Practice Management Books

This is a comprehensive text on the many facets of sexual misconduct that will be useful to consumers of psychotherapy and practitioners alike. It is compassionate and scholarly; supportive on both sides and very informative. If psychotherapy is to survive and help people, it is a 'must read.'

As a psychologist-attorney, I have worked closely with many psychologists, licensing boards, and attorneys struggling with the complexities of boundary violations in psychotherapy. Naturally, the most destructive of these is patient-therapist sex.As we all know, the effect of such breaches of professional ethics can create a lifetime of suffering for patients, destroy the career and family of the perpetrating professional, and undermine public trust in the field of psychology.

In the cases I have seen, two recurring problems have emerged that I believe reflect gaps in our professional training on boundary violations and make it difficult for us to prevent these painful events. First, for many trainees sexual prohibitions are "learned" as a rule of ethical deportment rather than "understood" from a clinical perspective. It is striking to me how many members of the profession are unable to articulate the actual dynamics that make the alleged boundary violation so harmful. This is not a problem that is limited to the perpetrators. In some cases it has appeared to me that even some members of ethics committees and licensing boards have substituted a punitive application of sanctions to compensate for a limited clinical understanding of boundary violations.

Second, there is a widespread misperception that most, if not all, cases of patient therapist sex, because of how damaging they are, are perpetrated by exploitive psychopaths. In my experience this is not necessarily the case. Many psychologists get into trouble because they have not understood how good, decent people "just like us" can get into such trouble. This perception discourages trainees from discussing difficulties before they get out of hand with their supervisors and creates a costly illusion of safety for other psychologists who minimize the danger that this could happen to them.

I have often wished there were a good textbook that could succinctly help trainees and colleagues have the eye-opening experience some of these tragic cases have provided me. Dr. Andrea Celenza' book, Sexual Boundary Violations fills that void. It provides an extremely insightful portrayal of what I see happening in patient-therapist sex cases. Most importantly, it provides meaningful warning signs that can be used by clinicians to head off the cataclysmic effect of serious boundary violations.

Dr. Celenza's book gives professionals an in-depth understanding of what boundary violations are and what it is that actually makes them destructive. She also, through her empathic portrayals of her own treatment of perpetrators, shows how and why very good people--just like us-- can, indeed, if not properly prepared for the intimacies of therapy, lose their moorings and hurt their patients and themselves in ways from which neither will ever recover.

Any responsible clinician, clinical trainer, or member of any professional licensing board or ethics committee should read this book.

Bryant L. Welch, J.D., Ph.D.

Doctor Gollatz has put into this book the answers to a plethora of questions, which are frequently asked about health reform. He has performed a great deal of research, and come up with a book that can be understood by both professionals and laymen. I rate this book an excellent read for those interested in our Health Reform problems.

Dr. Gollatz takes on the multifaceted problem of healthcare reform. The context is geared to the both the professional and the layman. It gives various approaches to reform and examines the consequences that can arrise from each approach. He leans toward the use of Medical Savings Accounts at the end because it leaves the ultimate choices to the patient. This book is a well written find.

Carolyn Elefant, the well-respected legal blogger, advocate for solo and small firm lawyers, quality energy regulatory and appellate lawyer, and experienced writer has combined all of her prodigious talents in this book that provides solo and small-firm lawyers with a highly practical guide to opening and managing a law practice. Comprehensive and based on real-world experiences, this book is different from other "how-to" manuals -- it's far more useful than others I've read. Published in 2008, it's up-to-date and incorporates present-day marketing and other concepts. The book examines everything from the initial decision to go solo to planning to the realities of practice to marketing, and also includes FAQs and resources, as well as profiles based on interviews of a number of solo and small firm lawyers, who tell of their experiences. Read this book before you make the jump into the solo life, and you'll have far fewer surprises, and be much more successful at it.

If you've ever considered entering into solo practice, Carolyn Elefant's new book Solo By Choice is a must-read. But the book is so packed with practical advice about running a law office that I'd recommend it even if you're a seasoned practitioner or not currently considering going solo.

