Review of Critical issues in psychotherapy: Translating new ideas into practice.

Reviews the book, Critical issues in psychotherapy: Translating new ideas into practice edited by Brent D. Slife, Richard N. Williams, and Sally H. Barlow (see record 2001-05779-000). Bridging the often enormous gap between theory and practice in psychotherapy, this volume seeks to examine a variety of models of psychotherapy in the light of recent advances in theoretical psychology, philosophy of science, and critical thinking. The book is organized around numerous issues of fundamental importance to contemporary psychotherapy, including chapters addressing the problems of empirically validated therapies, individualism, spirituality, multiculturalism, biological reductionism, managed care, freewill/determinism, eclecticism, feminism, and diagnostics. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of The Cambridge handbook of situated cognition.

Reviews the book, The Cambridge handbook of situated cognition edited by Philip Robbins and Murat Aydede (see record 2009-00004-000). This Handbook begins with three chapters that orient the reader to some of the key ideas that define the study of situated cognition. The next seven chapters comprise the “Conceptual Foundations” section of the Handbook and have critical implications for psychology and cognitive science, which is one reason that this book is important to read. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Comprehensive handbook of psychotherapy integration.

Reviews the book, Comprehensive handbook of psychotherapy integration edited by George Stricker and Jerold R. Gold (see record 1993-97695-000). This book is a survey of the psychotherapy integration movement and offers new perspectives of practical significance. The reviewer presents a summary of the information presented in the chapters and then concludes with the statement that this volume is of substantial import and usefulness. It provides a valuable contribution to the field. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of The essential Sternberg: Essays on intelligence, psychology, and education.

Reviews the book, The essential Sternberg: Essays on intelligence, psychology, and education edited by James C. Kaufman and Elena L. Grigorenko (see record 2009-00687-000). For years, Robert Sternberg has produced renowned, groundbreaking work, and now some of it is captured in one volume: The Essential Sternberg. The book gathers in one place Sternberg’s major publications. From a repertoire of more than 1,000 journal articles, book chapters, and books, the editors have chosen 20 seminal works, spanning 30 years from 1977 to 2006. Although not organized chronologically, the ordering of the chapters reflects the progression of Sternberg’s work. In reading the book, one gains a sense of how a theory (and a career) of one of psychology’s major thinkers has evolved. The book presents five arcs of Sternberg’s research and theory on intelligence and education. No book, of course, can cover all the areas of a scholar’s research, so readers wanting to learn more about, for example, Sternberg’s work on love will need to look elsewhere. However, Sternberg’s central ideas and work are certainly on display in this book. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Handbook of contemporary group psychotherapy: Contributions from object relations, self psychology, and social systems theories.

Reviews the book, Handbook of contemporary group psychotherapy: Contributions from object relations, self psychology, and social systems theories edited by Robert H. Klein, Harold S. Bernard, and David L. Singer (see record 1992-98341-000). Divided into three large sections, the book addresses recent theoretical developments, the clinical applications to patient care and the role of the therapist, each from the standpoint of object relations theory, self psychological theory and social systems theory. The chapters in this book are intended to clarify and integrate different theoretical perspectives with the business of daily practice and application to the group milieu. The reviewer points out several problems with the text including lack of consistency, minor inaccuracies, redundancy among chapters, occasional outdated references and, perhaps most cogent of these carps, the rather wide variation in quality among the different chapters. Nevertheless, the reviewer highly recommends this book for all practitioners and students of group therapy. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Psychopathology and psychotherapy: From diagnosis to treatment.

Reviews the book, Psychopathology and psychotherapy: From diagnosis to treatment, edited by Len Sperry and Jon Carlson (see record 1993-97172-000). Alfred Adler is perhaps the most unjustly overlooked theorist in our field, and deserves wider recognition and greater integration into the clinical mainstream. Such is the admirable goal of Sperry and Carlson's effort. Unfortunately, it is unlikely to achieve that goal. This is an edited text in which a variety of distinguished Adlerians have been asked to address specific DSM categories. In each case the chapters begin with a review of the category in question, typically including a summary of diagnostic criteria, epidemiology, course, associated problems, various etiological positions, and so forth. This non-Adlerian material consumes an enormous proportion of the book. The intent was to produce not only an Adlerian reference source, but also a text for undergraduate and graduate psychopathology courses in all mental health disciplines, as well as interns and residents. It attempts to do too much, and fails to do enough. It attempts to appeal too widely, and fails to appeal at all. In nearly all of the chapters the coverage is insufficiently comprehensive to actually serve as part of an abnormal psychology textbook; this is particularly true in the areas of etiological theory and research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Reassessing psychotherapy research.

Reviews the book, Reassessing psychotherapy research edited by Robert L. Russell (see record 1994-98237-000). This book, with its international representation of contributors, attempts to address central issues in contemporary ("fourth generation") psychotherapy research. The main tenet is that much dominant psychotherapy research has focused on outcome, curative factors, and scientific rigor and overlooked the richness of therapeutic process. This book does as the title suggests: addresses content and process issues, balanced with methodological sophistication. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Countertransference in psychotherapy with children and adolescents.

