Dr. Aaron Balick
Psychotherapist · Author · Consultant · Speaker
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I’m a psychotherapist and cultural commentator whose work sits at the intersection of depth psychology, culture, technology, and modern life. For more than twenty years I’ve explored how people think, feel, behave, and relate - in therapy rooms, workplaces, and the increasingly digital spaces in which our lives now unfold.
I specialise in helping individuals and organisations understand the psychological forces shaping their relationships, decisions, emotional worlds, and their very selves. My background in depth psychology and psychoanalysis anchors everything I do, from keynote speaking and leadership consultation to writing and broadcast commentary.
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My Work:
I apply psychodynamic insight to better understand the invisible forces that shape today's world. My seminal text, The Psychodynamics of Social Networking: Connected-up instantaneous culture and the self was the first to apply psychoanalytic thinking to social media, uncovering how it mediates ourselves and our relationships. I have since developed "applied psychodynamics" as a way to discover and reveal the unconscious dynamics in a variety of areas that take my interest, including tech and AI, relationships, workplace culture, leadership, culture and media.
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I share my interest widely as a writer, international keynote speaker, psychological consultant, and media contributor. In addition to The Psychodynamics of Social Networking, I have written two self help books: Keep Your Cool, and The Little Book of Calm. I write a monthly psychology column for GQ as well as a Substack newsletter, Applied Psychodynamics, explores the deeper psycho-social dynamics shaping modern culture and technology. I also contribute regularly to television, radio, and print, offering psychologically informed commentary on the issues people are struggling to understand.​​​​
Background & Training
After training as a psychotherapist I completed my PhD in Psychoanalytic Studies, later becoming the director of the MA in Psychoanalytic and Psychosocial Studies at the University of Essex, where I am now an associate supervisor for PhD candidates. My academic grounding informs all my public-facing work, though I’m committed to making psychological ideas accessible to everyone without ever compromising on depth.I have clinical experience in schools, further and higher education, and have been running a private practice for two decades.
I also have experience in the business world as a founder and director of Stillpoint Spaces, a psychological innovation and education hub with spaces in London, Berlin, Zurich and Paris - a project which sadly had to be shut down following covid, but from which I learned a great deal. My experiences there have given me a unique insight into the world of business, entrepreneurship, and startups which I have deployed as a psychological consultant working with individuals and organisations (from big corps. like Google and Accenture to small startups and charities) offering them the psychological consultation they need to flourish in their work and life.
I am a highly experienced communicator, having been the longest serving mental health expert on BBC Radio 1, and across the media on a variety of other platforms. Alongside Nathalie Nahai I have co-hosted the podcast Time to Show Up where we conducted "deep enquiry interviews" to enable our listeners to find more fulfilment in their life and work.
Approach
Whether I’m working with clients, executives, leaders, CEOs, or a large conference hall of the psychologically curious, my aim is the same: to make the amazing insights of psychology graspable and able to be applied to everyday life, while never dumbing it down. I bring more than 20 years of clinical experience and academic pursuits to the table with the sole aim of applying those insights to everyday life in the modern world.
I've worked with:
