Conscious and Unconscious Processes: Psychodynamic, Cognitive, and Neurophysiological Convergences

The notion of an unconscious mental life has been subject to debate for over a century. Psychodynamic practitioners generally understand clients' consciously experienced symptoms to reflect conflict within an unconscious realm; cognitive psychologists, on the other hand, doubt the validity of this psychodynamic understanding of unconscious processes. This volume attempts to bridge the theoretical gulf between the two approaches by providing objective evidence for unconscious conflict in psychopathology. Integrating psychodynamic, cognitive, and neurophysiological methods, the authors have developed an experimental model using brain wave measurements that can differentiate types of unconscious processes. The volume provides a unique synthesis of clinical and experimental findings and blazes a new pathway for the study of brain mind interaction.

Table of Contents:
1. Introduction I. Theory 2. Psychoanalytic Theory 3. Cognitive Theory 4. Psychophysiological Theory II. Methods 5. The Psychodynamic Clinical Method and Word Selection Procedure 6. The Subliminal Cognitive Method 7. The Psychophysiological Method III. Results 8. Experimental Procedures and Results IV. Clinical Cases 9. The Case of Mr. A 10. The Case of Mr. B 11. The Case of Mr. C V. Evaluation 12. Conclusions and Future Directions

About the Author :
Howard Shevrin, Ph.D., is Professor of Psychology in the Departments of Psychiatry and Psychology, and Director of the Ormond and Hazel Hunt Event-Related Potential Memorial Laboratory at the University of Michigan, a faculty member of the Michigan Psychoanalytic Institute, and a psychoanalyst. James A. Bond, Ph.D., is a clinical and design consultant to the research and has a private psychotherapy practice. Linda A. W. Brakel, M.D., a Clinical Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Michigan, is a faculty member of the Michigan Psychoanalytic Institute, and has a private psychoanalytic practice. Richard K. Hertel, Ph.D., a Clinical Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Michigan, is a faculty member of the Michigan Psychoanalytic Institute, and has a private psychoanalytic practice. William J. Williams, Ph.D., who has a special expertise in the development of methods for analyzing biological signals, is Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at the University of Michigan.

Review :
"This is not just one of the best studies on this topic; it is the best since the theory of the dynamic unconscious appeared 100 years ago. It demonstrates the operation of dynamic unconscious processes, and it does this by the most natural method--by simultaneous examination of three facets: phenomenological, cognitive, and psychophysiological. This is the heart of the procedure: each person is shown subliminally and then supraliminally individually selected conscious symptom words, unconscious conflict words, ordinary unpleasant words, and ordinary pleasant words. During each exposure a recording is made of the brain response's event-related potential which is then examined by time-frequency analysis. The findings are in line with their hypotheses: (1) the unconscious conflict words were correctly classified subliminally, while (2) the conscious words were correctly classified only supraliminally. (3) For the unconscious conflict words, class frequency in the brain response occurred early subliminally and late supraliminally, while (4) the reverse was true for conscious symptom words. This brief essence of Shevrin et. al.'s findings should tempt readers to read this beautiful narrative about the study and to see for themselves the unique achievement of capturing unconscious processes that are correlated with brain responses." --Lester Luborsky, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology in Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania Medical Center "Howard Shevrin and his colleagues have come through with a tour de force in the difficult and contentious area of psychoanalytic theory and its relation to the 'hard sciences.' The presentation is an authoritative one: The authors have themselves been pioneers and major contributors to our knowledge bridging clinical psychoanalysis, cognitive psychology, and cerebral electrophysiology. Assumptions and alternative views are clearly spelled out; the reader is not asked simply to accept potentially biased proposals. The book should be a must for those seeking a balanced and clear exposition of the issues in psychoanalytic theory and the 'unconscious,' and the scientific evidence bearing on these issues." --Benjamin Libet, Ph.D., Professor of Physiology Emeritus, University of California, San Francisco; Author of Neurophysiology of Consciousness "The authors of this landmark book have created a veritable lighthouse for anyone sailing into the uncharted waters of interdisciplinary research....Had Shevrin et al. only developed their sophisticated methodology...we would all remain eternally in their debt. However, that they have also used it to identify the neurophysiological signature of unconscious mentation is one of the remarkable scholarly achievements of our time.....I highly recommend this book to researchers....I also recommend it for students because of its beautiful and tightly reasoned expositions of the fundamental assumptions of core aspects of psychoanalysis, cognitive psychology, and neurophysiology and for its clear explications of empirical research." --Fred M. Levin, MD, General Hospital Psychiatry Provides a model example of a methodologically rigorous project that nonetheless retains the richness of the clinical endeavour. Clinicians and researchers alike will be happy to see the clear example of intriguing and important psychoanalytic research....Conscious and Unconscious Processes is essential reading for analysts who feel it is valuable to demonstrate the empirical basis for fundamental psychoanalytic assumptions....Shevrin and colleagues...constructed a groundbreaking method through which to evaluate the notion of unconscious conflict. They have succeeded in demonstrating nothing less than evidence for the existence of the dynamic unconscious....The crucial importance of this work will be readily apparent to the interested psychoanalytic reader. - International Journal of Psychoanalysis This is not just one of the best studies on this topic; it is the best since the theory of the dynamic unconscious appeared 100 years ago. - Lester Luborsky, PhD Howard Shevrin and his colleagues have come through with a tour de force in the difficult and contentious area of psychoanalytic theory and its relation to the hard sciences. - Benjamin Libet, PhD, Professor of Physiology Emeritus, University of California, San Francisco; Author of 'Neurophysiology of Consciousness'