Improving lifestyles is thought to be one of the most effective means of reducing mortality and morbidity in the developed world. However, despite decades of health promotion, there has been no significant difference to lifestyles and instead there are rising levels of inactivity and obesity. The Psychology of Lifestyle addresses the role psychology can play in reversing the trend of deleterious lifestyle choices. It considers the common characteristics of lifestyle behaviours and reflects on how we can inform and improve interventions to promote healthy lifestyles. Health promotion has taught people what a healthy lifestyle is - now we need to enable people to live that life. The chapters cover key lifestyle behaviours that impact on health -smoking, eating, physical activity, drinking, sex and drug use - as well as combinations of behaviours. Each chapter contains interventions that have been developed to influence and promote lifestyle change among patients and clients. This unique book will enable readers to develop a clear theoretical and practical grasp of the psychological principles involved in all aspects of lifestyle change. It is an invaluable resource for students and professionals committed to health promotion within all health-related disciplines.

For decades, community-centered social services have been promoted as an admirable ideal. Yet the concept of decentralized services delivered where people live has proved to be an elusive ideal as well, with the promise of empowerment often giving way to disinterest and apathy.

"Community-Based Interventions" examines the reasons community programs tend to founder and proposes a realistic framework for sustained success. The book's theoretical, philosophical and political foundations begin with the importance of context, as in local knowledge and community self-definition and engagement. Innovative, often startling, approaches to planning, design and implementation begin with the recognition that communities are not "targets" or "locations" to be "fixed," but social realities whose issues require concrete answers. The variety of examples described in these chapters demonstrate the power of community interventions in providing effective services, reducing inequities and giving individuals greater control over their health, their environment and in the long run, their lives. Included in the coverage: Redefining community: the social dimensions.A new epidemiology to inform community work.The role of research in designing community interventions.The conceptual flow of a community-based project.Building autonomy through leadership from below.Relating social interventions to social justice.

Attuned to the current era of health and mental health reform, "Community-Based Interventions" represents a major step forward in its field and makes an inspiring text for social workers, clinical social workers, public health administrators and community activists.

Focusing on urban sociology as practised in Britain, the author argues that it is a key element in the response of the 'intellectual proletariat' to urbanization and the calls on it by the State to control the ensuing way of life. The themes of urban sociology have been the concerns of the Welfare State and, despite radical inputs, the discipline has remained tied up with the assumptions and methodological precepts of liberalism. The author's contention is that urbanization should be analysed in the framework of the political economy of regional development. This book was first published in 1977.

This book was first published in 1979.

This project is unique in the field for a number of reasons, both in structure and in content. Specifically, it will have leading experts on specific age groups (Childhood to Adolescence, Young Adulthood to Middle Age, and The Elderly) within the cultural groups of interest (European-Americans, African-Americans, Asian-Americans, Hispanic-Americans, and Native Americans) contribute a chapter covering current research on both positive and negative functioning for each population. Each chapter will present basic demographic information, strengths that contribute to resilience, and three significant challenges each group faces to maintaining mental health. Each chapter will then include an integrative section, where ideas are advanced about how the strengths of each group can be harnessed to address the challenges that group faces. To conclude, each chapter will propose future directions for research which addresses integrative approaches to mental health for each group, and the implications that such approaches could have for future treatment. The main points of each section of each chapter will be visually summarized in a concluding table.

There are many micro-habitats in built up areas, often subject to strong environmental pressures such as atmospheric and water pollution, frequent disturbance, trampling, nutrient or water scarcity, etc. In Urban Ecology Dianne Smith uses such features as footpaths, walls, gravestones, gardens, compost heaps and derelict land to investigate the effects of these pressures and to demonstrate other ecological properties of oftern isolated habitats. This book was first published in 1984.

