Dr. Keith Witt - Clinical Psychologist, Author, Teacher

01/13/2026

In this wide-ranging talk, psychotherapist and Integral theorist Dr. Keith Witt explores a powerful organizing principle that shows up across psychotherapy, parenting, leadership, and group dynamics.

Drawing on developmental psychology, Spiral Dynamics, attachment theory, and decades of clinical experience, Keith shows how growth-oriented hierarchies—marked by firmness, warmth, flexibility, and responsiveness—create the conditions for human beings and groups to thrive. From couples therapy to parenting research, from effective leadership to group intelligence, he traces how the same developmental pattern repeats across systems.

At its highest expression, this principle supports dialectical relating—the capacity to hold multiple perspectives, stay connected under stress, and foster both psychological safety and growth. The talk concludes with a reflective group exercise inviting participants to feel the difference between healthy and unhealthy group cultures from the inside out.

In this wide-ranging talk, psychotherapist and Integral theorist Dr. Keith Witt explores a powerful organizing principle that shows up across psychotherapy, ...

10/26/2024

STARTING IN 90 MINUTES. Zoom link is in a comment below.

In this 90-minute session, we will be given an introductory glimpse into categorical typologies of personality, focusing on the distinction between "normal crazy" and "extra crazy" as seen through the lens of Personality Disorders (PDs). We will explore the 10 empirically validated PDs, categorized....

04/19/2024

Today! Starting in a bit.

Integral consciousness leads us into a turquoise psychology, a psychology that includes and transcends previous systems and practices. This is a next level of complexity in psychology—a meta-psychology. A turquoise psychology is fundamentally a form of dialectical discourse—two or more people, s...

09/26/2022

Jeff Salzman and I notice a growing attempt in the culture to bring meaning and purpose into the realms of science.

We focus on English scientist Rupert Sheldrake, who argues that “science should be set free” from the boundaries of mechanistic materialism. Sheldrake is well known for his theory of the morphic field, an evolving collective mind that all living beings are both accessing and creating.

A spiritual practitioner, Sheldrake seeks to include subtle and spiritual dimensions to create a more integral view of reality. He also offers the best explanation yet of how the heck dogs know when their owners are coming home!

In this episode, Dr. Keith and I notice a growing attempt in the culture to bring meaning and purpose into the realms of science.We focus on English scientis...

09/24/2022

In this episode, Dr. Keith and I take on two hot-button issues in the culture wars, each of us coming up on different sides of key issues. Hopefully our disagreements will be as illuminating to you as they were to us.

Transgenderism: The ever-increasing awareness and practice of gender fluidity, particularly among young people, is fueling the culture war. Does it represent cultural evolution? Yes, we agree. If so, what are we learning and how can we bring more wisdom and compassion to the struggle? Here we differ.

Abortion: The US Supreme Court’s revocation of the right to an abortion has thrown jurisdiction to the states, many of which are racing to legislate the agenda of their dominant worldview. Is this progress? Keith argues the negative and I take the affirmative.

In this episode, Dr. Keith and I take on two hot-button issues in the culture wars, each of us coming up on different sides of key issues. Hopefully our disa...

04/01/2022

Here is a recent conversation between Dr. Keith Witt and Jeff Salzman of the podacst, The Daily Evolver: Spiral Dynamics & Integral in Action. Hope you enjoy!

In this episode of the Shrink and the Pundit, Dr. Keith Witt and I discuss a powerful realization emerging at the leading edge of culture regarding the role ...

08/06/2021

Dr. Keith Witt, integral psychotherapist extraordinaire, joins Jeff Salzman for another episode of The Shrink and the Pundit, where they explore the contours of emerging integral consciousness.

Today’s topic is what Dr. Keith calls the “post-issue relationship”, and here’s how he describes it: In a post-issue relationship, each problem is an opportunity to grow and love. A post-issue relationship may still have problems, resentments, doubts, and selfish or thoughtless injuries, but there is always an adjustment to love in response to pain or distortion.

Second-tier living really is more good, true and beautiful! We hope you enjoy the conversation!

Dr. Keith Witt, integral psychotherapist extraordinaire, joins me for another episode of The Shrink and the Pundit, where we explore the contours of emerging...

03/21/2021

All living processes exist in a rhythm of opposing forces which create conflict, resolving into either cooperation or domination. This dynamic of tension is the subtext of most human activity.
The good news is that in the long run friending wins. In this episode of The Shrink and the Pundit, integral psychotherapist Dr Keith Witt explains how sociability is latent in most interactions, even those that are marked by hostility. And how human beings at every scale, from individual children to collective nation-states, invite constraints to provide a delineated space for new growth. Dr. Keith’s insights help us normalize - and realize the potential - in the inevitable conflicts of life.
NOTE: We apologize for the buzz you might hear at times from Dr. Keith Witt's mic.

Dr. Keith Witt on the psychological mechanisms that animate evolution All living processes exist in a rhythm of opposing forces which create conflict, resolv...

09/24/2020

This conversation has so much for us to easily put into practice - including a 4-minute workout! Jeff Salzman got together with Dr. Keith Witt last week to discuss teachings and techniques of James Nestor and Dr. Zach Bush in healthy breathing and body. Give it a listen, practice and share!

01/31/2020

Hi Everybody! I have just launched a brand new Course, entitled 100 Reasons to NOT have a secret affair. I've marked it 50% through the month of February. It's a deep dive with 6 lesson modules for only $49 for the next month. Come and check it out.

https://drkeithwitt.com/100-reasons-to-not-have-a-secret-affair/

100 Reasons to Not Have a Secret Affair is a class for everyone. This class is for you if you've been in a relationship, if you've cheated, if you'd been cheated on, or if you've known people who've cheated. This class is especially for you if you've ever wondered, "Why are we programmed to both pair bond and cheat, and what can we do about it?"

10/30/2019

Your best self — your wisest and most compassionate self — exists right now in you.

You may be embodying your wisest self as you read this. Your wisest self is a fundamental part of you that wants to choose goodness, love, courage, and commitment to people and goals. Our wisest self is our best interior guide to the universe of relationships.

https://drkeithwitt.com/your-best-self/

10/16/2019

Hi everybody!
This week's blog explores how everything is relationships, and how our interior relationships with different aspects of ourselves largely determine our relationships with everyone and everything else.
I hope you enjoy it!

We live in a relational universe. Our lives revolve around relationships with others, nature, the world, the past/present/future, and our countless interior selves, memories, and habits.