“Creativity, is one of humankind’s healthiest inclinations, one of our greatest attributes.
“Our impulse to be creative can be understood to some degree as the subjective struggle to give form, structure and constructive expression to inner and outer chaos and conflict.”
Dr. Stephen A. Diamond is a licensed clinical and forensic psychologist in private practice, and a member of the Approved Panel of Psychiatrists and Psychologists for the criminal division of the Los Angeles County Superior Court.
A former pupil and protege of Dr. Rollo May, Dr. Diamond sees many creative individuals, including members of the Writer’s Guild, and the Screen Actors Guild.
He is the author of the book “Anger, Madness, and the Daimonic…” and contributed chapters to the best-selling anthology “Meeting the Shadow,” as well as the books “Spirituality and Psychological Health,” “Forensic Psychiatry: Influences of Evil,” and others.
Dr. Diamond teaches psychology at two local graduate schools, and currently writes a weekly blog for Psychology Today (link below).
In the interview, Dr. Diamond talks about actors who have shown a dark and violent side, including Christian Bale, and how therapy helps people navigate the ‘benevolent possession’ of creativity and the challenges of being closer to its source in the daimonic side of our psyche.
He also briefly addresses keeping a balance between introversion and extroversion, and dealing safely with anger and rage, whether we are an artist or not.
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Listen to the interview:
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Interview transcript article: The Psychology of Creativity: redeeming our inner demons.
[Photo from the above article: Christian Bale in The Dark Knight – He gained the nickname “Tandy” because he was always throwing tantrums.]
Dr. Diamond’s Psychology Today blog: Evil Deeds – A Forensic Psychologist on Anger, Madness and Destructive Behavior
His website
Article: In Praise of Perfectionism, by Stephen A. Diamond, Ph.D.
Books:
Anger, Madness, and the Daimonic: The Psychological Genesis of Violence, Evil, and Creativity, by Stephen A. Diamond.
Spirituality and Psychological Health, by Richard H. Cox et al.
The Courage to Create, by Rollo May.
Meeting the Shadow, by Connie Zweig, Jeremiah Abrams.
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Douglas Eby (M.A./Psychology) is author of the The Creative Mind series of sites which provide “Information and inspiration to help creative people thrive.”
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