Health psychology at the crossroads.

Reviews the books, Handbook of psychology and health, volume I: Clinical psychology and behavioral medicine: Overlapping disciplines, edited by R. J. Gatchel, A. Baum, and J. E. Singer (see record 1985-97683-000); Handbook of psychology and health, volume II: Issues in child health and adolescent health, edited by A. Baum and J. E. Singer (1982); and Introduction to medical psychology by J. C. Norton (1982). The conflict between the traditional medical model and the biopsychosocial model threatens to prevent the establishment of health psychology's principles and identity. This conflict clearly characterizes the volumes presently under review. James C. Norton's Introduction to medical psychology aims to introduce mental health professionals to medicine, to teach behavioral treatments for disease, and to address issues of health promotion. The Handbook of psychology and health is a much more ambitious attempt to meet the same goals. The volumes are "intended for investigators, clinicians, teachers, and both graduate and undergraduate students." Given tradition, simplicity, inertia, and existing status structures, the traditional medical model has an almost overwhelming allure. Unfortunately, the traditional medical model also is inadequate, and its deficiencies cannot be remedied by forcing psychological and behavioral problems into its mechanistic clutches. By carefully reviewing and evaluating complex issues in health psychology while simultaneously endeavoring to prescribe clinical and medical treatments, the volumes under review delineate the dilemma facing health psychology; but they do little to resolve it. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Families and alcoholism: Developments in practice, research, and theory.

Reviews the books, Alcoholism treatment: An integrative family and individual approach by D. I. Davis (see record 1988-97811-000); Substance abuse and family therapy by E. Kaufman (1985); and The alcoholic family by P. Steinglass, L. A. Bennett, S. J. Wolin, and D. Reiss (see record 1987-98538-000). The book by Davis and Kaufman primarily address marital and family therapy (MFT) methods. The Steinglass et al. book presents a long-term, systematic program of theory development and research aimed at understanding the family system dynamics of alcoholic families. Davis provides excellent chapters on strategies for use in identifying and confronting alcohol problems and in getting a commitment from the family to work toward elimination of the problem drinking. The Davis book is an excellent resource; however, family and other therapists reading this book will need other resources for dealing with severe alcoholics, for moving rapidly to attain abstinence, and for dealing with long-term recovery. Kaufman's book is an excellent resource for family therapists wanting to learn more about dealing with alcoholism and other forms of substance abuse and for substance abuse therapists to learn about family therapy. The alcoholic family is an excellent book that will become a classic on this topic. We would recommend it for the serious clinician who wants a theoretical framework to guide decisions about therapeutic approaches with alcoholic families. We recommend all three books quite highly to practicing clinicians. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Treating stress in families.

Reviews the book, Treating stress in families edited by Charles R. Figley (see record 1989-97469-000). This book builds upon the work of two earlier books in the Psychosocial Stress Series, Stress and the Family, Volumes 1 & 2, both edited by Charles Figley. In the previous volumes attention was focused on ways in which families try to manage the stress of normative transitions (Volume 1) and catastrophes (Volume 2). In the present volume the editor has organized the book around the general theme of therapeutic intervention with families undergoing extraordinary stress. Specific theoretical viewpoints and timely presenting problems are discussed in depth. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Opening different doors: Review of three recent texts in behavioral medicine.

Reviews the books, Behavioral medicine: Changing health lifestyles edited by P. O. Davidson and S. M. Davidson (1980); Behavioral medicine: Theory and practice edited by O. F. Pomerleau and J. P. Brady (1979); and Behavioral medicine: Practical applications in health care by B. G. Melamed and L. J. Siegel (1980). This review briefly examines three recent texts all of which proclaim "behavioral medicine" in their titles. For the most part, text resources in the field of behavioral medicine have been edited collections of reports by senior researchers in the field. In a few instances, however, some intrepid individuals have undertaken the formidable task of fashioning their own perspective of this diverse realm. One potential problem with any edited collection of reports is that the individual contributed chapters may present an uneven style or level of rigor. The two edited volumes reviewed here (Davidson & Davidson; Pomerleau & Brady) illustrate how this problem can be avoided in outstanding fashion. Both of these books provide particularly useful, thought-provoking views of the field. The third book (Melamed & Siegel) reflects the perspective of only two researchers and, as a result, it necessarily emphasizes certain topics while moving rapidly over others. This volume touches on many of the topics covered in the two edited volumes and even adds to that already impressive listing (e.g., discussion of behavioral contribution to oral health/preventive dentistry). These topics do not receive nearly the same level of incisive critique, however, as was found in the other volumes. All three books represent valuable resources for anyone wanting to become more familiar with the current findings and future directions in the field of behavioral medicine. This review has highlighted what appear to be the particular perspectives of each of the three volumes--information that could guide the reader regarding which of these volumes to select--or better yet, in which order to read all three! (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of The value of psychological treatment: The collected papers of Nicholas A. Cummings, Vol. 1; Focused psychotherapy: A casebook of brief, intermittent psychotherapy throughout the lifecycle; and The practice of psychology: The battle for professionalism..

