Vilifying the rich has become popular. Yet a recent survey shows that wealthy individuals don’t feel rich despite their financial standing. What drives the rich to get ever-richer, and what does it tell us about the psychology of wealth?

Pain is pain, regardless of the type or source. Even on a neurological level, emotional heartache can be every bit as painful as touching a hot stove.

When we experience a traumatic or deeply upsetting event, it’s important to give ourselves the time and space to heal, and not expect recovery to be without its setbacks.

Empathy facilitates understanding between counsellors and clients who do not speak the same language. What about online therapy, in which the language is there, without the bodily resonant experience of empathy?

In a multicultural society, it’s inevitable that counsellors, like everyone else, will come across people whose first or even second language is not English. But if therapist and client are — quite literally — speaking different languages, how can therapeutic work even begin to take place? The answer lies in the gift of empathy.

“How do you know when your clients are lying? Their lips are moving!” a mentor once quipped to me. I believe clients’ lies have as much to say about therapists as they do about the people under our care.

Are emotions like a cold? Can you be caught by others’ emotions? I think so. Just like we have some immunity to colds, and we won’t get one every time we are exposed, we can develop some immunity to others’ emotions.