The Only Cure: Freud and the Neuroscience of Mental Healing

Explore the groundbreaking intersection of psychoanalysis and neuroscience in Mark Solms's compelling work, The Only Cure. This book challenges conventional views on mental health, arguing that psychoanalytic therapy, once deemed unscientific, is a highly effective medical treatment. Solms posits that modern neuroscience is validating many of Sigmund Freud's theories, suggesting that deep-seated memories and unconscious conflicts, rather than chemical imbalances, are at the root of psychological suffering.

Through engaging case studies and an examination of cutting-edge brain science, Solms makes a powerful case for psychoanalysis to reclaim its status as a leading theory of the mind. The book also critically assesses where Freud's original ideas may have been incomplete and how modern research can enhance therapeutic effectiveness. In an era of rising psychiatric diagnoses and treatments that often fall short, The Only Cure offers a revolutionary perspective on healing, grounded in the understanding that confronting our deepest truths is essential for recovery.

Praise for The Only Cure:

• 'Wide-ranging and engrossing . . . Wonderfully witty and lucid' - Raymond Tallis, GUARDIAN
• 'Refreshing . . . Solms makes his case interestingly, sincerely and with passion' - SUNDAY TIMES
• 'Extraordinary on so many levels' - BRIAN ENO
• 'Brilliant, determined, scrupulous, tactful' - OLIVER SACKS
• 'Breathtakingly revolutionary' - NUAR ALSADIR
• 'A deeply thought-provoking book, written with the kind of care he advocates for his patients' - SOPHIE ELMHIRST
• 'Has the rare quality of being both an act of scholarship and an act of love' - KEIRAN GODDARD
• 'Lucid, confiding, incisive, erudite, and often funny, Solms is the perfect guide' - SIRI HUSTVEDT

• Author: Mark Solms
• Publisher: W&N
• Publication Date: February 12, 2026
• Language: English
• Print Length: 336 pages
• Binding: Hardcover
• Dimensions: 15.6 x 3.4 x 24 cm
• Item Weight: 530 g
• ISBN-10: 1399623370
• ISBN-13: 978-1399623377

The Only Cure offers a profound and hopeful vision for mental healing, integrating historical psychoanalytic insights with contemporary scientific understanding.