Mental Health Books

The book was unexpected as far as the "HEALING" process. i was glad it took in words of wisdom and analogies that pertained to all human problems in life. i was impressed by the book but have not read the whole thing yet. i have learned a lot about myself through the process.

This book provides an anecdotal overview of the impact of mindfulness in medicine by walking and talking the reader through the experience of a full course. It teaches about mindfulness in the context of healing, or living with disease, via the experiences of the participants and the course leaders. It's a great resource for anyone exploring the use of mindfulness exercises or programs as a healing aid. It also provides a lot of self help lessons for anyone who would like to try out the concepts without committing to a full class, or for someone without access to a mindfulness program.

I've read this little book several times, getting more and more from it with each rereading. I've also purchased several copies for friends. I've had the pleasure of attending a 7 day workshop with the author, and he is as sincere and charismatic as he is in this book. What a gift!!

I've read many books on healing. This book addresses healing in a deeply spiritual manner that is very easy to read, understand and implement.

I am just beginning graduate study in psychology, but I already consider this to be one of the truly indispensable books in the field. Saki is a brutally honest reporter of his own perceptions and feelings as he engages in the "healing relationship" as he teaches the MBSR program at UMassMed, and takes the reader deep into his view of what it means to "practice the healing arts", and invites us to consider the depth and meaning of our own journey into the field, as well as to begin our own journey into mindfulness.

See also "Full Catastrophe Living" by Jon Kabat-Zinn for a more practical, informational view of the MBSR program, and for the finest practical guide to mindfulness meditation yet written.

I'm a Licensed Professional Counselor, spiritual seeker and avid outdoors person and I have been looking for a way to bring these aspects together. Phillip Sutton Chard's book "The Healing Earth" has shown me the way. Chard not only applies psychological insight to the practice of psychotherapy but actually uses nature as the "therapist." His case studies illustrate how nature has the power to heal and change our lives, validates our own experiences and empowers us to use the natural world in the practice of psychotherapy. Chard's book redefines "sanity" as if the whole world mattered.

This book deserves much more attention. I intend to recommend it to my career coaching clients. The author emphasizes that we don't always figure out what we need by "mouth aerobics." Getting out and experiencing nature will help us find where we are.

As psychotherapist Philip Chard beautifully and compellingly writes in his deeply touching book, The Healing Earth, "all of us are looking for home." After reading this book, I am filled with a sense of awe at the many lessons Mother Earth can teach us about our lives and ourselves. I am sure your soul--your true home--will too be touched in a profound way as you read his words, experience his poignant and effective exercises, and renew your connection with the earth. I loved this unique and exceptional book! Enjoy these pearls.

Reading this book brings forward some of my most wondrous moments with Mother Earth. One cannot be touched by the Grand Canyon or a 360 degree turquoise and magenta sunset without being changed forever. I have always known that my "spiritual home" exists outside in the fresh air amongst the perfection of flower faces. Philip Chard shares these feelings and more, and does it so eloquently.

I am a existential psychotherapist and have been seeking the way for myself and others to lead a being vs. having lifestyle.Thank you Mr. Chard for showing me the way.This book is so well written and has such a powerful message it should be the prerequisite reader for anyone interested in the newly formed ecotherapy movement.It is also written so that both the professional and lay person can benefit.His preface alone was great!

This is a book that will be useful to both health practitionners as well as patients.The book challenges us to look at our body, mind and spirit in a new way.I discovered that what I was thought in school and what I had learned in life through countless hours of studying and post doctoral work can be repositionned in a new way.This book is a shift of paradigm on many levels.

In Healing Myths, Healing Magic, Donald Epstein examines the deeply ingrained stories and myths we commonly hold about how our bodies heal. Some these myths may actually inhibit healing. These myths have a powerful, magically suggestive effect on the way we interpret our symptoms, the way we heal, and the quality of life we experience. Epstein argues that our capacity to heal is more often affected by society's collective myths than by our personal circumstances, symptoms, or disease. Our myths can create the magic of healing in our lives, or they can stop the magic completely. Healing Myths, Healing Magic is a seminal, breakthrough treatise that divided healing myths into four categories: Social, Biomedical, Religious, and New Age. He then exposes each myth individually and suggests an alternative statement or "Healing Magic" to help the reader reclaim his or her own body's natural ability to heal. Healing Myths, Healing Magic is important, highly recommended reading for students of alternative medicine, traditional medicine, and mind/body metaphysics.

