Self-observation contains a paradox largely unaddressed in current psychiatric theory. It is impossible to make “objective” observations of the meaning of our own thoughts and feelings because we use those very same thoughts and feelings to make our observations. Nevertheless most psychiatric theory assumes a clear separation between the internal part of ourselves which observes and that part which forms the object of our observations. Analogies from quantum physics can be used to elucidate this paradox. Once the complexities of self-observation are understood, so are many of the enigmas of psychotherapy.
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