Shorter Oxford Textbook of Psychiatry, Fifth Edition Review

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(More customer reviews)As a behavioral health specialist, I bought this book in 2007 to supplement my knowledge about psychiatric disorders and alcohol and drug abuse. In my view, the book is one of the best I have read in any academic discipline. All chapters are lucid, prudently organized, and superbly written; and the book has reinforced my expertise on this important subject. I strongly recommend resident psychiatrists in particular to purchase this book. I believe the book will help in molding competent psychiatrists, as the authors offer advice that can be indispensable.

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Widely recognised as the standard text for trainee psychiatrists, the 'Shorter Oxford Textbook of Psychiatry' stands head and shoulders above the competition. Written by three of the most experienced clinicians and researchers in European psychiatry and neuroscience, the text has been honed over five editions and displays a fluency, authority and insight which is not only rarely found but makes the process of assimilating information as smooth and enjoyable as possible. The book provides an introduction to all the clinical topics required by the trainee psychiatrist, including all the sub-specialties and major psychiatric conditions. Throughout, the authors emphasize the basic clinical skills required for the full assessment and understanding of the patient. Discussion of treatment includes not only scientific evidence, but also practical problems in the management of individual patients. The text emphasizes an evidence-based approach to practice and gives full attention to ethical and legal issues. Introductory chapters focus on recognition of signs and symptoms, classification and diagnosis, psychiatric assessment, and aetiology.Further chapters cover both pharmacological and psychological treatments in detail. A key feature is the equal prominence given to ICD and DSM classification - often with direct comparisons - which gives the book a universal appeal. Revised to include the latest evidence and guidelines using a team of expert advisors, the 'Shorter Oxford Textbook of Psychiatry' is the most up-to-date secondary level textbook of psychiatry available. The fifth edition also boasts a new modern design and greater use of summary boxes, tables, and lists than ever before. The extensive bibliography has been brought right up to date and there are targeted reading lists for each chapter. The 'Shorter Oxford Textbook of Psychiatry' fulfils all the study and revision needs of psychiatric trainees, but will also prove useful to medical students, GPs, qualified psychiatrists, and those in related fields who need to keep up to date with current psychiatric practice.

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Treatment Plans and Interventions for Depression and Anxiety Disorders Review

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(More customer reviews)A great many books have been written about cognitive therapy, but few are as useful to the cognitive practitioner as this book by Robert Leahy and Stephen Holland. It is a book that is remarkable for its scholarship and distilled years of clinical acumen, and clinicians, graduate students, and psychiatrists in training will find it practical beyond measure. I am a great admirer of Leahy and Holland's previous work, and this new effort has exceeded my own heightened expectations for such a volume. The book is a compendium of information that is valuable beyond measure, and makes a profound claim on the attention of all serious cognitive therapists, and those who are in training to learn cognitive therapy. The book is also likely to attract a wide audience among teachers of cognitive therapy courses in graduate and medical schools, and internship and residency programs. Among the particular glories of this excellent book are that the reader gets easy and immediate access to "state of the art" treatments for depression and anxiety disorders, detailed treatment plans, a CD that allows printable forms for patients and therapist, a detailed list of cognitive therapy interventions, and medication charts. The book is a first rate summary of knowledge about disorders and their treatments, synthesized into usable form by two master cognitive therapists, and so it is likely to be of great value to clinicians, graduate students, and psychiatrists in training. Thus, the book by Leahy and Holland is key reference work that serious cognitive practitioners will want for their libraries, and that both experienced and novice therapists can find helpful.
John H. Riskind, Ph.D. Center for Cognitive Therapy of Northern Virginia (NOVA) Fairfax, VAand Professor of Psychology George Mason University Fairfax, VA 22030

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Includes CD-ROM with Reproducible Forms!This one-of-a-kind resource provides the busy practitioner with empirically supported treatments for seven frequently encountered disorders: major depression, generalized anxiety, panic and agoraphobia, PTSD, social phobia, specific phobia, and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Serving as ready-to-use treatment packages, chapters describe basic cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) techniques and how to tailor them to each disorder. Also featured are diagnostic flow charts; therapist forms for assessment and record keeping; client handouts and homework sheets; and session-by-session case examples. Tips for troubleshooting common therapeutic roadblocks are presented, as are strategies for ensuring third-party payment authorization. The searchable CD-ROM enables clinicians to rapidly generate individualized treatment plans, print extra copies of therapist and client forms, find the facts about commonly prescribed medications, and learn more about cognitive-behavioral techniques. Facilitating effective treatment that is adapted to the realities of the typical outpatient setting, including the demands of managed care, this book and CD-ROM will be prized by novice and experienced clinicians alike.

