Eric Maisel (born 1947) is an American

psychotherapist Psychotherapy (also psychological therapy, talk therapy, or talking therapy) is the use of psychological methods, particularly when based on regular personal interaction, to help a person change behavior, increase happiness, and overcome pro ...

, teacher,

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

, author and

atheist Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no ...

. His books include ''Fearless Creating'' (1995), ''The Van Gogh Blues'' (2002), ''Coaching the Artist Within'' (2005), and ''The Atheist's Way'' (2009).“Eric Maisel’s Bio"
Psychology Today. Retrieved August 22, 22, 2012

Biography

Eric Maisel was born in the

Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...

, and grew up in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

. Maisel is a columnist for Professional Artist magazine and a featured contributor to

Psychology Today ''Psychology Today'' is an American media organization with a focus on psychology and human behavior. It began as a bimonthly magazine, which first appeared in 1967. The ''Psychology Today'' website features therapy and health professionals direct ...

. His books include "Rethinking Depression," “Mastering Creative Anxiety," "Creative Recovery," "A Writer’s San Francisco," and "A Writer’s Paris". He lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with his family.“Eric Maisel’s Bio"
Huffington Post. Retrieved August 22, 22, 2012 Maisel is the author of more than 40 books and a creativity coach. He trains creativity coaches and provides training for the Creativity Coaching Association.

Creativity coaching

In the early 1990s, Maisel developed the coaching specialty of creativity coaching. Creativity coaching focuses on helping creative and performing artists meet their emotional and practical challenges. In his 2005 book ''Coaching the Artist Within'', Maisel presents anecdotal case studies of his creativity coaching work with creative and performing artists and presents lessons of importance to artists, among them "creating in the middle of things," “upholding dreams and testing reality," “committing to goal-oriented process," and "maintaining a creative life."“Eric Maisel Biography"
Art Bistro. Retrieved August 22, 22, 2012

Mental health

In his 2012 book ''Rethinking Depression: How to Shed Mental Health Labels and Create Personal Meaning'', Maisel rejects the idea that a case has been made for the existence of the “mental disorder of depression,” given the weakness of the construct “mental disorder,” the insufficiency of diagnosing on the basis of symptom pictures alone, and the reasonableness of supposing that what we are seeing is profound sadness instead; and presents an “updated existential program” for dealing with "profound sadness".“New World Library Interview"
New World Library. Retrieved August 22, 22, 2012“31 Voices March Interview”
31 Voices March. Retrieved August 22, 22, 2012 “Maryanne Live Radio Interview with Eric Maisel”
31 Voices March. Retrieved August 22, 22, 2012“Scott Cluthe interviews Eric Maisel on Rethinking Depression”
Positively Incorrect Radio Show. Retrieved August 22, 22, 2012

Atheism

A lifelong atheist, Maisel described in his 2009 book ''The Atheist's Way: Living Well Without Gods'' how individuals can negotiate the paradigm shift from seeking meaning (in religion, spiritual pursuits, or anywhere else) to making meaning.“The Atheist’s Way Review"
Minnesota Atheists. Retrieved August 22, 22, 2012

Books

*''Dismay'' Maya Press, 1982 *''The Blackbirds of Mulhouse'' Maya Press, 1984 *''The Fretful Dancer'' Aegina Press, 1988 *''Staying Sane in the Arts'' Tarcher/Penguin, 1992 *''Artists Speak'' Harper San Francisco, 1993 *''Fearless Creating'' Tarcher/Penguin, 1995 *''Affirmations for Artists'' Tarcher/Penguin, 1996 *''Living the Writer's Life'' Watson-Guptill, 1999 *''Deep Writing'' Tarcher/Penguin, 1999 *''The Creativity Book'' Tarcher/Penguin, 2000 *''20 Communication Tips for Families'' New World Library, 2000 *''Sleep Thinking'' Adams Media, 2000 *''20 Communication Tips at Work'' New World Library, 2001 *''The Van Gogh Blues'' Rodale, 2002 *''Write Mind'' Tarcher/Penguin, 2002 *''The Art of the Book Proposal'' Tarcher/Penguin 2004 *''Writers and Artists on Love'' New World Library, 2004 *''Writers and Artists on Devotion'' New World Library, 2004 *''Performance Anxiety'' Backstage Books, 2005 *''Coaching the Artist Within'' New World Library, 2005 *''A Writer's Paris'' Writer's Digest Books, 2005 *''A Writer's San Francisco'' New World Library, 2006 *''What Would your Character do?'' Writer's Digest Books, 2006*''Toxic Criticism'' McGraw-Hill, 2007 *''Ten Zen Seconds'' Source books, 2007 *''Creativity for Life'' New World Library, 2007 *''Everyday You'' Conari, 2007 *''Creative Recovery'' Shambhala, 2008 *''A Writer's Space'' Adam's Media, 2009 * * *''Murder in Berlin'' Singingwood Press, 2011 *''Become a Creativity Coach Now'' Singingwood Press, 2011 * *

References

External links

Eric Maisel
official website for Eric Maisel
The Atheist's Way
, official web site for The Atheist's Way
Eric Maisel Interviews
Eric Maisel Interviews {{DEFAULTSORT:Maisel, Eric 1947 births American atheists 21st-century American psychologists American self-help writers American spiritual writers Living people Writers about religion and science 20th-century American psychologists