I highly recommend Donald Epstein's most readable book, Healing Myths, Healing Magic.

Pick any chapter that appeals to you, read it, and it stands on its own.

Like most anything Donald does, it is absolutely profound and thought provoking; so for me reading a chapter or two and then digesting the information for awhile works best.

Inevitably, in this book, Donald will label a myth something that you have held as fact, and this is where you will need some time to digest, but don't discount what he is saying too readily: Having attended Donald's seminars for years, I can tell you that sometimes it takes me two years to really understand something he has told me.

Donald Epstein created the most profoundly elegant and amazing healing system on the planet, Network Spinal Analysis (NSA) about 20 years ago. I have been learning how to practice NSA for the last five years.

Every practitioner, whether MD, DC, DO, PhD, LMT, or any person interested in healing needs to read this book. I have a whole library of books related to healing, and this book is the star of the collection, you need this book.

God Bless,

Hans Conser

Alternative medicine hits the mainstream as more people integrate and use complementary methods to restore and replenish well-being. The challenge arises when someone uses the new age blame game to force some kind of healing. A common example is when a person diagnosed with cancer is told by some holistic practitioner that they caused it. Maybe yes, maybe no, and this book provides some grounded advice on the matter. Quacks abound in the realm of metaphysical healing and Dr. Epstein offers wisdom to tell genuine assistance from downright silliness. We are repsonsible only for our own behavior and not anyone else. If you are into the whole mind-body scene on well-being this is a great guide to separating myth from fact and staying grounded by keeping yout intellect in place. Many people throw their intellect out the door when entering an intutive phase ... and this is a costly mistake. Dr. Epstein gives a blend of intellect and intuition as he cracks the common myths around healing.

Myths and stories surround the healing process - myths which can inhibit healing. From circumstances where healing is difficult or impossible to choices not followed, Healing Myths Healing Magic examines healing myths and exposes and religious, social and medical frameworks for their origins. An important survey.

Dennis Henning's book, Hiding Under the Table, really inspired me. Even though I have never had an eating disorder, I have still suffered with emotional eating during chapters of my life. Reading about his journey to overcome his eating disorder helped me realize that I'm not alone and can get help, myself. I highly recommended this book to anyone not only suffering through eating disorders, but who really want to take a personal look at negative body image thoughts, personal relationships, spirituality, addictions, and self-forgiveness. Thank you Dennis for being such an inspiration to take charge of my own life, not just through learning how to overcome emotional eating but also by applying The Daily Process, 16 Points to Life.

Dennis Henning's book, "Hiding Under the Table" is the much needed alarm, giving a brutal, gut and soul-wrenching account of the male eating disorder sufferer and his personal struggles with food, weight and body issues. Its straightforward, raw and disturbing personal story is further strengthened by Henning's spiritual, physical and emotional recovery and revelations toward healing, powerfully outlined in his wonderful, practical and hopeful "16 Points." Male and female eating disorder sufferers alike will both be empowered and healed by reading this incredible recovery tool. Males,in particular, need to read this book and know that they are not alone; they are not hopeless either. It is a must for any recovery resource library,high school or college health class or program, as well as for anyone who is touched by the struggle of eating disorders. This book proves that it is not just a "woman's issue!" It is a must read!

Through the power of his experience, Dennis Henning has written a very personal story about his battle with an eating disorder. His story is a stunning display of a long-practiced dysfuntion and--thank God!--an equally stunning recovery. Henning reveals his own private road to hell. Eating and purging became a way of life. As his life spun out of control, he also became addicted to sex. Everybody else was to blame for his problems which, as time went on, included prostitution, stealing, lying, manipulating--anything to numb the emotional pain of his self-hate and doubt.
It takes a lot of courage to tell a story like this one, a lot of honest reflection and inner work on the self: You really have TO WANT TO CHANGE your behavior, to change the way you think about yourself, to learn self-love. Dennis eventually creates a healthy life by getting in touch with good people who care about him. He opened up his mind to a much bigger world--the one beyond that crippling world of fear. He stopped blaming others for all his problems.
Through the clarity of his unique perspective, Henning turned his life around and grew into a compassionate human being. He began to trust his feelings, to get to know himself. He found a spirtual life that he can rely on no matter what. He now uses his life as a tool for helping others overcome debiliatating eating disorders. Anyone with an eating disorder--male or female--should read this book. You are not alone. Reading this book can be the first step in your recovery.

