Mental Health Books

This is a valuable resource and one that should be a required reference for all physicians. In addition, patients dealing with life challenging health situations will find it helpful in raising issues that they will want to discuss with their health care providers.

The book by Karl Goodkin and Adriaan Visser is excellent joint venture provided by the researches from Europe and USA. It not very easy book but for the people wanted enrich the knowledge about should find it positive. Each chapter talks about possible impact of PNI on the one field of medicine. Stress, oncology, AIDS are the main topics in this book. Every chapter has a rich references section so everybody who wants to "dig in" deeper in the particular field has good starting point. I recommend this book for the physiscians, psychologists, immunologists and people working on the frontier of the PNI - it very good update.

The book by Karl Goodkin and Adriaan Visser is excellent joint venture provided by the researches from Europe and USA. It not very easy book but for the people wanted enrich the knowledge about should find it positive. Each chapter talks about possible impact of PNI on the one field of medicine. Stress, oncology, AIDS are the main topics in this book. Every chapter has a rich references section so everybody who wants to "dig in" deeper in the particular field has good starting point. I recommend this book for the physiscians, psychologists, immunologists and people working on the frontier of the PNI - it very good update.

Very well written, very well organized . Although written for professionals, Dr. Dornelas' book is readily understood by an educated patient, who in this case, is my husband. He would recommend her book to all professionals who have patients with cardiac issues and patients who wish to better understand the psychotherapeutic milieu, which they have entered.

This book offers tremendous insight into the psychological issues cardiac patients face. Although it appears to be written primarily for medical practitioners, I found it very useful in understanding the problems my father faced during the aftermath of bypass surgery. It would also very helpful for both cardiac patients and their family members to read. The author had done a good job of dealing with the issues surrounding this largely ignored part of cardiac recovery and treatment. I think if I was a nurse treating cardiac patients, it would be a must read.

Few health practitioners take into account the psychological effects of heart disease. "Psychotherapy with Cardiac Patients: Behavioral Cardiology in Practice" is a scholarly examination of what both mental and physical health practitioners should take into account when treating a patient with heart problems. Also touching upon elements such as sex, obesity, drugs, and more, Psychotherapy with Cardiac Patients is a thorough guide on the topic. "Psychotherapy with Cardiac Patients: Behavioral Cardiology in Practice" is highly recommended for community library psychology collections.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

Grimm and Yarnold really offer great, user-friendly explanations of stats. I've used these for 3 years now, and they were great for getting through coursework and dissertation.

I highly recommend these books!

This book and its companion volume are invaluable resources if you need to understand or work with multivariate statistics. It is easy to read and I would recommend it over any of the required texts that I have had for statistics courses.

Like its predecessor, "Reading and Understanding MORE Multivariate Statistics" achieves exactly what its title implies. Geared toward non-statisticians in behavioral and social science fields, this book provides clear and reasonably simple explanations of common multivariate analyses. This book includes special attention to scales of measurement, reliability and generalizability theory, item response theory, and assessing the validity of measurement. In addition, it covers cluster analysis, Q-technique factor analysis, structural equation modeling, canonical correlation analysis, repeated measures analysis, and survival analysis. The authors present the conceptual underpinnings, underlying assumptions, and basic procedures for each analysis with a minimum of equations and many concrete examples. The book not teach you how to perform the analyses but does provide references for those who wish to get more detailed information. As a research scientist who doesn't always remember everything I learned in graduate statistics class, I find this book an invaluable aid keeping up with the current literature in my field and in making the most of statistical consultations. This book is ideal for anyone whose job requires them to be a "consumer" of research; for researchers who wish to further their understanding of data analysis; and as a companion text for graduate statistics classes.

This cd is simply fantastic! The instructions are easy to follow! Everyone can benefit from listening to this soothing cd - you do not need to be a type A stressball before ordering it. The results are immediate and are significant!

I had the opportunity to listen to this CD for an opinion while it was still in the process of completion.

