Mind-Body Psychology

Following is a bibliography of books and articles I've read in the field of Mind-Body Psychology. I read most of these for various classes while studying for my doctorate in Mind-Body Psychology.

Benson, Herbert with Stark, Marg. (1996). Timeless healing: The power and biology of belief. New York: Scribner.

There are two primary concepts in Timeless Healing. The first is that the "placebo effect" would be better termed "remembered wellness." Benson believes that the mind's response to treatment is to recover that knowledge within the body of how it can be whole. As remembered wellness is activated through the beliefs of the treatment team and the individual, the body responds in the direction of healing. The second primary concept is that we are "wired for God." Benson reviews the literature on faith and prayer and relates his own personal history. His conclusion is that individuals are healthier and happier when they have an active spiritual life.

Barasch, Marc Ian. (1993). The healing path: A soul approach to illness. New York: Arkan.

Marc Barasch not only chronicles his own healing journey with thyroid cancer, but also investigates the effect of the body/mind upon illness. He uses a combination of personal interviews, investigative reporting, evaluation of research and self-examination. The result is a book which delves into the various parameters of body/mind. There are the celebrations and the sorrows. There is the clash between the left brain and the right brain. Conflicting traditions are also investigated. His own hopes, dreams and fears, as well as those of others bring this book to the heart of what mind/body is all about.

Borysenko, Joan. (1987). Minding the body, mending the mind. New York: Bantam Books.

Minding the body, mending the mind, focuses on the mind/body connection. In this book, the author introduces meditation to induce the relaxation response, stretching exercises, and various cognitive techniques to bring about relaxation and change in thought and attitude. Dr. Borysenko carefully illustrates the impact thoughts and attitudes can have on the body. She also emphasizes the effect that moderate exercise and proper nutrition can have on the body. The mind and body are viewed as interdependent upon each other.

Childre, Doc Lew. (1994). Freeze Frame. Boulder, CO: Planetary Publications.

Childre relates original research demonstrating the calming effect focusing on the heart has on the brain. He also presents his technique, Freeze Frame, which enables the individual to step out of the emotional roller coaster and open to new options presented by intuition.

Chopra, Deepak. (1989). Quantum healing: Exploring the frontiers of mind/body medicine. New York: Bantam New Age.

Deepak Chopra brings together information from quantum physics, the biology of neurotransmitters and principles Eastern healing into one system. The key component of healing--intelligence, the mind, is contained in every cell of the body. To heal, one need only tap into "the mind" contained within every cell and let "the mind" know how you want your body to respond. Chopra uses the holographic model, Candice Pert's work on neuropeptides, Ayurvedic medicine and anecdotal evidence to demonstrate to the reader the power within the mind which resides in every cell of our bodies. By giving the body what it needs in regards to nutrients, giving the spirit what it needs through meditation, and giving the mind what it needs through clear communication by imaging, the body/mind/spirit will work together to bring healing to the whole person.

Dossey, Larry. (1993). Healing words: The power of prayer and the practice of medicine. San Francisco: Harper.

Dossey reviews the literature on the efficacy of prayer. He finds prayer is an effective means of change. Particular types of prayers appeared most effective. Those who submitted themselves to the will of God, lived longer than those who just gave up. Those who had people praying for them, even if they were unaware of the prayers, did better than those who did not have people praying for them. The effectiveness of prayer extended to positive effects on plants, animals and one celled living organisms.

Dossey gives evidence to the effectiveness of prayer being non-local. Not only does the one praying and the one prayed for not have to be in the same place, they can be on the other side of the room. There are also experiments demonstrating that prayer is not bound by time, as long as there has not been anyone to observe the effects of that which is prayed for. Once observation has been made, the situation is "locked in." Dossey then proposes: If a woman discovers a lump but does not know if it is malignant, then it is possible to pray that the lump be benign and the lump will become benign. If, however, the biopsy has already been done and the lump found malignant, prayer outside of time will not be effective.

Dossey, Larry. (1996). What's Love Got to Do with It? Alternative Therapies, 2(3), 8-15.

In our technical medical world, feelings, whether they be the provider or the patient, are not taken into account. Dossey relates several incidents in which the feelings of the individual resulted in an increase of severity of symptoms and then death. In one case, the sterile actions of the medical staff lead directly to the breaking of the spirit of an elderly woman, resulting in her death.

Dossey goes on to discuss the non-locality of love and consciousness. Although love cannot be defined in specific terms, the effects of love or empathy or mutual feeling can be documented in human beings, animals and bacterium. The positive feelings we call love are powerful. The presence of love can help heal. The absence of love can lead to death.

Feldenkrais, M. (192). Awareness through movement. New York: Harper & Rowe.

One of the early pioneers in the mind/body field. The body holds memories which can be released through movement. The Feldenkrais Method is used to integrate the way people move, think and feel.

Green, Judith & Shellenberger, Robert. (1996). The healing energy of love. Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine, 2(3), 46-56.

Green and Shellenberger give an overview of how love affects health. The difficulty in ascertaining the effects of love is in defining love. In many cases love was implied in questions regarding social support. Evidence demonstrates that social support and caring relationships positively impact an individual?s health. The authors also discuss the importance of support groups and the caring nature of the healer.

