Series in Psychiatry
Books in Psychiatry
American Normal
Asperger's Syndrome is a growing phenomenon or at least a growing fashion in psychology. Annual diagnoses of the condition have increased 300 percent over the last 10 years. This books seeks to find out why.
Anatomy of a Psychiatric Illness: Healing the Mind and Brain
Tri-City Community Health Centers, Massachusetts. Psychiatric practice, environmental and biological factors in psychiatric illness, and aspects of specific illnesses for patients and families. DNLM: Mental Disorders - case studies.
Changing Minds
"Changing Minds" is an accessible history of psychotherapy, introducing its key figures (from Freud to Beck) and explaining their most important ideas. The book shows how psychotherapy has influenced our understanding of the mind and its workings, particularly with respect to the form of suffering that we call 'mental illness'. Frank Tallis argues that, in a world in which the old certainties of religion have been brought into question by the advance of science, psychotherapy represents a secular response to suffering. Unlike many boos of psychology, "Changing Minds" explores the personalities of the field's major figures, as well as their ideas.Throughout, the author shows how historical and cultural events, such as the Holocaust and the invention of the computer, have influenced ideas about the mind, and vice versa. Crammed with entertaining and informative vignettes, and many references to theatre, and literature, this book places scientific developments in a cultural context, making it both accessible and interesting.
Coping with Schizophrenia
This self-help manual is for sufferers of schizophrenia and their families. Taking a positive and practical approach, the book tells what schizophrenia is, the possible causes, what treatment is available, and what the social services can do to help. It explodes many of the myths about schizophrenia, for example, that a schizophrenic breakdown is permanent, that violence and aggression are common amongst sufferers, and that people diagnosed with the illness, suffer from a "split personality". Topics include the role of good communication in the family, the importance of a healthy lifestyle, stress and anxiety management, dealing with insomnia, knowing the sufferers rights, what treatment is like, and a description of the new non-drug approaches to sympton management. Advice is included on developing social skills and community care is emphasized.
The Placebo Effect in Clinical Practice
The role that the placebo effect plays in many treatments is clear: it not only plays a complimentary role in most treatments but it can sometimes be the only benefit of treatment. Brain imaging studies over the past decade have shown that placebo-treated patients undergo some of the same changes in brain activity as those treated with pharmacologically active substances. Yet this important component of healing is not yet harnessed in clinical settings. The Placebo Effect in Clinical Practice brings together what we know about the mechanisms behind the placebo response, as well as the procedures that promote these responses, in order to provide a focused, and concise, overview on how current knowledge can be applied in treatment settings. An introductory chapter documents the ubiquity and extent of the placebo response and discusses the history of the placebo response in relation to medical treatment. Several subsequent chapters focus on how placebos work and how the placebo effect can be enhanced. Expectation, conditioning and elements of the treatment situation are covered in separate chapters. The relationship between psychotherapy and placebo treatment is covered as is the ethics of deliberate use of the placebo effect. Because placebo effects are particularly prominent in some psychiatric conditions, particular attention is given to the role of the placebo response in psychiatric treatment. The final chapter summarizes what we currently know and offers concrete suggestions for how what we know of the placebo effect can be used to enhance the benefit of all treatments.