An Interview with Psychiatrist Dr. Allen Siegel

The former Director of the Distance Learning Program for the Chicago Institute for Psychoanalysis, Dr. Allen Siegel now operates the Nautilos Group, a consulting firm with specialized services directed to CEOs and family businesses.

Q: What exactly is the Nautilos Group?

A: At Nautilos, we work closely with leaders and employees in workplaces where personal or family relationships might keep the business from reaching its maximum potential. Of course, a family business can be as successful as any other. The deep connections among family members doing business together can have a profound, positive effect on a company’s success. However, personal and professional roles can, at times, interfere with one another. We offer a set of services designed to balance these dual relationships in healthy, productive ways.

Q: Is this a commonly sought after suite of services?

A: Since managing relationships is not a “hard” issue like, for instance, profitability, some CEOs don’t recognize the need for this service. More and more businesses are discovering that solving emotional conflicts can be the key to a smoothly functioning organization.

Q: You have written a great deal about the concept of “self psychology.” Can you give us a brief definition?

A: The founder of this premise, Heinz Kohut, theorized that our personalities are fundamentally affected by empathy and interpersonal relationships at the earliest stages of development. Of course, you can spend a lifetime exploring this concept, but self psychology functions as a powerful tool in the therapeutic process.