C.C. Thomas

Art, angst, and trauma; right brain interventions with developmental issues.

Arrington, a licensed clinical psychologist, brings together 15 essays on the use of art therapy with children who are seriously ill, in foster care, or physically and emotionally traumatized, in addition to deviant and addicted adolescents, young adults, adults dealing with a spouse's suicide, and Alzheimer's patients and their caretakers. Essays consider how brain functions are affected by trauma and how art therapy can be used in healing, as well as brain and identity development, the Instinctual Trauma Response Model, and therapy used over the life span in the aforementioned groups. Contributors are art therapists, psychologists, and social workers in the US. Both subject and author indexes are included. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Document security; protecting physical and electronic content.

Mendell (a member of the International Systems Security Association and the High Technology Crime Investigation Association) aims to provide managers, security professionals, and information workers with an understanding of how to recognize the avenues of compromise for sensitive information in documents, avenues which include not understanding the information conveyed in metadata, not employing robust encryption protection, inadequate monitoring of business channels and subsequent filtering to reduce information leakage, and inadequate erasure of magnetic media to reduce remanence. Other topics addressed include security in Web-facing documents, the theft of digital devices, protection of paper and physical documents, computer document forensics, and document forgeries. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Facial geometry; graphic facial analysis for forensic artists.

With this plastic-comb bound manual, George (biology, Florida International University) presents a working set of indices correlated to key features of the human face, which will provide a foundation for any task in forensic art. The facial indices that have been statistically evaluated for male and female Caucasians, and are illustrated with b&w drawings. The book begins by defining the cephalometric points, planes, areas, and lines that demarcate the human face. Next, it reveals the underlying geometry of the human facial plan, and covers the graphic facial analysis (GFA) of the frontal face. Sixteen indices and triangles are defined and illustrated with their means and ranges of variation. A final chapter details the GFA of the lateral face by means of eight angles and indices, with special attention given to the nose and ear. These indices are illustrated with a survey of the numerous geometric forms that permeate facial design. There is no subject index. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Living with low vision and blindness; guidelines that help professionals and individual understand vision impairments.

The visually impaired are about ten times more likely to be unemployed than their sighted peers. This alone should explain recent efforts to improve educational opportunities and rehabilitation for children and adults who are blind or have low vision. However, more research still needs to be done, as Crandell (educational psychology and special education emeritus, Brigham Young U.) and consultant and activist Robinson point out. They describe efforts to determine the cognitive development of the vision impaired and the relevant scientific principles, and detail research on measurement and assessment, learning theories, motivation and attitudes, self-concept, memory, means of mobility and orientation, advocacy, transitions, and mainstreaming. They close by examining efforts to find a psychology of blindness. They provide a list of readings suitable for specialist and non-specialist professionals as well as for individuals with little prior contact with the blind. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Music therapy groupwork with special needs children; the evolving process.

Goodman (music therapy, Montclair State U.) describes using music therapy when working with children who have special needs in school or child psychiatric settings. Her aim is to develop the therapist's ability to work effectively in forming a cohesive group with children who have different functioning levels, temperaments, and musical preferences, and she details the importance of having varying methods and different goals for each child. She outlines assessment, group structure, developmental prerequisites, planning (including following Individual Education Plan goals), materials, methods and variables to consider, and evaluation. She provides vignettes from her clinical work throughout. Indexes are divided by name and subject. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

The role of metaphor in art therapy; theory, method, and experience.

Rather than giving therapists a dictionary of images and their supposed meanings, Moon (art therapy, Mount Mary College) gives students and practitioners ways to listen to clients in a studio setting, and to use metaphors not only in evaluating work but in subtle ways as forms of response. Moon supplies a variety of vignettes, taken from his decades of practice, and shows how clients and therapists develop stories, poems and visual art as ways to approach therapy. He describes sessions in the studio where clients and therapists work side by side, exploring issues of transition and listening metaphorically. He also gives techniques for withholding personal judgment and developing empathy, particularly when clients are in the process of divulging inner thoughts and experiences. Moon includes illustrations and a short but interesting list of references. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Under the blue shadow; clinical and behavioral perspectives on police suicide.

Violanti and Samuels bring together clinical cases and research on police suicide in a volume that aims to help officers survive the psychological dangers of their work. The clinical cases presented in chapters are from Samuels' files, and she also provides her perspective as a counselor. The authors present early models of suicide that influence today's views, studies conducted on police suicide, and a hypothetical model of the development of suicide potential, as well as discussing the impact of posttraumatic stress disorder, including a case presentation, and the impact of the police organization on the psychological well-being of its members. Two chapters address suicide committed by the officer versus that committed indirectly by a suspect. Also discussed are aspects relating to aggression management and sexual preference. The book is aimed at police officers and executives, counselors, and other mental health professionals. Violanti (social and preventive medicine, SUNY Buffalo) is a veteran of the New York State Police and conducts research on police trauma and suicide. Samuels, a psychotherapist who works exclusively with police officers, lectures widely on posttraumatic stress disorder. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)