The Mel Jar
@the-mel-jar.bsky.social
An Ashkenazi-Californian hysteric proudly in the phallic stage of psychosexual/psychotherapist development. A fun enough person. Skeets for the jouissance. NOT Mel Klein.
Reposted by The Mel Jar
“Another mild orange-gold
October day.”
Sylvia Plath
Letter to Aurelia Plath
18 October 1950
October day.”
Sylvia Plath
Letter to Aurelia Plath
18 October 1950
October 20, 2025 at 3:44 AM
“Another mild orange-gold
October day.”
Sylvia Plath
Letter to Aurelia Plath
18 October 1950
October day.”
Sylvia Plath
Letter to Aurelia Plath
18 October 1950
This is how they get you. The books. And the clubs.
I am in two book clubs and reading a 3rd of my own volition. I dont have time for this.
October 11, 2025 at 5:07 AM
This is how they get you. The books. And the clubs.
“Become a therapist, because this is a way chiller job than being a mental health nonprofit director.” Haha. Hahahahahahaha
October 8, 2025 at 8:23 PM
“Become a therapist, because this is a way chiller job than being a mental health nonprofit director.” Haha. Hahahahahahaha
An announcement: I have done a thing. I have started a Substack, and I have written an overly long introductory post. What I am asking you to do now is to check this post out, and subscribe to my Substack. Hopefully, you won't totally regret that. themeljar.substack.com/p/im-startin...
September 28, 2025 at 2:36 PM
An announcement: I have done a thing. I have started a Substack, and I have written an overly long introductory post. What I am asking you to do now is to check this post out, and subscribe to my Substack. Hopefully, you won't totally regret that. themeljar.substack.com/p/im-startin...
I am aware that we are all trapped in our own place and time. While it is always a temptation to judge any specific figure of the past, it’s still very important to know, “there but for the grace of God go I.”
September 28, 2025 at 12:47 AM
I am aware that we are all trapped in our own place and time. While it is always a temptation to judge any specific figure of the past, it’s still very important to know, “there but for the grace of God go I.”
I think that it’s good not to be too wowed by many people in medicine and psychology who lived and worked in certain places during certain periods of time. I think that it’s good to look at their work as a whole with a certain understanding, and, y’know, not fully embrace their terms and ideas.
September 27, 2025 at 4:45 AM
I think that it’s good not to be too wowed by many people in medicine and psychology who lived and worked in certain places during certain periods of time. I think that it’s good to look at their work as a whole with a certain understanding, and, y’know, not fully embrace their terms and ideas.
Reposted by The Mel Jar
His whole conception of the Pleasure Principle is from watching his grandson play a wholesome lil game of fort/da and thinking it was TOTES ADORBS. The 1900 theoretician version of polluting your feed with baby pictures.
September 25, 2025 at 11:55 PM
His whole conception of the Pleasure Principle is from watching his grandson play a wholesome lil game of fort/da and thinking it was TOTES ADORBS. The 1900 theoretician version of polluting your feed with baby pictures.
One thing that is consistently endearing to me about Freud is that he very clearly saw the role of “father” as quite important, because he was also very interested in his own daddy role, and took being a dad very seriously, for better or for worse, perhaps, but really, how can we not admire this?
September 25, 2025 at 11:29 PM
One thing that is consistently endearing to me about Freud is that he very clearly saw the role of “father” as quite important, because he was also very interested in his own daddy role, and took being a dad very seriously, for better or for worse, perhaps, but really, how can we not admire this?
In case you’re wondering if the Jewish people in your life want to hear about the distant relative that you just learned was actually Jewish: yes, we 100% want to hear about this very thing. There’s a whole Jewish group called Chabad that is p much obsessed with this very thing. But we all love it.
September 21, 2025 at 7:26 AM
In case you’re wondering if the Jewish people in your life want to hear about the distant relative that you just learned was actually Jewish: yes, we 100% want to hear about this very thing. There’s a whole Jewish group called Chabad that is p much obsessed with this very thing. But we all love it.
Um, I think You Oughta Know that Alanis Morissette earned a PhD yesterday. You Live, You Learn indeed — nothing particularly Ironic about that, Don’t You Think?
September 20, 2025 at 10:36 PM
Um, I think You Oughta Know that Alanis Morissette earned a PhD yesterday. You Live, You Learn indeed — nothing particularly Ironic about that, Don’t You Think?
Reposted by The Mel Jar
When my nephew was 3 (he’s 13 now) he called Chick-fil-a “Chicka flay” and now everyone in our entire extended family calls it that still. I understand how language evolves.
September 17, 2025 at 7:49 PM
When my nephew was 3 (he’s 13 now) he called Chick-fil-a “Chicka flay” and now everyone in our entire extended family calls it that still. I understand how language evolves.
If the people who vote for Emmys had actually read any Judith Butler et al instead of just pretending to have read any Judith Butler et al then they would’ve given the third season of The White Lotus all the awards. This is my hot Emmys take that everyone clearly wants.
September 16, 2025 at 2:55 AM
If the people who vote for Emmys had actually read any Judith Butler et al instead of just pretending to have read any Judith Butler et al then they would’ve given the third season of The White Lotus all the awards. This is my hot Emmys take that everyone clearly wants.
Might finally be depressed enough to start a Substack.
September 12, 2025 at 5:05 PM
Might finally be depressed enough to start a Substack.
Sometimes I worry that those of us who are still on Twitter/X are either like the analysts who refused to leave Vienna after the rise of Nazism until it was almost too late (e.g., Freud) or we’re like Jung who was free to rise unrestricted in the German-speaking world because everyone else had fled.