I really didn't think that any relaxation CD will have an immidiate effect on me. But to my surprise the method and the soothing voice of the narrator proved otherwise.

After about 30 minutes of following the instructions I felt so light and stress free finding myself crying of joy and relaxation.

I shared my expetional experience with friends and to this day I can not believe that this relaxation method worked so amazingly for me getting rid of my stress.

It seems that most people I know are suffering from some form of stress related medical problem and I am not an exception. I found this relaxation CD extremely well done and therapeutic. The segments of this CD - breathing exercises, progressive relaxation, visualization, coping induction and walking relaxation on one CD - make a valuable set of choices. Voices of the facilitator (s) are soothing and not distracting. I highly recommend this CD. I would be willing to give this CD as a gift to people I care about. Nazila Evans, DNS, RN

Rescuing Your Teenager from Depression could have been written about my own son. Very informative and helpful!

This book can help save a life. As his son, I attest Dr. Berlinger explains depression in frank terms that both professionals and parents can understand and follow. Any parent who wishes to get a better grasp on their child's symptoms will be directed towards reality. I am living proof that this book works.

For any parent who thinks or knows their child has depression, there is no better source of information than this book. We found our son described on nearly every page. It helped us to understand the problem. More importantly, it helped us to learn how to help him. Reading this book makes me want to devote the rest of my life to helping parents in this situation.

As a social worker and educator, I highly recommend this fantastic book. The author clearly explains the many ways in which helpers are at risk for compassion fatigue and burnout due to the intensity of their work lives. He also provides many useful tips for preventing burnout. This is a very infomative and practical resource. I use it frequently to inform my own teaching of compassion fatigue, vicarious traumatization, and burnout issues.

This book is indeed practical in its application and theoretical enough to be able to us it as a text book for students. I recommend it for professionals and students who are in any type of helping industry in order to be informed of the very real risks involved to one's own health and welfare when giving so much of ourselves to others. This book is sorely needed in the areas of church ministry where there is a great emphasis on helping our fellow man but often pastors and lay workers are burnt out through lack of know how and knowledge to care for themselves because of the high demands of their congregations. Although not intended by the author to be used as a religious text as such it has invaluable insight which corelates to the 'other' types of caring that is done in community life.

I found this book to greatly reduce my anxiety as it addressed all of my worries and other issues that were leading me towards burnout. It also has clear indications that it will continue to be useful as I move further into my career. This is a book I plan to read again and again.

A bright star in the constellation bridging the literary and philosophic psychiatry of the past to the psycho-pharmacological dominated present.

Famed psychiatrist R. D. Laing gives a study of eleven families and thier children whom are schizophrenic. Laing gives no interjections, but rather lets the conversations that the families have amongst themselves give their own testimony. Laing lets the reader know where language patterns occur, in which he believes is largely due to the psychic split. The "double bind" theory introduced by Gregory Bateson, in which the child has been given mixed messages. In the cases given, the studies are all female, and the mothers are usually the aggressor, while the father the passive, and if other siblings are included, they usually side with the mother against the sibling. Shocking, sad and enlightening all together, Laing gives a great look on how schizophrenic in this light can and does occur. Highly reccomended and should be read by all psychologists entering or in the field (it is a shame that this book, like so many of R.D. Laings books are out of print). One should include with this book Gregory Batesons "Steps to an Ecology of Mind" which includes the essay which explains the "double bind."

That is to say there are logical means to schizophrenia, and nothing that confers to a physical disability. An amazing study of eleven families and the children who are hospitalized because of their "illness" (incidentally noted, they are all female patients). Dr. Laing and Dr. Esertons account of schizophrenia all points to the facts that this mental illness is not a physical impairment, but a distrust in a persons reality, through communication, through insecurity of beliefs and senses. Schizophrenics choose logically and intelligently under the confines of family life with the parents (who are more delussional than the patient). Although this book is primarily a psychological study, it reads like a novel.

