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Yogian Analysis

Yogi Berra-based psychotherapy

David Martin
Beyond the Scoreboard

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A lone dirty baseball rests in some dirt.
Photo by Thomas Park on Unsplash

Analysts and patients alike are familiar with such schools of psychotherapy as Freudian, Jungian, and Adlerian analysis. But few people have even heard of the newest wave in psychological treatment: Yogian analysis. It’s based on the works and words of that noted philosopher of the diamond, New York Yankee Hall of Famer Yogi Berra.

Here is a transcript of a representative treatment session in which the therapist uses the words of Mr. Berra to guide the patient:

PATIENT: Doctor, I’m depressed. An old friend of mine just passed away.

DOCTOR: You should always go to other people’s funerals, otherwise they won’t go to yours.

PATIENT: I did but I’m still depressed. I just don’t know where I’m headed in life anymore.

DOCTOR: You’ve got to be very careful if you don’t know where you’re going because you might not get there.

PATIENT: That’s very insightful, I think. But what am I going to do, doctor? What does the future hold for me?

DOCTOR: The future isn’t what it used to be.

PATIENT: True, I guess. But how can I find any meaning in my life?

DOCTOR: I wish I had an answer to that because I’m tired of answering that question.

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