The Psychic Immune System theorizes the existence of a hidden variable that acts via both unconscious and conscious processes to protect humans individually and collectively from mortal threats. Much like the physical immune system, the psychic immune system scans for danger, protects, heals, and ensures human safety and survival. Kroth argues that it isn’t just luck that has enabled people to survive the multitude of epidemics, wars, and environmental disasters that could have resulted in extinction, but rather the work of a complex system that has enabled us to survive. Scrutinizing a variety of past and present threats, Kroth points to traces of a systematic force that has protected humans. Recommended for scholars of psychology, history, and political science.
The Psychic Immune System theorizes the existence of a hidden variable that acts via both unconscious and conscious processes to protect humans individually and collectively from mortal threats. Much like the physical immune system, the psychic immune system scans for danger, protects, heals, and ensures human safety and survival. Kroth argues that it isn t just luck that has enabled people to survive the multitude of epidemics, wars, and environmental disasters that could have resulted in extinction, but rather the work of a complex system that has enabled us to survive. Scrutinizing a variety of past and present threats, Kroth points to traces of a systematic force that has protected humans. Recommended for scholars of psychology, history, and political science."
This comprehensive resource responds to a growing need for theory and multidisciplinary integrative research in adult and gerontological health. Handbook of Aging and Mental Healthbrings together, for the first time, diverse strategies and methodologies as well as theoretical formulations involving psychodynamic, behavioral, psychosocial, and biological systems as they relate to aging and health. Forward-thinking in his approach, Lomranz provides the mental health, adult developmental, and geriatric professions with a single reference source that covers theory construction, empirical research, treatment, and multidisciplinary program development.
Now in its Third Edition, this book clarifies the distinctions between the vast array of personality disorders and helps clinicians make accurate diagnoses. It has been thoroughly updated to incorporate the changes in the forthcoming DSM-5. Using the classification scheme he pioneered, Dr. Millon guides clinicians through the intricate maze of personality disorders, with special attention to changes in their conceptualization over the last decade. Extensive new research is included, as well as the incorporation of over 50 new illustrative and therapeutically detailed cases. This is every mental health professional's essential volume to fully understanding personality.
Implosion: denial, delusion, and the prospect of collapse is a penetrating look at contemporary collective delusions slithering across the American landscape. A delusion is a false idea about the world, a kind of intellectual “trance.” When an individual suffers one, the diagnosis of mental illness is not far behind. When a nation labors under them, we have a state of collective mental instability. This odyssey explores five gargantuan delusions infecting the American psyche: our understanding of our democratic political system, the Iraq war, the perception of ourselves as an empire, the musical genre of hip-hop, and our extremely precarious financial condition. In the final chapter, “Slip-slidin to dystopia,” Dr. Kroth reviews the seven major signs of societal collapse. These factors are combined to form “the American Dystopia Index.” When one looks at this metric, the transformation of the American dream to an American nightmare seems all but assured should we not awaken from our myriad trance states in time. Reviews: Jerry Kroth’s book, Implosion, is so exciting that I had to stop reading it for a few minutes just to calm down. Kroth does for his readers just what he says the truth will do for us. He presents an utterly compelling case for seven deadly symptoms which combined will bring America down and the world with it. However, he does it so well and documents his work so meticulously, that the excitement of learning the truth renders reading implosion a thrilling experience. As Yeats said in his prescient poem, “the Second Coming “The centre cannot hold.” Kroth promises us a second coming of hope and possibility. He exposes our march towards destruction and also a path for reversing that. Implosion strips away our illusions and denials giving us the truth, a chance to reverse our deadly course, and also a reason to hope. —Harried Fraad, Ph.D., psychoanalytic psychotherapist author of Bringing it all back home Duped! is incredible. You will want to shove it up the nose of every pompous, conservative, right wing, born again, love it or leave it jerk you have ever met. Dr. Kroth continues to approach the unapproachable. He holds no punches in describing our American culture's blind xenophobia; telling ourselves we are the best while betraying our most basic common sense as the evidence piles up at our feet. We choose leaders who simply tell us what we wish we could believe, and continue to act in ways that shorten our lives, steal our money, and leave us less secure than ever. In this crisp criticism of our collective confusion, we see how we have all become the chickens praising Colonel Sanders. We are simply outgunned by short-term corporate and political profits and power from the getgo. I wish there were more like Dr. Kroth aboard think tanks, committees, and boardrooms across our land, but if there ever were, they are probably planted in the Nevada desert somewhere. Enjoy the ride before your nickel runs out. —Steve Stelle, author of On Shaky Ground Totally eye opening, and, frankly, a very scary narrative. I never realized how deluded we are, and how a thick cloud of denial covers over our public discourse. This is a necessary read for any conscious American. —M.S. Forrest, Ph.D., clinical psychotherapist.
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.
It has been almost twenty years since DSM-III created a major shift in psychi atric classification procedures and in diagnostic and treatment practice by introducing the multi-axial system and, for our patients specifically, the Axis II: Personality Disorders. Researchers and clinicians were forced to focus on many issues related to the field of personality and its disorders. This meant an immense impetus for research, both empirical and theoretical. Many recent developments are described in this book, as reviews or as original articles. This book also covers developments in Europe as well as in North America. Important questions still remain unanswered, such as: What is the relationship between the different clusters: A, B, & C? Are we talking about dimensions, categories, or typologies? What can be done for patients who have more than one personality disorder? Is a pro typical approach required? Consequently, is a multiconceptual approach in treatment and research required? The authors contribute to this discus sion and provide guidelines for further thinking in research and treatment planning. For clinicians, it is of major importance to know whether the disorder can be influ enced by treatment, and whether permanent change is really possible. A very impor tant question is whether a person indeed has a personality disorder, and how this diagnosis affects clinical practice.
In this volume distinguished scholars explore and apply the theoretical models of continuity and discontinuity to their research in adult development. The chapters address the different ways in which continuity is affected by change over the life course, as well as how individuals negotiate and maintain crucial continuities by adaptive change. Topics include adult life crises, illness, sibling relationships, and gender identity. Each chapter is followed by an insightful commentary. This book is a tribute to Bernice L. Neugarten for her contributions to the field of adult development, which includes the concept of continuities. Contributors include W. Andrew Achenbaum, Robert H. Binstock, James Birren, Bertram J. Cohler, Margaret Hellie Huyck, Boaz Kahana, Eva Kahana, Sheldon S. Tobin, Lillian E. Troll, Steven H. Zarit, and others.
There are tens of thousands of self-help books on psychology and human relationships; however, there are very few that integrate the topics of the soul and spirit into the picture. Most books on this subject focus on personality-level self-actualization. The new wave in the field of psychology is transpersonal or soul psychology, which will lead to monadic psychology for the more advanced students of the path. The entire understanding of psychology is completely changed when the soul is properly integrated. It has been said that personality-level self-actualization brings happiness, soul-level self-actualization brings joy, and monadic- and spiritual-level self-actualization bring bliss.
