Review of Memory and abuse: Remembering and healing the effects of trauma.

Reviews the book, Memory and abuse: Remembering and healing the effects of trauma by Charles L. Whitfield (see record 1995-98063-000). This book is a most informative, well-written, and thoughtful examination of the relationship between memory and abuse. Dr. Whitfield focuses on the clinical psychology of memory and trauma, and in doing so, deals successfully with the politics of the controversy surrounding delayed or "recovered" memories. In addition, he provides clinical information regarding the treatment of adult survivors of abuse. His book's intended readership includes both helping professionals and survivors. While many technical terms are used, the author's down-to-earth, personal style and use of anecdotes and case illustrations, as well as figures and tables, help to make this book both readable and enjoyable. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The elusive search for the truth: A review of Pezdek, K. and Banks, W. P. (1996). The recovered memory/false memory debate.

Reviews the book, The recovered memory/false memory debate by K. Pezdek and W. P. Banks (see record 1996-98519-000). This book presents a series of articles, some of which are sympathetic to the "recovered" memory approach and others to the "false" memory approach. In the preface, the authors write: "We tried to hew a middle course, looking for value in all sides." Many of the articles in the book originally appeared in a special issue of Consciousness & Cognition, Volume 3, 1994, the journal which is edited by William Banks, one of the editors of this volume. A major strength of the book is that all the included articles argue their respective positions based on actual experimental data rather than on philosophical biases. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Memory, war and trauma.

Reviews the book, Memory, war and trauma by Nigel C. Hunt (see record 2010-17048-000). Hunt’s book presents a very different perspective on how memory, war, and trauma interface, drawing upon a variety of sources not frequently accessed by psychologists. He promotes an interdisciplinary approach to studying memory and war; however, rather than drawing upon the usual fields, such as biology or sociology, Dr. Hunt suggests that a careful examination of history and literature are also integral to developing a complete understanding of memory and war. This book is not designed for individuals unfamiliar with the field of trauma and war. Memory, war and trauma highlights the limitations of current empirical approaches to studying war trauma and presents a narrative methodology that he argues will better capture the unique individual experience of trauma. Hunt rightly demonstrates weaknesses of current methods, and suggests that the narrative method may be the solution to some of the problems with current methods. Though his argument is likely that the narrative method should supplement rather than replace current experimental method, one is left feeling that he believes current methods are wholly inadequate and his method is better. Despite this central weakness, this book will be a benefit to psychologists who study and treat individuals touched by war because it will encourage them to think beyond traditional approaches to research and treatment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Traumatic stress: The effects of overwhelming experience on mind, body, and society.

Reviews the book, Traumatic stress: The effects of overwhelming experience on mind, body, and society edited by Bessel A. van der Kolk, Alexander C. McFarland, and Lars Weisaeth (see record 1996-98017-000). According to the reviewer, this book has, no doubt, been long awaited by professionals working in the field of traumatic stress. On the whole, it should be welcomed by psychiatrists. It leaves little reservation that, for the guiding interests of psychology, practitioners and researchers will need to look elsewhere. Although acclaimed on the flyleaf as "the gold standard reference," this book, however, falls far short of that mark, and it is bewildering and disappointing that this ambitious, extensive volume comes to so little in a field requiring lucid and advanced theoretical and empirical contributions. The book's purpose is a synthesis of what has been learned over the past 20 years about the effects of trauma, using a biopsychosocial framework. The emphasis throughout is on psychobiology and intrapersonal psychology, attention to the latter at times appearing almost quaint. The book is more properly read as a synthesis of some of the prevailing viewpoints expressed within psychiatry. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Neurobiology of reconstructed memory.

The authors present evidence that normal autobiographical memories and "recovered" autobiographical memories of long-forgotten traumatic events are produced by the same mechanisms. The basic process involves the parallel storage of information in a set of independent modules, the selective retrieval and reaggregation of this dispersed information within an appropriate spatiotemporal context, and the organization of this aggregate by a narrative. The result is a seamless blend of retrieved information (that which is recalled) and knowledge (that which is inferred) experienced as an autobiographical memory. The critical difference between normal and recovered memories, by this account, is the impact of trauma on the storage process: The physiological consequences of trauma can include a disabling of the neural module responsible for encoding the appropriate spatiotemporal context. Recovered memory involves retrieval of memory fragments, confabulation (innocent or not) driven by inference, and the fitting of a context to this incomplete aggregate. This too is experienced as an autobiographical memory. The implications of this view for estimating the veridicality of recovered memories are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Light from the ashes.

