Review of Clinical hypnosis with children.

Reviews the book, Clinical hypnosis with children by William C. Wester II and Donald J. O'Grady (see record 1991-97780-000). This edited volume by Wester and O'Grady contributes to the field by gathering a well-known group of experts to summarize briefly the application of hypnosis for various types of childhood problems. The book's goals include coverage of the variety of uses of hypnosis and hypnotherapy with children. In addition, the editors want to provide various and sometimes divergent views of hypnotherapy with children. To this end, the editors generally accomplish their goals. The range of topics covered is quite broad, and the contributors include both psychologists and physicians who use hypnosis in their clinical practices. As with many edited books the content and quality varies, but I found the book to be of generally high quality. The writing styles are diverse, yet most of the chapters are clear, concise, and highly readable. While there is no single theoretical position for the chapters, the theoretical orientation of the book is broadly psychodynamic, empirical, and cognitive. The underlying perspective on hypnosis is from a more traditional and empirical view, rather than the Ericksonian perspective. This book is written for professional psychotherapists, e.g., psychologists, social workers, psychiatrists, with basic to intermediate knowledge of hypnosis. A person with background in working with adults would find this book a good introduction to working with children. Overall, the editors have done a nice job of assembling a coherent group of papers that provides the reader with an overview of the application of hypnosis with children. I recommend this book to psychotherapists interested in working with children, and it makes a useful contribution to the growing literature on hypnotherapy with children. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Handbook of workplace violence.

Reviews the book, Handbook of Workplace Violence by E. Kevin Kelloway, Julian Barling, and Joseph J. Hurrell Jr. (see record 2006-03272-000). According to the Cambridge University dictionary, a handbook contains "the most important and useful information about a subject." This Handbook of Workplace Violence admirably fits this definition. In the book, the authors have assembled 26 chapters that summarize the very vast domain of violence research that pertains to the workplace. Each chapter, all written by academic researchers who are deeply involved in the field of workplace violence, summarizes a unique aspect of workplace violence. The authors of the handbook are organizational psychologists and they approach this topic from a social-organizational perspective. This handbook would, thus, be of great interest to similarly-minded psychologists. However, the scope of the handbook, covering violence in multiple settings and from multiple perspectives, would attract readers from a variety of psychological domains. In essence, this handbook has a broad readership and ably meets its goal of "summarizing the state of current knowledge and charting the course for future research." Conceptualizing workplace violence broadly, it provides a wide-ranging survey of the current state of the field. Highlighting both the enormity of the problem and the lack of extant information on the causes and course of workplace violence, this book provides important directions for future research. It is a book that would be valuable to any student or researcher interested in pursuing questions about the nature, course, and prevention of violence in the workplace. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Childhood disorders: Behavioral-developmental approaches.

Reviews the book, Childhood disorders: Behavioral-developmental approaches edited by Robert J. McMahon and Ray Dev. Peters (1985). This volume includes 11 original chapters from the 1983 Banff International Conference on Behavioral Sciences. Together, these chapters provide an overview of a number of high-quality programmes of research in the area of childhood disorders. The editors state that the purpose of the current offering is to focus on recent advances in the conceptualization, assessment, and treatment of childhood behaviour disorders, with particular attention being given to the role of developmental processes. The book contains two major sections. The first provides an overview of the conceptual foundations for a "behavioural-developmental" approach to childhood disorders. The second, which constitutes approximately 80% of the volume, illustrates programmes for the assessment and treatment of childhood disorders spanning the developmental spectrum from infancy to adolescence. Although this volume's attempt to bridge the gap between behavioural and developmental work may fall short, it is nevertheless a worthwhile contribution that nicely illustrates a range of outstanding programmes of clinical research for a variety of childhood disorders. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Intercultural counselling and assessment: Global perspectives.

