Essential Psychopathology and Its Treatment

Rating:
Summary: No-nonsense DSM IV based look at psychopathology & treatment
Review: Essential Psychopathology is a no-nonsense, DSM IV based loook at psychopathology and treatment that is an excellent resource for the beginning counseling student who needs a cogent look at psychopathology. This book describes the genetics, epidemiology, and psychopharmacology of mental disorders and offers guidelines for treatment.

It is slightly dated due to the fact that the DSM IV-TR has come out, but there is not any appreciable differences in how each pathology is presented.

Rating:
Summary: Misleading Title
Review: For the price, this somewhat dated book, is good for someone looking to understand the symptom oriented, medical model of psychopathology. However, if you are willing to pay a little more, the two volume "Psychiatry" is much better. If you are looking for a complete understanding of the treatment of psychopathology, this book is probably not for you. It provides limited coverage of psychological, social, and client centered variables. The above mentioned "Psychiatry" is again a better bet, as is "The Oxford Textbook of Psychopathology."

Rating:
Summary: Informative but overly footnoted
Review: I enjoyed reading the book and each authors'informative and straightforward style.Most chapters were well written but had several footnotes which I found a bit cumbersome.The one drawback that I found concerned the treatment side of the title-specifically the term treatment.The book had a strong bias towards treatment involving the medical model(which remains crucial)but not necessarily the foundation of all treatment modalities.An example would be the continual use of the word 'patient' rather than client,individual,consumer,etc.I believe the person's primary m.o. will assist in determining the specific mode of services.For instance one may use a 'solution-focused' approach which cuts across several forms of treatment. I would recommend this book as a mid- learning tool and will use as a general guide in my practice.

Rating:
Summary: Limited
Review: I was disappointed. It does not live up the th promise of its title. If what you want is the medical model for a psychiatry course or to know what a psychiatrist might tell you, this is the book for you. If you want to understand the full scope of treatment, this text is quite limited. The author either does not understand the psychological perspective of mental disorders or does not value it.

Rating:
Summary: Misleading Title
Review: This book is excellant for anyone working or interested in the mental health field. The authors put the DSM-IV materials into practical workings for psychotherapy and case management. They explain the importance of differential diagnosis as they review the various diagnostic criteria. While it could be used as a reference book, I found it most helpful when I read the chapters in sequence. It is a must have!

Rating:
Summary: Essential Psychopathology and Its Treatment
Review: This book is excellant for anyone working or interested in the mental health field. The authors put the DSM-IV materials into practical workings for psychotherapy and case management. They explain the importance of differential diagnosis as they review the various diagnostic criteria. While it could be used as a reference book, I found it most helpful when I read the chapters in sequence. It is a must have!