In the great cities of Latin America and Asia, international business and local firms meet and, in particular, influence teh development strategies of Third World countries. The authors of Theatres of Accumulation argue that these cities play a crucial role in the process of capital accumulation and of unequal exchange and dependency. They examine the twin patterns of convergence and divergence in lifestyles and economic activities, and show how the flow of capital through the urban system beings net losses to the rural regions and further exacerbates income inequalities between regions and classes. Theatres of accumulation provides an overview of urbanization in the Third World, as well as specific case studies. It deals with theoretical issues and projects the likely developments in urbanization in the future. Armstrong and McGee's work is essential reading for social science and planning professionals and students, in the developed world and the Third World, who are concerned with urban processes. This book was first published in 1985.

This book provides a critical analysis of the experiences of people with disabilities in Latin America. It covers a wide range of topics related to intellectual and psychosocial disabilities. Written by Latin American researchers and adopting an interdisciplinary perspective, it provides an original sociocultural contribution to bioethics and disability studies literature. It presents an in-depth overview of philosophical, ethical, legal, political and social issues. At the same time, it offers a contribution to the global scientific community inasmuch it discusses theoretical references from South America in connection with those from Europe and the United States. The basic questions dealt with range from criteria for human flourishing to questions of philosophy of mind, and neuroethics through phenomenological and aesthetic approaches to intellectual and psychosocial disabilities. The legal and political investigations explore the rights of those affected and the processes of their self-organization. The authors address the dynamics of medicalization and demedicalization, the practices of psychiatric institutionalization and the treatment of children with antipsychotics. This book appeals to psychologists, social scientists, bioethicists, healthcare personnel, philosophers, and lawyers working with cases related to people with disabilities.

This Handbook presents a broad overview of the current research carried out in environmental psychology which puts into perspective quality of life and relationships with living spaces, and shows how this original analytical framework can be used to understand different environmental and societal issues. Adopting an original approach, this Handbook focuses on the links with other specialties in psychology, especially social and health psychology, together with other disciplines such as geography, architecture, sociology, anthropology, urbanism and engineering. Faced with the problems of society which involve the quality of life of individuals and communities, it is fundamental to consider the relationships an individual has with his different living spaces. This issue of the links between quality of life and environment is becoming increasingly significant with, at a local level, problems resulting from different types of annoyances, such as pollution and noise, while, at a global level, there is the central question of climate change with its harmful consequences for humans and the planet. How can the impact on well-being of environmental nuisances and threats (for example, natural risks, pollution, and noise) be reduced? How can the quality of life within daily living spaces (home, cities, work environments) be improved? Why is it important to understand the psychological issues of our relationship with the global environment (climatic warming, ecological behaviours)? This Handbook is intended not only for students of various disciplines (geography, architecture, psychology, town planning, etc.) but also for social decision-makers and players who will find in it both theoretical and methodological perspectives, so that psychological and environmental dimensions can be better taken into account in their working practices.

This expansive text offers a comprehensive mind/body/spirit framework for relieving individual patients of the debilitating effects of long-term disease while reducing the public burden of chronic illness. It introduces the patient-centered Pathways Model, featuring a robust scientific base for psychotherapy, complementary and alternative modalities, and a religious/spiritual element, in progressive levels of treatment from self-help to professional help. Chapters spotlight component skills of the model, including treatment planning, patient rapport, and choosing therapies for optimal well-being. The authors advocate for interventions ranging from lifestyle change to mindfulness, and biofeedback to pastoral counseling. In addition, in-depth case studies detail memorable patient journeys from diagnosis and referral to assessment, engagement in treatment and outcome. Among the topics covered: * Mind, body, and spirit in chronic illness. * The need for an integrative model to support comprehensive health-supportive change. * Chronic disease from a functional medicine perspective. * Mechanisms by which religious engagement and religion-based variables affect health. * Complementary and integrative medicine for the Pathways Model. * PLUS: Pathways approaches to chronic pain, caregiver stress, diabetes, mood disorders, PTSD, brain injury, heart disease, cancer, and more. Emphasizing patient individuality and clinician creativity, Integrative Pathways models a compassionate approach to lessening persistent suffering for use by health psychologists, physicians, counselors, health coaches, and other practitioners involved in complementary and integrative medicine, pain medicine, and rehabilitation. "The Pathway Model addresses what clinical researchers in the field have been calling for, a research-based approach to health and wellness that clearly explains important concepts and provides an optimal foundation from which to approach health interventions." Patrick R. Steffen, PhD, BCB, Brigham Young University

