Peter Alan Olsson's Books

Of Heart and Mind

By: Peter Alan Olsson M.D.

Write a review Read reviews Take a Quiz Solve Book Puzzle

In his new book, Of Heart and Mind: A Psychiatrists Poems, retired physician, psychiatrist, and psychoanalyst Dr. Peter Alan Olsson shares the poetry that made his difficult career meaningful. He notes, My personal use of poetry, or prose writing, helped me manage soul-sadness by discharging, soothing, containing or sublimating the realities of my work life in psychiatry and psychoanalysis. At a personal level, I often feel that my poems write me in an almost mystical sense. They help me heal my pain, celebrate my artistic gift and express my feelings. As he writes in his poem My Lovely Dream Dancer: In the delicious, relaxed, loving domain before dawn, we touch like two dream dancers reluctant to awaken ... and the music of our love is too sweet to interrupt. The grasping demands of the day loom like mine fields, but become bearable because we will dance again tonight.

Average ratings

N/A

Write a review

Solve jigsaw puzzle

Age

Page Count

Publisher

Strategic Book Publishing & Rights Agency

Published Date

ISBN 10

1682356078

ISBN 13

9781682356074

Houston's Homegrown Terror

By: Peter Alan Olsson

Write a review Read reviews Take a Quiz Solve Book Puzzle

Houston's Homegrown Terror

By: Peter Alan Olsson

Psychotherapists help police find two homegrown terrorists in the crime thriller Houston's Homegrown Terror. When two bombs explode at St. John's High School in Houston, psychotherapists Tom and Andrea Tolman assist their friend, Houston Police Detective Mark Lane, in the intense investigation. They need to find the terrorists before they can strike again! Andrea is a former nun who left her order to marry Tom, a psychiatrist and psychoanalyst with expertise in treating adolescents, and in understanding destructive religious cults and terrorist groups. After 9/11, the couple and the detective became friends when they helped a family threatened by the father's involvement with a Satanic cult. Now, ten years later, they are challenged by these local bombers. The story explains the depth of psychology as well as the powerful motivations of the American homegrown terrorists and their group.

Average ratings

N/A

Write a review

Solve jigsaw puzzle

Age

Page Count

125

Publisher

Strategic Book Publishing

Published Date

ISBN 10

1628579927

ISBN 13

9781628579925

Of Heart and Mind

By: Peter Alan Olsson M.D.

Write a review Read reviews Take a Quiz Solve Book Puzzle

Of Heart and Mind

By: Peter Alan Olsson M.D.

Average ratings

N/A

Write a review

Solve jigsaw puzzle

Age

Page Count

Publisher

Strategic Book Publishing & Rights Agency

Published Date

ISBN 10

1682356078

ISBN 13

9781682356074

A Psychotherapist's Sanctuaries from Soul-Sadness

By: Peter A. Olsson

Write a review Read reviews Take a Quiz Solve Book Puzzle

A Psychotherapist's Sanctuaries from Soul-Sadness

By: Peter A. Olsson

As psychotherapists, our patients share with us the joys and sorrows, pain and pettiness, betrayal and cruelty, the lies and misery in their lives and relationships. We listen carefully and empathically. Between the lines of dialogue, however, therapists hover along a continuum of self-protection located between soul-sadness at one extreme, and a cool, isolated detachment at the other. Natural disasters, genocide, suicide bombings, hostage executions or beheadings, and sick and starving children leap to our attention in the media. Our patients often mention these events, and we try to listen empathically to their feelings and fantasies about them. We suppress or deny our own strong emotions so we can work with our patients. But our feelings can accumulate and lead to soul-sadness. Psychotherapists can use art, music, poetry, or creative writing to help contain and manage soul-sadness. This works by discharging, soothing, containing, or sublimating these realities in our daily work life. During 45-plus years of practicing teaching and writing about medicine, psychiatry, psychoanalysis, and psychotherapy, I have come to realize how draining psychotherapy is for the therapist. The use of writing as a means of catharsis and processing of stress has been valuable for me, so I wanted to share writing as a means of healing soul-sadness and preventing burn-out. Prevention soul-sadness and burnout in psychotherapists is very important for us and our patients.