Solo By Choice presents a practical, pragmatic and realistic view of solo practice, including reasons to become a solo and a `reality check' on whether you're cut out for solo practice. The book contains step by step advice starting with what to do in your current position before opening your own firm or how to start a solo practice directly out of law school, including essential considerations such as malpractice insurance, choosing a name for your firm, and deciding whether (and where) to look for office space. But the advice doesn't stop there.

Most law schools don't teach the business issues that are essential for any solo (or law firm manager) to master. This book explores how to choose a jurisdiction and practice area, how to create a client-centric practice and how to determine which clients or matters to keep and which to refer to others. Elefant leaves no stone unturned, tackling difficult issues like dealing with `nightmare' clients, essentials of retainer agreements and billing and fees.

In today's climate, no book on solo practice would be complete with out discussions about staffing, outsourcing and creating reliable revenue streams, particularly when starting out as a solo. Elefant addresses them all and provides marketing ideas are straightforward and achievable by lawyers on any budget. For solos facing `growing pains,' the book discusses virtual law firms, affiliations, project partnering and networks.

Throughout, Elefant reminds the reader of jurisdictional quirks, ethical considerations and client concerns that could affect the would-be solo's decisions. She includes stories from her own experience going from a law firm environment to solo practice, as well as the real-life experiences of other solo lawyers (in their own words.) Her writing is straightforward and accessible and she provides resources throughout the book for more information on each of the topics she discusses.

If you're looking for a handbook for starting a law practice or going out on your own, this is it.

Unlike most books related to the field of counseling, The Solution-Focused School Counselor addresses the biggest constraint of school counselors: TIME. While counselors have a vast assortment of theoretical approaches to incorporate into their practice, most theories assume an unlimited amount of time. Such is not the case within the fixed time that a counselor is given to handle an overwhelming number of students in each day.

Solution-focused counseling is not a compilation of techniques, but rather a philosophy of how to approach students' problems. At the heart of solution-focused counseling is the concept of exceptionality: looking for instances when the problem does not exist, and then using those instances to formulate solutions. Therefore, the counselor's goal is to turn the attention away from the negative and to focus on what is positive. By jumping right into the solution-finding process, time is not wasted on investigating all the reasons that the problem exists (particularly reasons that may be out of the student's control).

I would highly recommend The Solution-Focused School Counselor for both beginning and well-seasoned counselors. This book is direct, concise, and saturated with helpful suggestions to implement the Solution-Focused model into individual and group counseling, parent conferences, and teacher consultations.

Having surveyed the growing literature, Davis and Osborn have managed to provide a very succint, practical and up-to-date overview of Solution-focused counseling. Steve de Shazer and his wife, Insoo Kim Berg, first distilled the wisdom of Milton Erickson, psychiatrist and hypnotherapist, and developed a very influential school of interventions, without formal hypnosis, for the last 15-20 years. It is the change in perspective in developing new ways of thinking, believing and doing that is most valuable for any person. In contrast to traditional approaches, the focus is on the student's own competencies, strengths, possibilities and solutions. Counseling is structured and time limited. The goals are set jointly by the student and counselor, behavior-oriented, measureable, action-oriented... p. 44. Numerous specific strategies, such as highlighting exceptions, the classic "scaling question" of 1 to 10, that even surfaced in Woody Allen and other movies, the "miracle question", with the modified "dream question", the use of "instead", "coping questions", "relationship questions"... are all clearly summarised here. You also get a glimpse of applications of solution-focus to groups, parents, teacher-education and schools. This book is worth repeated study. The principles and strategies of the solution-focus perspective are not only useful for school counselors, but also for any person in daily life.

Truly an excellent book, deserving in anyones library

This is a great book that is very insightful!! I recemend it to everyone who wants to become an expert in economics to read this. Mr. Wheeler has a lot of experience and taught be a lot about dept managment.

