Psyche And Soma

Psyche and Soma is a multi-disciplinary exploration of the conceptions of the human soul or mind and body, through the course of more than two thousand years of Western history. Thirteen specially commissioned chapters, each written by a recogized expert, discuss figures such as the physiciansHippocrates, Galen, Stahl, and Cabanis; theologians St Paul, Augustine, and Aquinas; and philosophers from Plato and Aristotle to Descartes, Leibniz, and La Mettrie. The chapters explore in chronlogical sequence the views of these writers on such questions as the soul's immortality, the control itexerts over the body, how mental disturbances arise out of bodily imbalances, and the roles of the priest and the physician in promoting spiritual and mental health. Psyche and Soma will be a key point of reference and a rich source of illumination in this central area of human inquiry.

The pioneering work, Life Paints Its Own Span, is a comprehensive exposition of Susan Bach's original approach to the physical and psychospiritual evaluation of spontaneous paintings and drawings by severely ill patients. At the same time, this work is a moving record of Susan Bach's own journey of discovery.

In his third book, Voice: Psyche and Soma (1975) Reid both clarifies still further his earlier formulations and also deals at some length with the complex interplay that takes place during training and performing, between psychological factors, acts of will, and the ability to respond to the initial concepts which launch the vocal process.

In this book body experience is seen as the subjective expression of psyche and soma and is discussed in relation to its significance in modern medical practice and psychoanalysis. The authors relate how the patient's subjective expression of his or her body frequently plays only a marginal role in current therapy and how the central factor of many diseases is consequently missed. Particularly in the growing field of psychoanalytic psychosomatic medicine it will be necessary to pay the issue of body experience more attention. These theoretical and empirical contributions on body experience were specially prepared for the volume. Initial chapters cover a variety of aspects of body experience and its general significance in medicine and psychoanalysis. Following chapters consider body-oriented forms of therapy, sex-related aspects of body experience and the empirical measurement of body experience and bodily complaints.

In The Alchemy of Healing, Dr. Edward C. Whitmont explores the major themes of illness, health, and the practice of medicine. Uniquely qualified by his personal associations with such pioneers as Carl Jung, M. Esther Harding, Karl Konig, Elizabeth Wright Hubbard, and G.B. Stearns, Whitmont takes a daring plunge into the paradoxes of homeopathic medicine, psychoanalytic transference, quantum physics, and the Gaia Hypothesis. Deftly exploring such subjects as Jungian synchronicity, alchemy, the I Ching, and the Law of Similars, he hints at the unknown principles fusing organism, planet, and cosmos and at a healing principle so profound it is written in both the stars and the sub-molecular traces of molecules. In this landmark work that addresses for the first time in our century the esoteric role of the physician in the drama of life and death, Whimont provides a forum for one of the most neglected voices of Western Civilization—that of disease—revealing how it is our own abandoned and depreciated voice. In challenging the myth of mechanical medicine he provides a clue as to how we might yet heal ourselves and our planet.

The complex theory developed by Carl Gustav Jung, along with his insights on emotions, imagination and the creative power of the psyche, have paved the way for current research on the effects of placebos and the interactions between the psyche and the immune system. Jung’s concept of the mind-body relationship helps overcome misconceptions about root causes, guilt, and blame. It is important to note that the prevention and treatment of physical diseases are impossible without embracing the human psyche, as exemplified by numerous case studies from psychotherapeutic practice that serve to illustrate the content of this book.