Suicide is now the third leading cause of death among adolescents in the United States, and some studies suggest that as many as 75 percent of all teenagers have considered killing themselves. Current research on young people who are suicidal (those who attempt and those who succeed) is discussed in a plain way. Among the wide ranging topics covered are the prevalence of adolescent suicide, racial and gender differences, methods used in the study of suicidal behavior, associated behavioral problems (e.g., drugs and alcohol), psychological profiles, precipitating events for suicide attempts, teenage suicide clusters, the effects of suicide on family and friends, the treatment of suicidal adolescents, and, most importantly, strategies for intervention and prevention.

Since the publication of the first edition in 1993, there have been important developments in the public's understanding of depression and in the various approaches to treating the disorder. This new edition reflects these new realities, giving increased emphasis to the biological foundations of depression, the development of and wide use of antidepressant drugs, the shift in the means of dispensing these drugs from mental health professionals to primary care physicians, and the development of alternative medicine approaches to treatment.Written in an easy-to-read manner, the book provides a wide-ranging picture of what is known about depressed moods and depression. This section examines the disorder's demographic, biological, and psychological aspects, considers its antecedents in childhood experiences, evaluates the role of stress in bringing on depression, and looks at the disorder's relation to alcohol and drug abuse. The latter part of the book is devoted to treatment, providing thorough discussions of antidepressant medicines, psychotherapy, and electroconvulsive therapy. It concludes with a discussion of the troublesome issue of recurrence, presenting some views about how to lessen this risk.

The dynamics of 21st century life have created a social environment full of stressful situations. The American Psychological Association claims that stress in the workplace has reached a critical point, and psychological surveys find that the most common aspects our lives, such as relationships and daily activities, are those that cause the greatest degrees of stress. This book provides a comprehensive look at what professionals know about coping with stress, drawing upon statistical analysis to assert which methods of coping seem to be effective and which do not. The book begins with a discussion of the nature of stress, looking at the effects of stress in daily life, considering some of the ways researchers study stress, and examining how the human body reacts to stressful events. The study then turns to the ways psychologists conceptualize, measure and study coping mechanisms, and to specific techniques, concentrating on those that have proven to be most effective, such as improving basic interpersonal skills and polishing defense maneuvers for dealing with stress. For individuals considering professional help, the final chapters present some basic information about medications, psychotherapy and alternative medicine approaches.

Our dreams fascinate us as individuals and as a society. What do surveys report people dream about? How about the dreams of the blind? The mentally ill? What does research show about the possibility of dream telepathy? How did the ancient people view dreams? This wide-ranging book also discusses such topics as REM studies, the effects of experimental stimulation on dream content, research on dreams and creativity, symbolism, and nightmares. The book explores a number of techniques used to analyze dreams, illustrating these approaches with dream examples and case studies.

Violence has been a part of the human condition for a long time. Evidence from the distant past of hominids shows traces of violence inflicted by other hominids. The history of our own species has more than its share of violent encounters--sometimes rising to the level of sheer brutality. Indeed, the examples of human inhumanity are so numerous and so diverse, one might entertain the thesis that violence is hardwired, as it were, into the genetic makeup of our species. The thesis underlying this book is that in order to better understand violence, it is important to examine anger and aggression and the interrelationship among the three concepts. Feelings of anger often precede aggressive and violent acts. If we learn how to control anger better, we can expect a reduction in violent acts. And aggression itself may be channeled into behaviors which can be useful rather than destructive. This book addresses the problem of anger by using an interdisciplinary approach, drawing on research from psychology, anthropology, sociology and history as well as statistical data provided by criminologists.

If you are interested-even curious about your nightly dreams and you would like to know what researchers from psychology and neuroscience can now tell us about dreams, this is your book. The author, a dream researcher himself, has published many studies on dreams and has been a practicing psychotherapist as well. Open the book and you will see that it is very readable. The science is presented in a non-technical question-and-answer format. Want to know about dreaming in color, what affects your recall of dreams, what most people dream about, those puzzling, sometimes troubling recurrent dreams, the experience of lucid dreaming, or the new advances in the treatment of nightmares? It's all in here, along with a discussion of the approaches that have been used to try to interpret dreams-- from the ancient Assyrian dictionaries uncovered by archaeologists to modern dream dictionaries, to the free association technique of Sigmund Freud, the different approach offered by Carl Jung and the explorations of the author in using real incidents that are brought to mind by dreams, probing their meaning to the individual in an objective way-a technique that has been successfully used in research studies.

Syndicated columnist, Harry Ellison, who lives with Sergeant Debbie Simmons of the Washington, D. C. Metropolitan Police Department, has a penchant for becoming involved in unusual murder mysteries. But, the case that began with a telephone call from his niece, Stephanie, a doctoral student in music, may be the most bizzare case of all. Recently returned from Vienna where she was doing research on her doctoral dissertation on Franz Schubert, Stephanie finds herself stalked by a person, unknown, while working in the Library of Congress. The person leaves her fragments of musical notation that appear to be the missing part of an unfinished Schubert composition. The music is unmistakably Schubert's in style, but is it authentic or the opening gambit in an elaborate scam? And, how do these musical fragments relate to the unexplained deaths of three renowned Schubert scholars? When Harry and Debbie begin their investigation, they encounter deception, danger, and ultimately must match wits with a diabolical killer.