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Creating Psychological Safety
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Creating Psychological Safety

Tony Humphreys
Panoma Press, 2020
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Editorial Rating

8

Qualities

  • Applicable
  • Eye Opening
  • Concrete Examples

Recommendation

Noted clinical psychologist and self-help author Tony Humphreys discusses the journey that leads to psychological safety – which he defines as a state of personal psychic fearlessness. He discusses early childhood influences, parenting, self-actualization, how leaders must fearlessly lead and the difficulties of any voyage of self-discovery. Humphreys holds out hope for the ultimate goal of comprehensive self-knowledge and self-love as he explains how to replace fear with personal psychological safety. 

Summary

Everyone possesses genius, which Freud called “radiant intelligence.”

Everyone has a level of genius, which expresses itself less in adults than in children. Pioneering psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud referred to this childlike trait as radiant intelligence. He classified the typical adult’s mental abilities as less potent and less imaginative than a child’s, raising the question of when – or even if – the average adult decides to trade brilliant radiance for caution and even weakness.

Adults become willing to trade nearly anything – including the vulnerable openness of childhood – to achieve psychological safety. This includes seeking secure ways to deal with their “physical, emotional, sexual, behavioral, intellectual, social and creative” issues. Adults who achieve psychological safety may be able to resolve their previous troubles, such as emotional and psychological scars from childhood, and to advance on their journey of self-discovery and affirmation. 

People who can handle exchanges of criticism may be able to reason together. 

How does this trade-off work? Perhaps you criticize...

About the Author

Clinical psychologist Dr. Tony Humphreys founded the Relationship Mentoring modality of psychotherapy. He has also written 47 books including: The Power of ’Negative Thinking’; Leaving the Nest: What Families Are All About and Self-Esteem: The Key to Your Child’s Future.

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