This is an extremely helpful book in understanding mental health issues and appropriate treatment resources for Black women. Anyone who is a Black woman, works with or has relationships with Black women, or wishes to better understand the psyches of Black women will find this book illuminating.

Dr. Martin's language is simple (a compliment) and straightforward and her case illustrations easily remind us of ourselves or women we have known. She is direct yet gentle in describing the resistances of Black women to treatment, the need for treatment, and how to best use treatment (even if the mental health professional is not Black--only 2% of all psychiatrists inthis country are Black), p124

Dr. Martin brings to this book an optimism that life can be better, that "saving that last nerve, requires struggle by both spirit and mind. Simplifying that journey is what this book is all about." (p1) And she accomplishes this goal with simple but accurate descriptions of mental disorders and the internal stresses thus imposed on external stresses.

However, Dr. Martin has a holistic approach to Black women, recognizing not only the stresses and strengths in terms of emotional functioning, but also in terms of physical well-being and enhancing physical well-being).

This book fills an important void in presenting mental health information about Black women and can easily be utilized for both personal and professional purposes.

A very special bonus in this book are the lists of books (fiction as well as non-fiction) and movies assembled by Dr. Martin.

In our society, mental instability is looked at as taboo; something to hide behind and definitely not to address with your family and friends, much less seeing a therapist. It is because of these views that many women don't get the guidance and/or support they need when faced with the frailties of the human psyche. In an entertaining, yet informative approach, Dr. Marilyn Martin gives us SAVING OUR LAST NERVE: THE AFRICAN AMERICAN WOMAN'S PATH TO MENTAL HEALTH.

Combined with exercises, diagrams, case studies, and statistics, SAVING OUR LAST NERVE is a wonderful resource! It helps us to realize that there are numerous resources out there that can help improve our emotional lives. In addition, it shows how to remove and minimize stress in your life in order to live more peacefully. Not only did I like Dr. Martin's teachings, I also enjoyed that she opened each chapter with an African Proverb. This book will definitely come in handy for all those who have ever told someone... "you're working my last nerve" and even for those who want to know how to keep from getting to that point.

Reviewed by Tee C. Royal
of The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers

Saving Our Last Nerve: The African American Woman`s Path to Mental Health, by Marilyn Martin, M.D., M.P.H.

Rating: 5 Stars

Wow, what a great great great and needed piece of work. African American women are busier than ever, faced with more and more responsibilities and challenges. Our stress level has risen tremendously.

Dr. Marilyn Martin has put together a resourceful mental health book. The book is filled with stories (which people can relate to), charts, diagrams, medical terminology, and exercise. She keeps the readers involved and grab their attention while taking the journey through her mental health guide.

This guide shows the African American woman how to cope with their stress, without suppressing it and ignoring it. Marilyn Martin also let's the reader know when it's beyond self and the person need to utilize outside professionals, such as counselors and physicians.

If you have not purchased this guide and you know or are an African American woman, you should do so today. This book can be entertaining as well. Yes, we can learn while entertained and I truly believe Dr. Martin has done this. When you first get the book, you may not intend to read a lot in one sitting, however you will find yourself getting wrapped up in the pages and becoming hungry for more. This is something you need to keep by your bedside to refer to at least once a week.

To Dr Marilyn Martin, M.D., M.P.H. what a job well done.

Tonya Howard, SisterDivas.org

Parents of children who are affected by autism spectrum disorders are well aware of the need to serve as effective advocates for the rights of their children. Imagine the battle that needs to be waged when an entire government fights to withhold funding for the only empirically validated intervention for autism, applied behavior analysis (ABA). Freeman describes the events that occur when a lawsuit is brought about by a group of parents against the government of British Columbia. The lawsuit argues for funding for "Lovaas-style" ABA therapy. In an attempt to block the funding of ABA therapy, the government of British Columbia attempts to discredit Lovaas and ABA through a combination of distortions, selective reporting of the research literature, and questionable ethical practices.