Reviews the book, Intercultural Counselling and Assessment: Global Perspectives edited by Ronald J. Samuda and Aaron Wolfgang (1985). Intercultural Counselling and Assessment is an edited volume of papers presented to an invited Symposium on Intercultural Counselling held at Queen's University at Kingston, Ontario, 1983. The intention of the publication, as stated by the editors, was to fill the gap in guidelines and methods in intercultural counselling by providing source material that is both theoretical and practical. The book is geared to professionals in the field of education, psychology, and social work, with the goal of engendering "greater sensitivity and a more professional approach to the task of coping with an increasingly varied and mixed population of students in schools" (p. xvii). The strength of the book lies in its comprehensive coverage. The philosophy of counselling conveyed in the book reflects the orientation of multiculturalism in Canadian immigration policy. Six chapters address the issues and answers in counselling specific ethnic and cultural groups, including Chinese immigrants, South Asian immigrants, West Indian immigrants, European immigrants, Native Canadians, and foreign students. Another six chapters provide the background and guidelines for counselling minorities in specific environments, such as in employment, correctional service, disability service, and education. It is a comprehensive volume and has highlighted the important issues that counsellors should become familiar with in an intercultural society. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Handbook of experiential psychotherapy.

Reviews the book, Handbook of experiential psychotherapy by Leslie S. Greenberg, Jeanne C. Watson, and Germain Lietaer (see record 1999-02133-000). The editors of this book note that what they call the experiential therapies (such as client-centered, Gestalt, and existential therapies) have receded into the background since their heyday in the sixties and seventies. Their stated purpose in this useful book is to make professionals aware of how experiential therapies have become more focused, generated a new theoretical perspective on human functioning, and continued research on the process of change. The editors also wish to integrate the experiential therapies to become an alternative to cognitive and dynamic approaches to therapy. Each chapter contains a reference section for those who wish to pursue any of the topics in more depth. The editors might not have succeeded in shaping the experiential therapies as an integrated alternative to the prevailing approaches of our day, but they definitely have provided an exposition of this approach that can inform every clinician's work, no matter what orientation he or she espouses. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Current topics in rehabilitation psychology.

Reviews the book, Current topics in rehabilitation psychology edited by Charles J. Golden (1984). Every few years an edited volume of chapters on rehabilitation psychology is published. The latest contribution, Current Topics in Rehabilitation Psychology, edited by Charles Golden, is written for students, professionals, and educated lay people who want to learn about some of the recent advances in the field. Golden makes clear, and quite correctly so, that the volume is not a comprehensive coverage of all the areas of research, training, and service that are in the domain of rehabilitation psychology. Instead, after two chapters giving an overview of the field, several specific areas are addressed. They include management of chronic pain, cognitive retraining in brain damaged patients, rehabilitation and aging, adjustment of people with spinal cord injury, vocational training of people with severe developmental disabilities, biofeedback, and the role of personality in attitudes toward those with physical disabilities. The book would have profited greatly from more careful editing. Although the quality of writing varies from author to author, the grammatical errors, misspellings, and garbled sentences are uniformly so numerous that they sometimes distract the reader from the valuable content of the chapters. Nevertheless, the book is worthwhile as one that gives an overview of several specific topics and supplies rich bibliographies to those wishing to learn more. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of The International Handbook of Creativity.

Reviews the book, The International Handbook of Creativity by James Kaufman and Robert Sternberg (Eds) (see record 2006-05841-000). The International Handbook of Creativity, edited by James Kaufman and Robert Sternberg, provides global perspectives on conceptions of creativity. An edited volume with 35 international contributing authors of 17 chapters, this handbook achieves the goal stated on its back cover of "present[ing] a truly international and diverse set of perspectives on the psychology of human creativity." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Social learning and systems approaches to marriage and the family.

Reviews the book, Social learning and systems approaches to marriage and the family by R. Dev. Peters and R. J. McMahon (see record 1988-97132-000). The volume aims specifically to address a variety of issues and to highlight areas where an integration of social learning and systems models seems to be occurring. In terms of variety, the editors have succeeded in their goal, with chapters on most of the key issues in the family field such as maternal depression, spouse abuse, divorce, sexual dysfunction, marital conflict and helping families deal with handicapped children. Most of the contributors are able to discuss theory and research pertaining to a particular family problem in an integrated and informative way and to relate these aspects to clinical intervention. This book is essentially a well written, easy to read volume which addresses a variety of family processes and problems and integrates theory, research and clinical practice. This broad scope should ensure that it will appeal to a wide audience in the helping professions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Multiculturalism in Canada: Social and educational perspectives.

