APPENDIX C. Further Reading

For those who wish to go deeper into the scientific background of the method, I have compiled a list of key books and articles, grouped by theme. This is not an exhaustive bibliography — it is a set of entry points, sensible places to begin for each of the threads running through the book. Each source carries a short annotation explaining why it matters and how it connects to the method.

1. Primary Sources of the Method

Shamenkov, D. A. Open Dialogue: A Key to Conscious Health Management. Methodological guide. University 2035 of the NTI Platform. Moscow, 2018. 56 p.

My key monograph on the method. It sets out the core architecture of Functional Systems Facilitation, its philosophical foundations, its practical principles, and its early results. The starting point for anyone who wants to understand the method as its author formulated it.

Shamenkov, D. A. Conscious Health Management (in Russian). Monograph. Moscow, 2010. 119 p.

My first monograph, in which I laid the conceptual groundwork of the approach — the connection between health, goal-directed behavior, and Anokhin’s theory of functional systems.

Shamenkov, D. A., Ulyanin, A. Yu., & Sudakov, K. V. Results of the Practical Application of an Innovative Human Health Management System Developed on the Basis of Academician P. K. Anokhin’s Theory of Functional Systems (in Russian). Reabilitatsiya i Profilaktika-2014. Moscow: Publishing House of the First Moscow State Medical University named after I. M. Sechenov, 2014. Pp. 219–220.

The first published outcome data on the method. n = 55, 30 days, WHOQOL-100 questionnaire. Quality-of-life improvement: +12.6% for the full sample, up to +27% in the physical domain for the low-resource group — an uncontrolled pre-post study.

Merkulieva, T. A. Study of Quality of Life Before and After the “Open Dialogue Intensive” Program (in Russian). ChF: Chelovecheskiy Faktor. Sotsialny Psikholog. 2020, No. 2(40). Pp. 222–227.

Part of T. A. Merkulieva’s dissertation research — the first defended candidate-of-sciences (PhD-equivalent) dissertation on the FSF method.

2. The Theory of Functional Systems and Soviet Psychophysiology

Anokhin, P. K. Biology and Neurophysiology of the Conditioned Reflex (in Russian). Moscow: Meditsina, 1968.

Anokhin, P. K. Essays on the Physiology of Functional Systems (in Russian). Moscow: Meditsina, 1975.

The foundational works of Academician P. K. Anokhin, who established the theory of functional systems, which I take as the foundation of my approach. Its key concepts — the acceptor of the result of action, reverse afferentation (feedback), and goal-directed behavior — recur throughout this book.

Sudakov, K. V. Functional Systems (in Russian). Moscow, 2011.

Sudakov, K. V. Theory of Functional Systems (English edition).

Works by my teacher K. V. Sudakov, who continued and developed Anokhin’s school. The concepts of the systemquant and of the “holographic” unity of functional systems are, in my reading, direct inspirations for how FSF is structured.

Uznadze, D. N. Experimental Foundations of the Psychology of Set (in Russian) (1961).

Vygotsky, L. S. Thinking and Speech (in Russian) (1934); Educational Psychology (in Russian) (1926).

Galperin, P. Ya. Stage-by-Stage Formation of Mental Actions (in Russian) (1950s–1960s).

Leontiev, A. N. Activity, Consciousness, Personality (in Russian) (1975).

Key works of the Soviet psychological tradition. The principles of internalization through action, the stage-by-stage formation of mental operations, and the hierarchical organization of activity offer an important theoretical context for understanding how FSF works.

Ukhtomsky, A. A. The Dominant (in Russian). Moscow–Leningrad: Nauka, 1966.

A classic work on the dominant as a factor in behavior. The concept is closely linked to the acceptor of the result of action and to the modern notion of “goal-directed activity.”

3. Modern Neurobiology and Predictive Coding

Friston, K. (2010). The free-energy principle: a unified brain theory? Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 11(2), 127–138.

A landmark paper on the free-energy principle — one of the most influential contemporary theories of how the brain works. Friston’s framework offers a way to think about why acceptance can be more effective than forcing change — a bridge I draw between predictive-processing theory and the practice of acceptance, rather than a claim Friston makes directly.

Barrett, L. F. & Miller, J. M. (2026). The predictive brain: feedback synapses in sensory cortex. Nature Reviews Neuroscience.

A recent paper reporting that a large proportion of connections in the sensory cortex are feedback (top-down) rather than ascending. These findings are consistent with the principle “purpose determines perception” and with the broadly predictive framework in which I situate FSF.

Laukkonen, R. E. & Slagter, H. A. (2021). From many to one: meditation and the plasticity of the predictive mind. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews, 128, 199–217.

A key review explaining how different styles of meditation sequentially “unfreeze” the brain’s predictive machinery. It speaks directly to why the Practice of Silence is structured the way it is — focused attention → open monitoring → nondual awareness.

