Archives for January 2014

Sex with a Former Patient

January 31, 2014 by Mark Rubinstein Leave a Comment

The temptations of the profession

Some years ago when I was single, Eva G began psychotherapy. She was unhappy because she was repeatedly involved in ungratifying relationships with men who were at least 20 years her senior. She was quite attractive, bright, articulate, and wanted to understand her need to date older men.

The psychotherapy continued once-weekly for about seven months. She quickly developed insight into the dynamics of her choices in men, and began making better decisions in her dating life. When it seemed Eva’s goals were reasonably met, the therapy came to an end. When we parted company, she knew the door to my office was open should she want to look deeper into her conflicts.

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Fear Is The Common Denominator

January 28, 2014 by Mark Rubinstein Leave a Comment

Writers are often told, “Write what you know.” Historical thriller novelist Steve Berry says, “Write what you love.” As a novelist and psychiatrist, I’ve become intimate with fear, and while I don’t “love” it, I do love writing about it. I’m not referring to ordinary worries or anxieties: things such as, will I get fired, or will the IRS audit my return? These are troubling concerns, but they don’t rise to the level of true fear—the kind brimming in psychological thrillers.

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The Secret to Writing a Best-selling Novel

January 22, 2014 by Mark Rubinstein Leave a Comment

I was intrigued by an article in the British publication the Telegraph which seemed quite extraordinary. The piece was entitled, “Scientists Find Secret to Writing a Best-selling Novel.”

For a writer, what could be more arresting than such a headline?

Among other things, the article said: “Computer scientists have developed an algorithm which can predict with 84 percent accuracy whether a book will be a commercial success — and the secret is to avoid clichés and excessive use of verbs.”

Character Is Destiny

January 14, 2014 by Mark Rubinstein Leave a Comment

People often talk about a novel being plot-driven or character-driven. For me, that can be an artificial distinction. For my taste, the best novels — those that capture me and make me feel sorry the read is coming to an end — are those driven by both plot and by the protagonist’s character or personality.

I’ve always felt the most engaging novels are those whose narrative drives involve conflict and uncertainty. They’re novels whose plot — along with other attributes — makes me wonder what’s going to happen next. In essence, I’ve always believed a good story is quite disturbing or plumbs a deep truth — one that’s either obvious (think of Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl) or draws me on some level of which I may be unaware (think of Scott Turow’s Presumed Innocent or Jane Hamilton’s A Map of the World). In my view, a novel’s plot is vital for it to be compelling.

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Your Brain on Books

January 7, 2014 by Mark Rubinstein

I was fascinated by an article dated January 4, 2014 in the Science section of The Independent, a British newspaper. The article noted research done at Emory University. It revealed that reading a gripping novel can trigger measurable changes in brain function, lingering for as long as five days. The research found reading a compelling book may cause heightened connectivity and neurological changes in the brain which registered in the left temporal cortex, an area associated with language reception and other important brain functions such as sensory and motor activity.

Professor Gregory Berns, a neuroscientist and author of the study, said, “The neural changes we found associated with physical sensation and movement systems suggest that reading a novel can transport you into the body of the protagonist. We already knew that good stories can put you in someone else’s shoes in a figurative sense. Now we’re seeing that something may also be happening biologically.”

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A Dirty Little Secret

January 6, 2014 by Mark Rubinstein

Mrs. Clark came to see me because of a problem beginning one year earlier. An attractive woman of 45, she’d noticed some white amidst her head of black hair. She’d decided to color her hair jet black.

On the day she treated her hair, she got some dye on her hands. No matter how often she washed them, she felt she couldn’t cleanse her hands. After many attempts, she grew frustrated and frightened. Over the next weeks and months, her worries about contamination spread. She repeatedly washed and re-washed the family’s laundry, but was convinced the clothing still wasn’t clean enough. She began scrubbing floors and vacuuming frenetically, always imagining dirt, no matter how thorough she’d been.

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