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Comme la plupart d’entre nous, il y a des jours ou je n’aime pas vieillir. Mais souvent j’aime ; les marques sur mon corps sont des traces de mon histoire ; mes rides sont les expressions de mes émotions et de mes incidents de vie. Mais surtout je me sens tellement mieux aujourd’hui qu’a 20 ans. Comme disait mon grand-père, « si jeunesse savait et si vieillesse pouvait… » . Sauf que je suis ce que je suis aujourd’hui justement parce que je ne savais pas et que j’ai fait des erreurs. Et que j’en fais toujours. Et c’est ce qui fait que je [...]

I have a lot of men patients these days. I am very honored by the trust that grows between us with each session. I like their sensitivity. And then I think of the little man in my life and wonder how the world will be when he grows up. J'ai beaucoup d'hommes dans ma clientèle en ce moment. Je suis très touchée par la confiance qui s'établit lentement entre nous. J'aime leur sensibilité. Et puis je pense au petit homme de ma vie et me demande comment sera le monde quand il sera grand.

Every person that comes into my office is a gift. I  am fascinated by these lives that patients share with me. And I thank life every day for this profession. How lucky I am to be payed to do something I love. Toute personne qui entre dans mon bureau est un cadeau. Je suis toujours émerveillée de ces vies que l'on me conte et raconte. Et je remercie le ciel tous les jours de faire ce métier. Quelle chance d'être payée pour faire quelque chose que j'adore !

A journalist asks me : can depression be held responsable for gaining weight ? Of course. But it can be responsable for loss as well, that depends on each individual.Un journaliste me demande : le mal-être peut-il entrainer une prise de poids ? Of course. Mais une perte aussi, tout dépend de chacun.

I am still around but the end of the year with exams to write and correct, dissertations to correct make it all very... college oriented. I'll be back ASAP. Je suis toujours là mais les fins d'années avec corrections mémoires, préparation examens, copies à corriger etc sont toujours un peu... universitaires ! je reviens ASAP.

For the past couple of weeks I have been working more and more with women with eating disorders. Is it the approach of summer and the magazines that are responsable for this ? Maybe but beyond a painful image of themselves, I see obsession and compulsion. I really believe that having a simple and healthy rapport to food in our current society is complicated. And when I see those women, slowly but surely starting to liberate themselves from the obsession and compulsion, it fills me with joy ! I also think of the following generation and  every parent who is [...]

I remember when Amazon was created and one of my oldest friends called me from Brazil to tell me about it, I was estatic. Seriously. I FINALLY had access to all the English litterature at a reasonnable price. And better yet, I had access to all the self-help books that were not yet part of the French market. And I am an avid reader. Obviously I also read  more complex books. I like variety. To come back to what I was saying the other day on meditation, we can only learn a part of meditation in books. After that it's [...]

Qu'est-ce-que c'est que l'ovokindersurprisophilie ? Mon frère en a souffert jusqu'à ce que sa femme ait tout mis à la poubelle...* Trouvé dans le livre par ailleurs passionnant du Pr Michel Lejoyeux "Du plaisir à la dépendance". Très accessible et qui vient de sortir en poche chez Points. * réponse demain si vous n'avez pas trouvé ">

... not foreveryone.  Love self-employment.... pas pour tout le monde ! Vive le libéral.

A few people have spoken about Mindfulness recently, as it being the "new" therapy. So since I'm curious I looked in on it, to learn and understand. Mindfulness is simply meditation and conscious awareness in a therapeutic setting. Essentially one learns meditation by practicing meditation. As says John Kabat-Zinn : "Meditation, it's not what you think."  That's something to meditate on (or not !).Plusieurs personnes m'ont parlé de Mindfulness récemment, comme la "nouvelle" thérapie. Mindfulness est simplement la méditation et la pleine conscience dans un contexte thérapeutique. Et la méditation s'apprend essentiellement en pratiquant. Comme dit John Kabat-Zinn : "La [...]

"You cannot teach a man anything. You can only help him discover it within himself." Galileo Teaching is a very difficult tasks and I never know which days it will click with my students, and which days will be more difficult. But what I find the hardest is that teaching psychology, is really trying to teach them about themselves and is that really my role in a university ? Somedays I wonder... "On ne peut rien enseigner à l'homme. On ne peut que l'aider à le découvrir en lui-même." Galileo L'enseignement est une tâche difficile et je ne sais jamais [...]

"Remember, my children, that their is nothing constant, apart from change." BOUDDHA I was thinking waking up this morning how happy I am to see the sun and how much I like these spring mornings. And then my thoughts drifted back to my childhood when I lived in South America. Over there the sun is almost constantly present, and passed the first two months of excitement of having sun and heat in the winter, I appreciated the sun much less than here. I love seasons. I also love the winter and the big sweaters.  The change of seasons sometimes echos [...]

