The Psychonaut Show

What does Freud’s daughter have in common with Jesus and the Buddha? Why do the words “normal” and “should” signal treacherous waters as we steer through our inner worlds? In this episode, we learn about the first, and most fundamental, of The Six Testaments of The Psychonaut, the principles that guide us through the mysterious regions of our unconscious. From loveless marriages to homophobia, the First Testament helps find our way to new solutions. Neutrality is about not judging, and we learn it

What does a bad break up have to do with immigration policy? Why is today's Superman less perfect but more "Super?" In this episode, we explore the Paranoid Position and the Depressed Position, ways that we have of managing our fears of being attacked, ideas about good and evil, and why sadness may be the key to resolving conflicts in both our personal lives and in our society as a whole. Melanie Klein is one of the most important theorists, and controversial figures, in the history of

What does dropping out of graduate school have to do with Goldilocks? How do you know when to "jump in the deep end," or wade in slowly? Even more difficult, how do you know when to push your kids or ease up? Optimal Frustration is a way to get out of this "either-or" thinking and create real growth. Heinz Kohut, a psychoanalyst in the generation after Freud, developed the concept of Optimal Frustration after he fled to Chicago from the Nazis. His work focused on how we develop a sense of

We find out what Viennese housewives have in common with the Democratic National Committee. We throw in a Guillermo del Torro reference and find out why those who forget the past are doomed to be haunted by it. The Return of the Repressed was described by Sigmund Freud in 1896, but this idea remains as useful, and even as revolutionary, 120 years later. Knowledge of this mental phenomenon can help us to end our battles with our own ghosts and demons once and for all.

"The Psychonaut Show" explores the dark and hidden parts of our minds.  Dr. JKB, psychiatrist, child specialist, and psychoanalyst, hosts the podcast whose mission is to find tools that will help us navigate these strange worlds inside each of us. Using the ideas of thinkers going back to Sigmund Freud, we pull back the curtain on the sometimes forgotten and often misunderstood history of psychoanalytic theory. We show how seemingly academic concepts can help us understand dilemmas that we face