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THE PSYCHSURVIVALIST

THE PSYCHSURVIVALIST

Written by: Julian Lev
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I received my doctorate in Counseling Psychology, have been licensed in New Mexico since 1991, with almost all of my practice in Clinical Psych. I worked inpatient in State Hospitals, in outpatient programs for the severely disabled mentally ill and at what was commonly known as the Albuquerque Jail, formally the Bernalillo County Detention Center, where I supervised counselors. I provided assessments for the State in criminal forensic cases, performed mental health Disability assessment interviews and wrote formal clinical reports, and later reviewed others' reports for Social Security assessing for accuracy and proper determination. Altogether, this amounted to thousands of cases.

My most important preparation for what became my unexpected career came from growing up in a dysfunctional family, where I decided at 17 years old that my best alternative was homelessness. That experience brought me into daily contact with drug addicts, alcoholics, the mentally impaired, criminals, and others who, like me, couldn't see how they could make it in life. Many of these people were my friends. I still think about them, often fondly. Those relationships proved to be important in my training and subsequent practice.

I accept people for who they are. I do not presume them to be either good or bad; I take them as they present themselves. I NEVER assume that I know them better than they know themselves. In that regard, I have never changed. I have been known to say, "I don't like people." The typical response is, "So, why did you become a psychologist?" And I reply, "I think their problems are interesting." If my work opens the possibility of improving a person's functioning and adaptability I am all in-no matter the severity of the case-as long as they want to do the work of therapy.

Recognizing flaws and biases in people does not dehumanize them for me; it ennobles them. It reflects an understanding of what they have been through and what they may have endured, to reach the point where they commit themselves to enlarging their world. As a Psychsurvivalist, I expect people to be people, no more and no less. I hope that the people I have worked with put what they learned to good use. Any success is theirs not mine. I always appreciate and recognize their effort. I am just trying to help them along the way.

Julian Lev 2026 Hygiene & Healthy Living Psychology Psychology & Mental Health Science Social Sciences
Episodes
  • The Lizard In Therapy

    The Lizard In Therapy
    Apr 25 2026

    In which I discuss how to recognize the #limbicsystem in #psychotherapy and in life. While we are talking to a client about the things that concern them, there is a more basic, perhaps primitive mode of thinking that is ever present influencing that person's thoughts and actions just as much as and perhaps more than what they are presenting. We can either pay attention to it or adhere to what is being presented. This is a reminder to #therapists and their #clients that a question is a question and is not necessarily a hint and that there may be any number of ways to understand the story of our lives. Alternative views are not a threat, but an invitation. The #lizardbrain may become frightened in response to questions that elicit #personalobservations. In a nonthreatening place a properly asked question may provide an opening to #selfexploration and to the #psyche.
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    19 mins
  • The Snake In The Grass: "Luke, I Am Your Personality"

    The Snake In The Grass: "Luke, I Am Your Personality"
    Apr 19 2026

    #TheSnake is the origin of #Personality. We thought we knew what a #PersonalityDisorder is only to learn that we have never defined what personality is. We can discuss, even define symptoms related to personality disorders, but we can't say what it is in #HumanExperience that makes us the way we are, why one turns out to be a #Psychopath and another a #BorderlinePersonality. Each of us equally, even the most normal, feel ourselves to be unique. Perhaps at a very early age, we find ourselves at a crossroads leading to a diversity of experiences that separate us from others, leading us to a sense of our #Individuality that we feel is our primary interest to protect, This is about cortical learning, but with the recognition that our deepest learning would occur much earlier in the #Limbicsystem. #StarWars is who we are. It is the human experience.
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    22 mins
  • The Snake's Lecture

    The Snake's Lecture
    Apr 6 2026

    This is episode 13 with the artwork included. Sorry for any inconvenience due to my error.

    How the #limbicsystem may contribute to our cognitive experience not only as a means of passive, scientific observation, but as an active contributor to our learning and experience. #Cognitivepsychology is used to interpret how life events affect us as we go from passive observer, however scientific, to active interpreters of our own experience and vicariously through others. How this might be what was intended by the psychiatrist #ViktorFrankl in his theory of #Logotherapy In which I ask the question, What might the limbic system be doing when it is not reacting to influences that are intended to cause us #fear, #pleasure or pander to our basest needs? What might the limbic system be doing when we are not actively using it?All AI is credited when it appears in the discussion. The conclusions are all my own. AI is only used for clarity and to develop content.
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    21 mins
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