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Autopsy of a Suicidal Mind Review

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(More customer reviews)Edwin Shneidman, one of the keenest minds on suicide, offers an outstanding "autopsy" of a suicidal mind, Arthur, a miserable physician-attorney. Arthur, it seems, had a knack for having to be perfect and for communicating his pain in letters. Given his suicide letter (and many drafts that preceded it), Shneidman and a team of suicidologists interview several people who knew Arthur well (they thought) to try to figure out just why Arthur chose death over life.
The book is outstanding. It is hard to stop reading as each expert and interviewee offers his or her own unique views of Arthur's life and death. Unfortunately, if you're looking for one correct answer, it's not in this book. Shneidman does an excellent job of showing how ultimately all psychological questions can be answered with just two words: "It depends!" Depending upon your own perspective, you could argue convincingly that Arthur kills himself because he was, for example, mildly autistic (and untreated), clinically depressed (and inappropriately treated), selfish and narcissistic (attention seeking), controlling and dominant (had to have the last word through his own death), or traumatized as a child by rigid, unloving parents that divorced young.
Overall, if you want to see first hand how some of the premier suicidologists in the world can honestly, yet amicably, disagree, check this excellent, quick read text. It won't give you the answers, but it sure will help you understand better that suicide and psychological health are complex matters that we may never truly understand.

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Autopsy of a Suicidal Mind is a uniquely intensive psychological analysis of a suicidal mind. In this poignant scientific study, Edwin S. Shneidman, a founder of the field of suicidology, assembles an extraordinary cast of eight renowned experts to analyze the suicidal materials, including a ten-page suicide note, given to him by a distraught mother looking for insights into her son's tragic death. The psychological autopsy centers on the interviews conducted by Shneidman with Arthur's mother, father, brother, sister, best friend, ex-wife, girlfriend, psychotherapist, and attending physician.To gain some understanding of this man's intense psychological pain and to examine what may have been done to save his tortured life, Shneidman approached the top suicide experts in the country to analyze the note and interviews: Morton Silverman, Robert E. Litman, Jerome Motto, Norman L. Farberow, John T. Maltsberger, Ronald Maris, David Rudd, and Avery D. Weisman. Each of the eight experts offers a unique perspective on Arthur's tragic fate, and the sum of their conclusions constitutes an extraordinary psychological autopsy.This book is the first of its kind and a remarkable contribution to the study of suicide. Mental health professionals, students of human nature, and persons whose lives have been touched by this merciless topic will be mesmerized and enlightened by this unique volume. An epistemological tour de force, it will speak to anyone who is concerned with human self-destruction.

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Oxford Textbook of Psychotherapy Review

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(More customer reviews)The font size is a joke!? It's the smallest print letter I've ever seen! What's the point of editing an interesting and complete book, if the reader's gonna end up with a headache after 5 minutes of reading? If I had known, I'd definitely wouldn't have bought it.

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With the publication of this book psychotherapy finally arrives at the mainstream of mental health practice. This volume is an essential companion for every practising psychiatrist, clinical psychologist, psychotherapy counsellor, mental health nurse, psychotherapist, and mental health practitioner. It is integrative in spirit, with chapters written by an international panel of experts who combine theory and research with practical treatment guidelines and illustrative case examples to produce an invaluable book. Part One gives a comprehensive account of all the major psychotherapeutic approaches. Parts Two and Three systematically describe psychotherapeutic approaches to the major psychiatric disorders and personality disorders. Many chapters are multi-authored and describe the psychodynamic, cognitive behavioural and other approaches for treating these illnesses. Part Four examines applications and modifications of psychotherapy across the lifecycle. Part Five describes psychotherapy with specific populations such as medical patients and those where gender is an issue, and finally Part Six tackles some of the special topics of concern to psychotherapists including ethics, legal issues, and psychotherapy and neuroscience. The first of its kind, this is a 'must have' volume for all trainee and practising psychological therapists, whatever their background - psychiatry, psychology, social work, or nursing.

