Conclusions and Recommendations

Abstract

The history of therapeutic interventions in the psyche is as old as the history of medicine. Ancient Egyptian, Chinese and Greek medicine already included prescriptions for the treatment of what would nowadays be called “mental illness” (Millon 2004). Similarly, beyond the realm of therapy mankind has always sought means to enhance and develop features of the mind, as is evidenced by varied traditions of religious and spiritual practices. It is important to bear this historical perspective in mind when commenting on the concerns raised by recent methods of intervention in the central nervous system (CNS) which, in addition to providing new opportunities for treating and enhancing the psyche, may have inadvertent effects on the mental level as well.

This final chapter contains important results from the entire study. However, since the main aim of this chapter is to draw practical conclusions addressing decision makers in politics and medicine, many results pertaining to specific techniques of intervention have not been included in this résumé. We refer readers interested in these results to the concluding sections of each chapter in the first part of this study. Also Chapter 5 contains a more detailed summary in its final section (5.5).