Reviews the book, Light from the ashes by Peter Suedfeld (see record 2001-18284-000). "How does a child of twelve experience this upheaval?" asks Gerda Lederer, in Peter Suedfeld's Light from the ashes. "This upheaval" is the Nazi persecution culminating in the Shoah. The contributors to this volume explore the way in which childhood experience of the Shoah affected their careers in psychology and other social sciences. This book will be of interest to researchers in trauma, narrative psychology, and history of psychology. It shows the creation of productive lives out of a history of loss. These memoirs are moving examples of the making of meaning in human life and the resilience that Suedfeld has clearly described. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of La Capacite D'Apprehension Verbale.

Reviews the book, La Capacite D'Apprehension Verbale by Stéphane Ehrlich (1972). Ehrlich has chosen the range of apprehension as the point of departure and central focus of this work. The author's main theme follows the basic ideas proposed by Miller in his famous "Magical number 7" paper, as well as by Fraisse in his much earlier work on perception (1944-45) which is largely unknown to English-language psychologists. Given the limitations and general invariance of the immediate memory span, how is the capacity to increase the repertoire of correct responses during learning to be accounted for? For Ehrlich the answer lies in the structuration of originally independent stimuli into higher-order groupings (Miller's chunks). Starting with relatively brief presentations of the various types of theories of memory (fading of traces versus interference), it goes on to outline general problems of methodology and definition. The last three of the six chapters examine in considerable detail the concept of structuration as the basic process responsible for learning, integrating Ehrlich's own work with that of North-American researchers. The book presents an extremely lucid, detailed and well-organized evaluation of the state of the art in this field. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Animal models for psychiatry.

Reviews the book, Animal models for psychiatry by J. D. Keehn (1986). The topic of this book is timely, for the use of nonhuman laboratory animals in behavioural research has become a controversial issue. As an expert on ethical issues in psychological research, Keehn is an appropriate person to examine and summarize the role of nonhuman species in the study of abnormal behaviour. In the first section of the book, Keehn attempts to evaluate the ethics of behavioural experimentation with nonhuman subjects and to summarize several principles of humane experimental procedures. In the second part of the book he catalogues various clinical syndromes in nonhumans and describes various experimental paradigms that he believes are appropriate for the study of "psychiatric" disorders. As a defence of animal research and a summary of animal syndromes, the book is successful. As a summary of animal models and a guide for the researcher, both novice and experienced, I found the book disappointing on two scores. First, the book is not held together by any theoretical glue but rather seems more of a catalogue of examples of psychopathology in nonhumans. My second disappointment comes from the author's uneven emphasis on different disorders. Overall, I enjoyed the book and feel it is a useful volume. It provides an extensive summary of examples of psychopathology in nonhumans and illustrates the usefulness of behavioural studies as models of neurotic conditions in particular. Further, it argues forcefully for the importance of behavioural research in the study of mental disorders and could serve as a good place for undergraduates to read about the issues involved in animal research. The book falls short, however, as a "must have" volume for those active researchers or clinicians. Unfortunately, it offers us little insight into the nature of psychopathologic behaviour in either human or nonhuman subjects. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Memory of infant trauma.

This article reviews empirical research that investigates memory of trauma that occurred in infancy and very early childhood. The authors considered 9 articles in which children and adults' memory presentations were described and compared with 3rd-party documentation of traumatic events. The 9 studies reviewed have emerged from multiple perspectives, including psychoanalytic theory, trauma theory, neuropsychology, cognitive science, and nursing theory. Based on these articles, in which approximately 150 cases of early trauma are represented, the authors summarize the findings regarding the nature of memory for infant and very early childhood traumas and highlight points of agreement and disagreement among clinicians and researchers. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Research with the locus of control construct, vol. 3: Extensions and limitations.

Reviews the book, Research with the locus of control construct, vol. 3: Extensions and limitations edited by Herbert M. Lefcourt (1984). Herbert Lefcourt's third edited volume on the topic of research with the locus of control construct is directed to discussions of extensions and limitations of the construct. It is a very timely book, and therefore of interest to researchers on the locus of control (LOC). In Part I, comprehensive reviews are presented in three areas: work and retirement, psychophysiology, and cross-cultural researches. In Part II, two chapters describe the limitations and suggest alternatives. The five chapters are extensive and critical, as well as constructive in presenting ideas and models for future research. The editor and the authors have done an excellent job. As a reference source the book eminently meets the needs of researchers in the area. The editor has provided a succinct introduction and epilogue, which are very helpful in orienting the reader and maintaining a balanced view of the appropriate uses of the concept. The editor and authors of the book are to be congratulated for a thorough, provocative, and balanced outlook presented in this volume. I recommend the book highly. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

New thoughts about thinking.