Reviews the book, Multiculturalism in Canada: Social and educational perspectives edited by Ronald J. Samuda, John W. Berry, and Michel Laferriere (1984). The editors have managed to put together an impressive collection of contributors and contributions. Their stated aim is "to cover the entire spectrum of potential factors related to multiculturalism" and they "feel sure that this volume will meet the needs of teacher educators...inservice training...and teacher training in the foundations of multicultural education" (p. vii). The volume is divided into five parts. Part one contains chapters under the rubric of Policies of Multiculturalism. Part two contains five chapters under the rubric of Attitudes toward Multiculturalism. Part three contains six chapters under the rubric of Language in a Multicultural Society. Part four contains eight chapters under the rubric of Adaptation to a Multicultural Society. Part five contains six chapters under the rubric of Assessment and Counselling in Multicultural Society. In sum, this volume contains many fine individual chapters. Students and professors can pick through them and find the ones best suited for their unique purposes. When taken as a whole, however, the volume represents an ethos which is probably irreconcilable with a genuine multiculturalism. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Experimental techniques in human neuropsychology.

Reviews the book, Experimental techniques in human neuropsychology by H. J. Hannay (1986). With the growth of the field of neuropsychology during the last few decades, research related to the varied aspects of human neuropsychology has progressed with insufficient attention to the quality of the methods employed. Certainly, the need for this type of book is unquestionable. This edited volume is designed to present a variety of procedures and current technologies at a level which can be beneficial to both the novice and the expert researcher in various areas of neuropsychology. It is, for the most part, successful in explaining techniques in sufficient detail for the new researcher while also presenting recent advances of interest to the more experienced researcher. The volume contains chapters approximately equally divided between behavioral and physiological measures, written by authors who have established reputations in the research areas which they discuss. Although this book addressed a broad range of experimental topics in neuropsychology, it should provide particular appeal to those interested in methods of investigating cerebral dominance and asymmetry. The research populations discussed represent a diverse mix of neurologically impaired adult groups, with a brief mention of child populations in two chapters. The strength of this book lies on the questions raised about the status of current neuropsychological research techniques. The chapters are well written and are structured in a clearly organized manner that provides ready assessment of the advantages and disadvantages of each technique. Researchers in almost every area of neuropsychology should find this book a valuable aid in designing studies by avoiding the pitfalls which have beset other projects. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Intelligence and learning.

Reviews the book, Intelligence and Learning edited by Morton P. Friedman, J. P. Das and Neil O'Connor (1981). This volume (624 pages) consists of 57 papers presented at the NATO conference on intelligence and learning held at York University, England in 1979. It brings together concepts of intelligence from traditional psychometric approaches, the developmental and qualitative views of the Piagetians, biological theories and information processing models. The emphasis is upon intelligence within the context of learning and experience, with a balanced treatment of theory, research and the applications of both. In their introductory remarks the editors rather unassumingly refer to the book as "a sample of research and thinking relating intelligence to major psychological processes." It is a sample which provides a comprehensive and in-depth account of a complex field of inquiry. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Handbook of emotion regulation.

Reviews the book, Handbook of emotion regulation edited by James J. Gross (see record 2007-01392-000). The purpose of this edited volume is to bring the reader and the scientific community up-to-date on the burgeoning field of emotion and particularly how it is regulated. The book comprises 30 chapters divided amongst seven traditional sections within psychology: foundations, biological bases, cognitive foundations, developmental approaches, personality process and individual differences, social approaches, and clinical outcomes. Gross very nicely captures the range of topics and issues surrounding the topic of emotion and emotion regulation in this edited volume. Gross is to be congratulated for taking on the task of editing such a timely and important volume for the field. Given the scope of the volume, it should have wide appeal to researchers as well as graduate and advanced undergraduate students in the areas of personality and social psychology, human development, child clinical psychology, psychiatry, and cognitive and affective neuroscience. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Handbook of clinical hypnosis.

