Deceits of the Mind is a major effort at developing a comprehensive theory of disease, one incorporating knowledge of how the mind works, how the body works, and how the two interface. This interface, traditionally called psychosomatic medicine, newly labeled psychoneuro-immunology, has piqued the interest of a great many researchers and lay people alike in the last decade. Most recently, it has shown great promise in the psychological treatment of physical disorders. Although books on the mind/body dynamic usually end with the basic principle of mind affecting the body, this is the point at which Jane Goldberg’s Deceits of the Mind begins.

Goldberg begins by challenging the traditional medical model of the disease process. Since the advent of modern medicine, sickness has been seen as caused by factors from without—environmental stressors, germs, carcinogens, and so on. In contrast, Goldberg’s research and observations indicate that diseases, both biological and psychological, are often rooted in processes that have their origins within the human organism itself. She shows that an organism’s ability to defend itself is crucial to the maintenance of both physical and emotional well-being. She describes the variety of psychological and biological methods of defense the human organism has available to it, and how these go awry in the formation of disease.

Moving beyond the traditional psychosomatic postulate of mind affecting body, Goldberg goes a step farther, and proposes the adventuresome notion that mind and body imitate each other. A malfunction at any level of mind or body, she says, is reflected in all other levels. She shows how, in disease conditions, psychosis can exist in the body, not just the mind, and how the cancer process is embedded in the mind, not just the body.

“Thoroughly documented and researched, Deceits of the Mind is also a multifaceted presentation of the dynamic of disease, and most importantly, explicit approaches to presentation and healing of both physical and psychological disorders. It is most refreshing to have this very find addition to the field of holistic healing, written in such a clear and engaging manner. To me the book is invaluable. It will also be a must read for patients and their friends and family.
--Richard Rivner, M.D., medical director, Fryer Research Center, New York

“Dr. Goldberg has written a truly original and insightful book, destined, I feel, to become a classic in the field. Her exploration of the human psyche as it relates particularly to the health of the physical body makes for absolutely enlightened and riveting reading!”
--Ruth Sackman, president, Foundation for Advancement in Cancer Therapy, Ltd. (FACT)

“No writer has done more than Jane Goldberg to further exploration of the largely uncharted territory at the border of mind and body. In Deceits of the Mind she throws brilliant light into this area, and discovers original sytheses of the insights of medical scientists with those of the psychoanalytic theorists. Dr. Goldberg’s thinking is original, penetrating, and adventurous without being reckless; she has much to teach both lay people and professionals—of several disciplines. Her writing is of a clarity and vivacity that will enlighten and delight her lay readership and will help analysts to see more clearly what they themselves do and know and think.”
--Phyllis Meadow, Ph.D., editor, Journal of Modern Psychoanalysis