Reviews the book, Countertransference in psychotherapy with children and adolescents edited by Jerrold R. Brandell (see record 1992-97833-000). Books on child analytic work are rare, and books on countertransference in child treatment are basically nonexistent, despite the proliferation of writing on countertransference in work with adults. Thus, Jerrold Brandell's edited volume is a welcome and long-overdue addition to the literature. Although the book is not strictly about analysis, it is analytically informed. Brandell's stated goal is to advance the principle that "countertransference is a ubiquitous factor in child and adolescent treatment, and that its recognition, understanding, and management are essential to effective psychotherapy." This is indeed a worthy if not essential undertaking, and the collection of articles in Brandell's book advances this goal. Brandell prefaced the chapters with his own thorough historical literature review of countertransference in both adult and child work. He then subdivided the book into two sections, with the first containing two classic articles an countertransference and the bulk of the book devoted to the following "scientific situations" in child psychotherapy: racial and cultural issues, depressed and suicidal children and adolescents, infant-family treatment, severely disturbed adolescents, eating disorders, abused children and adolescents, parent loss and divorce, borderline children and adolescents, life-threatening illness, and substance-abusing adolescents. This book is a very good resource for child analysts and therapists, especially those who espouse a more relational or intersubjective point of view. It is suitable both for inexperienced analysts and as a reminder to more seasoned ones of the importance and pervasiveness of countertransference issues in our work. (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 handbook of humanistic psychology: Leading edges in theory, research, and practice.

Reviews the book, The handbook of humanistic psychology: Leading edges in theory, research, and practice by Kirk J. Schneider, James F. T. Bugental, and J. Fraser Pierson (see record 2001-01409-000). Over 30 years ago Abraham Maslow (1971) envisioned a 3rd force psychology that would bring about “a change of basic thinking along the total front of man’s endeavors, a potential change in every social institution, in every one of the ‘fields’ of intellectual endeavor, and in every one of the professions.” Schneider, Bugental, and Pierson must have been guided by a similar vision as they edited the Handbook of humanistic psychology: Leading edges in theory, research, and practice. The breadth of the handbook is impressive with chapters addressing everything from psychotherapy, pedagogy, medicine, and spirituality to ecology, literature, social action and the workplace. The editors have successfully recruited authors from a variety of disciplines—including psychology, psychiatry, philosophy, education, and politics—who are well respected both inside and outside humanistic circles and who are exceptionally qualified to address their topics. Fortunately, despite this far-reaching breadth, the editors have not spread the handbook too thin. In fact, in areas where it seems especially needed (e.g., methodology) there is a much welcome depth and detail that is far from typical of other handbooks. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of College psychotherapy.

Reviews the book, College psychotherapy edited by Paul A. Grayson and Kate Cauley (see record 1989-97599-000). According to the reviewer, this was an enjoyable and informative book, easily read with helpful suggestions for working with the college population. It is devoid of the pretentious theorizing or condescending didacticism found in many "how-to" books in psychology. Doctors Grayson and Cauley are primarily interested in addressing the needs of those who practice counseling or psychotherapy with college students. Their treatment approach is described as "discriminating eclecticism." They point out that the college population is too heterogeneous to fit a standard treatment orientation. IThis book is highly recommended to all who work with college population, not just those who are in university settings. This is also an excellent sourcebook for graduate students who want to fortify their therapeutic skills and those who supervise these students. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Handbook of social psychology.

Reviews the book "Handbook of social psychology" (Volumes I and II), edited by G. Lindzey (see record 1955-03817-000). This book is a major attempt to present, summarized in handbook fashion, what is known theoretically, methodologically, and substantively in the area of social psychology. The various chapters include contributions by psychologists, sociologists, anthropologists, and statisticians. Most of the chapters are written carefully and thoughtfully. It is a good and worth-while book to have in print. Many students and research workers will have occasion to refer to it. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of The talking cures: The psychoanalyses and the psychotherapies.

Reviews the book, The talking cures: The psychoanalyses and the psychotherapies by Robert Wallerstein (see record 1995-98727-000). This book is not a book for reading, it is a compendium, nearly 600 pages long, for consulting. Each of its 25 chapters is a survey of a particular concept or controversy involved in the history of definitions of psychoanalysis and psychotherapy. Each contains a potted minihistory or two or three, many digests of relevant articles and books, reports on symposia and conferences and special issues of journals, long quotations cut and pasted in by computer, summaries of already published summaries (so many of which were written by Wallerstein that this volume is, in effect, his collected articles abstracted). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Occupational health psychology.