Dennis shares his pain and suffering from self-famine in such a courageous raw and vulnerable fashion. Unfotunately, so few men have shared their experience of suffering from eating disorder behavior and this book helps fill in much needed and long awaited personal recovery by a male. My hope is that his honnesty and life-learned wisdom can help others seek solutions to their own healing and perhaps along their journey, utilize some of Dennis's ideas as a template. I felt empathy, hope, and joy as Dennis shared his story of recovery.

Michelle Matoff, LCSW, BCD

An eye opening book! Raw honesty that was spine chilling. I admired Dennis' openess in telling his story and believe it will help others to come out from "underneath the table." Even if a male does not have an eating disorder, but has issues about his appearance, physique, masculinity and self-worth, this book will shake him awake and help him focus on what really matters in life.

I think my title says it all. I thank the Gods for Serge Kahili King. I have been a Healer for 30 years and have also read a lot of books. His is the finest I;ve ever read on the subject...why? Because his techniques really work. I shall be recommending this book to all who come to me for Healing in the future so that they can learn to help themselves.

Serge K. King is a really important master spreading Huna wisdom around the world.
Is a really good book, written in a way everyone can understand and use in their lives.

Akashic Who's Who: Of Psychics, Mediums, Healers and More!

Here is a book that surprized me totally, what this is is a dictionary of a variety of styles and methods of healing that can used any time any where on anyone. I am keeping this one on my desk for easy reference. It cleary explains how to incorporate healing into our every day lives, sort of a personality match for different energies. It stresses that anyone can heal any ailment, disease, addiction and pain. Not only do these different healing techniques work, but they are quite easy to follow with the information given. The research on these techniques gave enough credulance that I came away wanting to immediately try some out at least once to see the outcome, i was amazed! If something works out likek this then lets all incorporate our attitude to be ready to heal at a moments notice under any sudden circumstance, could be a first aid tool of sorts.

This book is indeed timely, the manner of our changing times that we live in is bombared toxically in all elements, affecting our bodies, minds and soul, this is the hand book to use. It opened me up to many more techniques that effectively heal clients, other people and pets.

Nice work by author Serge Kahili King, Ph.D., btw he has published other books that are excellant sources of information.

I got several books, videos and audio tapes from Serge Kahili King but his "instant healing" , which I have labelled "it never happened" technique - saved my life several years ago, when half of my face became paralyzed and when doctors told me that I'll just have to accept it and that it may even get worse over time.

The paralysis was bad enough that I couldn't even speak coherently (I'd have to hold my lips with my hand in order to make an understandable sound), nor could I eat properly due to lack of sensation and because I couldn't move the muscles of my mouth. It was simply unacceptable to me to live like that, so I remembered "instant healing" technique.

I have adapted that "instant healing / it never happened" technique with NLP Time-Line technique and spend few days running the new pattern in my mind re-living my life from before the event until the present moment as if my face was always normal and it never became paralyzed.

It was not INSTANT healing - but it took ONLY FEW DAYS for my face to become COMPLETELY NORMAL and to FUNCTION PERFECTLY. My friend said that that he was utterly amazed as he watched the transformation on my face returning to normal - he said it was just like witnessing a miracle. Yeah, our minds are truly miraculous.

A wonderful guide to simple but profound healing techiques taught with humor and wisdom. Very enjoyable to read and offers great tools for quick,effective healing techniques.

"Journey In" is a fresh and fun way to inspire your creativity! This journal provides the path - a way to quiet the multitude of things flying through your head and lets you concentrate on whatever you choose. Whether it's a challenge you're facing or if you're searching for new ideas, following the journal provides the path for your journey. It's a perfect gift so I bought several copies and had lots of fun giving them to friends!