Reviews the books, The value of psychological treatment: The collected papers of Nicholas A. Cummings, Vol. 1 edited by J. Lawrence Thomas and Janet L. Cummings (see record 2000-08331-000); Focused psychotherapy: A casebook of brief, intermittent psychotherapy throughout the life cycle by Nicholas A. Cummings and Mike Sayama (see record 1995-98522-000); and The practice of psychology: The battle for professionalism edited by Rogers H. Wright and Nicholas A. Cummings (2001). While Cummings has published numerous volumes and dozens of articles and chapters, the three books under review here offer a good introduction to some of his many activities and contributions. The first book provides a very nice sampling of research and position papers. Several chapters describe aspects of the “medical utilization offset phenomenon,” the oft-replicated finding that psychological services can reduce overall healthcare costs, perhaps partly by eliminating unnecessary medical visits. The second book is a clinician’s book illustrating the central tenet of Cummings’s “Patient’s Bill of Rights”—that “the patient is entitled to relief from pain, anxiety, and depression in the shortest time possible and with the least intrusive intervention.” In the last book, names are named and many details are given about numerous battles between 1955 and 1995 involving issues such as dissatisfaction with the Boulder (scientist–practitioner) Model. The reviewer concludes that reading Cummings' work elucidates the fact that the struggles of the psychology profession appear far from over. These books can help us prepare for where we need to go in the future. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Family therapy, substance abuse, and adolescents: Moving from isolated cultures to related components.

Reviews the books The family context of adolescent drug abuse, by R. H. Coombs (1988); Practical approaches in treating adolescent chemical dependency: A guide to clinical intervention and assessment, by P. B. Henry (1989); Consequences of adolescent drug abuse, by M. D. Newcomb and P. M. Bentler (1989); Adolescent drug abuse: Analyses of treatment research, by E. R. Rahdert and J. Grabowski (1988); Breakthroughs in family therapy with drug-abusing and problem youth, by J. I. Szapocznik and W. M. Kurtines (see record 1989-98115-000); and Family therapy approaches with adolescent substance abusers, by T. C. Todd and M. Selekman (in press). This spate of books includes representatives of three "cultures" interested in family therapy with substance-abusing adolescents: developmentally oriented research on substance abuse (Combs; Newcomb & Bentler; Rahdert & Grabowski), family therapy applied to substance abuse (Szapocznik et al.; Todd & Selekman), and the addiction/self-help approach (Henry). The coincidental publication of this large number of writings on families and adolescent substance abuse is encouraging. It suggests that all three cultures are vital and contributing. There are important well-written contributions in volumes from each culture. The disjointed status of the field may be a prelude to a significant integrative shift from the isolated cultures. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Divergence, convergence, openness, and specificity in training and supervision.

Reviews the books, Supervision and training: Models, dilemmas and challenges edited by F. W. Kaslow (1986); Handbook of family therapy training and supervision edited by H. A. Liddle, D. C. Breunlin, and R. C. Schwartz (see record 1988-98390-000); and Family therapy education and supervision edited by F. P. Piercy (1986). Kaslow's book uniformly addresses the subject of supervision with some comment on training formats as well. The volume succeeds admirably in realizing the editor's intention of presenting a multiplicity of viable models, and her summary chapter draws common threads together into a patchwork of issues and themes. Liddle, Breunlin, and Schwartz's book is thoughtful and concise, with a nice blend of conceptual and practical material. The book offers the most current overview and bibliography available, useful specific recommendations, and thoughtful organization of its articles. It is praiseworthy in its attention to research, theory, and context and stage-of-training factors in relation to supervision and training. Piercy's book contains chapters which are well presented and offer valuable concrete guidelines; however, overall the material is unfocused, scattered across too many areas, and works best in journal form. All three of the volumes considered in this review serve as compendiums, and in some cases updates, of models for the delivery of training and supervision. There is very little overlap of content among the three, and taken together, they offer intra- and interdisciplinary contrasts of training and supervision that may serve as the starting place for program planning, or for hypothesizing data collection, and theorizing about these two important endeavors. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Reviews of The guide to pastoral counseling and care; Psychotherapy with priests, Protestant clergy, and Catholic religious: A practical guide; and Spirituality, ethics, and relationship in adulthood: Clinical and theoretical explorations.

