An article by an eminent philosopher promises to stir up controversy about introspection (metacognition) and understanding the mental states of others (mindreading), on the one hand, and autism and schizophrenia on the other.

For me the key to therapy is space: space in which to listen and to perceive in a total way everything that the client says with their words, and with their body, space in which to listen as if this person were the first and only person in the world, and they were giving you some infinitely precious information — how it is for them.

Although a therapist is a professional, this does not mean that being deferential to them is in your best interests as a client. If you feel that you are not making progress, or that your therapist does not ‘get’ you or what you are saying, it is time to speak up.

Interesting research results indicate that sixty percent of private practice dynamically oriented psychotherapy clients feel that their therapy either lasted too long or ended too soon. Is it the case that money, or patience, run out?

Self-Help is a massive and growing industry. Are these books really selling the secrets to happiness, thinness and wealth? Or are they making profits from the comforting illusion that these things are really for sale?

So much of the pain we go through with loved ones is down to communication failure — to each person assuming that the other speaks and thinks in the same way that they do. I thought of that today as I had a rerun of one of the top ten conflicts I have with my husband…