Reviews the book, The Nature of Thought: Essays in Honor of D.O. Hebb edited by P.W. Jusczyk and R.M. Klein (1980). The phenomenon of thinking, the topic to which this important collection of essays is addressed, is one of the principal perennial concerns of psychology. It is as fundamental and as unsolved a problem today as at the time of experimental psychology's introspectionist beginnings and, through the ensuing decades, has never ceased to stimulate, fascinate, baffle, and bewilder the serious student of psychological phenomena. The present volume appropriately reflects a wide spectrum of specific concerns and approaches to this topic. Appropriate, as well, is its dedication in honour of D.O. Hebb, whose own approach to the study of thought is especially broad and encompassing. The book resulted from a recent series of lectures, in Hebb's honour, at Dalhousie University. This is not, however, a volume primarily addressed to Hebb's ideas. Rather, it is a collection of progress reports by a number of distinguished researchers in the fields of human and animal cognition on recent approaches to topics such as consciousness, mental imagery, problem solving, representation, attention, and skilled performance. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Radiation therapy during pregnancy

A case of recovered memory of childhood trauma is reported with documented sexual trauma in early childhood, chronicled evidence of the absence of memory for traumatic experience over a period of time, and substantial evidence of 'spontaneous' recovery of memory. This account contains the first available prospective report of memory loss in a case in which there is both documented evidence of trauma and evidence of recovery of memory. The case emerged as part of a broadband, large-scale study of children followed closely from birth to adulthood which was not focused on memory for trauma. Prospective data gathered in a neutral research context, corroborated and supplemented by retrospective information, circumvent many limitations of previous retrospective accounts of recovered memories.     

Review of Handbook of functional neuroimaging of cognition.

Reviews the book, Handbook of functional neuroimaging of cognition by Roberto Cabeza and Alan Kingstone. In fairness to the contributors of this excellent volume, much of the contents deals with sober reflection on the difficulties and uncertainties of interpreting the neuroimaging data in a variety of domains such as attention, vision, semantic and episodic memory, language, and working memory. In general, the authors of this volume present a fair, sophisticated, and valuable overview of the progress (or lack thereof) that functional imaging has contributed in a variety of different domains. This book provides a sense of a field that is undergoing rapid development and that clearly will have much to offer in the future. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cognitive neuroscience: A field with increasing interest to school psychologists.

Reviews the book, Cognitive neuroscience: The biology of the mind by M. Gazzaniga, R. B. Ivry, and G. R. Mangun (1998). This excellent book on cognitive neuroscience provides an exposition of the key areas concerned in cognitive neuroscience for the advanced student in adult neuropsychology and/or biological psychiatry. The authors' aim to balance theory with neuropsychology utilizing neuroscientific evidence to support a theoretical basis is a major contribution of this text. In this book there has been a concerted effort to provide a theoretical basis for cognitive neuroscience in addition to a list of empirical evidence. Such an effort provides a backdrop for future research as well as linking various cognitive functions into an understandable whole. This volume provides an excellent overview of brain anatomy and function. The book is highly readable and provides excellent illustrations of complex material. The main weakness of this volume for school psychologists is the emphasis on adult disorders with no real discussion of the most common childhood disorders. Although the text assumes some familiarity with neuroanatomy, it is useful for practitioners who desire more up-to-date information in this exciting field. This volume would be an excellent textbook for courses in biological bases of behavior for doctoral-level school psychologists, provided there is accompanying information on child neuropsychology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Social Networks And Social Support.

Reviews the book, Social Networks and Social Support edited by Benjamin H. Gottlieb (1981). For this volume, Gottlieb has brought together contributors from various disciplines thus providing a variety of perspectives. The main goal is to summarize current knowledge about the health-enhancing potential of social networks so as to improve the design of programmes of preventive intervention. Gottlieb has provided a necessary and useful integration and assessment of the topic with cautious optimism and objectivity in a well-edited book. This book is organized into three parts. Part I is on social support and life stress and focuses on the consequences of support in coping with stressful events, in the adjustment of pregnant adolescents, marital disruptions and serious illness. Part II explores the utility and practical application of network analysis. Part III probes the prospects for creating a mutually benficial partnership between lay and professional helping resources in the human services. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Handbook of play therapy, volume 2: Advances and innovations.