Crosswell, A. D., Mayer, S. E., Whitehurst, L. N., Picard, M., & Epel, E. S. (2024). Deep Rest: An Integrative Model of How Contemplative Practices Combat Stress and Enhance the Body’s Restorative Capacity. Psychological Review, 131(1), 247–270.

A landmark paper describing the hierarchy of cellular energy demands and the role of parasympathetic dominance in triggering restorative processes. It helps explain why the lifestyle foundation is so important.

Porges, S. W. (2011). The Polyvagal Theory: Neurophysiological Foundations of Emotions, Attachment, Communication, and Self-Regulation. W. W. Norton & Company.

The foundational work on polyvagal theory and neuroception. Essential for understanding how the nervous system assesses safety and how that assessment shapes the availability of higher functions.

Van der Kolk, B. (2014). The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma. Viking.

A bestselling account of how trauma is stored in the body and resolved through body-oriented approaches. Important context for understanding the limits of the method and the situations that call for specialized trauma therapy.

Brewer, J. A. et al. (2011). Meditation experience is associated with differences in default mode network activity and connectivity. PNAS, 108(50), 20254–20259.

A classic study showing deactivation of the default mode network in experienced meditators.

4. The Biology of Collective Intelligence (the Levin School)

Levin, M. (2022). TAME: Technological Approach to Mind Everywhere. Frontiers in Systems Neuroscience, 16, 768201.

The foundational paper on the TAME framework — a biological account that describes any living system as a collective intelligence, a conceptual analogue of what FSF does at the level of groups.

Shreesha, L. & Levin, M. (2024). Stress-sharing as cognitive glue for collective intelligences. Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications.

A striking paper on how the sharing of stress signals between cells increases tissue plasticity — offered here as a biological analogy for the mechanism at work in an FSF group.

Tung, A. et al. (2024). Embryonic protection through collective Ca²⁺/ATP signalling. Nature Communications.

Embryos help other embryos resist damaging factors through collective signaling — a vivid demonstration of collective resilience at the organismal level.

Watson, R. A. & Levin, M. (2023). The collective intelligence of evolution and development. Collective Intelligence.

A paper on Hebbian learning in multilevel living systems. It offers a mechanism, by analogy, for why FSF’s three channels behave as positive feedback rather than a simple sum of parts.

Pio-Lopez, L. & Levin, M. (2025). Aging as a Loss of Goal-Directedness: An Evolutionary Simulation and Analysis. Advanced Science.

A provocative model of aging as a loss of goal-directedness. An evolutionary simulation suggesting that the presence of a “living goal” can re-engage self-organization — which I read as theoretical support for the role of goal-setting in the method.

Lagasse, E. & Levin, M. (2023). Future medicine: from molecular pathways to the collective intelligence of the body. Trends in Molecular Medicine, 29(9), 687–710.

A landmark paper articulating the shift in medicine from “component management” to “communicating with the body’s collective intelligence.” The scientific rationale for the approach of “tending the garden, not repairing the machine.”

5. Acceptance, Psychological Flexibility, and ACT

Hayes, S. C., Strosahl, K. D., & Wilson, K. G. (2012). Acceptance and Commitment Therapy: The Process and Practice of Mindful Change (2nd ed.). Guilford Press.

The primary practical guide to ACT. It covers the six processes of psychological flexibility (the hexaflex): acceptance, cognitive defusion, contact with the present moment, self-as-context, values, and committed action.

Gloster, A. T., Walder, N., Levin, M. E., Twohig, M. P., & Karekla, M. (2020). The empirical status of acceptance and commitment therapy: A review of meta-analyses. Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science, 18, 181–192.

A review of 20 ACT meta-analyses — the key work for understanding the evidence base of an approach that places acceptance at its center.

Akbari, M., Seydavi, M., Hosseini, Z. S., Krafft, J., & Levin, M. E. (2022). Experiential avoidance in depression, anxiety, obsessive-compulsive related, and posttraumatic stress disorders: A comprehensive meta-analysis. Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science, 24, 65–78.

441 studies, N = 135,347 — the largest meta-analysis of experiential avoidance as a transdiagnostic factor. It shows why a method that counters avoidance acts on one of the most fundamental levers of psychological health.

Rogers, C. R. (1961). On Becoming a Person: A Therapist’s View of Psychotherapy. Houghton Mifflin.

A classic work containing the paradox of acceptance as the condition for change. Written more than half a century ago, it is broadly consistent with later findings in neurobiology.

6. Social Connectedness and Health Meta-Analyses

Holt-Lunstad, J., Smith, T. B., & Layton, J. B. (2010). Social Relationships and Mortality Risk: A Meta-analytic Review. PLoS Medicine, 7(7).

Meta-analysis of 148 studies, N = 308,849. Stronger social connectedness is associated with roughly a 50% greater likelihood of survival. A foundational argument that the quality of connection is not a “nice-to-have” but a critical health factor.