I enjoy the pictures and love to color. But meditation was something that was always hard for me. I couldn't believe it when I was able to relax and destress from the day, in the time it took to color a picture. I enjoyed the guidance in journaling. It was just the right amount of prompting to get me started in journaling. Which is something I had never done before.
Thanks Janell and Michelle.

This book is great for helping to create those much needed quiet times along with fostering your creative spirit. I have given it to people of all ages and they love it. Give a gift of peace and renewal to yourself as well!! A great way to start your new year.

At times I envy gerbils, who can at least jump off the exercise wheel when they grow tired. I seem to get caught up in my daily treadmill of life, to the point that even if I sit down, my brain is still spinning. It is often hard to slow down enough physically and mentally to meditate. This coloring journal is just the right aid to focus simply on the present. There is something so calming and healing about the repetitive strokes of coloring and picking out colors that appeal to your senses. You find yourself breathing deeper, and muscles relaxing that you didn't know were tense. Likewise, all the petty details of life, that seem to speak so loudly in your brain, quiet down and you are able to focus on the things of value. I love this book and I have heard raves from friends I have shared it with.

What an awesome, unique gift! The designs are so neat, and addicting! Who doesn't still love to color? It's such a great way to relax. What a great gift to give someone in the hospital, it belongs in every hospital gift shop!

In this seminal work, Jerome Bernstein presents a highly literate account of the development of the Western ego and chronicles for the first time the stories of those individuals who are experiencing an evolutionary shift of consciousness that manifests itself in many ways, but particularly in receptivity to what he calls transrational reality and sensitivity to all things animate and, to the Western mind, inanimate. He establishes a link between this emerging consciousness and sensitivity to environmental toxins, capturing in graceful and compassionate language both the desperation of those who suffer from environmental illness and the frustration of those who valiantly seek ways to treat them. He differentiates strongly between those who live in the borderland and those who suffer from borderline personality disorder, suggesting therapeutic approaches based on clinical experience. He argues passionately for a new paradigm for the healing of trauma through a reconnecting of the Western medical model with a body-mind-spirit approach, most notably that of the Navajo medical model.

As someone who spent seven months in treatment for pesticide poisoning at an environmental clinic, I was blown away by the accuracy with which Mr. Bernstein portrayed the plight and the suffering of those who experience environmental illness as well as the approaches to treatment. As one who has experienced healing through a combination of allopathic and spiritual approaches, including antigen therapy, psychotherapy, energy medicine and Navajo ceremonials, I can testify to the power of the combined modalities. As a writer with one foot in the creative universe, I applaud the authenticity with which Mr. Bernstein describes the borderland.

A definite must read for clinicians, researchers, patients, and anyone interested in Jungian thought, transrational experience, and environmental illness.

In his book Living in the Borderland, Jungian Analyst Jerome Bernstein provides a fascinating account of the development of the Western ego from an historical interpretation of the Bible down to our present post-Cold War environment. The author posits that this development has moved the Western psyche away from its roots in Nature into an ever more abstracted intellectual consciousness. As the human species approaches the very real potential for self-annihilation through nuclear assault and ultimate environmental degradation, an evolutionary shift in psychic consciousness has begun, a shift that appears in a growing number of individuals. In a Darwinian sense, it is an evolutionary manifestation of species survival. This shift is evidenced as the psyche's reconnection with Nature, to Nature in all its forms, animate and inanimate, that over the millennia the collective Western ego has neglected as it has developed increasingly toward abstraction of thought and the illusion of control. Through the years of his therapeutic practice Bernstein has seen many patients who are exhibiting this psychic shift. He calls these people Borderlanders, they live in a borderland between rational intellect and an emerging transrational consciousness.

For some Borderlanders, this awareness of the transrational as a dominant and controlling force in the psyche can be traumatic, not infrequently causing the individual to worry that he or she may be "crazy." Traditional psychological approaches to therapy often exacerbate this fear in that most therapists are unaware of the "normalcy" of this evolutionary shift in consciousness. They therefore tend to consider their Borderland patients as suffering from a psychic pathology. And herein is a major emphasis of this book: to alert psychological and medical practitioners as well as the patients themselves, that certain patients' experiences, while evidencing symptoms of psychic trauma, may not be pathological. The situation is often complicated, however, when a patient may evidence psychological illness that is genuinely symptomatic of traumatic experience, yet is unrelated to a patient's borderland consciousness. In this case it is the formidable task of the therapist to differentiate the pathological from the new evolutionary consciousness that is beginning to manifest.