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The Mindful Path to Self-Compassion: Freeing Yourself from Destructive Thoughts and Emotions Review

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(More customer reviews)If you want to understand how to apply Mindfulness and Loving-Kindness Practice in daily life to reduce suffering; it is described in this book in clear, cliche-free language. The author, a seasoned meditation practitioner, teacher, and psychotherapist, includes excerpts from contemporary brain research to bring this outstanding treatment of the topic, to a higher level. This book is highly readable, and the descriptions of how to put Self-Compassion into practice, make this book especially user-friendly. As a psychotherapist, Mindfulness Meditation practitioner, and reader of a lot of books on Mindfulness, Psychology, and the brain, I HIGHLY recommend this book. It is truly OUTSTANDING!

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The Loss of Sadness: How Psychiatry Transformed Normal Sorrow into Depressive Disorder Review

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(More customer reviews)To say I enjoyed this book might be a stretch. There were parts that were laborious because it was like reading a very long journal article on the topic. My effort to get through the book were paid off by how I conceptualize two things - the role of context in classification and the art of criticism without destructive criticism. I will detail both below.
Context: The authors make it clear from the beginning that depression is inappropriately diagnosed these days. Typical behavioral responses to sadness are probably misconstrued as depression. I found that part of the thesis quite compelling. Even more compelling was the fact that the evidence seems to favor their perspective. The point is driven home by anecdotes, data, and theory. I liked the combination because it kept the reader (me) thinking throughout the book.
Criticism: Where I think the authors deserve the most praise is for their delicate and precise criticism of the DSM. They do a remarkable job of detailing the merits of clinical diagnosis while also describing the warts. Unlike most DSM critics who want to throw all classification out, they recognize the importance of mental illness types. I was reminded of Paul Meehl's critique of the antinosological critics (in "Why I don't attend case conferences") while reading this book. These authors did not fall into Meehl's trap. Instead, they offered both sides of the situation and made it clear that their omission of context did nothing to denigrate the DSM specifically. Perhaps they were cautious of the criteria and the application of DSM diagnostic criteria without considering the context and history of the patient.
If you find either point worth reading then buy this book. I plan to make all my graduate students read parts of this book for both points above.


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Depression has become the single most commonly treated mental disorder, amid claims that one out of ten Americans suffer from this disorder every year and 25% succumb at some point in their lives. Warnings that depressive disorder is a leading cause of worldwide disability have been accompanied by a massive upsurge in the consumption of antidepressant medication, widespread screening for depression in clinics and schools,and a push to diagnose depression early, on the basis of just a few symptoms, in order to prevent more severe conditions from developing. In The Loss of Sadness, Allan V. Horwitz and Jerome C. Wakefield argue that, while depressive disorder certainly exists and can be a devastating condition warranting medical attention, the apparent epidemic in fact reflects the way the psychiatric profession has understood and reclassified normal human sadness as largely an abnormal experience. With the 1980 publication of the landmark third edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-III), mental health professionals began diagnosing depression based on symptoms--such as depressed mood, loss of appetite, and fatigue--that lasted for at least two weeks. This system is fundamentally flawed, the authors maintain, because it fails to take into account the context in which the symptoms occur. They stress the importance of distinguishing between abnormal reactions due to internal dysfunction and normal sadness brought on by external circumstances. Under the current DSM classification system, however, this distinction is impossible to make, so the expected emotional distress caused by upsetting events-for example, the loss of a job or the end of a relationship- could lead to a mistaken diagnosis of depressive disorder. Indeed, it is this very mistake that lies at the root of the presumed epidemic of major depression in our midst. In telling the story behind this phenomenon, the authors draw on the 2,500-year history of writing about depression, including studies in both the medical and social sciences, to demonstrate why the DSM's diagnosis is so flawed.They also explore why it has achieved almost unshakable currency despite its limitations. Framed within an evolutionary account of human health and disease, The Loss of Sadness presents a fascinating dissection of depression as both a normal and disordered human emotion and a sweeping critique of current psychiatric diagnostic practices. The result is a potent challenge to the diagnostic revolution that began almost thirty years ago in psychiatry and a provocative analysis of one of the most significant mental health issues today.

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