This book is a study of the simultaneous physiological recordings and psychoanalytic observations when emotional/psychological responses to external stimuli occur pari passu with observed physiological changes. It is the culmination of the author's psychiatric and psychoanalytic work with patients over fifty years, and is based on the simple premise that physiological measurements cannot describe the mind and the mind cannot describe physiological processes. In order for us to have a significant knowledge of the object the author argues that we need both, and that medical specialists and health professionals (doctors, nurses, psychoanalysts, psychotherapists, psychiatrists, etc.) need to be trained to adopt a Complementary approach to patients. The complex relationship between mind and body offers vital clues to the individual's condition, and only by considering patients both physically and mentally can doctors and psychoanalysts make precise and competent judgements.

Jane Desmarais