The Healing Power of Truth: Making Contact Where Suffering Lies with Gloria Myers Beller
The Art of ListeningShow Notes
The field of psychotherapy and analysis is a dynamic space that constantly evolves, and we are all determined to embrace these changes authentically. Over the past 31 years, Gloria Myers Beller and I have been sharing genuine, profoundly authentic conversations. The depth and breadth of our discussions as colleagues and true friends is a big part of what has inspired me to create The Art of Listening. As a seasoned psychotherapist, Gloria has spent over 50 years amassing wisdom in the field. As she cared for patients in a range of settings – and ultimately in her independent practice – she came to understand how pain constitutes the heart of the human experience.
In this episode of The Art of Listening, Gloria guides us through her own history of therapeutic practice. She illuminates the pivotal role authenticity plays in the therapeutic setting and the healing ability of truth. Drawing from her rich experiences and her own background as an African American woman from the segregated South, Gloria has cultivated a deep understanding of suffering as a universal point of contact among human beings. It is through this understanding that she has found the path to empathy, allowing her to connect with her patients on a profound level across decades and ‘meet them where their suffering lies’.
Chapters
1 - Gloria’s early work in the emerging field of social work and psychotherapy 2 - The evolution of the psychoanalytic work and moving into private practice 3 - Understanding the benefits and limitations of private practice for psychoanalytic treatments 4 - Using suffering as the universal point of contact in psychoanalysis 5 - Gloria’s personal background and its influence on her approach to her work 6 - Developing a practice grounded in authenticity and connection
Links Gloria Myers Beller Eileen Dunn More from ‘The Art of Listening’
More from The Art of Listening
Listening – it’s the cornerstone of human connection, yet the intricacies of depth therapy often remain hidden behind closed doors, bound by confidentiality. What if we could bring these transformative conversations into the public sphere and reveal the true magic that occurs within the therapeutic encounter? I’m Eileen Dunn, the voice behind The Art of Listening, and these are the very questions that led me to the creation of this podcast. As a psychoanalyst and clinical psychologist, my life’s work has been dedicated to uncovering the power of depth therapy, where the roles of speaker and listener are crucial to fostering personal growth and healing. Throughout this series, we've welcomed a range of guests, each with their own voice, insights, and experience. All committed to the human-to-human relationships at the heart of therapeutic transformation. So to conclude this series today, I wanted to share my own story and reflect on the creative process behind this podcast. In this final episode, we embark on the personal journey that led me to the field of clinical psychology. We consider the moments of pain and triumph that shaped my approach and helped me form the big questions that have consistently driven my work. And as we come to a close, I’ll share what I’m taking away from each of our distinguished guests, to draw meaningful, long-lasting lessons from the Art of Listening. Join me in this final episode as we delve into the heart of what makes listening so transformative.
We often think of our conscious experience as one driven by language. Our thoughts are shaped by words; our emotions processed in conversation. Yet, while language is a sharp tool for expression, the level of detail and nuance it affords us can also get us lost. And like many other animals, we communicate our needs before we’re able to speak. So what if consciousness, the quality of being us in the privacy of our mind, was in fact something else?
The children we once were will always stay with us. And when we drift back to treasured moments from childhood, we find that our play was a great source of growth. Games, toys, and play-pretends helped us explore the world; they taught us how to interact with others and express our ideas for the first time. In fact, playing was integral to our personal development. So why did we ever give it up? And what happens when we continue to play, as adults? Our guest Sarah Abel has dedicated her career to these questions. Sarah is a “reluctant adult”, a former teacher and social worker, who now works as a psychotherapist. She has spent 20 years in private practice, working with a range of patients, including children and adults. Her focus has always been to explore the dynamics of childhood development and recognize the value of play within our lives and within the therapeutic setting. On this episode of the Art of Listening, Sarah Abel takes us on a nostalgic journey back to our childhoods. Together, we reflect on the significance of play, exploring how it shapes our understanding of the world. We discuss how our bonds with our family define how we go on to interact with the world. And we delve into the power of play to reshape who we are and express ourselves in new ways, finding that in the psychoanalytic environment, play can knock down barriers between patient and therapist, and facilitate growth.
When you think of a familiar memory, colors, images, scents and emotions can come to mind. Our imaginations hold the ability to transform even the simplest of experiences into sensorial memories. It is this same creativity that resides at the heart of the therapeutic hour. Inside the confines of the therapy room, we possess the power to recreate images that encapsulate our inner worlds and give voice to the thoughts and emotions that accompany us day after day.
In the hustle and bustle of our daily lives, some words of advice keep coming back around: “Look after yourself”, “self-care first”... Simple, in theory. But how do we truly prioritize our well-being? What can we do to build confidence and strength, and balance out our emotions, when life challenges us? Today’s guest has long grappled with these fundamental questions.