In part one, Freeman outlines the specific strategies used against the parents' lawsuit while explaining why the government of B.C. is outright incorrect in its assertions against ABA and Lovaas. In the second part of the book, Freeman provides dialogue between the lawyers and witnesses (from actual court records) that depict these arguments and counter-arguments. Happily, the British Columbia Supreme Court ruled in favor of the parents by declaring that early intensive behavioral intervention (EIBI) is a "medically necessary" treatment for autism and that the B.C. government was in violation of the constitutional rights of the children by not providing funding for this treatment. The court also ruled that the case against Lovaas therapy was biased. Unfortunately, the book concludes by pointing out that the government of B.C. appealed the court's ruling and has still not implemented the funding of Lovaas-style ABA.

This book is a must read for anyone involved in the lives of someone affected by an autism spectrum disorder. It should also be on the reading list of all legal advocates who work in the field of developmental disabilities. Freeman gives us a wonderful guide for effectively arguing against those who would refute the validity of ABA as a science and as an empirically validated educational intervention. "Science For Sale" is a wonderful "candle in the dark" in the field of autism treatment.

Every parent of every child with autism should read this book. It will open your eyes to the way governments use taxpayer dollars to cheat children out of the medical treatment they so vitally need...and it will prepare you for the fight for your own children's rights. Do NOT miss this book!

Another essential read from Sabrina Freeman. Any parent or advocate fighting for the necessary treatment for people with autistic-spectrum disorders must get a copy of this book. It is frightening to see how easily the science can be misquoted and misused in the effort by some to avoiding paying for scientifically-validated treatment. When you have to prepare yourself for the fight, this a resource you must have.

This excellent book begins with a comprehensive new, needed and fascinatingly pregnant restatement by Michael I. Good of the history of the Seduction Theory, well after the importantly unsettling 1984 contribution by Jeffrey Masson. A many-voiced chorus of distinguished contributors brings forward (among other things) the psychoanalytically fertile distinction between "abuse" (in which the victim may be utterly passive and wholly noncontributory, from the perspective of the Law), and the "seduction" which has the specific deferred effect peculiar to psychoanalytic inquiry. This distinction (among other elements of the book) leads to an illumination of "the Freudian thing" (in the words of Lacan) with its innovative departure from the "whodunnit" type of explanation the police seek, and also from a physician's investigation into "what brought it on" and -- most importantly -- from the "interrogation" of Nature which began with Francis Bacon's 17th "Novum Organum." That notion of Science is exemplified by Freud's early Seduction Theory itself. In abandoning the Seduction Theory which psychoanalytic evidence cannot verify (according to contributor Robert Michels), the reader may conclude that Freud adopted a psychoanalytic "Novum Organum," a new kind of inquiry into the phenomena, neither Science nor Law nor a police investigation into abuse or trauma (bringing to mind the image of Sherlock Holmes with his big magnifying glass), but what Theodor Reik called "Listening with the Third Ear," (bringing to mind an intent listener with a large ear horn), initiated by a seductive invitation by the analyst to "say what comes to mind," a seduction which itself sets up one of the subjects of the psychoanalytic working-through. Louis H. Hamel, Jr., Esq.

THE SEDUCTION THEORY IN ITS SECOND CENTURY:
TRAUMA, FANTASY, AND REALITY TODAY

Edited with an Introduction and Postscript by Michael I. Good, M.D.

Committee of Pychoanalytic Psychotherapeutic Publications and Organizations,
Monograph I

Arnold D. Richards, M.D.
Book Series Editor

CONTENTS:

Series Editor's Foreword
Arnold D. Richards, M.D.

Preface and Acknowledgments

Contributors

Editor's Introduction:
The Roots of the Seduction Theory: A Perspective from Genesis to Scientia Sexualis
Michael I. Good, M.D.

Part I: WHAT IS THE SEDUCTION HYPOTHESIS? WHY ARE WE TALKING ABOUT IT TODAY?

Introduction
Chair: Owen Renik, M.D.