Reviews the books, The guide to pastoral counseling and care by Gary Ahlskog and Harry Sands (see record 2000-00411-000); Psychotherapy with priests, Protestant clergy, and Catholic religious: A practical guide by Joseph W. Ciarrocchi and Robert J. Wicks (see record 2000-00453-000); and Spirituality, ethics, and relationship in adulthood: Clinical and theoretical explorations by Melvin E. Miller and Alan N. West (see record 2000-05026-000). Some 90 percent of the American public has at least a conventional affiliation with religion, according to national polls over the last 50 years, yet psychology is one of the professions with a level of religious affiliation variously estimated at 30 to 40 percent. So patients for whom religion is or was important in their lives are quite likely to appear in treatment, and most analysts or therapists are unprepared to understand and professionally respond to the issues these patients raise. Recently, the American Psychological Association (APA) has published three broad, well-structured volumes to fill this gap (Richards & Bergin, 1997, 2000; Shafranske, 1996). If you are interested in learning about the life of religious professionals and the communities with which they work, the three books reviewed here deal with areas that the APA publications do not, with varying degrees of effectiveness. They are all recently published by a division of International Universities Press and are a very diverse set. The Guide to Pastoral Counseling and Care and Spirituality, Ethics, and Relationship in Adulthood: Clinical and Theoretical Explorations are both edited collections, and they evince the characteristics of nearly all edited collections: variations in quality, tone, voice, and utility. Psychotherapy With Priests, Protestant Clergy, and Catholic Religious: A Practical Guide also varies in the theoretical stance it takes, shuttling between cognitive–behavioral, interpersonal, and psychoanalytic perspectives. These three books each have something to offer and their own sets of shortcomings. I do not think that they will substitute for the issues covered in the Shafranske (1996) or Richards and Bergin (1997, 2000) handbooks, but they do provide therapists and analysts with specific information that may be relevant to specific clients. Many analysts may have to grit their teeth at times over therapeutic recommendations, especially in the Ciarrocchi and Wicks book, but that is not what these books should be read for. The practicing clinician will find much of use in the first two books, but less in the Miller and West book. The Miller and West book may appeal to a reader interested in a more philosophical approach from a postmodern perspective. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Health consequences of abuse in the family: A clinical guide for evidence-based practice.

Reviews the book, Health consequences of abuse in the family: A clinical guide for evidence-based practice, edited by Kathleen A. Kendall-Tackett (see record 2003-88342-000). This book is a comprehensive clinical guide that stresses the necessity of assessing and understanding the effects of abuse on physical health. Each chapter succinctly captures unique issues relevant to the assessment and treatment of abuse with at-risk populations (e.g., children with disabilities, battered women, those with traumatic brain injuries, elderly individuals, and minority women). The book gives thoughtful consideration to the barriers in assessing abuse and provides insightful suggestions on how to overcome those obstacles. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Cognitive-behavioral therapy for bipolar disorder and Cognitive therapy for delusions, voices, and paranoia.

Reviews the books, Cognitive-behavioral therapy for bipolar disorder by Monica Ramirez Basco and A. John Russo (see record 1996-98072-000) and Cognitive therapy for delusions, voices, and paranoia by Paul Chadwick, Max Birchwood, and Peter Trower (see record 1996-97983-000). The mental health service system is largely based on the oft encountered, often implicit, belief among professionals that, since Schizophrenia, Bipolar Disorder, and other severe forms of mental illnesses have been shown to have a biological basis, there is no point in providing psychotherapy for individuals afflicted with these disorders. These two books represent a welcome exception to this situation. While different in many ways, including their treatment goals and many of their theoretical underpinnings, both books represent an attempt to allow the severely mentally ill to benefit from techniques which have been demonstrated to be effective for less severely disturbed populations. Both approaches illustrate ways that the severely mentally ill may be able to be helped through psychosocial intervention, and both acknowledge the importance of client collaboration in treatment, a consideration easy to overlook when the client has a severe mental illness. The books are also similar in that neither one offers sufficient empirical data to support the effectiveness of its approach. The two books reviewed here represent, in the reviewer's opinion, significant contributions to the field of psychotherapy. Even if the clinician takes issue with the techniques presented or with the theoretical assumptions underlying the approaches, he/she should come away with a renewed appreciation of the importance of including the client in treatment planning, even if the client has a severe mental illness. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Researching disturbed family systems: State of the art.

