This book offers a new approach to imagination which brings its emotional, social, cultural, contextual and existential characteristics to the fore. Fantasy and imagination are understood as the human capacity to distance oneself from the here?and?now situation in order to return to it with new possibilities. To do this we use social?cultural means (e.g. language, stories, art, images, etc.) to conceive of imaginary scenarios, some of which may become real. Imagination is involved in every situation of our lives, though to different degrees. Sometimes this process can lead to concrete products (e.g., artistic works) that can be picked up and used by others for the purposes of their imagining. Imagination is not seen here as an isolated cognitive faculty but as the means by which people anticipate and constructively move towards an indeterminate future. It is in this process of living forward with the help of imagination that novelty appears and social change becomes possible. This book offers a conceptual history of imagination, an array of theoretical approaches, imagination's use in psychologist's thinking and a number of new research areas. Its aim is to offer a re?enchantment of the concept of imagination and the discipline of psychology more generally.

In this highly original study, C. Michael Smith draws on phenomenological resources and hermeneutic dialogue to explore the affinities and distinctions between shamanism and Jungian psychology, both rooted ultimately in a heart-centered way if life, and both having highly intricate maps of the human psychic interiors. As the reader adventures through this book he or she will encounter shamanic initiation, dismemberments, disassociation, grief, despair, and soul loss, the healing power of ritual, ecstasy and other altered states. The book explores many rich topics including the role of talismans and amulets, the various levels of the collective unconscious, the archetypal and imaginable perspectives on such phenomena, and implications for psychotherapeutic practice today. In the new preface, the author argues that in the end "It isn't the fascinating and powerful techniques that are the essential thing, but the person inside, its capacity to live from the heart n Earth-honoring and Nature- attuning ways that is the essential center of the Jung/shamanism interface."
In Jung and Shamanism in Dialogue, C. Michael Smith has written a "must have" classic for all students of shamanism and Jungian psychology. Thorough, clear and authoritative, Smith writes from first-hand perspective, drawing on his own depth experiences in studying and teaching shamanism and Jungian psychology for decades. As in his previous book, Psychotherapy and the Sacred, he is psychological and spiritual, phenomenological and historical in his unique perspective. Jung was often described as a "shaman" by those who knew him well, but few have had the courage to openly make this claim, and none has presented the caseas thoroughly as Smith has. This new preface to this second edition adds a richness of wisdom worth the price of the book. -Tess Castleman, Training Analyst, The C.G. Jung Institute, Zurich

For more than a century, the albino rat has been the standard subject in psychological research. Among other reasons, the rat was thought to be the perfect animal model of human behavior due to the presumed simplicity of its behavior, considered to be mechanistically controlled by the environment and, thus, free from the unnecessary complication caused by the influence of mental processes. In the last few years, a series of critical experiments have been conducted to understand the rat's mental abilities, finding evidence of sophisticated cognitive processes - some of which previously believed to be exclusively human. The rat, it turns out, is a good animal model of human cognition as well; its behavior is no more "reflexive" than it is "reflective." This book tells the story of the albino rat in the psychology laboratory, and how recent studies in animal cognition have changed our perception of its mental life. This is the story of the thinking rat.

This text is intended for undergraduate experimental psychology and research methods courses. Its purpose is to provide students with exactly what they need to successfully conduct research and report their results. Advanced undergraduate and beginning graduate students should find this book useful for reviewing experimental methods prior to beginning their own research.

Multiple Intelligence Counselling is the doctoral thesis of the author Patrick O'Brien. This book explores the thesis that Gardner's theory of multiple intelligence is an excellent model for counselling and is as relevant in the therapy room as in classrooms. The book traces 10 case studies that demonstrate the use of Gradner's theory in connecting with young clients in the authors practice. Secondly, it argues that the engagement of children in counselling and the development of rapport is best undertaken using a Gardner intelligence that the child is quite comfortable in using. A third point is that Sandplay allowed the counsellor the greatest flexibility in engaging and integrating all intelligences presented by Gardner. A higher level synthesis of the findings is presented in a short fairy tale "Sad knights and magical days."