This chapter introduces our stress response system and how it works in the sprints of life. Under the best of circumstances and when we are in the pink of health, our stress response system functions like a finely conducted orchestra, and we hardly notice what a marvel of orchestration we live by. Herbert Benson’s studies in the 1970’s of the physiology of transcendental meditation paved the way for the Mind Body Institute and others to practice approaches retraining dysregulated stress responses. A discussion of the distinguishing features of our stress response system leads the concept of allostasis or the cumulative burden of stressors across a lifetime—a measure of the wear and tear of life.

This chapter is a summary of psychodynamic psychotherapy and includes elements of the theory and technique of psychodynamic psychotherapy. It starts with a brief description of what it is and drawing on work by Blagys and Hilsenroth. Seven key features of psychodynamic psychotherapy are described. There is a very brief outline of the various schools of psychotherapy in order to orient the reader. This is followed by brief practical sections explaining the differences between brief and long-term therapy, and between open-ended and closed therapy. Practicalities involved in combining therapy with psychotropic medication are discussed.