'Bernstein's book may be the most sophisticated text currently available for understanding the nature of psychopathology and its treatment through psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy, integrating data from neurobiology, psychoanalysis, and developmental psychology. Practitioners of psychoanalysis, cognitive therapy, EMDR - and indeed, psychotherapists of all persuasions - will find much that is transformational in these pages. Bernstein manages to show with greater precision and clarity than has ever been possible before, how the fundamental self-related concepts, formed in early childhood, impact on neurobiology, mood, thought, and behaviour. All of this remains rooted in core principles observed by Freud. I read this with mounting excitement.'- Phil Mollon, PhD, Clinical Psychologist and Psychoanalyst, Member of the British Psychoanalytical Society'W. M. Bernstein is one of the smartest and most divergent thinkers in psychology. In this thoughtful book, Bernstein weaves an intricate argument linking the basic tenets of psychoanalysis, cognitive and social psychology, and neurobiology. The result is a novel model of how the mind works, much of which hinges on the fundamental concepts of the pleasure principle and repetition compulsion. For the serious scholar interested in Freud's impact on modern social and biological processes, this book will be monumentally important. For the more general reader, it will be a valuable introduction to some of the most interesting developments in current psychology.'- James W. Pennebaker, University of Texas at Austin'Like large bureaucratic organizations, scientific disciplines operate in silos. Integration happens in organizations, if at all, at the top by the CEO. With this book, Bernstein has served as CEO of fundamental yet nonintegrated scientific fields that are critical to the human healing process. By wrapping his mind-brain around an enormous amount of disparate knowledge, he has created a new, useful theory that will influence relevant application of neuroscience, psychology, and psychoanalysis for years to come.'- W. Warner Burke, PhD, Edward Lee Thorndike Professor of Psychology and Education, Teachers College, Columbia University, USA
