Essentials of MMPI-2 Assessment (Essentials of Psychological Assessment Series)

Rating:
Summary: Detailed, Helpful Advice for Beginners & Advanced MMPI-2 Use
Review: David Nichols provides detailed, easy-to-understand guidance for assessing psychopathology and personality using the MMPI-2. As a graduate student in clinical psychology, I found this book extremely helpful in evaluating MMPI-2 profiles. The book we are using in my Assessment of Personality course - Newmarks' Major Psychological Assessment Instruments, was simply too dry and academic. I purchased Essentials to help me understand the powerful MMPI-2. It worked! In class, when called upon to provide my own assessment of MMPI-2 profiles, I was able to quickly make sound judgments. Other students were amazed. In fact, the professor asked: "How did you know that?" When I shared I was using Nichols' book, he exclaimed; "That explains it. That book is excellent."

Essentials includes far greater detail on potential 2, 3, and 4 code profiles. In addition, it includes insight into the history, treatment and prognosis of individuals with various clinical scale, validity scale, and profile code scores. It also includes detailed information on the clinical and normal groups and validation stragy used for each scale. Many tables also provide quick references for later use.

Rating:
Summary: The portable MMPI-2 handbook
Review: I have an entire shelf of MMPI/MMPI-2 books. While I can't give up my Roger Greene volume, nor Caldwell, Butcher, and others, this little book wins the prize for practicality. Dr. Nichols has integrated manifestations of psychopathology and real world behaviors that are commonly seen in various MMPI-2 score elevations or depressions at a level that exceeds that of other available handbooks. This is not just a book for the beginning student -- while it will give novices a real jump start, it is a book which advanced practitioners including forensic psychologists will find exceptionally useful. This book is worth every penny and then some. I only wish that Wiley would put this book into e-book format so that I could have it in my computer for ready access wherever I go.