The Healer Within: The New Medicine of Mind and Body

Account of the latest findings in the field of psychoneuroimmunology. It is theorized that to understand healing we must see the interrelationships among psychological stress, the nervous system, and the immune system. Locke, a researcher at Harvard Medical School, presents a model of the mind-body connection and the processes that can result in disease or health. Several specific diseases are related to certain personality types, including AIDS. A chapter is devoted to cancer and the mind.

Much of the book is devoted to ways of locating the healer within. There is no single technique¯ several have been beneficial: relaxation, progressive relaxation, autogenic training, biofeedback, the relaxation response, exercise, hypnosis, self-hypnosis. The important role played by hope is pointed out, and research on the biology of hope is described, including studies of the placebo effect, therapeutic touch, altered states, and tenderness.

Appendices include methods of stress measurement, a useful directory of resources and organizations, and a glossary.