The guides below are meant to drive personal reflection and application. They are not presented as dogma that participants in Union Lodge must adhere to. We encourage men to wrestle with ideas and take ownership of their own convictions. And when we gather to discuss these ideas, we hope men feel free to honestly process what they really think.
Iain McGilchrist’s “Attention is a Moral Act”
Intro to the theories of British psychiatrist, philosopher and neuroscientist, Iain McGilchrist, centered on how the kind of attention we pay to the world ends up shaping the world.
Window of Tolerance
A helpful construct for visualizing our internal states, giving us a sense of how we can get back to self-regulation.
Emotional Vocabulary
Some tools and strategies for gaining a more robust vocabulary to describe our emotions, and why that’s important.
Emotional Intelligence
The critical role emotions play, why denying them dooms men to immaturity, and how we can gain greater awareness.
James Hollis’s Concept of “Provisional Selves”
Jungian psychoanalyst James Hollis’s idea of the temporary functional expressions of self we wear, and whether there’s a truer Self underneath.
Intro to Genograms
An overview of the development and use of Genograms, including a multi-step guide.
The Eight Concepts of Bowen Family Systems Theory
A broad overview of the development of systems theories in psychology.
Systems Theory in Psychology
A broad overview of the development of systems theories in psychology.
Attachment Theory
A foundational look at the theory behind secure, anxious, and avoidant attachment patterns, taken from Sue Johnson’s Attachment Theory in Practice.
Existential Therapy: Meaning
The fourth of Irvin Yalom’s “Four Main Concerns”, summarized from his book Existential Psychotherapy.
Existential Therapy: Isolation
The third of Irvin Yalom’s “Four Main Concerns”, summarized from his book Existential Psychotherapy.
Existential Therapy: Freedom
The second of Irvin Yalom’s “Four Main Concerns”, summarized from his book Existential Psychotherapy.
Existential Therapy: Death
The first of Irvin Yalom’s “Four Main Concerns”, summarized from his book Existential Psychotherapy.