Guilford Pr.

Attachment theory in clinical work with children; bridging the gap between research and practice.

Twenty-seven researchers-practitioners from the U.S., Israel, and the UK contribute nine chapters reviewing recent advances in attachment research and translating them into practical guidelines for therapeutic work. The material is presented in two sections, the first describing the clinical application of research-based methods, particularly those focusing on assessing various aspects of parenting, and the second describing psychotherapeutic interventions with children and parents based on attachment principles. Case material is incorporated throughout the text to illustrate the concepts. Designed for clinicians working with children and their families, and for researchers less familiar with the clinical world, the text assumes familiarity with the basic concepts and methods of attachment and does not provide an overview of the theory. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Bipolar disorder in childhood and early adolescence. (reprint, 2003)

Though controversy continues, there is a growing consensus on both the existence and diagnostic boundary of childhood bipolar disorder. Research and practicing psychiatrists review the current understanding of its epidemiology, diagnosis and natural history, neurobiology and genetics, and treatment. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

The child clinician's report-writing handbook.

Braaten's (psychology, Harvard Medical School) reference for students and practicing child clinicians contains lists of terms, phrasings, concepts, report formats, and sample interview questions for use in conducting evaluations and writing diagnostic, personality, neuropsychological, and other testing-based reports. Small topics are organized into larger themes that follow the logical order of report-writing, beginning with patient and caregiver interviews and concluding with diagnostic statements and suggestions. Sections are highly cross-referenced. Useful contacts, sample consent and questionnaire forms, and lists of medications and common abbreviations are also included. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Cognitive-behavioral therapy in groups.

Presenting both research literature and practical protocols, this book provides a solid theoretical basis as well as step-by-step instructions in applying CBT to group therapy. The authors combine their academic and clinical expertise to describe how CBT works in groups, including its potential in group dynamics, its cognitive and behavioral strategies, its part in the basic structure and implementation in groups, and its potential obstacles. They also describes CBT in therapy groups for specific disorders, such as panic, depression, obsessive-compulsion, social anxiety, bipolar and eating disorders, substance abuse, personality disorders and schizophrenia. The authors close with comments on co-morbidity and future directions. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Collaborative therapy with multi-stressed families, 2d ed.

Madsen (collaborative and narrative therapies, Family Institute of Cambridge) addresses family therapists, offering advice for providing best care to "difficult" or "multi- stressed" families when they themselves may be under overwhelming institutional and financial pressures. Chapters explore strategies for assessing clients, engaging reluctant families, and helping families maintain collaborative skills outside of sessions. Material is centered around four conceptual developments that ask a therapist to: recognize the importance of relational stance with families, view clients as being in a relationship with the problems in their lives, develop a proactive vision to guide work with clients, and engage in collaborative inquiry. Updates in this second edition address new challenges to therapists who use nontraditional approaches within hierarchical systems. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Contemporary cognitive therapy; theory, research, and practice. (reprint, 2004)

This is a paperbound reprint of a 2004 book. Inspired and informed by the work of Aaron T. Beck, the contributors of the 18 articles in this, his festschrift, cover basic principles and models as well as theoretical and clinical refinements and provide a charming biography. Their theoretical and conceptual topics include Beck's theory of depression and its understanding of cognitive vulnerability, the effectiveness of cognitive therapy for depression, theory and research on generalized anxiety disorder, and the relation between decision-making and psychopathology. They examine the efficacy of cognitive theory and therapy with posttraumatic stress disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, substance abuse, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders (including those in childhood and adolescence) metacognitive therapy for generalized anxiety disorder and posttraumatic stress disorder, and in specific applications such as pharmacotherapy, couples counseling and family therapy. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

The evolution of mind; fundamental questions and controversies.

Anthropologists, psychologists, and biologists explore 12 fundamental controversies surrounding the evolution of human behavior from a range of theoretical and methodological perspectives. Among the 12 are the closest human ancestors, development as the target of evolution, general intellectual ability, and the evolution of mating between sexes. Each article is about 2,000 words long, so necessarily focuses on a narrow topic. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Handbook of health psychology and aging.