The book is extremely well researched and thoroughly documented with personal testimonials, bibliographic references, and case studies, and contains an exhaustive bibliography. It is essential reading for all psychotherapists and medical practitioners and their patients, and is especially relevant to those suffering from or treating environmental illness. Individuals interested in Jungian psychology and early childhood educators who may be encountering this psychic phenomenon among children will find the guidance of this book invaluable.

Reviewed by Mari Graña, writer. Santa Fe, NM

This author clearly describes what constitutes a Borderland Personality and the effect having access to non-ordinary states of consciousness may have on the lives of individuals. The description of his work as a Jungian Analyst, also utilizing Navajo healing modalities expands the horizons of Western psychotherapy. I was interested in the differentiation between dissociation occurring as the result of personal trauma and the transition into Borderland states. He addresses this issue by noting that Borderland Personalities find acceptance of their Borderland states by a healing professional extremely healing in itself and that these states are experienced as sacred. Bernstein also utilizes his own countertransferential bodily sensations as clues. I found his hypothesis that Borderland Personalities' intimate experiences of nature such as communication with animals represents an evolutionary correction to the human ego's development and split from nature, especially in the West, interesting.

There are lots of reviews listed here which endeavor to summarize Mr. Bernstein's book. I found his thesis thoughtful and revolutionary, and comforting..since I've considered myself a borderlander for years. His treatment de-pathologizes us space cadets who have been shocked into retreating from the harsh cultural milleau of American society into an unworldly misty place. Spending time in Nature is often our only calming option.

At the same time, living in a borderland brings with it...it seems to me...a peculiar paralysis in dealing with economic and other social realities we can't avoid. It can be a form of escape from lovelessness and confusion which stifles the ego. Egolessness is not the answer, in my own opinion for healthy individuation and living a life of purpose.

I would complement Bernstein's book with Richard Lind's "The Seeking Self" and Greg Mogenson's book, "A Most Accursed Religion" to help reframe our view of ourselves and the Universe/God. Individuation requires that we be able to take responsibility for ourselves and maturing. Is it really a God we are experiencing in breaking the gateways between ego and the Unconscious, or is it the destruction of consciousness and ego?

Great read though. Don't miss it!

This is an important work, both in a psychological and cultural sense. Bernstein is writing about "Borderland" personalities and environmental illness but these two issues also relate to a sea change going on below the surface of the Western psyche. Bernstein is one of a very small number of people who is trying to track this sea change -- pointing us to its possibilities and its potential dangers. Living in the Borderland is a big picture book that dares to ask the really important cultural questions of our day.

this book has changed me inside out. I wished I had read this in my teenage years.

I hope the authors know how many people they have helped with this book. Perhaps they can update it for the latest stresses that the accelerated information age and the post-September 11th world have brought.

As others have said, I wish I had read this book in my teenage years.

It's unusual for me to read chapters of a book out of order. Had I read this book from front to back, I would have angrily tossed it out when I hit chapters 3 and 4. The authors have not had the pleasure of grasping the virtue of selfishness. Instead, they occasionally apologize and appease. In these early chapters they recommend "unconditional positive regard" stating that it's "not selfish, nor egoistic" to have this attitude towards ourselves. This chapter is a philosophical junkyard. They ask why we admire a Mother Teresa and answer that it's because she sacrifices herself for others. They ask "Would you admire her if she sacrificed herself for something worthless?" and omit the possibility that she is not admirable because she lived a life of sacrifice by choice and encourages others to do likewise. The authors also invent the contradictory concept of the "unselfish I."
So heaven help me! Why would I recommend such a book? I recommend it because it is chock full of simple good tips - e.g., good study skills, identifying and pursuing healthy goals to bring you pleasure, keeping friendships fair - with a lovely undercurrent of egoism despite occasional nosedives. For example, "Cultural attitudes, including religious ones, seem to make rewarding oneself seem bad..." (Were it my book, I would omit the "seem to") - or "Do not make a virtue out of being a martyr." The mix of good and bad ideas in this book makes me wonder if one author was philosophically healthier than the other one. This book offers valuable thinking skills. I recommend skipping chapters 1-3. This is a good book to keep in your reference library. If you are having difficulty with a particular issue in your life, read the chapter on that. Some skills that are helpful include:
- "swat" the NATs (negative automatic thoughts)
- distant elephants (do not commit yourself to unimportant activities no matter how far ahead they are)
- focus on important but non-urgent activities, rather than urgent non-important activities
- avoid "pressurizing" words: "should, must, have to, ought" which drain motivation
- avoid avoidance - actively solve your problems rather than run from them
- reduce the "inside" load of stress by changing attitudes
- learn how to unpackage your fears
- motivate yourself by focusing on the personal benefits of your success