* A ground-breaking attempt to bring together in one volume all the various strands of this fundamental debate about the nature of what is called addiction. * Presents a robust evaluation of the BDMA * Neatly divided into four sections representing For; Against; Unsure; Alternative Ways of Understanding and Responding to Addiction

First published in 2005. This special issue of the International Journal of Behavioral Medicine, Volume 12, number 2, is a collection of essays around the topic of positive psychology in Behavioral Medicine. Including topics of the psychobiology of emotion, health benefits that help us thrive, integrative therapy for depression and slower disease progression in HIV.

'A powerful and impassioned defence of psychiatry, urging the Left to confront the harsh realities of mental illness' - William Davis, author of The Happiness Industry A new edition of one of the most significant and credible critiques of the anti-psychiatry movement. As relevant today as it was when first published in 1982, the book changed the conversation on mental health and illness, demanding that we assess its relationship to the wider decay of social institutions. Dissecting the work of popular anti-psychiatric thinkers, Erving Goffman, R.D. Laing, Michel Foucault and Thomas Szasz, Sedgwick exposed the conservative undercurrents and false hopes represented by the alternative psychiatry of the sixties and seventies, challenging the very real impact it had on our collective responsibility to look after the mentally ill. With a new introduction that highlights the relevance of Sedgwick's demands for modern mental health movements, the practice of psychiatry and for left-wing activists, this new edition further cements PsychoPolitics' cult classic status.

The aim of this edited book is to provide health professionals, across a wide variety of specialisms, with a targeted access to evolutionary medicine. Throughout the book, the views of both medical and evolutionary scientists on the latest relevant research is presented with a focus on practical implications. The inclusion of boxes explaining the theoretical background as well as both a glossary for technical terms and a lay summary for non- specialists enable medical researchers, public health professionals, policy makers, physicians, students, scholars and the public alike to quickly and easily access appropriate information. This edited volume is thus relevant to anyone keen on finding out how evolutionary medicine can improve the health and well-being of people.

This book is a guide for psychologists working with substance users in different healthcare settings, from private clinical practice to larger health institutions and community services. It presents a comprehensive overview of the different aspects involved with substance use disorders from a psychological perspective, from prevention to recovery. The volume offers an integrative view about neurobiological, behavioral and psychosocial aspects related to becoming a substance user; shows how psychological assessment tools can be used to diagnose substance use disorders; describes how different kinds of psychotherapy can be applied in the treatment of substance use disorders; and presents a range of evidence-based clinical and social interventions designed for both prevention and treatment of substance use disorders. Apart from covering the whole range of services related to the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of substance use disorders, the volume also shows how these issues can be approached from different theoretical perspectives within psychology, such as: Behavioral and Cognitive Psychology Neuropsychology Existential Psychology Phenomenology Psychoanalysis Analytical Psychology Community and Social Psychology Psychology of Substance Abuse: Psychotherapy, Clinical Management and Social Intervention will be a useful resource for psychologists and other health professionals working with substance users, as well as to undergraduate and graduate students looking for a comprehensive introduction to the psychology of substance abuse.

This book, with contributions emanating from the 21st World Congress of Psychosomatic Medicine held in Seoul in August 2011, presents the latest evidence-based information about the mechanisms, assessment, and management of psychosomatic disorders from a biopsychosociocultural perspective. Somatization is a process characterized by excessive or inappropriate focus on physical symptoms that are medically unexplained. It is highly prevalent in primary care medicine, as somatoform (psychosomatic) disorders tend to be chronic and can cause significant personal suffering and social problems as well as financial burden.

