introversion, and social anxiety are terms that have long been confused. While social anxiety is a clinical diagnosis, introversion is actually a personality trait, an aspect of one’s temperament.
Suspending Judgment
It’s little things that come up in casual conversation that often surprise you and catch you off guard. Changing your opinion about someone can make you realize that the assumptions you made may have been too dismissive.
A Secure Connection to Family Helps Us Weather the Storms of Life
During those times in life when disappointment makes us feel helpless and vulnerable, drawing upon early memories of having a safe, secure connection to family helps us weather the storms of life.
The Importance of Understanding Loyalty Contracts
How does someone break free of an internalized system of beliefs, feelings, reactions, and expectations that were created and deeply rooted in early parent-child interactions?
How We Perceive Aging
The PBS program entitled “Sages of Aging,” features 12 experts in the field of aging coming together to discuss the state of aging in America and discuss the state of aging in America and how we perceive aging.
The Idea of Loyalty
Examining the idea of loyalty and framing that understanding through the lens of, “Loyalty Contracts.”
How Cultural Marginalization Enforces Unfair Loyalty Contracts
In Patricia Gianotti’s third book, Embracing Therapeutic Complexity, she talks about the powerful grip that unfair loyalty contracts have on people throughout their life span.
The Definition of Narcissism
A working definition of narcissism begins by inviting people to pause, and think about narcissism as a condition of vulnerability or injury, rather than thinking about narcissism as a “diagnosis.”
Let’s Stop Using Narcissism As a Four-Letter Word
Have you noticed that the word narcissist has morphed into a term of derision and contempt that is easily thrown around at will? But how many people really understand where the term comes from or what it means?
When I’m Disappointed...
Disappointments happen in life. If we’re smart, we can learn from them. With enough distance, disappointments that initially feel crushing often turn out to be life lessons.