Reviews the book, Family interaction and psychopathology: Theories, methods, and findings edited by T. Jacob (see record 1987-97733-000). Prior to this work, the literature on family interaction and psychopathology was scattered across many disciplines, making it difficult for scholars to take full advantage of the progress and pitfalls in family interaction research. This volume goes a long way toward remedying that situation. As the title suggests, the book is subdivided into three major sections: (a) Conceptual Foundations, (b) Methodological Issues and Strategies, and (c) Family Research on Specific Psychopathologies. Each of these sections can stand on its own as a comprehensive and current contribution to its respective area of concern. The book as a whole provides many guidelines and insights for study preparation and, consequently, may become a major resource for the prospective researcher. The reviewer strongly recommends this book to family psychologists to serve as a handbook on family psychopathology. Researchers informed by the theories, methods, and findings presented in Jacob's book, and who take advantage of powerful research techniques, will clearly be at an advantage in making significant contributions to this field in the years to come. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Editor’s choices.

Reviews the books, Mind regained by Edward Pols (see record 1998-06466-000); Manifesto of a passionate moderate by Susan Haack (1998); and Mind, meaning and mental disorder: The nature of causal explanation in psychology and psychiatry by Derek Bolton and Jonathan Hill (see record 1996-98296-000). In different but equally compelling ways, these three books address central problems in philosophical psychology and offer telling replies to more complacent perspectives on the nature of mind and mental life. The first two of the volumes are by philosophers, the third by authors trained in clinical psychology and psychiatry. In different ways, each of the volumes is at war with simplistic conceptions of explanation; each is also careful to distinguish between the correctives needed and a lapse into relativistic and ultimately skeptical positions on the nature of knowledge itself. All three of these volumes would serve as useful, even essential, texts in advanced courses in theory and philosophy of psychology, philosophy of social science, philosophy of mind. But so would they serve in interesting ways the larger aims of courses in Personality and Abnormal Psychology. Together, these books present encouraging reminders of the importance of conceptual analysis to the development and refinement of Psychology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Turning points: Treating families in transition and crisis.

Reviews the book, Turning points: Treating families in transition and crisis by Frank S. Pittman III (see record 1987-97676-000). A masterful, witty, down-to-earth, humorous, and creative psychotherapist, Pittman's artistry as a clinician will make a lasting impression on readers of Turning points. The book demystifies family dynamics and the role of the therapist in the family drama. Thirty-one brief case vignettes illustrate Pittman's approach to families "in transition and crisis." Pittman's intent is to communicate the wisdom he has culled from over twenty-five years as a family therapist. This is an extremely ambitious task. Unfortunately, it is only partially realized in Turning points. Because the author appears to consider virtually any family problem to be transition- or crisis-related, the book's domain is any and all marital or familial concerns that a therapist might confront. By attempting too much and only providing an overview of each problem, the book leaves the reader (particularly the more experienced therapist) hungry for specifics. On the other hand, the book certainly achieves its purpose as a compendium of general strategies for the therapeutic handling of a wide variety of difficult families. It seems best to consider Pittman's theoretical views as diagnostic guideposts for the clinician rather than as explanatory models with predictive value. The book's main appeal lies in its advice to readers who are searching for practical ideas on handling a wide range of family crises. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Prevention and remediation through group interventions.

Reviews the book, The handbook of group intervention for children and families edited by Karen C. Stroiber and Thomas R. Kratochwill (see record 1998-07256-000). This book addresses current needs of psychologists and other mental health practitioners who are working across ecologies to address problems of children and youth. As such, this text is an excellent resource for school psychologists, school counselors, and others who are attempting to broaden service delivery systems and procedures. Although this handbook is appropriate for practitioners across a variety of mental health disciplines, it also meets the current needs of school psychologists by addressing gaps often found in school psychology service delivery and training models. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"Population and health psychology": A response.

Responds to a critique by D. C. O'Connell (see record 1987-21818-001) concerning the present author's (see record 1986-19757-001) article on population, development, and reproductive behavior. The author reiterates that individual, family, and community well-being, an improved quality of life, and freedom of choice in reproductive behavior are becoming areas of priority interest for health psychologists. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Child health psychology.

[Correction Notice: An erratum for this article was reported in Vol 9(6) of Health Psychology (see record 2008-09119-001). The name of the author, Sharon Millstein, should be Susan Millstein.] The term child health psychology refers to the field of research on the behavioral aspects of children's health and illness. At this time we need to continue the work of the child health psychology special interest group and to draw into the Division of Health Psychology a much larger number of developmental psychologists, who need to be informed about the relevance of their scientific training to child health issues. We call the Division's attention and that of granting agencies such as the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development to the following high-priority child health research issues: adherence to pediatric medical regimens; child health promotion; family influences on child and adolescent health and disease; and stress and coping in childhood illness. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)