Reviews the book, Handbook of play therapy, volume 2: Advances and innovations by Kevin J. O'Connor and Charles E. Schaefer (1994). This book offers a collection of chapters written by leading experts which addresses the developments in play therapy since 1983. In completing the volume, Editors Kevin J. O'Connor and Charles E. Schaefer sought to offer a multi-disciplinary approach to play therapy. Additionally, the editors stated in their preface that they worked to make this new volume "informative, thought provoking, and clinically useful." Indeed, the editors have succeeded admirably in achieving their stated objectives. The book's organization and emphasis on clinical relevance make it a fit companion to their earlier classic (Schaefer & O'Connor, 1983). The Handbook is very well-organized with an excellent selection of chapter topics. The chapters follow essentially the same format and are integrated well within the book. The editors deserve credit for synthesizing diverse theoretical approaches and techniques into a coherent whole. The individual chapters are clearly written and quite readable. The figures and tables are readily understandable and augment the chapters' content. Clinicians and researchers interested in play therapy and child psychotherapy will enjoy this volume. Although the majority of chapters discuss play therapy with children, two chapters discuss play therapy applications with adults. Accordingly, therapists interested in these approaches will profit from this work. The volume certainly appeals to multi-disciplinary audiences such as psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers, nurses, pastoral counselors, and educators. The text is extremely appropriate for a graduate course in play therapy. Finally, the book can be read from beginning to end or the reader can select particular chapters in the handbook and sample various clinical approaches. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Alcohol and the family: Research and clinical perspectives.

Reviews the book, Alcohol and the family: Research and clinical perspectives, edited by R. Lorraine Collins, Kenneth E. Leonard, and John Searles (see record 1990-97558-000). Alcohol and the family is divided into three parts. Part I describes the research on genetic influences that may determine whether someone develops a problem with alcohol. Part II focuses on family processes as they influence drinking behavior. Part III discusses various aspects of family-oriented treatment. Although this book does not purport to be a clinician's handbook, parts II and III provide a well-written, concise, and helpful discussion both of the role of family processes in the development and maintenance of drinking problems and of family approaches to their treatment. This book is "intended for both researchers and clinicians who have an interest in alcoholism and/or family related issues. [The editors] hope that the issues raised in the chapters in this volume will stimulate further developments in research and clinical endeavors on alcohol and the family." Indeed they will. This is a book worth reading by those with such interests, despite a few minor shortcomings. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Memory, consciousness, and the brain: The Tallinn conference; and The Oxford handbook of memory.

Reviews the books, Memory, consciousness, and the brain: The Tallinn conference edited by Endel Tulving (see record 2000-07362-000) and The Oxford handbook of memory edited by Endel Tulving and Fergus M. Craik (see record 2000-00111-000). Memory, consciousness, and the brain (MCB) is an outgrowth of a conference organized by the editor and his wife, and held in Tallinn, the capital of Estonia. The organization of the book, accurately described by the editor as "largely illusory" (p. xv), blocks the 25 topic chapters into sections labeled Memory (11 chapters), Consciousness (7 chapters), and The Brain (7 chapters). The editor's hope is that the book will be useful as an introduction to representative research currently being conducted at the boundaries of memory, consciousness, and the brain. To what extent has this objective been achieved? The book certainly serves up a broad menu of topics. The reader looking for something intriguing in the way of research on memory and consciousness in the brain is likely to find it in this volume. What are MCB's weaknesses? The main sin is something that comes with the territory of all conference volumes: uneveness in quality, readability, and organizations, and uncertainty about the audience to be reached by each of the chapters. Regarding The Oxford handbook of memory (OHM), this book describes the growth of memory research from its nadir in the 1950s to the present, and presents summaries of contemporary scientific knowledge about a variety of memory topics. The focus is human memory (although the discussion of brain-memory relations is sometimes based on research with nonhuman primates) as studied from the perspectives of experimental cognitive psychology, cognitive neuropsychology, neuroscience, developmental psychology, theory and modeling, and the ecology of memory. Within this compass, the editors have attempted to ensure coverage of the current major theories, findings, and methods of memory. In the editors' words, the volume is intended to be "a major reference source for people who want to get started in the field, or who wish to check things outside their own regional area" (p. vii). Not only does the book hit its target, we expect that even specialists will benefit from the coverage of subjects in which they have expertise. For now, the OHM is the gold standard and all memory professionals are in the debt of the editors and authors for its existence. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of The trauma response: Treatment for emotional injury.

Reviews the book, The trauma response: Treatment for emotional injury by Diana S. Everstine and Louis Everstine (see record 1993-97113-000). The major premise of this book is that PTSD, as defined in the DSM-III-R, should be reconceptualized and recognized as "trauma response." This shift in focus emphasizes normalcy and a nonpathological recovery process as opposed to adherence to a disease model of psychological affliction in which a "disorder" is diagnosed and treated. The stated purpose of this book is to help clinicians identify, measure, and treat emotional trauma. This book is comprehensive and divided into four parts, covering topics such as the phenomenon of trauma, treatment for adult trauma, hidden trauma, trauma in the work place and trauma and the law. According to the reviewer, the book as a whole reflects valuable learning that has accrued from the authors' clinical experiences in working with victims of trauma. A diverse readership would benefit from this addition to the clinical literature. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)