American Psychological Assn.

Boundaries in psychotherapy; ethical and clinical explorations.

A psychologist, instructor, and consultant based in northern California, Zur explores issues about boundaries in the relationship between therapists and clients, which he points out is different from family, sexual, or friendship relationships. Among his topics are a decision-making process for boundary crossing and dual relationships, touch in therapy, gifts, and language and silence. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Cognitive schemas and core beliefs in psychological problems; a scientist-practitioner guide.

Reflecting a revival of a trend in cognitive behavioral psychology, schema-focused approaches for treating psychological problems regard maladaptive cognitive schemas as underlying automatic thoughts and conditioned responses. Riso (American School of Professional Psychology, Argosy U./ Washington, DC) introduces nine chapters by international contributors applying the schema- based model to specific disorders and couples' therapy. Chapters include case examples and case formulation sheets. Despite growing enthusiasm for the schema concept and its strengths at the theoretical and clinical levels, the lead editor concludes that there are outstanding issues: e.g. a need to differentiate between this construct and that of core beliefs, and to develop a unified "schema school." (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Dialogues on difference; studies of diversity in the therapeutic relationship.

Clinical scholars from across the US look at implications of differences in race and culture and gender and sexuality for the therapeutic relationship. Eight dialogues between contributors from different personal and professional orientations consider such topics as treating homosexual clients, race and gender in psychotherapy with African American men, attitudes and stereotypes in psychotherapy with Asian Americans, and multiple perspectives on Middle Eastern identity. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Disorders of the self; a personality-guided approach.

Silverstein (psychology, Long Island U.-C. W. Post Campus) proposes a self psychology viewpoint to understanding personality disorders as they are currently designated on Axis II of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. Self psychology's concepts about the cohesiveness of the self and means of sustaining its viability have not been yoked to such service before, he says, but can add another perspective when reconsidering the life struggles and affective states of patients with personality disorders. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Emotion and psychopathology; bridging affective and clinical science.

New experimental paradigms and multidimensional theories have made the study of emotions acceptable. Rottenberg (Mood and Emotion Laboratory, U. of South Florida) and Johnson (psychology, U. of Miami) introduce the growing research in this interdisciplinary area and its implications for enhancing treatment for psychological disorders. Contributors (from the U.S., Sweden, and Australia) to 13 contributed chapters examine advances in methodologies to study affect, e.g., measuring facial expressions that correspond to emotions; dysfunctional expression of emotions as early markers for such disorders as autism, schizophrenia, and alcoholism; and translating conceptualizations from affective science on treatment mechanisms into improved therapies. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Getting in; a step-by-step plan for gaining admission to graduate school in psychology, 2d ed.

The five steps in this guide walk students through reasons for pursuing a graduate degree, decisions to make before choosing graduate programs, self-assessment of qualifications, the written application package, and interview preparation. Appendices clarify APA divisions and list state boards and agencies. The second edition updates salary and employment data. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Insight in psychotherapy.

Defining insight as "the acquisition of new understanding," the contributors of these 21 articles delineate and integrate what is currently known of this rich, complex, but difficult to understand process in psychotherapy. They describe insight at the theoretical level, including its place in psychodynamic, experiential and cognitive-behavior therapies as well as couple and family therapy, and its role as a stage of assimilation and as a common factor in a range of theories. They describe research into insight in discourse analysis, client-centered therapy, the Hill dream model, and emotional processing and give a review of empirical literature, then describe clinical issues such as the active client, therapist/client insights into counter-transference, insight development and destruction between sessions and growth of supervisor insight. They close with a range of philosophical and psychological views on insight and a preview of studies on insight and their applications. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Intervening in children's lives; an ecological, family-centered approach to mental health care.

Dishion (clinical psychology, U. of Oregon) and Stormshak (counseling psychology, U. of Oregon) outline a family-centered, ecological approach to mental health interventions with children, which examines psychopathology in children and adolescents in the context of families, peer groups, communities, and schools. The approach is meant to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of treatment and prevention services and focuses on mental health difficulties that center on problem behavior. They describe related developmental factors, outline their intervention strategies, and discuss the professional context and ethical dilemmas. The volume is aimed at graduate students, professionals in training, and practitioners. Both author and subject indexes are provided. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Preventing youth substance abuse; science-based programs for children and adolescents.

