Articles

How Unconscious Fantasies Influence Romantic Relationships
Ales Zivkovic Ales Zivkovic

How Unconscious Fantasies Influence Romantic Relationships

Unconscious fantasies guide, colour, and shape our romantic relationships. But because they are unconscious, we usually remain oblivious to their impact. When, through psychotherapy, we are allowed to see how our internal and external worlds are governed by our unconscious fantasies, the process of our change has passed the point of no return.

Read More
The Loneliness and Pain of the Parentified Child
Ales Zivkovic Ales Zivkovic

The Loneliness and Pain of the Parentified Child

Emotional or practical role reversal between the parent and the child, also known as parentification, can have devastating consequences on the child’s psychological wellbeing, the development of their identity, and their relationships later in life. As a form of childhood trauma, it may leave the child with an internal experience of loneliness, solitude, isolation, and emptiness.

Read More
Effects of Childhood Trauma on Adult Romantic Relationships
Ales Zivkovic Ales Zivkovic

Effects of Childhood Trauma on Adult Romantic Relationships

Relationship issues are amongst the most common presenting issues in psychotherapy. They usually originate from our unconscious perceptions of ourselves, others, and the world. These perceptions develop during our childhood and may be underpinned by adverse experiences and childhood trauma.

Read More
Parentification and the Childhood Trauma of the Parentified Child
Ales Zivkovic Ales Zivkovic

Parentification and the Childhood Trauma of the Parentified Child

Parentification is characterised by role reversal between the parent and the child. This means that the child may take on a role of meeting the parent’s needs and practically or emotionally taking care of the parent. This may result in the child’s disavowal of their own needs and may result in mental health and relationship issues for the affected individual in adulthood. Parentification often causes dependency and codependent relationships.

Read More
The Sense of Meaning and Purpose
Ales Zivkovic Ales Zivkovic

The Sense of Meaning and Purpose

Experiences of meaninglessness and purposelessness are often underpinned by other emotions or beliefs. These include a sense of internal confusion, directionlessness, incompleteness, subjective experience of emptiness, despair, a sense of boredom or mediocrity, or just a sense of something missing or a general dissatisfaction or resignation with life.

Read More
The Hidden Faces of Dependency
Ales Zivkovic Ales Zivkovic

The Hidden Faces of Dependency

Dependency is embedded deep within the personality. It has far-reaching unconscious manifestations and is associated with depression, physical illness, eating disorders, addiction, unfulfilled relationships, a sense of aloneness, issues with commitment, or an experience of emptiness, purposelessness, and confusion.

Read More