Please note that I ordered this book thinking it was about general SOP writing. It is about procedures in Fire Stations only. If that is what you want... it is probably good.

I was tasked with rewriting our SOP's and Station Procedures when our department changed from all-vounteer to combination. This book is full of good ideas. It has shown numerous places where our SOP's were lacking, and given me ideas where we just needed to flesh them out.

I have recently started working as a medical transcriptionist for several OB/GYNs. This book has been invaluable to me (and would be to anyone new to the field) because it not only lists each word, as a medical dictionary does, but also lists phrases as you would hear them, and matches words that would follow or preceed other words. When the doctor mumbles "lichen ___" I can just look up "lichen" and find 10 choice phrases that would include this word. This book has made my job much easier for me.

Many transcriptionists do not work just for one specialty like OB/GYN, but cover hospitals and clinics where many types of work are done and dictation must be transcribed. I have a shelf full of Stedman's books, and this is one that I refer to often. While much of my work is in heme-onc, that includes a couple of GYN heme-onc specialists, and so the book gets quite a workout.

Although the other review here is several years old, I cannot say "ditto" enough to the comments provided by that reviewer. Stedman's books, in general, are very helpful for the MT, and they update their publications on an ongoing basis. The hundreds of pages of cross-referenced terms specific to this field will be very helpful if you need correct terminology and spelling, etc., and are unconcerned with definition, photos, etc. These are just word books, and Stedman's books excel within that niche of the medical publishing marketplace.

Absolutely agree with the earlier review posted below. This volume was published in 1999, and an updated volume should be coming along soon, but meanwhile, this exhaustive collection of words relating especially to ears, nose, throat, and teeth is without peer. If you're an MT looking into expanding your library because you've found yours wanting, Stedman's is the place to look, and this book is a crucial part of such a library.

"Plastic Surgery/ENT/Dentistry Words" is a gem of a reference for the transcriptionist doing work in any of these specialty areas. It is chock full with 69,000 entries derived from >40,000 medical words, phrases, abbreviations, and acronyms. These are conveniently cross-referenced. Who of us has not heard, for example, some kind of "flap" mumbled by the dictator while transcribing a surgical report; here, a list of >4½ pages of various types of flaps are blessedly enumerated. Additionally, surgical instruments and medications are handily listed as well.

Four appendixes complete this volume: 1) anatomical illustrations [54 pages of them!], 2) sample reports [op notes] ranging in variety from typical liposuction surgery to an orbiculopexy, 3) common terms of procedure [such as septoplasty terms, etc.], and 4) common herbs in both Latin and common terminology. This latter is interesting, but I am confounded as to what is its use in this volume.

Nevertheless, this handy volume is really the Bible when it comes to a reference for anyone transcribing medical reports in the above-mentioned specialty areas. I recommend it highly!

I just got word I passed my certification examination and used this book to prepare along with the certification review. It was easy to follow and had all the answers in the back of the book. I really learned a lot.

My book arrived in great condition, and in a timely manner. Thank you for the great service.

This is an excellent guide for students and other young people in the great state of Texas. It gives some great advice on dealing with the law and how to handle things like traffic stops. It also gives great advice on having successful parties (meaning no cops)! Very useful. Check it out.

I have known the author of this book for over 30 years and can attest to the fact that he is a bonafide authority on this subject. As a high school and college classmate, he showed us all how to take it to the edge but stay out of trouble (well, OK, maybe we got into a little bit of trouble). Now, as a well educated and highly respected Texas lawyer, he knows the ins and outs of the Texas criminal justice system and how it could affect a young person if they take things too far.

In this book, he shares valuable information on how to have fun while partying safely, how to avoid or handle difficult situations with authorities, and exactly what to do should you ignore the aforementioned and get into trouble with any of the fine, hard working and distinguished law enforcement officers in the great State of Texas. In today's troubled world, every student age 15 or above needs to read this book, and every responsible parent should make sure that they don't ship their kids off to college in Texas without it. Unless, of course, you are looking forward to that 3 a.m. phone call.