In an interview Carl Jung gave to the BBC in 1959, at the age of 84, and still working : Journalist : "Did you believe in God ?" (ie when you were a child) Jung : "Oh yes" Journalist : ""Do you now believe in God ?" Jung : "Now ?... Difficult to answer, I don't need to believe, I know." I love the simplicity of that answer. And for those of you who would like to watch and listen to the interview : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WQ8aV8YndwQDans une interview que Carl Jung a donné à la BBC à l'âge de 84 ans, [...]

The reasons of my silence : - vacation - paper work Guess which one I like better ? Les responsables de mon silence actuel : - les vacances - les papiers. Devinez ce que je préfère ?

Do you say what you mean ? Do you mean what you say ? It's not always easy to differentiate those two statements. And Happy Easter. Dis tu ce que tu veux dire ? Veux tu dire ce que tu dis ? Ce n'est pas toujours simple de différencier c'est deux phrases. A méditer. Et Joyeuses Pâques à tous.

"A definition of insanity is doing he same thing and expecting a different result." Albert Einstein This of course is not true for all things that we persist in doing. Obviously if I meditate every day, I will eventually have a different result. Or if I exercice regularly I will get better at it. It does however apply concerning certain behaviors in our lives (such as eating too much, smoking, drinking excessively) or in our interactions (if I continue to speak to my husband exactly the same way, saying the same things, why should I expect a different reaction from [...]

Check out this conference and this web-site. It's really worth the trip. ENJOY ! http://www.ted.com/index.php/talk /jill_bolte_taylor_s_powerful_stroke_of_insight.htmlPour ceux qui parlent anglais, cette conférence est vraiment fascinante. Et tout le site également. ENJOY ! http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/jill_bolte_taylor_s_powerful_stroke_of_insight.html

A couple of weeks ago, I went to a conference on nature and psychotherapy, organised by the European Association of  PsychoCorporal and Interpersonal Therapists (l'Association Européenne de Thérapeutes Psychocorporels et Relationnels). One of the psychotherapists said this sentence which seems essential to me, "I advance in life with faith in one hand and fear in the other." When I get on a Big Wheel, I trust that it will function, but I'm still afraid. Life is a Big Wheel. http://www.aetpr-psychotherapie.org J'ai assisté à une conférence sur la nature et la psychothérapie, organisée par l'Association Européenne de Thérapeutes Psychocorporels et Relationnels. [...]

It's difficult to swim and think at the same time. This is yet another reason to love swimming. C'est difficile de nager et de penser en meme temps. C'est une raison de plus d'aimer la natation.

I advise people who come to see me to only listen to the news once a day.  Or better yet just read the newspaper.  But don't watch the news on TV. The reason for this being that the media essentially send out messages of fear and general anxiety that will not help the people who are allready scared feel any better. Obviously I am aware that some professions need to be updated all day long on the news, but no one ever said they had to watch the images that are used to shock us. So yes if you wish [...]

Another definition for extra weight is solidified fear. This is obviously not true for everyone, but for a lot of people it certainly is ! Une autre définition pour des kilos superflus : la peur solidifiée. Cela n'est évidemment pas vrai pour tous. Mais pour de nombreuses personnes cela l'est sans aucun doute !

" If you want to know why you drink, put the bottle down." It's simple but very true. This is also true for food, cigarettes or any other addictive product or behavior. " Si tu veux savoir pourquoi tu bois, pose ton verre." C'est simple mais très vrai. Au départ la personne sait pourquoi elle boit, mais avec le temps elle oublie.  Et plus elle boit, plus elle oublie pourquoi elle boit. La seule façon de s'en souvenir, c'est de poser le verre. Ceci est également valable pour la nourriture, la cigarette et n'importe quel produit ou comportement.

"Maintaining the parental couple after the dissolution of the marital couple." Simple sentence, complex process. Psychotherapists can help parents in the process, and when they succeed, it makes the kids life more comfortable. "Maintenir le couple parental au-delà du couple conjugal." Phrase très simple, contenu très complexe. Les psy sont aussi là pour accompagner les parents sur ce chemin après leur séparation. Et lorsque les parents réussissent ce challenge, il y a bien moins de dégâts pour les enfants.

The sun is shinning today in Paris. Certain people say they only feel good when the weather is nice. However the rain also has its beauty and if we had the sun every day, would we appreciate it as much ? The best is when I learn to love the rain and the cold as well as the sunshine. It’s the same for us humans. Do I only love the “good” in me or do I also feel compassion and tenderness for the sides of myself that bother me, that I would like to change and improve ? Loving the [...]