Placebo responses are automatic and unconscious and cannot be predicted based on conscious volition. Instead, they reflect complex interactions between the innate reward system of the nervous system and encoded procedural memories and imaginal fantasies. The placebo response contributes inextricably to virtually all therapeutic effects, varies in potency, and likely exhibits its own pathologies. The Placebo Response further considers that the critical elements required to provoke placebo responses overlap substantially with what most current psychotherapies consider to be therapeutic, i.e. an interpersonal dynamic rooted in concern, trust and empathy. The potential importance of training caregivers in how to optimize placebo responses is considered a crucial feature of both the art and science of care-giving.

This monograph focuses on a systemic approach to dream interpretation and the unique importance of the initial dream. The first dream reported in a psychoanalytic therapy session poignantly encapsulates the major issues that the patient brings to the treatment. These dreams 'herald' the trajectory of the treatment and can be interpreted in the service of psychodynamic diagnosis and prognosis.The book melds aspects of Jungian dream analysis, with neo-Freudian analytic thought, current neurobiological concepts, and Buddhist psychology, to yield a rich and powerful understanding of how dreams symbolize the multifaceted aspects of the psyche. Multiple examples of initial dreams are discussed in detail, with suggestions for how they can inform the analytic stance and serve as objects for analysis over the course of a treatment.

Placebo responses are automatic and unconscious and cannot be predicted based on conscious volition. Instead, they reflect complex interactions between the innate reward system of the nervous system and encoded procedural memories and imaginal fantasies. The placebo response contributes inextricably to virtually all therapeutic effects, varies in potency, and likely exhibits its own pathologies. The Placebo Response further considers that the critical elements required to provoke placebo responses overlap substantially with what most current psychotherapies consider to be therapeutic, i.e. an interpersonal dynamic rooted in concern, trust and empathy. The potential importance of training caregivers in how to optimize placebo responses is considered a crucial feature of both the art and science of care-giving.

The Herald Dream focuses on a systematic approach to dream interpretation and the unique importance of the initial dream. The first dream reported in psychoanalytic therapy poignantly encapsulates the major issues that the patient brings to the treatment. These dreams "herald" the trajectory of the treatment and can be interpreted in the service of psychodynamic diagnosis and prognosis. The book achieves its aims by melding aspects of Jungian dream analysis, with neo-Freudian analytic thought, current neurobiological concepts, and Buddhist psychology, to yield a rich and powerful understanding of how dreams symbolize the multifaceted aspects of the psyche. Multiple examples of initial dreams are discussed in detail with suggestions for how they can inform the analytic stance and serve as objects for analysis over the course of a treatment. The role of dream analysis in group supervision of psychotherapists is also discussed.This book will be of interest to Jungian practitioners, students, and general readers.

The Enlightenment signaled diminished popular reliance on the religious "cure of the soul," and witnessed the emergence of psychoanalysis. From its inception, Freud's psychoanalysis was accused of being a "Jewish science," and he countered by including non-Jewish Swiss psychiatrists in his movement. Carl Jung eventually broke with Freud due to differences concerning psychoanalytical theory and practice. This text explores the religious underpinnings of psychoanalysis, contrasting the textual and mystical traditions of Judaism with those of Christianity. It convincingly demonstrates that differences in the fundamental tenets of Judaism and Christianity have had a profound and continued influence on psychoanalysis.