For practitioners, researchers, policy makers, service agencies, and others, Tolan (psychiatry, U. of Illinois at Chicago) et al. bring together 10 chapters on the prevention of youth substance abuse. Programs tested as part of a specific federal project, the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention's Predictor Variables Initiative, are presented by age group, from preschool through junior high. The group of US contributors outlines the theoretical and research basis for the program, its principles, and a detailed description of components, with some discussion of individual sessions. Also described is how the intervention was intended to affect parental involvement in the child's development, social competence, self-regulation and control, and bonding to school. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Primate perspectives on behavior and cognition.

These perspectives, which technically were written by primates, describe the study and interpretation of primate behavior, and implications to knowledge about learning, cognition, language and tools. Topics include Rumbaugh's studies in comparative psychology, the role of apes in intelligent science and conservation, studies at the Great Ape Research Institute, the Darwinian aspect of the continuity of cognition across species, apes' contributions of personality to the study of behavior and cognition, species of parsimony in comparative studies of cognition, the concept of emergence, needs for new methods of assessment, the transfer index, list-making and mathematical monkeys with route-planning skills, prospective control, animal language from the past to the future, comparative psychology and language, the neurophysiological perspective, the emergence of language and toolmaking, and a case study of learning to make tools. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Psychology and the Department of Veterans Affairs; a historical analysis of training, research, practice, and advocacy.

At the close of the Second World War, and the first time in history, a nation prepared to care for the mental health needs of all its returning soldiers. Once delegated to back rooms or sequestered in institutions to keep them from the public eye, modern soldiers who had experienced the horrors of modern war were now an open concern and thanks to the laws of entitlement, the responsibility of the nation. Those who organized for the care within the VA developed a system that put mental health professionals squarely into the ranks of all others providing health care, in essence creating a comprehensive system and the modern practice of psychology. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Second-order change in psychotherapy; the golden thread that unifies effective treatments.

Fraser (clinical training, Wright State U.) and Solovey (clinical services, Scioto Paint Valley Mental Health Center, Chillicothe, Ohio, and psychiatry, Ohio State U.) discuss first and second-order change using examples and applications to argue that creating second- order change unifies all effective therapy. They apply this perspective and show that there is a connection between methods that stress the effects of technique versus the therapist-client relationship. They review empirically supported approaches for common clinical problems — mood disorders, relationship complaints, substance abuse, and high-risk emergencies — and demonstrate how second-order change works to improve therapy. Both name and author indexes are included. The book is meant for therapists-in-training, researchers, practical theorists, and policymakers. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Shy children, phobic adults; nature and treatment of social anxiety disorder, 2d ed.

Beidel (psychiatry, Pennsylvania State U. College of Medicine and Turner (late psychology, U. of Maryland at College Park) closely examine how social anxiety disorder (and related conditions) strikes children, adolescents and adults. Using new reviews of the most recent literature and their own clinical practice, they describe assessment methods, practical therapy implementation guidelines, tips on patient management, case studies, and samples of forms practitioners can use with patients during assessment and treatment. They cover the clinical presentation of social anxiety disorder at all age levels, the disorder's prevalence and etiology, management of patients' families, pharmacological treatments, behavioral treatments and cognitive-behavior treatments of children, adolescents and adults. The bibliography is comprehensive. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Spiritual approaches in the treatment of women with eating disorders.

This resource for therapists treating women with eating disorders suggests ways of incorporating clients' religious beliefs into therapeutic interventions. Drawing upon their own clinical experience, the authors (counseling psychology, Brigham Young U.) explain how a theistic perspective can support and enhance a variety of therapeutic techniques used with individuals, groups, and families. They also propose some directions for future research. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Why aren't more women in science?; top researchers debate the evidence.

Maybe the legendary hard-wiring of the brain is the cause of the continued lag between men and women in science; or perhaps raging hormonal imbalances are the cause, or, maybe, ongoing verbal and physical harassment. In these 15 essays with introduction and conclusion authors from a range of disciplines examine prevailing ideas, including the notions that women actually are breaking into science at unprecedented levels but statistics are slanted one way or the other; math and science are at least to some extent sex-linked traits; there are sex differences in personal attributes and cognition; social policy dictates participation; prenatal sex hormones determine career choices; and evolution has something to do with it. The result indicates the issue is probably too complex to attribute to a single cause or point of view. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)