Laura K Kerr, PhD

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Trauma's Labyrinth

Finding Ways Out of Trauma


Gone Writing.

Gone Writing.

Through the summer months I am working on longer writing projects and not blogging as much. I will continue to curate regularly on Trauma's Labyrinth, Curated and Women. Healing. Violence. Subscribe via email or RSS for latest posts and updates (below right in sidebar).

Have a great summer.

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Social Theory Project:

Social Theory Project:

This project describes ways the body, relationships, and civilization have evolved in response to the effects of trauma. In particular, I focus on the role of the imaginal and dissociation for denying as well as exploiting the impact of traumatic events. I also explore how the West and globalization propagate traumatic defenses, and suggest ways to create conditions that contribute to healing after trauma.

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Self-Analysis Project:

Self-Analysis Project:

I believe the work of being a psychotherapist is a calling driven by one's own attempts to heal, much like the notion of the wounded healer discussed in depth psychology. This project is my attempt to understand the process of psychological healing and integration on a personal level. Some might say it's a memoir. I affectionately call it This Girl’s Journey Into Manhood.

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How I Practice Psychotherapy With Minimal Intrusion From The DSM

Laura K Kerr+ · May 21, 2013 · 4 Comments
Photo: Shed with "Freedom From Religion" painted on one side.
I started critiquing the DSM about sixteen years ago. At that time, I was conducting research for my dissertation on mood disorders as well as team teaching an advanced graduate seminar on the phenomenology of madness. Back then, mood disorders were called depression and manic depression. Both terms resonated with what [...]
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Let there be love!

Laura K Kerr+ · May 6, 2013 · 4 Comments
Photo of a statue of Eros.
In The Red Book, CG Jung declared, “the brightness of love seems to come from the fact that love is visible light and action.” This may be one of the more expansive definitions of love, and it shows the reach for hyperbole that love inspires. But love is both elixir [...]
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An Ambivalent Writer

Laura K Kerr+ · April 28, 2013 · 4 Comments
Photo of desert landscape.
I spent the weekend at my alma mater, Pacifica Graduate Institute, attending “The Writer’s Journey” conference. In a plenary given by Michael Meade I learned some Native Americans believe that if you don’t give away what you possess, what you possess will rot inside you. When [...]
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To Neglect Is To Indulge

Laura K Kerr+ · April 25, 2013 · Add Comment
Photo of African boys.
“The health of humankind is not measured just by its coughs and wheezes but by the fevers of its soul. Or perhaps more important yet, by the quickness and care we bring against them. If our history suggests unreason’s durability, our experience teaches that to neglect it is to indulge [...]
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What to Call “Terror”?

Laura K Kerr+ · April 20, 2013 · Add Comment
Thorns of Sadness. Copyright © 2013 Laura K Kerr, PhD. All rights reserved
Lately I have been working on a paper about the phenomenology of violence, focusing on the present atrocities in the Democratic Republic of Congo and the 1994 genocide in Rwanda. On the days when I am not trying to grapple with the inconceivable brutality haunting this region of the world, [...]
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Two New Blogs!

Laura K Kerr+ · April 15, 2013 · Add Comment
Women. Healing. Violence.
I’ve started two new blogs, Women. Healing. Violence. and Trauma’s Labyrinth, Curated. I will continue to use this blog, Trauma’s Labyrinth, for sharing longer posts and essays. Both Women. Healing. Violence. and Trauma’s Labyrinth, Curated are curation projects, with minimal comments from me [...]
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A Sensorimotor Approach to Becoming Indigenous (and healing trauma)

Laura K Kerr+ · April 7, 2013 · Add Comment
Photo: Hoodoos in Bryce Canyon National Park.
Trickster plays with me. Last week I wrote about Indigenous wisdom as a “gentle” trickster for violent, destructive times. This week, while hiking among the hoodoos in Bryce Canyon National Park, I learned the Paiutes Indians called these rock pillars the “Legend People,” who coyote trickster [...]
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A Gentle Trickster

Laura K Kerr+ · March 26, 2013 · 2 Comments
Trickster. Copyright © 2013 Laura K Kerr, PhD.
Consider the following classification of animals from an ancient Chinese encyclopedia: Animals are divided into: (a) belonging to the Emperor, (b) embalmed, (c) tame, (d) sucking pigs, (e) sirens, (f) fabulous, (g) stray dogs, (h) included in the present classification, (i) frenzied, (j) innumerable, (k) drawn with a [...]
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Imagining Suicide

Laura K Kerr+ · March 19, 2013 · 4 Comments
Photo: Golden Gate Bridge.
Twice weekly, I commute across the Golden Gate Bridge. I’ve taken this route for over a year, yet the view still consumes me. Whether marveling at the Bridge, seeing the sun (or fog) mingle with the Pacific Ocean, or eyeing the cramped San Francisco skyline that signals the end of [...]
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The “Ides of March” in the Cycle of Growth

Laura K Kerr+ · March 13, 2013 · 2 Comments
Bloom! Copyright © 2013 Laura K Kerr, PhD. All rights reserved.
“Beware the Ides of March,” says the soothsayer to Julius Caesar in Shakespeare’s drama about the leader’s demise. This phrase, which once forewarned Caesar’s assassination, you can hear uttered each spring by mental health professionals. According to folk wisdom, the season coincides with an increase in mental disorders and symptoms [...]
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  • Recent Posts

    • How I Practice Psychotherapy With Minimal Intrusion From The DSM
    • Let there be love!
    • An Ambivalent Writer
    • To Neglect Is To Indulge
    • What to Call “Terror”?
    • Two New Blogs!
    • A Sensorimotor Approach to Becoming Indigenous (and healing trauma)
    • A Gentle Trickster
    • Imagining Suicide
    • The “Ides of March” in the Cycle of Growth
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Laura K Kerr, PhD

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  • How I Practice Psychotherapy With Minimal Intrusion From The DSM
    I started critiquing the DSM about sixteen years ago. At that time, […]

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Copyright © 2009-2013 Laura K Kerr, PhD. All rights reserved (applies to writing and photography).