Reviewed by Brad VanWagenen Ph.D.c.

After reading it, I understood why James Hillman endorses it with the following comment: "emotionally personal, immediately useful, surprisingly original, beautifully deep, this page-turning read also turns the page into a new century of psychology. What an achievement!" Yes indeed. The author and New York analyst, Michael Vannoy Adams thinks of Ginette Paris as "the most original and eloquent of all writers on contemporary depth psychology" while the English Jungian scholar and author, Susan Rowland, thinks this the "bright book of the future for everyone involved with depth psychology"! What commands so much enthusiasm?

As a person with nearly 20 years of experience in the Pharmaceutical industry (working in Neuroscience) and developing interests in depth-psychology, I was intrigued by the title of Ginette Paris' latest book: The Wisdom of the Psyche: Depth Psychology after Neuroscience. Her book, however, contained very little on "Neuroscience." It does however, contain a great deal on a variety of topics relative to depth psychology. Paris asks an important question; what is the future of depth psychology, given the takeover from neuroscience and pharmacology? She answers that question by stepping back from the medical and psychodynamic models to engage the subject mater at an archetypal level relayed through her own personal and traumatic confrontation with death, the unconscious, and her recovery.

The author's personal experience is supported by a number of case histories from her practice. Paris takes a bold stance, stating that depth psychology is not to be lumped in with the sciences. While the field of depth psychology was discovered by scientists, taking a scientific approach, depth psychology is not a science. Thank You Dr. Paris! Depth psychology is not a science because its subject matter, the psyche, is not amenable to reduction; psyche is not reproducible, verifiable, or willing to be contained, defined or restricted at any level. The field of depth psychology is closer to that of the humanities, where key to working with psyche is an ever evolving dynamic imagination. In reality depth psychology fits neither in the sciences or the humanities; it is In-Between, just as its fundamental intrinsic nature is In-Between.

While I enjoyed all of Paris' book, I found her last chapter entitled "Joy: The Antidote to Anxiety" the most important for our society. Paris draws an important distinction between "fear" and "anxiety." While "fear" has an object, "anxiety" does not; the object of our anxiety is "hidden." Our society is a society suffering from anxiety (I would call it chronic, low-grade stress). Regardless of the terminology, anxiety shuts a person down and, I believe, suppresses the immune system resulting in an entire host of medical conditions that I as a neuroscientist have worked to develop drugs for (e.g., anxiety and depression). The role of anxiety in other disease states (e.g., cancer, heart disease, obesity, etc.), for which neuroscience does not concern itself, should not be overlooked. While anxiety shuts a person down and suppresses the immune system, fear calls for action (and, I believe, stimulates the immune system), flight or fight being the two basic instincts of survival.

A millennia of evolution has provided our species with mechanisms for dealing with fear. We, however, do not seem to have developed an evolutionary response to anxiety. Paris addresses the problem of anxiety from the position of depth psychology, stating that, "anxiety comes with the loss of images." Paris tells us that, in our culture, we have replaced images with concepts and fear with anxiety. Our culture has worked very hard to free itself of oppressive mythologies, but unfortunately has distanced itself from the imagination that created those mythologies.

The loss of imagination, necessary for the creation of vital invigorating mythologies (both collective and personal) is trauma for the psyche and disease for the body. Paris points out that it takes a healthy imagination--an artistic compromise--to balance the requirements of the ego with the orientation of the Self. Paris reminds us that this balancing (i.e., Individuation) is similar to what the Greeks would have called the lifelong quest for harmony.

On a more personal note, I found, Paris' work as a valuable guide on my own journey of self-discovery. Of particular value, were the weaving of her own personal account and those of her clients into her discussion on the archetype of the Mother and the archetype of the Father. I feel that I would have saved a great deal of time (and money) had I had this information available to me during my own therapeutic process. I am not saying this book is or should be a replacement for "therapy." It is, however, a valuable aid in the therapeutic process and for anyone on their inner journey of discovery.