Average ratings

N/A

Write a review

Solve jigsaw puzzle

Age

Page Count

154

Publisher

Strategic Book Publishing & Rights Agency

Published Date

ISBN 10

1681818213

ISBN 13

9781681818214

A Boyish God

By: Peter Alan Olsson

Write a review Read reviews Take a Quiz Solve Book Puzzle

A Boyish God

By: Peter Alan Olsson

The playground at Saint Thomas Moore School in Houston has become a terrifying place. When Sister Agnes hears young Will's fiery funeral sermon for a dead bird, she must comfort a group of fearful students. At the forceful insistence of his teachers, Will Powers reluctantly stops his explosive sermon. Will's teacher thinks that his parents, and particularly his father, seem very troubled. The parents won't return Sister Agnes's phone calls about similar events involving Will. School psychologist Sister Andrea Albright turns for help to a trusted psychiatrist friend, Dr. Tom Tolman. The ensuing therapy is seen from Will's perspective and the "helpful" adults around him. Those who would aid the boy instead reveal perspectives on psychotherapy's ability to thwart the evil of malignant self-absorption. And along the path of Will's therapy, Sister Andrea and her friend Tom find genuine love and romance. A Boyish God is a troubling novel with deep insights. Says the author, "I was jolted to my core when I learned that a college friend's son died at the Rev. Jim Jones's side at Jonestown. Two books and over thirty years later, I am still searching for answers...especially about terror prevention." Peter Alan Olsson is a retired psychiatrist/psychoanalyst. His four published nonfiction books are Malignant Pied Pipers of Our Time: From the Rev. Jim Jones to Osama Bin Laden; The Cult of Osama: Psychoanalyzing Bin Laden and His Magnetism for Muslim Youths; If I Knew Then What I Know Now: Advice to a Young Psychotherapist; and Poems Behind a Psychiatrist's Couch.

Average ratings

N/A

Write a review

Solve jigsaw puzzle

Age

Page Count

124

Publisher

Strategic Book Publishing

Published Date

ISBN 10

1622126165

ISBN 13

9781622126163

The Cult of Osama

Psychoanalyzing Bin Laden and His Magnetism for Muslim Youths

By: Peter Alan Olsson

Write a review Read reviews Take a Quiz Solve Book Puzzle

The Cult of Osama

Psychoanalyzing Bin Laden and His Magnetism for Muslim Youths

By: Peter Alan Olsson

In The Cult of Osama, Psychiatrist Peter Olsson examines Osama bin Laden's early life experiences and explains, from a psychoanalytical perspective, how those created a mind filled with perverse rage at America, as well as why his way of thinking makes bin Laden in many cases a hero to Arab and Muslim youths. Many other writings totally demonize bin Laden, and therein strangely play into putting this troubled man onto a pedestal, says Olsson, who spent 25 years on a social psychological and psychoanalytical study of destructive cults and cult leaders. There are many journalistic, political, military, and intelligence books about bin Laden and his terror cult group. But this one offers a purely psychological and psychobiographical perspective on bin Laden and his mushrooming influence. Bin Laden's destructive Pied Piper appeal, leading youths to murder others and even themselves in suicide missions, stems from the peculiar and profoundly important synchrony of shared trauma and pain between bin Laden and Arab/Muslim youth, says Olsson. And we in the West neglect this topic, at our own peril. Among the insights Olsson provides as he traces the psychological threads of narcissistic wounds and unresolved grief from Osama's childhood are the death of his father when Osama was 10, separation from his mother even earlier, the humiliation of Osama as the son of a slave in his father's household, and his lifelong search for a surrogate older brother and father figures among radical Islamist teachers and mentors. Olsson also spotlights the idea that Osama experienced dark epiphanies as a young adult which further magnified and focused his unresolved disappointments and narcissistic rage. This psychobiography of one of the world's most notorious terrorists, written by an Assistant Professor at Dartmouth Medical School, shows how understanding the psychohistory and mindset of bin Laden could help prevent the development and actions of home-grown American and Western terrorists and their cells.