A behavioral scientist at the National Institutes of Health notes the shift in emphasis in treating aging from acute illnesses to the complex interaction of biological and psychosocial factors. In 20 chapters organized by theoretical, biological, and psychosocial aspects, Aldwin (human development and family services, Oregon State U.) and contributors treat emerging themes in aging research including multidisciplinary lifespan theories, "turning points" providing opportunities for change, individual differences in development, and the importance of psychosocial factors in aging. Though the authors all hail from the US, cultural factors in aging and health services are addressed. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Human behavior, learning, and the developing brain; atypical development.

Coch (education, Dartmouth College) et al. present 13 chapters of research on brain-behavior connections in atypically developing children. Contributors, who are education, psychology, neuroscience, and other scholars from the US and Europe, take a transdisciplinary approach to the study of atypical development and consider how these findings can inform understanding of human development. Chapters discuss autism, Williams syndrome, dyslexia, dyspraxia, language, number sense and dyscalculia, ADHD, responses to stress, child maltreatment, and the development of the corticolimbic system. The book's audience is neuroscientists, neuropsychologists, developmental and clinical psychologists, educators, and psychiatrists, as well as graduate students. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Mental disorders in older adults; fundamentals of assessment and treatment, 2d ed.

Drawing on their respective backgrounds in research and practice, Steven (human development and family studies, Pennsylvania State U.) and Judy, a private psychologist, offer mental health clinicians and clinical students a foundation for practice with older adults, and address the most common problems clinicians are likely to encounter. Underlying their approach is the belief that medical, psychological, and social processes are often interwined in later life. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Psychotherapy of abused and neglected children, 2d ed.

John, staff psychologist in the Child Abuse Service at Alberta Children's Hospital, Calgary, and Terry, a therapist and evaluator who sees children and parents from the child welfare system among others, set out a range of strategies to assess and treat children who have suffered various types of abuse and neglect. Since the first edition, for which no date is noted, much empirical study has been conducted and reported, which they incorporate here, though critically and with suggestions for improving research practice. They write for clinicians who work with pre-adolescent school-age children. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Social neuroscience; integrating biological and psychological explanations of social behavior.

Good social neuroscience, assert Harmon-Jones (psychology, Texas A&M U.) and Winkielman (psychology, U. of California at San Diego), avoids the charges of reductionism and can benefit both parent fields of neuroscience and social psychology by deriving novel psychological hypotheses, testing these policies using a broad range of methods from both fields, and providing cross-disciplinary perspectives that provide better understanding in problems found other domains. They present 22 papers that provide programmatic overviews of recent research into emotion processes; motivation processes; attitudes and social cognition; person perception, stereotyping, and prejudice; and interpersonal relationships. The papers have been selected to represent a wide variety of theoretical approaches, including social, cognitive, clinical, biological, personality, and evolutionary perspectives, and authors have been asked to write such that their work is accessible to researchers in other fields. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

The therapist's guide to psychopharmacology; working with patients, families, and physicians to optimize care.

Therapists often work with patients who are prescribed medications, or refer patients who may need medication to the appropriate physician. However, many therapists have little or no background in psychopharmacology, and therefore are at a significant disadvantage when conducting therapy or observing behaviors. The authors, two psychiatrists and two family therapists, concentrate on getting therapists information they need to help clients and families to successfully conduct collaborative care. They begin by describing how the brain and psychotropic drugs work, then detail treatment through therapy and medication for mood disorders, anxiety disorders, schizophrenia and other psychoses, cognitive disorders, substance abuse, and special populations and situations. They conclude with information on collaboration, including the referral process and medication evaluation, sharing care amongst professionals, and working with the family. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Treating bulimia in adolescents; a family-based approach.

Bulimia nervosa (BN), an eating disorder that is more common in adolescents than anorexia nervosa, has been eclipsed by public and professional focus on the latter. Following an overview of the disorder, psychiatrists Grange (U. of Chicago) and Lock (Stanford U.) present a manual for a family-based BN treatment program based on the empirically-supported Maudsley Hospital approach. Chapters reviewing its phases and clinical issues include annotated session transcripts, answers to frequently asked questions, and reproducible treatment logs. The manual concludes with a summary of a completed case. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)