A useful guide to understanding the mysteries of the mind and how we can change for the better.

How can it be that perfectly intelligent people do such obviously counterproductive things so much of the time? Why do we do the things we know we shouldn't do, and why do we fail to do the things we know we should do? The simple answer to these questions is that the unconscious mind greatly influences all that we do, and this is the basis for the psychoanalytic idea that insight leads to change.

Written by an experienced clinical psychologist with a knack for describing complex ideas in a lively and easy to comprehend way, Wisdom from the Couch will change the way you think about your internal and external life.

Jennifer L. Kunst, PhD , is a clinical psychologist and psychoanalyst in private practice in Pasadena, CA. She is a senior faculty member at the Psychoanalytic Center of California in Los Angeles, where she has served as chair of the Curriculum and Continuing Education Committees. She is also an adjunct associate professor at the Graduate School of Psychology at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California. She writes a blog on psychologytoday.com, A Headshrinker's Guide to the Galaxy.