Sexual Healing : Intimacy, Immunity and the Connection Factor

The author of Superimmunity draws on recent mind/body research to apply its theories to the field of human sexuality, explaining how sexual behavior and attitudes affect health and emphasizing the importance of the relationship over self. 75,000 first printing. Tour.

Pearsall ( The 10 Laws of Lasting Loves ) believes that an intimate, loving relationship exerts a quantifiably positive effect on health. He studied at the Kinsey Institute in the early 1970s, later founding his own treatment center for sexual problems. The book advocates sex that is reflective, considered and contemplative, in direct opposition to the "don't think about it, just do it" approach. Pearsall calls the study of how our sexual attitudes and behaviors affect health "psychoneurosexuality," a field which he believes can lead to sexual shamanism. The book's opening scene concerns Pearsall's own sexual healing following surgery for cancer: "I heard the words of a doctor pronouncing, 'I think we've lost him.' At that terrible moment, I felt the miraculous effects of sexual healing . . . my wife brought me back from death's door and reconnected me with life." For the author, it is the lack of discussion about the meaningfulness of sex and connections that interferes with sexual healing. He focuses on the couple as joint healers and explores the ways in which sexual attitudes and behaviors affect health. Much is known about the mechanics of sex, he asserts, but little is understood about how a relationship has the power to heal. Pearsall believes that when two people connect intimately it influences the health of each partner. Too often, he writes, "self-pleasure is the primary goal, followed by skill in turning the partner on in order to be a competent lover and maintain sexual esteem." Sensibly, Pearsall wants to shift the dialogue from sexual gymnastics to finding the connection between two people with the power to heal.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Another miraculous prescription for mental and physical health, this time with sex as the cure-all. Clinical psychoneurologist and prolific author Pearsall (Ten Laws of Lasting Love, 1993; Making Miracles, 1991, etc.) has discovered--or perhaps invented would be a more accurate word--a new field of medicine that he dubs psychoneurosexuality, or PNS, which explores the relationship among the brain, the mind, the immune system, and sexuality. He begins by explaining the theory of PNS, arguing that it goes beyond Dr. Bernie Siegel's self- healing approach (Love, Medicine and Miracles, 1986) and Dr. David Spiegel's research on the value of social support for sick people (Living Beyond Limits, 1993) to focus on the healing power of an intimate two-person relationship. Such a relationship, he asserts, can help ameliorate all illnesses, but it is especially useful in dealing with old age, heart disease, and cancer. Next, Pearsall attacks what he calls the domination of the ``sex syndicate,'' self-styled experts in the mechanics of sex who in his view have overlooked the power of intimacy and the meaning of love. He concludes with a how-to section on becoming a sexual healer, which involves identifying one's own sexual style, determining one's sexual fitness, and following a weekly three- part sexual workout that consists of ten minutes of shared laughter (he provides a dozen unfunny sex jokes as ``laughrodisiacs''), ten minutes of weeping, and thirty minutes of ``erotorobics'' with one's partner. Couples are urged to take the Pearsall Psychological Inventory, included in the appendix, to discover their potential capacity for sexual healing. There is a real message here about human relationships, but it's swamped by numerous and repetitious lists, the too-cute made-up expressions, and the pseudoscientific jargon. A clear case of overkill. -- Copyright ©1994, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

How strong is the sensual touch of a loved one? Pearsall (Making Miracles, LJ 8/91) argues that a loving, intimate bond with another human hastens the healing process and in fact helped him to overcome a bout with cancer. Following his healing crisis, Pearsall combined the areas of his professional training to create a new "field" of pop medicine he calls psychoneurosexuality which combines psychoneuroimmunology with psychology and sexuality. Pearsall maintains that good health is achieved only through the maintenance of a strong, enduring relationship between caring individuals. This in-depth and thoroughly documented work on an emerging science is recommended for academic and public libraries with specialized psychology collections.
Marty D. Evensvold, Magnolia P.L., Tex.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.