Aizer, A. A. et al. (2013). Marital Status and Survival in Patients With Cancer. Journal of Clinical Oncology, 31(31), 3869–3876.

N = 1,280,898. Being married was associated with about 20% higher cancer survival — an effect that, in these observational data, exceeded the reported benefit of chemotherapy at many sites.

Kim, E. S. et al. (2022). Sense of Purpose in Life and Subsequent Physical, Behavioral, and Psychosocial Health. JAMA Network Open.

A strong sense of purpose was associated with substantially lower mortality (about 46% in the cited cohort) over four years. Echoed by Shiba et al. (2023), N = 13,159.

Flückiger, C., Del Re, A. C., Wampold, B. E., & Horvath, A. O. (2018). The alliance in adult psychotherapy: A meta-analytic synthesis. Psychotherapy, 55(4), 316–340.

Meta-analysis of 295 studies, 30,000+ patients. Correlation of alliance with outcome: r = 0.278; d = 0.579.

7. Group Psychology and Collective Intelligence

Woolley, A. W., Chabris, C. F., Pentland, A., Hashmi, N., & Malone, T. W. (2010). Evidence for a Collective Intelligence Factor in the Performance of Human Groups. Science, 330(6004), 686–688.

The landmark paper on the c-factor — the collective intelligence of groups. Three parameters: social sensitivity, equality of participation, and quality of communication. The scientific rationale for the architecture of the FSF Intensive.

Rimé, B. (2009, 2020). Emotional Sharing. Works on the social sharing of emotions.

A key body of work showing that emotional sharing does not by itself produce integration; integration requires a cognitive pathway. This provides the rationale for the structure of group reflection in the method.

8. Self-Regulation, Habits, and Behavior Change

Blair, C. & Raver, C. C. (2022). Series of papers on the levels of self-regulation.

A hierarchical model of self-regulation: genetic → physiological → behavioral → emotional → executive functions. A key concept for understanding the cascading synergy of the method.

Lally, P., van Jaarsveld, C. H. M., Potts, H. W. W., & Wardle, J. (2010). How Are Habits Formed: Modelling Habit Formation in the Real World. European Journal of Social Psychology, 40(6), 998–1009.

A classic study: simple habits took a median of 66 days to become automatic, with individuals ranging up to 254 days. It informs the length of the year-long program.

Grawe, K. (2004). Neuropsychotherapy: How the Neurosciences Inform Effective Psychotherapy. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

The principle of resource activation before problem activation — the theoretical grounding for the role of the lifestyle foundation in the method.

9. Practical Resources

Hayes, S. C. (2019). A Liberated Mind: How to Pivot Toward What Matters. Avery.

A popular book by the founder of ACT. An accessible presentation of the principles of psychological flexibility for a general audience.

Hanson, R. (2013). Hardwiring Happiness. Harmony.

Practical exercises for using neuroplasticity to cultivate positive states.

Porges, S. W. & Dana, D. (2018). Clinical Applications of the Polyvagal Theory. Norton.

Clinical applications of polyvagal theory for those working with trauma and anxiety states.

Levine, P. (1997). Waking the Tiger. North Atlantic Books. (Russian translation: Moscow, 2007.)

The fundamentals of somatic experiencing in trauma work. An important resource for understanding the somatic dimensions of healing.

10. Entry Points for Different Audiences

If you are a psychologist or psychotherapist:

Start with the ACT literature (Hayes et al., Gloster et al.), polyvagal theory (Porges), the contemporary understanding of the therapeutic alliance (Flückiger et al.), and the biology of collective intelligence (Levin). Together these give you the scientific framework within which the method is embedded.

If you are a physician:

Start with Lagasse & Levin (Future Medicine) and the meta-analytic data on social determinants of health (Holt-Lunstad, Aizer, Kim et al.). These give you a biologically and clinically grounded argument for why working with quality of life is a meaningful part of medicine.

If you are a program participant without a scientific background:

Start with my 2018 monograph. Among external sources, Hayes (A Liberated Mind), Van der Kolk (The Body Keeps the Score), and Porges & Dana (Clinical Applications of the Polyvagal Theory) are the most accessible — they convey the key ideas without excessive technical complexity.

If you are a candidate for facilitator training:

All of the core literature is required reading. The facilitator training program includes a detailed reading list with in-depth treatment of each source. The list above is the minimum from which independent reading can sensibly begin.

If you are a researcher interested in the method:

Study, in addition, Sudakov (Theory of Functional Systems), Friston (2010), Laukkonen & Slagter (2021), and the most recent work from the Levin school (Shreesha & Levin 2024, Tung et al. 2024, Pio-Lopez & Levin 2025). For the formal side, see my presentation at the Doctoral Program in Public Health (Lisbon, 2024) and the RCT protocol (Appendix D).