Inhibited, Provoking, Despairing, or Thriving? An Interview with Dr. Sonja Falck on High IQ Relational Styles

Are there specific relationship challenges that stem from having a high IQ? Through her research and consulting work, Dr. Sonja Falck developed a model that suggests three general types of relational struggles for high IQ adults—and one broad way in which bright people can thrive.

Remembering How to Be (Without Your Phone) An Interview with Anya Pechko of Project Be

To connect meaningfully, the most important thing we can give people is our time—without a phone constantly interrupting it. Consultant and coach Anya Pechko shares some striking insights on how to do this from her work with clients seeking to overcome digital addiction.

Life in the Rainforest: Sensitivity, Intensity, and Giftedness An Interview with Psychotherapist Paula Prober

Paula Prober coined the term “rainforest mind” to describe those gifted, complex individuals she works with as a psychotherapist. And though having a rainforest mind may be uncommon, rainforest minds generally have some commonalities, as she explained when she sat down with us.

Third Factor Reads: Extreme Intelligence by Dr. Sonja Falck

Dr. Sonja Falck’s new book dives into the psychosocial experience of high IQ individuals across their lifespan. Focusing on the tendency for such people to feel set apart from others, Falck observes that they tend to fall into one of four relational styles and offers thoughts on how they progress—or regress—from one style to another.

Can You Tell You Are Wrong About You? A Cautionary Tale Against Self Diagnosis

Benita diagnosed herself with autism and dyscalculia. With her track record as an expert professional analyst, it was unfathomable to her that she could be wrong.

Love and Leveling Up: Attachment Theory and Positive Disintegration A Personal Narrative

Attachment theory helped Merrill understand why she was struggling with relationships. But did it mean that she was doomed to be insecurely attached forever? The lens of positive disintegration helped her trust that it didn’t have to be that way.

Self-Creation After Chaos An Interview with Lotte van Lith

Chaos around her and intensity within her led the teenage Lotte van Lith to an eating disorder. Now, having recovered and reintegrated, she helps gifted people express their intensity with self-compassion—and let loose their incredible creativity in the process.

Therapy for the Highly Gifted and Highly Excitable An Interview with P. Susan Jackson

You’ve got noteworthy abilities. Complex emotions. Acute perception. A tremendous capacity for nuance. And yet, you’re pulling yourself apart at the seams.

Sound like someone you know? Then you’ll want to read this interview with P. Susan Jackson of the Daimon Institute.

Third Factor Reads: Mellow Out by Michael M. Piechowski

Executive Editor Chris Wells describes how Michael Piechowski’s Mellow Out opened doors for her to understand herself as a gifted person, and showed her the way forward in studying overexcitability as an academic.

How Can “Disintegration” Be Positive?

When there’s a sickness in the society around you, Kazimierz Dabrowski argued that being maladjusted to it is actually a way to be mentally healthy. While such maladjustment still often leads us to disintegration, the good news is that this kind of disintegration may simply be a step on the broader process of reintegrating ourselves in a healthier, more powerful way.