Reviews the book, Occupational health psychology edited by Stavroula Leka and Jonathon Houdmont (see record 2010-10988-000). Leka and Houdmont describe their book as the first textbook devoted to occupational health psychology intended for undergraduate instruction in the field. Leka and Houdmont have chosen an interesting strategy in creating an edited textbook with individual chapters written by established experts in the field. In doing so, they have in many cases gotten “the best” people in a particular area to write chapters in their area of expertise. Despite their reliance on multiple authors, the editors have maintained a consistent style throughout the volume—each chapter begins with a chapter outline and ends with a chapter summary. Textboxes throughout are used to highlight individuals prominent in the field (e.g., Tom Cox) or to highlight applications and research issues and to provide definitions of key terms. I would expect that students will appreciate such pedagogical features in addition to the depth of expertise that underlies each chapter. Although not divided into sections, one can intuit a structure to the book that begins with a broad perspective on occupational health psychology and then progressively adopts a narrower focus. When I first heard of this book, I was pleased at the prospect of being able to assign a single textbook that would offer a survey of occupational health psychology. Although the authors met their explicit goal of covering the core education curriculum defined by the European Academy of Occupational Health Psychology, I am not convinced that they have produced a “stand-alone” text that provides an adequate coverage of the field. In particular, issues of workplace safety are strikingly absent from the text. Personally, I would feel the need to supplement this text with specific readings on issues of occupational safety and occupational disease in order to cover the major topics that comprise the field of occupational health psychology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Culture, psychotherapy and counseling: Critical and integrative perspectives.

Reviews the book, Culture, psychotherapy and counseling: Critical and integrative perspectives (see record 2006-00543-000) edited by Lisa Hoshmand. Lisa Tsoi Hoshmand points out in a new book she has edited, Culture, psychotherapy and counseling: Critical and integrative perspectives, framing the culture concept in this way trivializes and distorts the significance of "the cultural," both for psychotherapists and for psychologists more generally. In this volume, Hoshmand and her contributors both explicate and perform a much broader understanding of what culture is, and of the ways in which it inescapably does (and should) influence psychotherapeutic and counseling theory and practice. Most notably, she highlights the ways that personal history, sociopolitical context, social change, and globalization all influence an individual's cultural identity; as a corollary of this, she asserts, "the internalized culture and identity of a given individual cannot be presumed on the basis of ethnic origin and cultural tradition". In spite of the limitation, virtually all of the chapters blend personal history, theoretical reflection and clinical material in interesting ways that enhance the reader's appreciation of the many contexts that surround and infuse the therapeutic encounter. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Disgust and its disorders: Theory, assessment, and treatment implications.

Reviews the book, Disgust and its disorders: Theory, assessment, and treatment implications by edited Bunmi O. Olantunji and Dean McKay (see record 2008-14016-000). The fairly recent shift toward a focus on disgust is nicely reflected in the title of this book. The goal of Disgust and its disorders is to assess the current state of disgust-based research and to highlight future suggested research directions to enhance our understanding, and thereby treatment of problems associated with the emotion disgust. Accordingly, this book contains 14 chapters and is divided into three separate but related sections: 1) Theory and Assessment; 2) Response Patterns; and 3) Disorders of Disgust. For the most part there is good flow and continuity across chapters relative to other edited volumes in which disjointedness may be an unwelcomed feature. A consistent theme in the chapters of this book is the call for more and more rigorous research involving the emotion disgust in a context of psychological disorders. Given recent increases in researchers’ interest and understanding of disgust, it seems likely that disgust-based research will continue to grow and foster the proliferation of This volume will certainly have a positive impact in this regard, and future volumes will ideally continue to explore issues raised here within as well as further examine different disgust domains (e.g., moral disgust). In sum, Disgust and its disorders is a delightful read—despite its “disgusting” content. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of The Cambridge handbook of personality psychology.

Reviews the book, The Cambridge handbook of personality psychology edited by Philip J. Corr and Gerald Matthews (see record 2010-05179-000). A comprehensive review of personality psychology, this book covers a range of topics, including those that are standard in personality texts (conceptualisation, biological and cultural perspectives) as well as more unique additions (social pain and hurt feelings, animal models, and politics). Although the introductions are lengthy (approximately 33 pages), these chapters do provide a useful guide to the book and key issues addressed in remaining chapters. The chapters are generally written in a manner appropriate for graduate students, professionals, or academics. Given the broad scope and careful attention to the defining of key constructs and methods, this book will appeal to an audience with varying familiarity with personality psychology. Overall, I would highly recommend this book as a comprehensive source on the broad field of personality psychology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of A new psychology of men.

Reviews the book, A new psychology of men edited by Ronald F. Levant and William S. Pollack (see record 1995-97524-000). The intent of this book is to "'describe how men's prescribed roles are neither biological nor social givens but rather psychological and social constructions.'" The Theory section includes four chapters primarily focused on social constructivism and psychoanalytic (or perhaps more accurately object-relations theory) views on masculinity. The second section, Research, provides three chapters by researchers of what seem to be disparate orientations. The third section, Applications, is appropriately more practical and speaks to clinicians. The fourth and final section, The Varieties of Masculinity, samples in three chapters issues of ethnic minority males, homosexual and bisexual males, and a final chapter (by the editors) looking to the future and summarizing conclusions from the preceding chapters. The reviewer finds several flaws in this book including interventions that are not applicable and an imbalance in the authors' orientations. However, the reviewer believes that researchers may find the volume helpful in generating hypotheses and new research directions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)