a very clear and concise book. One of the best "self-help" books i have read. Intresting and fast, dosent preach like other books. No religious mumbo jumbo about god being your savior. If there is anyone who can help you, its you. They show you how.

Great educational read. Stimulating. Straight forward and easy to read chapters. This book helped me through one of the worse times in my life.

Written by a psychiatrist who cares deeply for her clients, this book explores ways in which understanding the meanings that guide our lives can help us to sort out various disorders that cause physical and emotional problems.

I agree with the observation about this book by C. Everett Koop, former US Surgeon General, in the foreword: "It is written by a physician who loves her patients and has come to see that life depends not on the hand you are dealt, but on how you choose to live it." (p. 4)

Many books offer a spectrum of cases, briefly described. Wood chooses to focus much of her sharings about how she works through a detailed description of the treatment of a severely disturbed woman who was suicidal. This woman had such low self-esteem that she would repeatedly cut herself when she was upset. It took many years of therapy to help her accept herself and settle into much more self-accepting and satisfying ways of being and relating in a world that she had earlier found hostile and unaccepting.

Many books offer the views and understandings of the author as the primary window into appreciating the author's approaches. Wood chooses to give many pages to the words of her clients, who report how they felt and what it was like to have Wood help them through their difficulties.

Ever since I had the first of my two psychotic episodes I have been floundering in psychotherapy or in the beginning when that was not the "norm" (just meds)I have felt at a loss. I found Dr. Wood's book and am extremely pleased that a new avenue or "path" I think she might appropriately call it is presented to me. I gave my psychiatrist, psychologist/minister, and physician a copy of this book and mine I plan to keep and read and reread over and over again. I especially liked the references to a spiritual aspect of therapy and how it definitely relates to ones' healing self. I feel like I now have "hope" of success at arriving at a goal for myself and if I try hard enough with my therapists I might indeed find the "feeling" words I am in need of to succeed at life. Thank you, Dr. Wood for the "gift of this book!" God bless you! Maybe a miracle can happen in my life as in those other patients in your book whom you describe so well. (Or those with whom you asked them to write themselves their own story to put into your book! YES! Why don't people ask patients and the mentally ill OUR OWN STORIES!!!)

This is one of the most inspiring books for self-empowered healing from mental illness I have read. In her childhood, Dr. Eve Wood learned that, "If a person saves one life, it is as if he has saved the entire world." By this criterion, Dr. Wood is saving the galaxy.

The central theme in her patients' recoveries seems to be Dr. Wood's ability to help them create a safe container of self-acceptance without judgment and her considerable genius in inspiring hope. But she doesn't stop with just the storytelling. This is an interactive book in which she challenges the reader to explore how the patient's story might be relevant to "you," the reader. Concluding each section are "lessons," "take home points," and questions that help the reader to assess her own imbalances.

Throughout Medicine, Mind and Meaning, Dr. Wood offers exercises to help the reader fully integrate the "lessons" of the stories she tells. This book is, in itself, a prescription for self-healing.

"Medicine, Mind, and Meaning," a new book by noted psychiatrist, professor and speaker, Dr. Eve A. Wood, is a step-by-step guide that combines traditional psychiatric approaches and spiritual principles. For Wood, former faculty at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and presently Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of Arizona Program in Integrative Medicine, development of one's spirituality is a necessary component in healing. Accordingly, the book provides resources and exercises for the use of belief to further the healing process. Among these resources are numerous appendices that engage common psychiatric illnesses, detailing their cause, evaluation, and treatment. These appendices can also be found online at www.MedicineMindandMeaning.com.

