October 2021: Last chance to sign up for the new Interactive Book Club, Chapter 3 on Character Analysis!

The new session of the Book Club will start on October 21st, 2021! For more information and to register: Click Here

Here’s some information about Character Analysis from one of Dr. Frisch’s prior Blogs: How Does Character Analysis Differ from Traditional Analysis?

A major difference between these two modalities is that character analysis lives and breathes in the here and now and interacts spiritedly with the blatant defensive style and chronic approach of the client.

We learn basic coping strategies early on that are reinforced throughout our lives.

These strategies are carved into our being both mentally and biophysically and create our interface with others. We unconsciously hone patterns of thought, feeling reaction, and behavior that keep us afloat, but not as the master of our ship. Sometimes those patterns are hurtful both to ourselves and others because they are repeatedly destructive.

To read the entire blog: Click Here

If you are considering joining the Book Club and would like more in-depth information about Character Analysis, here is another of Dr. Frisch’s Blogs: The Art of Character Analysis

Character analysis, as defined by Wilhelm Reich, is an essential component of my method. I often quote Reich as his explanations make vividly clear the nuances of his clinical approach. I picked a selection for you that describes an aspect of character analysis and how it works in practice.

We stated that character analysis begins with the singling out and consistent analysis of the character resistance. This does not mean that the patient is enjoined not to be aggressive, not to be deceptive, not to speak in an incoherent manner, to follow the basic rule, etc. Such demands would not only be contrary to analytic procedure, they would be fruitless… In character analysis we ask ourselves why is the patient deceptive, speaks in an incoherent manner, is emotionally blocked, etc.; we endeavor to arouse his interest in the peculiarities of his character in order to elucidate, with his help, their meaning and origin through analysis. In other words, we merely single out from the orbit of the personality the character trait from which the cardinal resistance proceeds, and, if possible, we show the patient the surface relation between the character and the symptoms….we isolate the character trait and put it before the patient again and again until he has succeeded in breaking clear of it and viewing it as he would a vexatious compulsive symptom” (Reich, Selected Writings, 1973, 56)

To read the entire Blog: Click Here