Organized for ease of use by today's busy mental health clinicians, "Menopause: A Mental Health Practitioner's Guide" describes the latest knowledge and clinical recommendations associated with menopause in a single, concise guide that is clearly written and comprehensive in scope.

Menopause is about change& mdash;but it is also a normal life stage traversed by most women with little or no difficulty. Not all women have symptoms as they transition to menopause, and women with symptoms experience them in different combinations and levels of intensity.

The management of perimenopause and menopause is also rapidly changing. The past 5 years have seen truly dramatic changes in our scientific knowledge of and medical recommendations for perimenopause and menopause. For example, until recently, hormone replacement therapy was highly advocated as an essential aspect of care for women in perimenopause and menopause.

Even the definitions used to describe the different time periods and stages associated with natural (i.e., nonsurgical) menopause have changed over time and can be confusing. Thus, "Menopause: A Mental Health Practitioner's Guide" uses the 1994 World Health Organization Scientific Group on Research in the Menopause terminology, augmented by more recent refinements made by the Stages of Reproductive Aging Workshop.

The essential "Menopause: A Mental Health Practitioner's Guide" sheds light on the complexity and constant change integral to the study and treatment of menopause, bringing together the current work of 14 internationally recognized menopause experts in psychiatry, neuroscience, gynecology, and internal medicine. After an introductory chapter sets the contexts ofmidlife in women, subsequent chapters in "Menopause: A Mental Health Practitioner's Guide" cover the following topics: The basic physiology of the menopausal transition and menopause. The effects of gonadal hormones on the central nervous system, and in particular, depression, anxiety, and irritability during the menopausal transition and midlife. New research findings and clinical advice about the effect of gonadal hormones and menopause on psychotic illness in women. An examination of the medical aspects of and the gynecologic aspects of perimenopause and menopause. A look beyond menopause to the psychopathology and psychotherapy of older women in various cultures.

The timely information contained in "Menopause: A Mental Health Practitioner's Guide" will help mental health professionals to formulate current, best understanding and treatment for the psychological problems that some women experience as they traverse perimenopause and menopause.

In the decade since the first edition of this work was published, an incredible array of reproductive technologies and associated issues has emerged. Obstetricians and gynecologists are hard-pressed to deal with the startling breadth and depth of these issues, which require mastery over a daunting combination of ever-increasing scientific knowledge, technical skills, long hours, legal liability, and exposure to clinical situations of overwhelming emotional intensity.

Psychiatrists have a vital role to play in helping obstetricians and gynecologists cope with a host of problems whose resolutions require not just technical skill, but also knowledge of biology, psychology, sociology, anthropology, ethics, and law. For example, to design and implement strategies to reduce the transmission of HIV, psychiatrists could work with public health workers to incorporate the psychology, sociology, and anthropology of female reproductive behavior. Psychiatrists could likewise improve the diagnosis and treatment of breast and pelvic malignancies by elucidating the factors that deter women from self-examination and regular medical screening and enhance treatment compliance.

Divided into three sections, this clinical and theoretical sourcebook addresses every major area of contemporary concern. - Pregnancy covers topics from the psychology of normal gestation to physical and psychiatric complications during and after pregnancy, including new prenatal diagnostic techniques and the dynamic issues that emerge when abnormalities are detected, and the use of psychotropic drugs and electroconvulsive therapy in pregnant and lactating patients.- Gynecology discusses not only common gynecologic problems but also more controversial issues such as induced abortion and the new reproductive technologies, including the role of the menstrual cycle in exacerbating and precipitating psychologic symptoms, the psychiatric aspects of menopause, the assessment and management of chronic pelvic pain, the psychosocial concomitants of gynecologic malignancies and the emotional demands on the oncology team, and the special implications of HIV/AIDS.- General Issues offers a broad, balanced view of topics rarely found in the literature, such as men's reactions to women's reproductive events, substance abuse and eating disorders, sexual and physical abuse (often part of the histories of patients with personality disorders and posttraumatic stress disorders), ethical and legal issues, and health care for lesbian patients. Of special significance is Dr. Stotland's chapter on how consultation-liaison services are provided to obstetrics and gynecology services.

This practical and scholarly volume is exceptionally useful as a teaching reference for medical and other health care students and residents in psychiatry and obstetrics and gynecology. It also provides a valuable resource for the clinician working to improve the psychological well-being of women patients.