Reviews the book, Handbook of clinical hypnosis edited by J. W. Rhue, S. J. Lynn, and I. Kirsch (see record 1998-06062-000). The Handbook of clinical hypnosis is an 800-page, hardbound textbook, whose authors state in the Preface their intentions in writing. They wish to produce a "comprehensive textbook of clinical hypnosis," 1) which is presented from an atheoretical point of view, 2) yet takes into account the advantages of different approaches to hypnotic phenomena and, finally, 3) which portends the combination of theory, knowledge, and practice in the field of hypnotherapy. This is an ambitious undertaking, but one which is credibly realized. The Handbook is structured into various sections, which have from three up to as many as six individual chapters. These sections are roughly as follows: 1) Basics in hypnotherapy and an overview of hypnotherapy theory and technique; 2) "Models" of hypnotherapy, including contributions from various schools of thought, both historical and contemporaneous; 3) Techniques of hypnotherapy, with special attention to induction; 4) Applications of hypnotherapy to specific disorders or populations; 5) Applications of hypnotherapy to traumatic circumstances; 6) Hypnotherapy applications in behavioral medicine); 7) Training and ethics in hypnotherapy research and practice. The Handbook is a marvelous, varied treatment of an extremely complicated and difficult subject matter. Both the editors and the individual authors deserve congratulations for having brought together such a diverse and complex topic in a single volume for the benefit of both practicing clinicians and researchers. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Handbook of psychological assessment.

Reviews the Handbook of Psychological Assessment (1984) by G. Goldstein and M. Hersen. The editors have put together and edited a compendium on psychological assessment that is well-balanced, up-to-date, and extremely informative. This book provides very broad coverage of psychological assessment and is a noteworthy contribution to the field of assessment. One must give the editors due credit for bringing together some excellent people in their respective fields and especially for their attention to the breadth of domains subsumed by psychological assessment and for incorporating these diverse fields into a meaningful whole. The Handbook consists of 21 chapters grouped into nine sections: introduction; psychometric foundations; assessment of intelligence; achievement, aptitude, and interest; neuropsychological assessment; interviewing; personality assessment; behavioral assessment; and assessment and intervention. By chapters, there is an equal balance of content specific to children as well as adults. This book is an excellent text for a graduate course in psychological assessment and is equally valuable and informative for psychologists, both academic and in practice. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Handbook of Moral Development.

Reviews the book, Handbook of Moral Development edited by Melanie Killen and Judith G. Smetana (see record 2005-11748-000). This is a big book on a big topic. Editors Melanie Killen and Judith Smetana have solicited 26 chapters on the topic of moral development, including many of the key authors and researchers currently working in the field. While the editors themselves share the perspective of "social domain" theory, the breadth of the current volume is much wider. Indeed it provides a representative overview of work ranging across the entire landscape of moral development research today. The 26 chapters are organized into six sections: structuralism and moral stages, social domain theory, conscience development and internalization, social interactional and comparative approaches, emotions and empathy, and moral education. In general, each chapter reviews recent work on a particular topic within these six areas, provides a theoretical context and overview of the research and typically discusses the author(s)' own research program in detail. Many of the chapters also consider, if only briefly, ideas and prospects for future research as well. The chapters are thus up-to-date, generally well-written, and approachable for advanced students and scholars within the field. This is as good an overview as we are likely to get from our current vantage point. It can be highly recommended for advanced-level students and scholars in the field alike. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Handbook of homework assignments in psychotherapy: Research, practice, and prevention.