Average ratings

N/A

Write a review

Solve jigsaw puzzle

Age

Page Count

N/A

Publisher

Praeger

Published Date

ISBN 10

0275999890

ISBN 13

9780275999896

A Boyish God

By: Peter Alan Olsson

Write a review Read reviews Take a Quiz Solve Book Puzzle

A Boyish God

By: Peter Alan Olsson

Average ratings

N/A

Write a review

Solve jigsaw puzzle

Age

Page Count

124

Publisher

Strategic Book Publishing

Published Date

ISBN 10

1622126165

ISBN 13

9781622126163

The Making of a Homegrown Terrorist

Brainwashing Rebels in Search of a Cause

By: Peter A. Olsson MD

Write a review Read reviews Take a Quiz Solve Book Puzzle

The Making of a Homegrown Terrorist

Brainwashing Rebels in Search of a Cause

By: Peter A. Olsson MD

What are the factors that lead some individuals to become terrorists? In this book, a psychiatrist and psychoanalyst examines case histories of terrorism and reveals how radicalized youths living next door can become dangerous homegrown terrorists. Religious zeal and passionate dogma can be powerful motivators for homegrown recruits of terrorist organizations. In this book, Peter A. Olsson, MD, applies his years of work with disordered personalities to the psychological understanding of why seemingly ordinary Americans turn into murderers of their countrymen. He identifies the psychodynamic patterns of the lives of those who become "homegrown terrorists" and commit acts of cold-blooded murder, examining 20 detailed case histories of individuals—often youths or young adults—to provide theoretical and practical understandings. The book focuses on individuals that include Timothy McVeigh; Ted Kaczynski, a.k.a. "The Unabomber"; the "Shoe-Bomber" Richard Reid; Colleen LaRose, a.k.a. "Jihad Jane"; Nidal Malik Hasan, an American-born, former U.S. Army officer who opened fire on American troops at Fort Hood, Killeen, TX, killing 13 and injuring more than 30; and Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tzarnaev, the two brothers charged with placing pressure cooker bombs at the finish line area of the 2013 Boston Marathon. It also delves into topics such as distinguishing between "good charisma" in a youth versus "evil charisma" and recognizing the characteristics of a healthy group or leader versus those with unhealthy motivations—subject matter that will be of interest and importance to anyone from concerned citizens and parents to teachers and terrorism specialists.

Average ratings

N/A

Write a review

Solve jigsaw puzzle

Age

Page Count

212

Publisher

Bloomsbury Publishing USA

Published Date

ISBN 10

1440831025

ISBN 13

9781440831027

Donald Trump's Dominant Mind, Tragic Flaw, and Psychological Blind Spot

By: Peter Alan Olsson M. D.

Write a review Read reviews Take a Quiz Solve Book Puzzle

Donald Trump's Dominant Mind, Tragic Flaw, and Psychological Blind Spot

By: Peter Alan Olsson M. D.

Dr. Peter A. Olsson is a retired physician, psychiatrist, and psychoanalyst who believes that Donald J. Trump is often misunderstood, difficult to love, frequently resented, despised, and feared, but is begrudgingly respected by his political enemies. President Trump is disliked by many Americans, including most psychiatrists, psychoanalysts, psychologists, and mental health professionals. Many in these professions have written extensively about Trump's personality and psychology, but few have been complimentary or even objective toward him. My psychological study attempts to be fair and balanced. I have never formally interviewed or clinically examined Donald Trump, nor have I done a formal mental status examination. However, I have observed his political, verbal, and nonverbal behavior. I have read his books and many of my colleagues' observations, opinions, and theorizing. Traditional applied psychoanalytic theorizing or academic political science approaches do not give an accurate picture of President Trump. His elusive and choppy free associative verbal style is both evocative and provocative. He can be defiant, bombastic, and emotionally hyperbolic. Trump's controversial, unorthodox, and powerful wheeler-dealer businessperson approaches to politics, political campaigning, and governing drive traditional psychological and political science experts to distraction and even narcissistic rage. Like all of us, Donald Trump has flaws. The tragic flaw of his personality is an obsession with winning at any and all costs. One truth that seems to elude Donald Trump is that you can learn from defeat. (About the Author) Peter A. Olsson, MD, grew up in Brooklyn and Queens, New York, near where Donald Trump grew up. After medical school and psychiatric-psychoanalytic training at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, he practiced and taught psychiatry and psychoanalysis in Houston for 25 years, and then taught for 20 years in New Hampshire.' Ego Strength, Psychological Compensation, Trump Derangement Syndrome, MAGA, Group Self, Identifies With Aggressor

Average ratings

N/A

Write a review

Solve jigsaw puzzle

Age

Page Count

N/A

Published Date

ISBN 10

1634101510

ISBN 13

9781634101516

The Making of a Homegrown Terrorist

Brainwashing Rebels in Search of a Cause

By: Peter Alan Olsson

Write a review Read reviews Take a Quiz Solve Book Puzzle

The Making of a Homegrown Terrorist

Brainwashing Rebels in Search of a Cause

By: Peter Alan Olsson

Average ratings

N/A

Write a review

Solve jigsaw puzzle

Age

Page Count

N/A

Publisher

Praeger

Published Date

ISBN 10

1440831017

ISBN 13

9781440831010

Book's by Peter Alan Olsson

Of Heart and Mind

Of Heart and Mind

Houston's Homegrown Terror

Houston's Homegrown Terror

Of Heart and Mind

Of Heart and Mind

A Psychotherapist's Sanctuaries from Soul-Sadness

A Psychotherapist's Sanctuaries from Soul-Sadness

A Boyish God

A Boyish God

The Cult of Osama

The Cult of Osama

A Boyish God

A Boyish God

The Making of a Homegrown Terrorist

The Making of a Homegrown Terrorist

Donald Trump's Dominant Mind, Tragic Flaw, and Psychological Blind Spot

Donald Trump's Dominant Mind, Tragic Flaw, and Psychological Blind Spot

The Making of a Homegrown Terrorist

The Making of a Homegrown Terrorist

Username

Password

Username

Password

Password again

Birthday

Email