Dragon Rises, Red Bird Flies: Psychology & Chinese Medicine (Revised Edition) (Paperback)

~ Leon I. Hammer (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review

Dr. Hammer has brought new light to the depths of Chinese medicine. -- Ted J. Kaptchuk, O.M.D.

Dr. Hammer has brought new light to the depths of Chinese medicine. --Ted J. Kaptchuk, O.M.D.

Hammer argues cogently for a cause well worth taking seriously by health professionals and the public at large. -- Publishers Weekly

Hammer argues cogently for a cause well worth taking seriously by health professionals and the public at large. --Publishers Weekly

Product Description

Behind the acupuncture, herbal remedies and sophisticated diagnostics of Chinese medicine lies a “congenial system of healing that embodies unification of body and mind, spirit and matter, nature and man, philosophy and reality.” In this comprehensive and ground-breaking presentation, based on long experience as physician, psychiatrist, and practitioner of Chinese medicine, Leon Hammer offers a new model for appreciating the traditional healer’s effective and profound respect for individual integrity and energetic balance. Explaining, and moving beyond, the five phase (element) system, he shows that this Eastern practice is as much a spiritual science as a physical one. Accessible to the layman, yet a resource for the professional in any healing art, this book examines the natural energy functions of the human organism as a key to mental, emotional and spiritual health. It offers new insight into disease, showing how it is not merely an invasion from the outside, but rather a byproduct of a person’s unsuccessful attempt to restore one’s own balance.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 438 pages
• Publisher: Eastland Press; Revised edition (June 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0939616475
• ISBN-13: 978-0939616473
• Product Dimensions: 9.8 x 7 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #118,463 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Five Elements and Psychology, April 11, 2002

By	Mrs. Sp Parkinson "Susie" (Barnsley, UK) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Dragon Rises, Red Bird Flies: Psychology, Energy and Chinese Medicine (Paperback)

I bought this book as a first year acupuncture student and have referred to it many times. As the other reviewer says, it is quite dark and does discuss extremes, but then mental illness is about extremes. It is really useful to look at the extreme yin or yang aspect of an Element and its Officals to fully understand how the Element can manifest when out of balance. I don't know of any other book which provides such an in depth picture of each of the 5 Element types. Sounds heavy, but is in fact relatively easy to read if you have a reasonable understanding of psychology. Definately one of my top 5 Chinese Medicine books, this is a book that you read again and again.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Wonderfully rich and palatable sketch.........., November 18, 2002

By	DJY "bookbuy" (Kansas City, MO United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dragon Rises, Red Bird Flies: Psychology, Energy and Chinese Medicine (Paperback)

I have read this book a few times, and in each reading, I find concepts and "observations", that are profoundly rich in their effort to put the reader in touch with some of the most difficult to grasp ideas about non-Traditional Chinese Medicine. Dr. Hammers background is much deeper and wider than what is taught in the schools here and in China. (If you don't know what I mean by that, explore what happened to the practice of indigenous Chinese Medicine during the cultural revolution.)

This is not a book for folks who are unfamiliar with the basic "tenets" of Chinese Medicine. It is a bit more "esoteric" in it's reach, and really tries to conceptualize "in the minds eye" relationships and interactions, energetically or "psychologically" if you prefer, that the TCM model attempts to form poorly, or not at all.

I must, respectfully, take the reviewer from Seattle to task about it being "dark". I certainly know what he means, but the only way to find fault in the extremes of the book, is if you didn't happen to read Dr. Hammers admission within the book, that he has exaggerated the conditions he describes, and that the patients are not real people. Rather, they are constructs of clients, created for the sake of fleshing out the concepts presented in the book. Though sometimes portions need a re-read, I just can't find fault with Dr. Hammer for doing what he suggests I should be aware he is going to do.

As another reviewer has said, this is one you'll return to over and over. A most wonderful book!!

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It's All About Integration, May 19, 2000

By	Stephen D. Saeks, Ph.D. (Portland, Oregon United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dragon Rises, Red Bird Flies: Psychology, Energy and Chinese Medicine (Paperback)

The question of mind-body duality has fueled many long and heated debates. Dr. Hammer, who is well trained in traditional Western medicine and psychology, recognized the importance of working with the person, and not just a part of that person. In an effort to be true to his view, and to the patients he treated, he trained in and added Traditional Chinese Medicine to his treatment skills, thus allowing him to treat the whole person in an integrated, rather than a fragmented manner. This book presents Dr. Hammer's integrated understanding of how the body impacts the mind, and the mind impacts the body. In a clear and concise manner, and with useful clinical examples, Dr. Hammer takes the reader through fundamental principles and concepts of Traditional Chinese Medicine, and then applies them to the specific area of Psychology. This is not a "how to" book, rather it is a thought provoking volume on how to integrate two seemingly disparate fields of health care (Traditional Chinese Medicine, and Western Psychoanalytic thought). Through his examination of these models and his description of how he thinks, as he works with his patients, the reader is able to gain insight into this integrated process. While the book is by no means an exhaustive treatise on the subject, it lays a solid foundation on which others can easily build, both academically and in clinical practice. I look forward to reading more of Dr. Hammer's writings in the future, and hope that other clinicans will follow his lead.