September 11, 2025 at 5:36 PM
Sometimes I worry that those of us who are still on Twitter/X are either like the analysts who refused to leave Vienna after the rise of Nazism until it was almost too late (e.g., Freud) or we’re like Jung who was free to rise unrestricted in the German-speaking world because everyone else had fled.
I have asked this question many times before, but is there truly anything stopping us all from getting analytic couches and allowing patients to use them, or does this cross over into territory that will get us sanctioned by the IPA or APsA, or does the psychoanalytic police really NOT exist?
September 10, 2025 at 7:12 PM
I have asked this question many times before, but is there truly anything stopping us all from getting analytic couches and allowing patients to use them, or does this cross over into territory that will get us sanctioned by the IPA or APsA, or does the psychoanalytic police really NOT exist?
Another excellent observation, and a great Patricia Gherovici quote. By the way, Psychoanalysis in El Barrio is *chef’s kiss*.
I think these dynamics become more deeply problematic with marginalized patients. The powerful therapist, perched high atop their place of privilege and knowing, bestows wisdom upon the simple fool unable to educated themself. As Gherovici often repeats, even the poor can afford an unconscious.
September 9, 2025 at 11:29 PM
Another excellent observation, and a great Patricia Gherovici quote. By the way, Psychoanalysis in El Barrio is *chef’s kiss*.
This is such an insightful thread. I especially love how Oskar describes the issue of how a therapist, newly excited by the possibilities of psychodynamics, may resist accepting what can’t be simply absorbed into how they already work, and that there are certain impasses and then decisions to make.
Training new clinicians in the age of behavioral treatment and managed care is very challenging and disheartening.
I very much enjoy supervising young clinicians. I appreciate their passion and enthusiasm. It is very difficult, though, because the way in which I practice often seems fundamentally
I very much enjoy supervising young clinicians. I appreciate their passion and enthusiasm. It is very difficult, though, because the way in which I practice often seems fundamentally
September 9, 2025 at 6:39 PM
This is such an insightful thread. I especially love how Oskar describes the issue of how a therapist, newly excited by the possibilities of psychodynamics, may resist accepting what can’t be simply absorbed into how they already work, and that there are certain impasses and then decisions to make.
I regret every day trying to talk about hysteria on social media, because now I have a much better understanding of why this became taboo framing in the first place, and how much people truly don’t like and/or are afraid of women, including, unfortunately, many other women.
i don't think a lot of you understand what's happening.
if they can declare transgender people mentally ill, then they can do it for anyone. and they will.
they'll say homosexuality is an illness. they'll say women have hysteria. all the old invented pseudoscience will return in service to them.
if they can declare transgender people mentally ill, then they can do it for anyone. and they will.
they'll say homosexuality is an illness. they'll say women have hysteria. all the old invented pseudoscience will return in service to them.
September 5, 2025 at 9:34 PM
I regret every day trying to talk about hysteria on social media, because now I have a much better understanding of why this became taboo framing in the first place, and how much people truly don’t like and/or are afraid of women, including, unfortunately, many other women.
What if we got rid of cancel culture for everyone except therapists posting a whole fuck ton of PHI in Facebook and Reddit therapist groups?
September 3, 2025 at 9:09 PM
What if we got rid of cancel culture for everyone except therapists posting a whole fuck ton of PHI in Facebook and Reddit therapist groups?
Reposted by The Mel Jar
Begging therapists to be mindful of acronyms when naming new therapeutic techniques... "FAP with Sexual Minorities" as a chapter title ideally would've never made it out of final edits but when you've chosen "Functional Analytic Psychotherapy" as your modality name, what can ya do? 🙃
September 3, 2025 at 7:09 PM
Begging therapists to be mindful of acronyms when naming new therapeutic techniques... "FAP with Sexual Minorities" as a chapter title ideally would've never made it out of final edits but when you've chosen "Functional Analytic Psychotherapy" as your modality name, what can ya do? 🙃
Hard to be into maximalism when minimalism is (and perhaps has been for some time) the Current Thing.
August 31, 2025 at 8:57 PM
Hard to be into maximalism when minimalism is (and perhaps has been for some time) the Current Thing.
Felt like crap, bought new shoes, now feeling slightly less like crap.
August 30, 2025 at 2:19 AM
Felt like crap, bought new shoes, now feeling slightly less like crap.
I’ve been thinking that one thing it seems like the people have not tried but really should consider trying is not taking the internet seriously, like, at all. Like, maybe that would help the people, maybe quite a bit. What do you think? I think I may be onto something here.
August 29, 2025 at 6:29 PM
I’ve been thinking that one thing it seems like the people have not tried but really should consider trying is not taking the internet seriously, like, at all. Like, maybe that would help the people, maybe quite a bit. What do you think? I think I may be onto something here.
Reposted by The Mel Jar
watching a video of Grover being gently cradled by Madeline Kahn and definitely, not at all being jealous
August 28, 2025 at 12:37 PM
watching a video of Grover being gently cradled by Madeline Kahn and definitely, not at all being jealous
Today we’re avoiding personal responsibility by recalling that “personal responsibility” was a psyop created by Boomers to control us, while listening to Modest Mouse records over and over again, and it’s been helping.
August 28, 2025 at 7:34 PM
Today we’re avoiding personal responsibility by recalling that “personal responsibility” was a psyop created by Boomers to control us, while listening to Modest Mouse records over and over again, and it’s been helping.