This volume brings together two parallel fields of interest. One is the understanding among psychologists and other social scientists of the limits to psychometric measurement, and the challenges in generating information about quality of life and wellbeing that enable comparison across time and place, at both individual and population levels. The second is the interest among anthropologists and others in the lived experience of chronic illness and disability, including the unpredictable fluctuations in perceived health and capability. Chronic conditions and physical impairments are assumed to impact negatively on people's quality of life, affecting them psychologically, socially and economically. While some of these conditions have declined in prevalence, as a result of prenatal diagnosis, early successful interventions, and changes in medical technology and surgery, many of these conditions are on the increase as a consequence of improved life-saving medication and technology, and greater longevity. 'Quality of life' is often used as an indicator for successful and high quality health services, and good access to medical attention and surgery - for hip replacements or laser surgery to improve vision, for instance. But it is also used as an argument against interventions, when such interventions are seen to prolong life for its own sake. Yet we also know that people vary their idea of quality as a result of the context of fluctuations in their own health status, the presence or absence of pain or discomfort, and as a result of variations in social and economic contextual factors. In exploring these questions, this volume contributes to emerging debates related to individual health outcomes, but also to the social and other individual determinants that influence everyday life. Understanding these broader contextual factors will contribute to our knowledge of the kinds of services, support systems, and infrastructure that provide people with good 'quality of life' and a sense of wellbeing, regardless of their physical health, capability and functioning. The volume includes scholars from all continents who have been encouraged to think critically, and to engage with the descriptive, methodological, social, policy and clinical implications of their work.

This new, and heavily revised, edition of Psychopharmacology, provides a comprehensive scientific study of the effects of drugs on the mind and behaviour. With the growing prevalence of psychiatric and behavioral disorders and the rapid advances in the development of new drug therapies, this textbook offers an essential understanding of the necessary details of drug action. The book presents its coverage in the context of the behavioral disorders they are designed to treat, rather than by traditional drug classifications, to strengthen understanding of the underlying physiology and neurochemistry, as well as the approaches to treatment. Each disorder from the major diagnostic categories is discussed from a historical context along with diagnostic criteria and descriptions of typical cases. In addition, what we presently know about the underlying pathology of each disorder is carefully described. Providing a solid foundation in psychology, neuroanatomy and physiology, the book also offers a critical examination of drug claims, as well as coverage of evidence-based alternatives to traditional drug therapies. Throughout, this text discusses how drug effectiveness is measured in both human and animal studies. Topics new to this edition include: a stronger emphasis on the environmental impacts on drug effectiveness; more on the mechanisms of adverse reactions to drugs and information on managing drug side effects; the risks and benefits of using "mood stabilizing drugs" to address behavior in youth with ADHD or ASD; and discussion of the research-to-practice gap in pharmacological care for children and adolescents. Accompanied by a robust companion website of instructor materials, this textbook is ideal for undergraduate and pre-professional students on courses in Psychopharmacology, Clinical Psychopharmacology, Drugs and Behavior. It is a valuable contribution to highlight the symbiotic relationship between psychopharmacology and the neural and behavioral sciences.

This book provides deep insights into concerns related to the well-being in older women across the globe. Written by experts in the field, it explores social roles, health, quality of life/well-being, as well as concerns related to abuse and neglect, impacting the health of older women. It discusses important conditions for the holistic health of older women from different perspectives and provides practical guidelines towards improving the overall status of older women's well-being in society. The chapters analyze the wider implications of older women's experiences as family members, drivers of economies and members of a diverse population worldwide. Covering a focus which is applicable to countries across continents, whether developed or developing, the book has an overall appeal to academicians, health care, policy makers as well as researchers in areas such as aging, gerontology, social work and psychology.