Reviews the book, Handbook of homework assignments in psychotherapy: Research, practice, and prevention edited by Nikolaos Kazantzis and Luciano L'Abate (see record 2006-11928-000). Reading this book title quickly one might think that this is a book of practical homework ideas, worksheets, and resources for clinicians. Reading it again more carefully, one discerns that it is more than that. What the editors have planned for the reader is a complete discussion of how therapy and personal change is supported by between-session activities in which the client engages. The book operationally defines "homework" in various kinds of therapy, the role that it plays in the change process, and presents research related to those important between-session tasks. Given this breadth, it is not surprising that the book is aimed at practitioners and researchers with all ranges of experience. The book is organised into four parts to help the reader with this diverse material. Part 1 reviews the concept and implementation of homework across nine well-known modalities (behavioural, client-centered, cognitive, emotion-focussed, interpersonal, psychodynamic, acceptance and commitment, brief strategic family, and personal construct therapies). Parts 2 and 3 of the book focus more on specific populations and disorders, including older adults, couples, and families. The final section of the book contains three "future" oriented chapters in distinct areas: research, practise, and prevention. Readers looking for an "academic" perspective on homework, a comparison of different approaches to between-session work, and inspiration in working with different populations will find a great deal here. The book may be less useful as quick reference on homework ideas for a client who is coming in to a session later today. It really does represent a "first to market" work that will be foundational for others interested in the theory and practise of psychotherapy homework, and certainly makes a very unique contribution. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Children's peer relations: Issues in assessment and intervention.

Reviews the book, Children's peer relations: Issues in assessment and intervention edited by B. H. Schneider, K. H. Rubin, and J. E. Ledingham (1985). In 1984, a conference was held in Ottawa on the topic "Research Strategies in Children's Social Skills Training." It was international in scope and brought together many of the field's leading researchers. The papers presented at that conference form the nucleus for this volume of chapters, which has been carefully edited by three of the conference organizers. Substantial additions to the conference material are apparent, and the purpose of the book has been redirected somewhat to examine currently emerging research on children's social relations with regard to its implications for assessment and treatment of childhood social dysfunction. The resulting volume is one that is highly rewarding to the reader. The editors and authors have achieved the difficult task of integrating many discrete programmes of research around a few common themes. All of the chapters are well written, and together they present a representative selection of current research that is methodologically sound and of scholarly significance. As such, this volume is a timely and thought-provoking collection of chapters that will be of considerable interest to students and researchers in the fields of children's social relations and social skills training. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Handbook of treatment for eating disorders.

Reviews the book, Handbook of treatment for eating disorders (2nd ed.) edited by David M. Garner and Paul E. Garfinkel (see record 1997-08478-000). In this book, the editors state that their primary goal is to present treatment approaches in sufficient detail that clinicians can conduct therapy of these disorders. A strong research base undergirds each chapter, filled with extensive case illustration and practical approaches, directed toward the practicing clinician. With new as well as revised chapters, this book consists of five major sections. The first, "The Context for Treatment," describes the history of eating disorders, focusing on Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimia Nervosa. The second, and most coherent, section focuses on cognitive-behavioral and educational approaches. A conglomeration of approaches based on other theoretical perspectives appears in the third section, entitled "Psychodynamic, Feminist, and Family Approaches." In the fourth section, issues around inpatient, partial hospitalization, and drug therapies are reviewed. A final, catch-all section covers special topics, including comorbid histories and conditions (sexual abuse, substance abuse, and medical issues), diagnostic concerns (personality disorders), alternative treatments (group, self-help), treatment dilemmas (treatment refusal in anorexia nervosa), age considerations (prepubertal eating disorders), and binge-eating disorder. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Handbook of feminist therapy: Women's issues in psychotherapy.

Reviews the book, Handbook of feminist therapy: Women's issues in psychotherapy edited by Lynne Bravo Rosewater and Lenore E. A. Walker (1985). This volume grew out of the meetings of the First Annual Advanced Therapy Institute which were attended by 60 feminist therapists in the spring of 1982. According to the editors the volume reflects advances in feminist therapy; it examines the fundamentals of feminist therapy and considers how to best serve clients from this perspective. The volume is divided into seven major sections, each of which consists of three to eight relatively brief chapters. Each major section has its own editor who provides an informative introduction to and brief overview of the articles in that section. The major sections are: A Feminist Philosophy of Treatment, Introduction to Feminist Psychotherapeutic Techniques and Practices, Women's Issues across the Lifespan, Violence Against Women, Power and Advocacy Issues, Feminist Ethics, and the Training of Feminist Therapists. All in all this is a stimulating and much-welcomed volume. Students and practitioners in all areas of mental health will find it to be an informative and valuable resource. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)