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Once again, in their new edition of a classic American handbook of
clinical psycho pharmacology, Drs. Gelenberg and Bassuk and their
colleagues have produced a master work of sound clinical guidelines
for the use of medicines as an increasingly central component of
contemporary psychiatric practice. They have recruited an
outstanding panel of coauthors, but have managed to maintain a high
level of consistency of quality and style throughout the many
chapters on specific classes of psychiatric illnesses and their
corresponding treatments. The book continues to encapsulate the
clinically rele vant essentials of the pharmacology of each major
class of psychotropic agents in a way that clinicians can easily
grasp. Moreover, it provides sound and carefully consid ered
specific guidelines to diagnosis, drug selection, and dosing and
patient assessment, with particularly rich presentations on the
recognition and management of adverse effects. Inclusion of
chapters on pediatric and geriatric populations and on topics
pertaining to substance abuse disorders and medicolegal aspects of
the field are unusual in books of this kind, and so are
particularly valuable. Students and trainees will appreciate the
handbook's well-organized and readable style, and practicing
clinicans should be satisified with its balanced consideration of
older, standard treatments as well as the latest medicines and
trends in clinical psychopharmacology, with glimpses into future
developments."
In the eight years since the publication of the second edition of
this Guide, psycho phannacotherapy has made many advances not only
through the discovery of new medications but by the effective
directing of their use to an ever-increasing variety of clinical
disorders. These welcome developments are reflected in the
concurrent growth and development of the Guide itself, which now
enters adulthood with renewed vigor. Under the thoughtful and
scholarly leadership of Dr. Alan Gelenberg, the third edition has
undergone a significant transformation designed to meet the needs
of the modem clinician. The panel of contributors is nearly double
that of the former edition with the addition of nine new authors,
who have helped in the major revision and rewriting of the text and
in a broadening of the topics included. As a conse quence, the
reader is assured of a thorough and thoroughly up-to-date coverage
of current psychopharmacology that is both accurate and aimed at
clinical utility. Having reached maturity, the third edition, while
maintaining the lineaments of its earlier versions, is a
considerably expanded and strengthened guide to treatment. Although
now more encyclopedic in content, the new Practitioner' s Guide to
Psy choactive Drugs retains the virtues of a clinical vade mecum
that informed its predecessors and have eamed it a place by the
patient's bedside for weIl over a decade. One may confidently
anticipate its long and flourishing career in the years ahead. John
C. Nemiah, M.D."
Books, like people, are born, and, if they survive the trauma of
birth, mature in response to a changing environment. This volume is
no exception. It imme diately proved its usefulness to psychiatric
clinicians upon its publication six years ago, and it is not
surprising to find it now entering a new phase of life in a second
edition. The many and significant changes that the reader will find
herein reflect not only the rapid growth of knowledge in the field
of psy chopharmacology but also the editors' wise awareness of the
need to incorpo rate that knowledge into clinical practice.
Important new sections have been added on the management of elderly
patients, on the pharmacological approach to those with temporal
lobe epilepsy, and on the use of psychoactive medications during
pregnancy. The existing clinical sections have been expanded, and
the format has been altered to make the volume more practi cally
useful for the harried clinician. Most important of all, the
discussions of individual drugs have been carefully revised to
update information about those medications that have stood the test
of time and to include those newer pharmacological agents that have
appeared on the clinical scene since the publication of the first
edition. This last task has been significantly aided by the
addition of Dr. Alan J. Gelenberg to the family of editors; his
clinical and scientific knowledge nicely complements that of Drs.
Bassuk and Schoonover, and its influence is evident throughout."
This eagerly awaited volume occupies an important place in the
series Critical Issues in Psychiatry. Most mental health
professionals are quite at home with ordinary day-to-day crises of
clinical practice but relatively unprepared for the true
psychiatric emergency. Such emergencies are too infrequent for most
of us to experience a real sense of competence. On the other hand,
emergency room psychiatrists as well as residents and other
trainees have long wished for a truly comprehensive textbook that
would cover the spectrum of emergency psychiatry. This book is just
such a definitive and comprehensive volume for the specialist,
while at the same time a clear, succinct, and comprehensive
reference for the clinician. of emergency care, The authors
consistently present a systematic model emphasizing the
interconnection between the process of emergency interven tion and
the specific features of clinical crisis. They are true to the
principle that one's system of care should be built on priorities.
It is immediately apparent that these are highly experienced
clinicians as well as teachers. It is difficult to imagine a
clinical situation that is not addressed by this book. It includes
chapters on triage, assessment, and treatment planning; emer
gencies associated with all the various psychopathologies; age
groups from childhood to old age; the emergency management of
violent and suicidal pa tients as well as rape and disaster
victims; emergencies secondary to substance abuse and prescribed
medications; psychotherapeutic and psychopharmacol ogic
intervention; as well as the relevant legal, social, and community
issues in emergency care."
Suicide is a source of endless disquiet. One of the few fatal
consequences of psychiatric illness, it is a threat to patients,
and a vexation to therapists that puts clinical judgment to the
ultimate test. It arouses countertransference reactions of unusual
intensity-helplessness and guilt when the suicide is successful;
anxiety and anger when it is used as a manipulative tool. For as
Samuel Johnson was aware when he com mented that many "commit
suicide, as a passionate man will stab an other," it is not only an
escape from hopeless despair but an expression of the most violent
rage. To all those who care for suicidal patients, this book will
come as a welcome guide. Each of the authors represented here
brings a wealth of clinical expe rience to bear on the subject
under discussion. The psychological and bi ological determinants of
depression are simply and clearly delineated to provide a basis for
understanding the processes underlying suicide, for judging its
likelihood, and for preventing its occurrence. Detailed de
scriptions of the variety of psychological and pharmacological
treatments of the suicidal patient are complemented by extensive
discussions of the several settings in which such patients will be
encountered, whether these be an in-patient unit, an out-patient
clinic, a medical ward, an emergency room, or a private office."
Once again, in their new edition of a classic American handbook of
clinical psycho pharmacology, Drs. Gelenberg and Bassuk and their
colleagues have produced a master work of sound clinical guidelines
for the use of medicines as an increasingly central component of
contemporary psychiatric practice. They have recruited an
outstanding panel of coauthors, but have managed to maintain a high
level of consistency of quality and style throughout the many
chapters on specific classes of psychiatric illnesses and their
corresponding treatments. The book continues to encapsulate the
clinically rele vant essentials of the pharmacology of each major
class of psychotropic agents in a way that clinicians can easily
grasp. Moreover, it provides sound and carefully consid ered
specific guidelines to diagnosis, drug selection, and dosing and
patient assessment, with particularly rich presentations on the
recognition and management of adverse effects. Inclusion of
chapters on pediatric and geriatric populations and on topics
pertaining to substance abuse disorders and medicolegal aspects of
the field are unusual in books of this kind, and so are
particularly valuable. Students and trainees will appreciate the
handbook's well-organized and readable style, and practicing
clinicans should be satisified with its balanced consideration of
older, standard treatments as well as the latest medicines and
trends in clinical psychopharmacology, with glimpses into future
developments.
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