What Freud Didn't Know: A Three-Step Practice for Emotional Well-Being through Neuroscience and Psychology - Hardcover

Stokes Ph.D., Professor Timothy B.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0813546400 ISBN 13: 9780813546407

Publisher: Rutgers University Press, 2009

Synopsis

What Freud Didn’t Know,combines neuroscience and psychology to explain how the amygdala region of the brain evolved to unconsciously record, store, and activate emotional memory loops and imagery associated with painful events, especially those of childhood. This book is the first to bring together diverse, post-Freudian discoveries to produce a coherent three-step practice for understanding problematic aspects of the human mind which can be mastered easily, in a clinical or self-help setting.

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Reviews

Though Freudian therapy has, in general, been superseded by modern psychotherapy methods, practicing clinical psychologist Stokes (former editor-in chief of the Naropa Journal of Contemplative Psychotherapy) shows how Freud, over a century ago, ingeniously anticipated modern neurobiological discoveries. Freud's attribution of psychological problems to the "internal struggles" among the id, ego, and super-ego is roughly analogous to modern understanding of "the functions of three regions of the brain: the neocortical regions, the prefrontal cortex regions, and the limbic system." Recent findings by neurobiologists show that the limbic system (where the amygdala is located) "exerts a powerful role in the emotional life of humans" by regulating automatic responses to perceived danger; the release of hormones provokes a physical response perceived as emotion. Building on the concepts of cognitive therapy, which teaches clients to identify and replace dysfunctional thoughts, Stokes developed a three-step method to help people becomes aware of what he calls the amygdala "scripts" that normally operate unconsciously: step one is recognition of a conditioned response, step two identifies the trigger, and step three involves conscious reconditioning through insight. With three appendices, this makes a useful self-help manual for clients and clinicians.
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Edition details

• Publisher: Rutgers University Press
• Publication date: 2009
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0813546400
• ISBN 13: 9780813546407
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 224