Dr. Rick and Forrest explore the ideas, context, and legacy of psychoanalysis, the often-controversial origin point for modern therapy. They discuss psychoanalysis’ early history and key concepts like the unconscious mind, repression, inner conflict, and transference. Alongside those major contributions, they wrestle with what hasn’t aged so well: the reduct ... Show More
Nov 17
Dealing with Guilt Trips, Boundaries, and Non-Monogamy: November Mailbag
Dr. Rick and Forrest open up the mailbag to answer listener questions about effective communication, healthy relationships, and contentment. They explore how defining boundaries, taking maximum reasonable responsibility, and extending an olive branch can help manage ongoing confl ... Show More
1h 15m
Nov 10
How to Be Yourself: Authenticity in Relationships with Elizabeth Ferreira
In this very fun episode, Forrest and Elizabeth discuss how to get on the same team in a relationship. They explore how conditions of worth, masking, and developmental trauma can get in the way of showing up authentically, and how falling into common relationship roles can reinfo ... Show More
1h 12m
Apr 2025
Melanie Klein, Symbol Formation, and Autism: A Psychoanalytic Conversation with Dr. Ben Morsa
<p>What happens when the ego fails to form a symbol? In this episode of Acid Horizon, we're joined by Dr. Ben Morsa, a clinical psychologist and psychoanalytic thinker working at the intersection of queer theory, neurodiversity, and mental health. Together, we dive into Mela ... Show More
1h 18m
May 2025
If It's Hysterical, It's Historical: The Liberating Power of Understanding Your Past | Dr. Orna Guralnik
<p dir="ltr">On psychoanalysis, which we haven't talked about much on this show.</p> <p><strong> </strong></p> <p dir="ltr"><a href="https://www.ornaguralnik.com/">Dr. Orna Guralnik</a> is a psychoanalyst and writer. Her writing centers on the intersection of psychoanalysis, diss ... Show More
1h 11m
May 2025
100: Mailbag: An Embarrassment of Riches
<p>Abby, Patrick, and Dan mark one hundred episodes of Ordinary Unhappiness! They start by looking back on the show’s run so far, and what they’ve gotten from engaging with psychoanalysis as a living body of knowledge, as a corpus of classic texts, as a way of seeing the world, a ... Show More
1h 30m
Apr 2025
Transference Focused Psychotherapy & Personality Disorders with Dr. Otto Kernberg
In this episode, Dr. Otto Kernberg, a pioneer of Transference-Focused Psychotherapy (TFP), discusses personality disorders through a psychoanalytic lens. Explore key insights into Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD), identity diffusion, primitive defense mechanisms such as spli ... Show More
1h 28m
Jun 2025
731. Narcissim Throughout History
In this episode, Krista welcomes Dr. Ramani Durvasula, a licensed clinical psychologist famous for her expertise in narcissism. On a mission to educate the masses about this high-conflict personality type, Dr. Ramani hosts the popular Navigating Narcissism podcast and has written ... Show More
12m 56s
Sep 24
Fix Your Brain by Fixing Your Body: Metabolic Psychiatry Explained by Dr. Shebani Sethi
For too long, psychiatry has treated mental illness as if it lives only in the brain. But what if the real story begins in the body? My guest today, Dr. Shebani Sethi, is a Clinical Associate Professor at Stanford and founding director of the Metabolic Psychiatry Program, the fir ... Show More
1h 13m