Home: New York City, NY. Age: Fifty-something. Birthplace: Connecticut. Profession: Psychologist and psychoanalyst. Organization: Banthin Psychological Services, PLLC. Title: Founder and Owner. Pronouns: He/Him/His.
Current project: Developing a new didactic psychodynamic psychotherapy course. Recent recognition: Appointed to co-lead the Supervision of Supervision group for psychology across Mount Sinai Health System. Recent professional development: Founded Banthin Psychological Services, PLLC. Latest accomplishment: Appointed Supervisor of Psychotherapy at the William Alanson White Institute. Latest contribution to others: Supervising students across many of their training programs. Hobbies: Reading, hiking, cross-country skiing, and cycling. Last book read: A Marriage at Sea: A True Story of Love, Obsession, and Shipwreck, by Sophie Elmhirst.
Personality profile: Intelligent, warm, thoughtful, kind, sophisticated, dedicated, loyal. What is your greatest joy? Patients growing, learning about themself, living with less difficulty, become more fully alive. What is your guilty pleasure? Binging on a television series. What natural talent have you neglected? Oil painting. What is your favorite place (or way) to spend money? Hiking and camping in White Mountain National Forest. What is at the top of your bucket list? Travel to France to watch one or two stages of the Tour de France in person. How do you relieve stress? Cycling. What ingredient is essential to your perfect vacation? Walking.
What was your first paying job? On a Christmas tree farm. What was your favorite childhood toy or game? Playing in the woods. What book have you repeatedly read? Civilization and Its Discontents, by Sigmund Freud. What’s prominently featured on your home or office wall? An oil painting of a snowy road through the woods, by my grandmother. Besides your parents, who has had the greatest influence on your life? My mentor when working as a management consultant. What modern technology innovation do you most appreciate? Smart phones. What personal circumstance has had the greatest influence on your life? Transitioning from a management consultant to a psychologist and psychoanalyst.
What is your big idea?
AI technology to provide communications support and basic emergency response services during nonwork hours for psychotherapists.
What change are you working on to effect in your profession or field? Better understanding how telehealth impacts the nature of psychotherapy. What change would you like to see in the world? Schools offering basic courses in emotion regulation and distress tolerance. What message do you want to send out into the world? Truth and compassion have an important relationship. What widely held belief do you reject? The belief that we yet fully understand all the impact of COVID-19 to the mental health of people.
What title would you choose for the movie about your life? A Journey of Self and Profession Across Time. What actor would you choose to play you in the movie about your life? George Clooney. Who would you like to spend an evening with, in heaven? Psychoanalyst, Wilfred R. Bion. As a kid, what did you first want to be when you grew up? An explorer. After your loved ones, what object would you first save from your burning home? An oil painting by my grandmother. What advice would you give your younger self? Be kind to yourself; go ahead, try to achieve all that is in your mind and heart. What period in your life would you do differently, if you could? I would take a gap year when I first began working.
Personal motto: Listening, being, and transforming. Favorite quote: “The only point of importance in any [analyst-patient] session is the unknown. Nothing must be allowed to distract from intuiting that” (Wilfred Bion).
