Throughout our lives, in our quest for meaning, we often seek out intellectual pursuits, believing that the more we know, the more we will be able to understand ourselves and the world around us.

While education equips us with theoretical knowledge, an excessive emphasis on intellectualism can overshadow the profound growth opportunities pure human connection is capable of, which often transcends the confines of logic. Similarly, we can only get so far analyzing our own internal thoughts, emotions, and behaviors. Genuine self-understanding requires more than just introspection.

During his professional life, Dan Perlitz came to realize that while business ventures and academia benefitted personal growth, they still couldn’t satisfy his desire for true self-understanding.

Dan is a physician, a former family doctor and real estate developer, and now a practicing Self-Psychological psychoanalyst in full-time practice in Toronto, Canada. Through his own experience with therapy, he realized the one crucial element missing in his search for meaning: an unbiased perspective.

In this episode of the Art of Listening, Dan will tell us about how his unwavering commitment to find personal meaning led him to therapy, and to becoming a therapist after years in the business sector. He’ll explain the value an unbiased vantage point offers, and how human-to-human connection is the catalyst necessary to ultimately unleash our true potential for self-discovery and growth.

Chapters

1 - Dan’s transition from Business to Psychology (3:10)

2 - Over-Intellectualism in therapeutic practice (9:11)

3 - How Dan found a greater meaning through Psychology (13:40)

4 - Why Empathy is not value-neutral (22:29)

Links

• Dan Perlitz
• Dan’s Academic Journals
• Eileen Dunn’s Website