My name is Daniel Mackler and I am a psychotherapist and filmmaker in New York City. My writings focus on the causes, consequences, and radical significance of childhood trauma. I see childhood trauma as ranging from the extreme, which is common, to the mild, which is so much MORE common that few even notice it at all, much less call them by its proper name. I view the norm in our culture as being highly traumatized, and I view the average, and even above-average, childhood as being extremely traumatic – and the average parent as lacking both awareness of this and deep empathy for the child.
I see our world growing more pathological, confused, polluted, overpopulated, and disturbed by the day – and I feel that to stand by and say nothing while we destroy our planet is irresponsible and even criminal. Yet I write with great hope – both for individual healing and for the collective healing of our world. I seek to offer a new perspective – on relationships, on enlightenment, on celibacy, on the pathology of the family system, and on the future of our species.
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| The basis for all childhood trauma starts in the family, with parents, and for that reason I devote much of my energy to studying families and parenting – and to studying the experience and consequence of being a child in a partially unenlightened family. | ESSAYS ON PARENTING, FAMILIES, AND PROCREATION |
Three longer essays on parenting and families:
The Baby's Manifesto
Better Late Than Never: 12 Suggestions For Parents Seeking Enlightenment
A License to Procreate: Putting a Stop to Inappropriate Parents
| I was originally inspired to create this website to share my point of view on, and my criticisms of, Alice Miller, my favorite writer in the psychology field. | My critique of her work: AN ANALYSIS OF THE LIMITS OF ALICE MILLER |
For more information on what drew me to Alice Miller, and drew me to critique her work in such detail, you can read my testimonial.
| The following short essays addresses general psychology. Some of the subjects include feeling dissatisfaction (a sign of mental health), self-reflection (what differentiates humans from animals), rapists (people acting out their own history of being raped), and a lot more on trauma... | ESSAYS ON PSYCHOLOGY, part 1 |
Three slightly longer psychology essays:
Three Differences Between Therapy & Friendship
Three Differences Between Therapists & Parents
Genetics Behind Psychopathology: A Convenient Excuse for Parents
| A second psychology section, including short essays on psychiatric medication and diagnosis (I detest both), suicide (the ultimate way to avoid childhood trauma), and death (scary for people who’ve never become conscious). | ESSAYS ON PSYCHOLOGY, part 2 |
And a link to four longer psychology essays, which include "Why Are Gay People Gay?"
| Although the subject matter I address is intense, I sometimes write in a humorous tone. A few of the subjects I tackle here are circumcision, hypocrisy (“The Hypocrite’s Dictionary”), and various psychological defense mechanisms people use to avoid reading this website... | HUMOROUS ESSAYS |
Feel free to view a list of a sayings I have written.
| Although I am a therapist, I am a radical believer in self-therapy – because it works. It’s also a lot cheaper than going to a therapist – though it requires a huge amount of self-motivation, self-confidence, and self-guidance. Here I address grieving, ways to speed up the path to enlightenment, the pain inherent in growth, confronting parents, dream analysis – and an in-depth critique of Elnora Van Winkle, the creator of Redirecting Self Therapy. | ESSAYS ON SELF-THERAPY |
A link to several interesting debates and discussions I saved from this site's now-defunct bulletin board...
| And now my critique of relationships, sex, and romance – the real opiates of the people. I also address the subjects of masturbation, celibacy, and homosexuality. | ESSAYS ON SEX AND RELATIONSHIPS |
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| The final section includes essays on evolution, climate change, overpopulation, and the future of our species. It kills me to see what we are doing to our planet – and if things don’t change, it’s going to kill us all. | ESSAYS ON EVOLUTION AND BECOMING A NEW SPECIES |
My email: dmackler58@aol.com
