Dr. Brian Sedgeley, is a clinical psychologist and the president and founder of Bay Psychology Group, Inc. a psychotherapy and psychological services clinic in Oakland CA.
The Architecture of Internal Experience When you seek to understand why certain behaviors repeat despite your conscious desire for change, you are entering a territory long mapped by psychodynamic theorists. These thinkers suggest that your current psychological structure is not accidental but built upon foundational layers of early experience and internal organization. For many high-functioning
The problem is usually not that you do not know “Why do I keep repeating the same patterns?” By the time people start asking this question, they are rarely confused about what keeps happening. They can describe the pattern with painful precision. Different partner, same emotional confusion. Different breakup, same hollow aftermath. Different stage of
Many people who seek psychotherapy struggle with perfectionism and self-criticism, even when they appear successful from the outside. From the outside they appear competent and responsible. They manage demanding careers, maintain relationships, and navigate complicated professional environments. Others may see them as disciplined, capable, and reliable. Internally, however, many of these same individuals live with
Many adults who seek psychotherapy arrive with a confusing complaint. Their lives appear successful. They have careers, relationships, and responsibilities that others admire. Yet internally something feels off. They describe a vague sense of emptiness, emotional distance, or a persistent feeling that something essential is missing. Often the roots of this experience lie in a
If you and your partner keep having the same fight, feel fundamentally misunderstood, or wonder why you can’t seem to break destructive patterns, you’re not alone—and you’re not failing. What looks like a communication problem often runs much deeper. Here’s how psychodynamic couples therapy can help. This past fall, I had the opportunity to attend
Why We Chose Who We Chose in our Romantic Relationships “’If you find your life tangled up with somebody else’s life for no very logical reasons,’ writes Bokonon, ‘that person may be a member of your karass.’” Vonnegut’s Karass and the Roots of Unconscious Couple Fit We often speak of “finding our tribe,” “finding our
A Psychoanalytic View on Patterns, Relationships, and Possibilities for Growth Understanding Attachment Styles: Origins, Meanings, and Possibilities for Change Introduction: Why Attachment Matters If you’ve ever asked yourself “Why do I keep ending up in the same kinds of relationships?” or “Why does closeness feel so good but also so scary?” you’re not alone. Many
Job burnout has emerged as one of the defining psychological challenges of our era, affecting millions of professionals across industries and hierarchical levels. While contemporary discourse often reduces burnout to a problem of work-life balance or organizational dysfunction, a psychodynamic understanding reveals it as a complex psychological phenomenon that illuminates fundamental conflicts between our deepest
The past few years have left many of us feeling fundamentally unsettled. Between the global pandemic, political upheaval, and economic volatility, a sense of unease has become our backdrop. Whether it’s lingering COVID concerns, troubling news cycles, or financial pressures, our basic sense of safety feels constantly under threat. This pervasive anxiety isn’t simply “stress”
Relational Psychodynamic Therapy in Oakland: Beyond the Couch, Into Connection Maybe you’ve heard the stereotype. In therapy, you lie on a couch. The therapist stays silent. You talk, they nod, and that’s… therapy? That image—cold, distant, outdated—is still floating around. And it turns a lot of people off, especially those looking for a real connection