1. The Seductions of History: Sexual Trauma in Freud's Theory and
Historiography
George J. Makari, M.D.
2. The Ambiguity of Seduction in the Development of Freud's Thinking
Jay Greenberg, Ph.D.

Discussion of "What is the Seduction Hypothesis? Why Are We Talking about it Today?"
Helen C. Meyers, M.D.
On Literal Misreadings and Reconstructed Truths
Henry F. Smith, M.D.

General Discussion and Audience Questions

Part II: ANALYSTS AT WORK WITH PATIENTS WHOSE LIVES ARE CHARACTERIZED BY THE TRAUMAS OF EVERYDAY LIFE

Introduction
Chair: Arnold M. Cooper, M.D.

3. Trauma and Pathogenesis
Jacob A. Arlow, M.D.
4. Psychological Trauma of Everyday Life
Scott Dowling, M.D.
5. What Happened Matters, and What Really Happened Really Matters
Marylou Lionells, Ph.D.
6. Traumas of Everyday LIfe: A Self Psychological Perspective on the
Neuroses
Anna Ornstein, M.D.

Discussion of Analysts at Work with Patients whose Lives are Characterized by the Traumas of Everyday Life
Robert Michels, M.D.

General Discussion

Part III: ANALYSTS AT WORK WITH SEVERELY TRAUMATIZED PATIENTS

Introduction: The Analytic Aims in the Treatment of Severely Traumatized Patients
Chair: Leon Hoffman

7. Living the Experience of Childhood Seduction: A Brief Account of an Unusual
Psychoanalysis
Peter Fonagy, Ph.D.
8. A View of Severely Traumatized Patients--Soul Murder Victims
Leonard Shengold, M.D.

Discussion of Papers by Fonagy and Shengold
Glen O. Gabbard, M.D.

General Discussion

Part IV: CONCLUDING PAPERS

Introduction
Chair: Arnold Rothstein, M.D.

9. Freud and the Seduction Hypothesis
Steven J. Ellman, Ph.D.
10. The Seduction Hypothesis Axis: What's External, What's Internal, and What's In
Between?
Stephen A. Mitchell, Ph.D.

Postscript
The Seduction Theory: A Leitmotif in the Evolution of Psychoanalytic Theory, But Is It a Testable Hypothesis?
Michael I. Good, M.D.

Name Index
Subject Index

318 pages + xxi

International Universities Press
59 Boston Post Road
Madison, CT 06443
U.S.A.

_____

"Not many books can be stamped 'significant' from their inception, but this one can. It has a measure of historic significance by reason of drawing together contributions from the major psychoanalytic groups operating in the United States. Moreover, it achieves a high level of conceptual and clinical significance in the scope of its subject matter and the competence of the respective contributors. The background of the place of seduction in Freud's thinking and the various perspectives of the ensuing controversies swirling around the seduction hypothesis
and its supposed abandonment are thoroughly explored in considerable depth. The major focus is on the theory and treatment of trauma---explored and discussed from the vantage points of a wide range of theoretical perspectives. The degree of openness and willingness to listen and discuss is laudatory. The contributions cast a wide net, focusing at one level on the traumas of everyday life that arguably form the stuff of the clinical experience of everyday analysis, and at another level on
the more severe traumas in seriously disturbed patients that leave their residues of murderous rage and severe personality impairment. The contributions maintain a high level of discourse and provide a remarkable overview of the history and understanding of seduction-trauma in psychopathology and analytic theory. I have not seen a better synthesis of points of view and issues related to the themes of seduction and trauma than this. Analysts treating patients suffering from the effects of seduction and/or trauma will value these well-integrated contributions, and students of the sexual abuse and traumatization of children will encounter a rich mine of theoretical insights and clinical applications that will fully reward their perusal of these pages. The editor and organizers of this conference are to be congratulated!"

-- W. W. Meissner, S.J., M.D., Training and Supervising Analyst, Psychoanalytic Institute of New England, East; University Professor of Psychoanalysis, Boston College; author of The Therapeutic Alliance and Freud and Psychoanalysis, and other books.