Cancer is the leading cause of death in the United States. The improvement of screening procedures and treatments have led to higher survival rates, and consequently to an increased number of individuals who fear that their cancer might come back. Fear of cancer recurrence (FCR) is defined as the fear, worry, or concern that cancer may come back or progress. FCR has been found to be the number one unmet need of cancer survivors. High levels of FCR are associated with greater psychological distress, impaired functioning, decreased quality of life, and increased medical consultations, psychotropic usage and health-care costs. It is therefore crucial to offer these patients an appropriate and effective treatment. The books first propose a theoretical model of FCR that identifies the five main targets of intervention in this program: 1) cognitive interpretation; 2) behavioural avoidance; 3) cognitive avoidance; 4) reassurance and control seeking; 5) intolerance of uncertainty. Then, each target is discussed and specific cognitive-behavioural therapy strategies are suggested that focus on each of them based on the best available empirical evidence for the treatment of anxiety disorders (e.g., generalized anxiety disorder) and cancer-related anxiety. This book will be of interest to clinicians working with cancer patients such as psychologists and other health care providers as well as cancer patients and survivors. Graduate students in clinical health psychology, and connecting disciplines such as psycho-oncology, psychiatry, nursing, social work, rehabilitation, spiritual care, and sexology might also find this text of value.

Provides a sound methodological approach to understanding and addressing a disorder that is invasive, widespread, and debilitating. Primarily focused on the academic and practitioner communities with the goal of educating and creating consensus across the different disciplines of psychology and medicine. Provides direction for current and future research on assessment and treatment needed to best support the global effort to mitigate the effects of this illness.

Few publications have changed the landscape of contemporary psychology more than Richard Lazarus and Susan Folkman's landmark work, Stress, Appraisal, and Coping. Its publication in 1984 set the course for years of research on the dynamic processes of psychological stress and coping in human beings. Now more than a quarter-century later, The Oxford Handbook of Stress, Health, and Coping pushes the field even further with a comprehensive overview of the newest and best work in this dynamic subject. Edited by Susan Folkman and comprising chapters by the field's leading scientists, this new volume details the expanded knowledge base that has emerged from extensive research on stress and coping processes over the last several decades. Featuring 22 topic-based chapters - including two by Folkman - this volume offers unprecedented coverage of the two primary research topics related to stress and coping: mitigating stress-related harms and sustaining well-being in the face of stress. Both topics are addressed within their relevant contexts, including chronic illness, calamity, bereavement, and social hardship. The Oxford Handbook of Stress, Health, and Coping is an essential reference work for students, practitioners, and researchers across the fields of health psychology, medicine, and palliative care.

This book analyzes the growing presence of hypnosis in academic settings around the world and its implications for research, healthcare and education. The increasing volume of scientific research on hypnosis and its clinical applications to treat health conditions such as pain, anxiety, trauma and depression has renewed the interest for this kind of practice in different disciplines, such as medicine, psychology, dentistry and nursing. As a result of this growing interest, there is an increasing number of spaces occupied by hypnosis in universities of different countries compared to what occurred in recent decades. Nevertheless, what this means, at various levels, is still far from being deciphered, due to the absence of more detailed research and surveys involving a larger number of institutions, students, faculty and research groups. This volume intends to shed a new light into the discussions about the growing presence of hypnosis in academia by bringing together contributions of practitioners and researchers working with hypnosis in academic settings in ten countries from different parts of the world: Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Cuba, France, Hungary, Israel, Portugal, Russia and Switzerland. The discussions presented in these contributions revolve around four axes of analysis: the historical trajectory of hypnosis within academic institutions; the epistemological nature of hypnosis and its relationships with other fields of knowledge; the importance of scientific research for the current development of hypnosis and its clinical applications; and how teaching and training in hypnosis is organized in universities today, with its ethical and legal implications in different cultural contexts. Hypnosis in Academia: Contemporary Challenges in Research, Healthcare and Education will be a great resource for both researchers and practitioners working with hypnosis, and a valuable source of information for human and social scientists in general interested in understanding how a once discredited practice regained respect from the academic community and is now a growing topic of interest for scholars and clinicians all around the world.

Provides an engaging and accessible introduction to the psychology of counselling. Bridges the gap between research and practice and provides insights into a way forward between the two, by highlighting the need for counselling practitioners to reframe their thoughts on research and for training providers to review the scientist practitioner model. Includes further reading aimed at students wishing to use it as a primer for further study. Part of a popular series of books providing an accessible précis of the psychological of popular and contemporary topics.