Louisville Medicine Volume 66, Issue 7 | Page 10

REVIEW
Living on Automatic: How
Emotional Conditioning
Shapes our Lives and
Relationships
Homer B. Martin, MD and Christine B. L. Adams,
MD
Publisher: Praeger™ Imprint of ABC-CLIO, LLC
Copyright © 2018 by Martin and Adams, LLC
Reviewed by
Elizabeth Amin, MD
T
he genesis of this book dates back
three decades. Dr. Martin prac-
ticed psychiatry in Louisville and
was a member of the Greater Lou-
isville Medical Society (GLMS)
until his death in 2007. Dr. Martin first met
Dr. Adams in 1977 when he became her super-
visor during her first year of general psychiatry
residency at the University of Louisville. Dr. Adams has been in
the private practice of child, adolescent and adult psychiatry here
in Louisville for 40 years. She is an active member of GLMS and a
Distinguished Life Fellow of the American Academy of Child and
Adolescent Psychiatry.
8
tation of Dr. Martin’s original observations.
The combined authorship and structure of this book attest to
the professional respect and mutual support which each of these
individuals brought to the endeavor. Dr. Martin’s original preface is As a young psychiatrist practicing clinical psychotherapy, Dr.
Martin became frustrated with the currently available methods of
therapy for his patients with relationship problems. Over the ensu-
ing years, he became aware that emotional barriers seemed to be a
significant cause of therapeutic failure. Patients themselves were un-
aware of the type of emotional responses they demonstrated, which
prevented any voluntary change in negative behavior. Dr. Martin
shared with his patients and colleagues, in particular Dr. Adams,
his theory of emotional conditioning. He believed that starting in
early childhood, individuals would develop one of two personality
types. He named these “omnipotent” and “impotent.” Emotional
conditioning is defined by the authors as, “unconscious learning that
takes place insidiously, stealthily and manifests in automatic respons-
es in [your] relationships.” The emotional conditioning of infants
would develop in relation to parental expectations. It seemed that
followed by Dr. Adams’ acknowledgments and introduction, which
explain to the reader that Dr. Martin’s widow, Jane, who played a
significant role in the origin and early drafts of the book, requested
that Dr. Adams complete the project. She has done so in a way that
clearly states the underlying premise of the book, and provides the
reader with a complete guide to the understanding and implemen- once the personality type became apparent, it would be reinforced
and maintained throughout life. Over years of clinical practice, Drs.
Martin and Adams discovered that the two personality types were
independent of intelligence, social and cultural norms and family
size. They introduced their treatment method, which they termed
“emotional deconditioning.” Using psychodynamic psychotherapy,
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