C. Everett Koop, M.D., Sc.D., former U.S. Surgeon General and McInerny Professor of Surgery, Dartmouth Medical School, writes the foreward to "Medicine, Mind, and Meaning." Not typically given to publicly endorsing work that is not his own, Dr. Koop's exception in this case marks the importance and urgency he attaches to this text. Writes Koop, "I have seldom been so moved by a book. This is the only healing model that makes sense."

This is an excellent text, one that bridges the large divides between psychiatric medicine, talk therapies, and spiritual traditions of healing. By bringing all these separate but equally important truths under one roof, Wood presents a model that comprehensively addresses the complexity of human illness and treatment. Rich in information and passionate in character, "Medicine, Mind, and Meaning" is an important answer to Koop's question in the Foreward: "If we are each body, mind, and spirit, how can we be healed if we don't treat all three together?"

Medicine, Mind And Meaning: A Psychiatrist's Guide To Treating The Body, Mind, And Spirit by medical and mental health expert Dr. Eve Wood compares human well-being to a three-legged stool, which rests upon the pillars of body, mind, and spirit. A step-by-step guide showing the reader how to involve body (genetics, inborn characteristics and vulnerabilities), mind (backgrounds, beliefs, behaviors) and spirit (faith and the search for higher meaning) in a healing journey toward total wellness, Medicine, Mind And Meaning is a testimony of inspiration, blessing, and the profound healing power of positive will. A forward by C. Everett Koop, M.D., SCD rounds out this transformative work of insight grounded in years of practical and medical experience.

I've spent a long time pondering my past and tried to make 'forgetting' my priority. This book has changed all that. There is nothing more frightening than waking or falling asleep to flick images of a moment or a time you have apparently forgotten - especially if it's something so terrible that you could only possibly associate it with a nightmare.

This book is about one woman's devastating past that becomes at war with her mind. An amazing story about past hurt and abuse that inevitably comes back to haunt 'Linda Caine,' and in the most distructable form possible...end the life - stop the pain.
A powerful book filled with despair, devastation, love and hope.

Thank you xxKxx

Superbly written, once i started reading i couldn't put it down! You get totally involved & lost in what's happening in the book. The struggle Linda (as well as her family) went through for so many years, & the realisation of what actually happened to her is indescribable. Made me face my little demons, & re-think & re-prioritise my life.

I read this book in one sitting! Each chapter moved me to tears. It is a book about a woman's struggle with her(Linda) past that seems to haunt her and that unfolds beautifully in this book. Robin's chapters also shed much needed light and prespective to Linda's struggles. If this book was fictional it would have been storytelling at its best but given it is a true story makes it profound! Touching, inspiring, thought-provoking, thrilling and moving! It is witten in simple yet powerful words. It is one book anyone with a heart would love!

Linda Caine is an artist; Robin Royston a practicing psychiatrist specializing in trauma: the two met up when Linda Caine began experiencing flashbacks and images out of nowhere. Together the two began an exploration of African roots which were to reveal the heart of forgotten memories and the source of Caine's depression, making her autobiography OUT OF THE DARK an emotionally charged, volatile self-exploration.

This book tells the story of a remarkable woman who has endured alot of pain and hardship in her life. Spanning 3 continents and all the various incidents which encompasses her life experiences, Linda Caine's story tells of a woman's re-awakening to the worst horror of her life - having been abused as a child with her mum complicit. I was fasinated by how the truth which she managed to block out for most of her life came back in an insidious way to haunt her. It is almost as if it was forcing her to acknowledge it, and almost as if her unconscious was adamant that she realised what it was she had gone through. Linda Caine's courage and strength in the face of all this revelation and how her faith pulled her through is uplifting and inspiring. I also enjoyed reading about the people who cared for her and who were selfless in their wish to see her recover and gain control over her life again. It is amazing how a woman who has lived through so many bad times has such a love and zest for life and all things living. It's a miracle that none of the nastiness and evil in life has managed to tarnish the core of her person. A very honest and heart felt piece of writing, and a real triumph for those who survived the difficult period.