Unlike other texts on the subject, this book aims to provide a well-integrated approach to the diagnosis and treatment of the pervasive effects of the mind/body splitting that lead to somatoform disorders.

The Mind-Body Interface in Somatization: When Symptom Becomes Disease represents a unique contribution to the clinician's tool chest for diagnosing and treating psychosomatic illness. This book breaks new ground by asking and answering many of the key questions that trouble every practicing clinician: Why do patients use somatization? Can we predict who will be a somatizer? Is there an underlying process involved? Why are these patients so difficult to treat? Beginning with a discussion of contemporary disease classification, The Mind-Body Interface in Somatization clarifies matters greatly by talking in terms of chronic and situational somatization, showing that chronic patients use illness as a way of life, while situational patients somatically respond to existential crises, and revealing how both are rooted in the mind-body interface. Drawing on elements of personality theory, the authors discuss the core conflicts and character structure inherent in both types of somatization and suggest treatment options appropriately geared toward the needs of each. The Mind-Body Interface in Somatization describes how chronic somatization can be addressed by cognitive-behavioral therapy and Dialectical Behavioral Therapy, while situational somatization can be managed with short-term existential psychotherapy. Concluding with a discussion of medications that may be helpful to the somatizing patient, this volume represents an original approach to explaining what goes on in the mind of the somatizer.

The Mind-Body Interface in Somatization: When Symptom Becomes Disease represents a unique contribution to the clinician's tool chest for diagnosing and treating psychosomatic illness. Beginning with a discussion of contemporary disease classification, the authors clarify matters greatly by talking in terms of chronic and situational somatization, showing that chronic patients use illness as a way of life while situational patients somatically respond to existential crises, and revealing how both are rooted in the mind-body interface. Drawing on elements of personality theory, the authors discuss the core conflicts and character structure inherent in both types of somatization and suggest treatment options appropriately geared toward the needs of each. Book jacket.

Deceits of the Mind is a major effort at developing a comprehensive theory of disease, one incorporating knowledge of how the mind works, how the body works, and how the two interface. This interface, traditionally called psychosomatic medicine, newly labeled psychoneuro-immunology, has piqued the interest of a great many researchers and lay people alike in the last decade. Most recently, it has shown great promise in the psychological treatment of physical disorders. Although books on the mind/body dynamic usually end with the basic principle of mind affecting the body, this is the point at which Jane Goldberg's Deceits of the Mind begins. Goldberg begins by challenging the traditional medical model of the disease process. Since the advent of modern medicine, sickness has been seen as caused by factors from without--environmental stressors, germs, carcinogens, and so on. In contrast, Goldberg's research and observations indicate that diseases, both biological and psychological, are often rooted in processes that have their origins within the human organism itself. She shows that an organism's ability to defend itself is crucial to the maintenance of both physical and emotional well-being. She describes the variety of psychological and biological methods of defense the human organism has available to it, and how these go awry in the formation of disease. Moving beyond the traditional psychosomatic postulate of mind affecting body, Goldberg goes a step farther, and proposes the adventuresome notion that mind and body imitate each other. A malfunction at any level of mind or body, she says, is reflected in all other levels. She shows how, in disease conditions, psychosis can exist in the body, not just the mind, and how the cancer process is embedded in the mind, not just the body.

In our high-speed culture, terms like "stressed-out," "Type-A personality," "biofeedback," and "relaxation response" have become commonplaces. More than ever before, we are aware of the relationship between our mental and emotional states and our physical well-being. Findings from the field of psychophysiology, which investigates the reflexive interaction between psychology and physiology, have revised our approach to illness and its prevention and treatment. We know, for example, that stress, combined with other factors, increases vulnerability to heart attack and stroke. Successful treatment must include lifestyle changes to reduce the effects of stress on the body. In this important text, Kenneth Hugdahl presents a comprehensive introduction to the history, methods, and applications of psychophysiology and explores other areas concerned with the "mind-body interface," such as psychosomatic medicine, behavioral medicine, clinical psychology, psychiatry, neuropsychology, and cognitive neuroscience. By showing how social, behavioral, cognitive, and emotional events are mirrored in physiological processes, he gives us a clearer understanding of complex cognitive processes. This book illustrates psychophysiology's importance as a research and clinical tool and highlights its many contributions to the assessment and diagnosis of physical disorders. It also provides a framework for extending psychophysiological insights to other areas of psychology and neuroscience.

Jung’s Psychoid Concept Contextualised investigates the body-mind question from a clinical Jungian standpoint and establishes a contextual topography for Jung’s psychoid concept, insofar as it relates to a deeply unconscious realm that is neither solely physiological nor psychological. Seen as a somewhat mysterious and little understood element of Jung’s work, this concept nonetheless holds a fundamental position in his overall understanding of the mind, since he saw the psychoid unconscious as the foundation of archetypal experience. Situating the concept within Jung’s oeuvre and drawing on interviews with clinicians about their clinical work, this book interrogates the concept of the psychoid in a novel way. Providing an elucidation of Jung’s ideas by tracing the historical development of the psychoid concept, Addison sets its evolution in a variety of contexts within the history of ideas, in order to offer differing perspectives from which to frame an understanding. Addison continues this trajectory through to the present day by reviewing subsequent studies undertaken by the post-Jungian community. This contextual background affords an understanding of the psychoid concept from a variety of different perspectives, both cultural and clinical. The book provides an important addition to Jungian theory, demonstrating the usefulness of Jung’s psychoid concept in the present day and offering a range of understandings about its clinical and cultural applications. This book will be of great interest to the international Jungian community, including academics, researchers and postgraduate students engaged in the study of Jungian or analystical psychology. It should also be essential reading for clinicians.

Volume IV of The Handbook of Systemic Family Therapy considers family-level interventions for issues of global public health. Information on the effectiveness of relational treatment is included along with consideration of the most appropriate modality for treatment. Developed in partnership with the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT), it will appeal to clinicians, such as couple, marital, and family therapists, counselors, psychologists, social workers, and psychiatrists. It will also benefit researchers, educators, and graduate students involved in CMFT.