Three "healing mechanisms of love" were proposed. The psycho-physiologic process occurs when the body responds in the direction of wellness as a result of a "positive interaction" with a caring individual. The psychophysics process occurs with the exchange of energy between two people. The psycho-social/behavioral process occurs when an individual or social group encourages healthy behaviors in the individual.

Hay, L. (1984). Heal your body. Carlsbad, CA: Hay House.

This is a book I use frequently. Louise Hay lists various illnesses and parts of the body and then gives the symbolic meaning of the body part or disease. I will read from the book to clients and ask if this relates to them. Reading from the book often opens the client up to hearing the information.

Hendricks, G. (1995). Conscious breathing. New York: Bantam Books.

There is much information coming out about healing and correct breathing. This is a good introduction with excellent exercises.

Knaster, M. (1996). Discovering the body's wisdom. New York: Bantam.

An excellent resource to discover a multitude of therapies involving the body/mind connection.

Lowen, Alexander. (1975). Bioenergetics. New York: Penguin Books.

Bioenergetics is an excellent historical introduction into the field of mind/body psychology. Alexander Lowen is a student of Wilhelm Riech, one of the initial people to work with the body as a means of tapping the mind. Lowen took Reich's work further and developed a technique known as Bioenergetics. Bioenergetics combines knowledge of the body and body type, exercise and manipulation of the body to attain emotional release and clarity.

McClenon, James. (1997). Spiritual healing and folklore research: Evaluating the hypnosis/placebo effect. Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine, 3(1), 61-66.

Students taking an introductory anthropology course collected stories of unexplained healings. These healings were categorize by independent judges according to certain specified criteria. The data was analyzed to ascertain the correlation of hypnosis or placebo theory in relation to the various healings. The findings were mixed. There was support for the view that such healings were related to hypnosis or placebo effect; however, the were healings which did not fit the standards for hypnosis or placebo and had no "natural" explanation.

Myss, C. (1996a). Anatomy of the spirit. New York: Harmony Books.

A excellent introduction to the chakra system and its symbolism as related to the physical body. Inherent in her discussion is the belief that we can affect our reality by our thoughts and beliefs.

Myss, C. (1997a). The energetics of healing [video]. Boulder, CO: Sounds True.

An excellent video that is a good introduction to her work. Has some new information that Anatomy of the Spirit does not have.

Myss, C. (1997b). Why people don't heal and how they can. New York: Harmony Books.

This book continues her discussion of the body/mind connection in relation to the human energy field.

Myss, Caroline & Shealy, Norman. (1988). The Creation of health. Walpole, NH: Stillpointe Publishing.

Myss, a medical intuitive, and Shealy, a holistic medical doctor, combine to provide a book which investigates the energetic, mental, emotional and physical reasons for illness. Most of the books investigating the mind/body connection do so from the theory of Western medicine and psychology. Myss and Shealy introduce the Eastern theory of the human energy system into the paradigm. The result is an explanation of illness based upon the effect our thoughts and actions have upon our chakras, one part of our human energy system. Just as bacteria and viruses provide an explanation of physical illness, the energy system is used to demonstrate how our thoughts and feelings weaken it and illness is produced. The "why" of dis-ease is now explained on a deeper level.

Pert, Candace. (1997). Molecules of emotion. New York:Scribner.

Pert not only discusses her research leading to the discovery of neuropeptides, but also discusses the politics of research. Her work on neuropeptides demonstrated the chemical effects of emotions upon the body.

Pierrakos, J. (1990). Core energetics. Mendocino, CA: Life Rhythm.

A good mind/body book incorporating the human energy field, psychological positions.

Rossi, Ernest. (1993). The psychobiology of mind-body healing: New concepts of therapeutic hypnosis. New York: WW Norton.

Although Rossi's book is in the bibliography for Mind/Body, it could also be listed in the bibliography for the Hypnosis course. Rossi goes into extensive detail regarding the biochemical changes within the individual during various periods of stress, memories and illnesses. Within each chapter are tutorials of applicable hypnotic techniques. This book is an excellent resource and distillation of the research in the area of Body/Mind Psychology.

Singh, R. N. (1996). Self-healing: Powerful techniques. London, Ontario, Canada: Health Psychology Associates, Inc.

This book is a result of his doctoral work on the effects of meditation and sound on the body. I attended a workshop of his and was impressed. He has some excellent research in here. He claims that doing his simple meditation involving sound can "cure" many illnesses. His research does find that his method raises various markers of the immune system.

Upledger, J. E. (1995). CranioSacral therapy. Subtle Energies, 6(1), 1-54.

Upledger has a series of articles on cranio sacral therapy in Subtle Energies. They are excellent description of the theoretical basis of his work. I have had a series of cranio sacral treatments and have found them beneficial mentally and physically. With no manipulation my neck was restored to perfect range of motion. The effect was not permanent, but it was as effective as the chiropractor. If you haven't experienced craniosacral therapy I highly recommend it.

Past Life Therapy

Goldberg, Bruce. (1996). Soul Healing. St. Paul, MN: Llewellyn Publications.

This is about the time between life-times.

Weiss, B. L. (1988). Many lives, many masters. New York: Simon & Schuster Inc.

This was the book that convinced me of the probability of reincarnation.

Woolger, R. J. (1988). Other lives, other selves: A Jungian psychotherapist discovers past lives. New York: Bantam.