American Psychological Assn.

Clinical health psychology in medical settings; a practitioner's guidebook, 2d ed.

For practitioners and graduate students, Belar (clinical psychology, U. of Florida, Gainsville) and Deardorff, a clinical psychologist, present a guide that details the role of clinical health psychologists, their education, training, and personal and professional issues they face. They then address assessment, intervention, and consulting strategies, with case examples for illustration. This edition includes an expanded discussion of psychometric instruments and psychological testing with medical patients, and more on liability and malpractice. The chapter on ethical issues has been updated to reflect the 2000 version of the American Psychological Association's "Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct." Reading lists have been updated. (Annotation ©2008 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Financial success in mental health practice; essential tools and strategies for practitioners.

Walfish, a psychologist in Atlanta, has teamed with Barnett (Loyola College, Maryland) to provide this guide to creating, building and maintaining a financially healthy mental health care practice. Noting that few clinical doctoral programs offer any type of coursework on business or economics, the authors fill in the gaps by providing straightforward tips such as marketing the practice, managing office overhead, handling businesses taxes and expenses and providing quality customer service. Written for fellow practitioners, this book also contains sample forms, letters and fee schedules necessary for the running of the practice. (Annotation ©2008 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Handbook of cancer control and behavioral science; a resource for researchers, practitioners, and policy makers.

In these 31 articles, contributors describe current trends in modifying risk factors for cancer, the creation of a framework for public health intervention design, and methodologies in cancer prevention and control, including involvement in assessments of the quality of life. They show how behavioral sciences are being used to reduce cancer incidence, for example, in smoking cessation, dietary control, and methods of controlling behaviors related to skin and gynecological cancer. They also describe involvement in dealing with the results of early screening, in serving on the clinical care team and caring for families, and in cases of survivorship issues. They close with articles on future directions, including the study of brain and behavior and cancer immunity, public health practice, and effective interventions. (Annotation ©2008 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

How caregiving affects development; psychological implications for child, adolescent, and adult caregivers.

Sixteen American academics, researchers, and health care professionals contribute six chapters to a text for students, scholars, and researchers which examines how the role of caregiver affects an individual's development. Using a life span development framework, the six chapters explore caregiving at six stages of life — childhood, adolescence, emerging adulthood, and young, middle, and older adulthood. The authors discuss the effects of early caregiving on well-being, school performance, filial responsibility, felt obligation, coping with stresses of multiple roles in middle adulthood, and intergenerational reciprocity. Each chapter also examines the challenges and rewards of caregiving; some also compare experiences of caregivers with noncaregiving peers. (Annotation ©2008 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Spirituality and the therapeutic process; a comprehensive resource from intake to termination.

Practitioners and researchers in counseling and clinical psychology, counselor education, and marriage and family therapy share their experiences incorporating spirituality into their clinical work and teaching. They describe practical strategies, techniques, and examples for each stage of treatment, and take account of ethical practices and self-awareness. (Annotation ©2008 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Treatment of chronic medical conditions; cognitive-behavioral therapy strategies and integrative treatment protocols.

For mental health clinicians, Sperry (counseling, Florida Atlantic U., and psychiatry, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee) describes cognitive-behavioral strategies and integrative treatment protocols (combining medical, psychoeducational, and psychotherapeutic strategies) for 10 of the most common chronic medical conditions they might see: arthritis, asthma, cancer, cardiac disease, chronic pain, diabetes, epilepsy, hypertension, irritable bowel syndrome, and lupus. He also discusses challenges such as noncompliance, illness denial, symptom exacerbation, and spiritual and life meaning issues. Case studies are included. (Annotation ©2008 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)