The author has written an unusually fresh work, applying a biopsychosocial approach to the diagnosis and treatment of a wide range and degree of disorders. The book will provide mental health professionals and graduate students with a trustworthy, sophisticated introduction to sexual health and its problems.

I wrote Sexuality in Mid-Life to assist clinicians in considering love, sex, intimacy, and dysfunction as they occur in this epoch of the life cy cle. The chapters reflect my belief that understanding the processes of living is vital for both the therapist and the patient. Despite my preoc cupation with creating a cohesive book, I often thought of these 11 chapters as essays because in this prose form it is traditional for the author to be palpably present in the text. I tried not to hide behind the passive constructions oftypical psychiatric books. I wanted to create a book that did not restrict itself to scientific findings, clinical experi ences, or ideological traditions. I wanted to discuss relevant issues that were generally avoided by professionals. In approaching the topics of love, extramarital affairs, and menopause, for instance, I hoped to em phasize the developmental potentials inherent in both mid-life's smooth sailing and its underappreciated adversities. Sexuality in Mid-Life is my third solo-authored book. During the writing ofthe first two, I thought I was painting a picture of the life cy cle of sexuality. When a young woman said something complimentary to me about Sex Is Not Simple and quickly added that I had left out any consideration of the sexuality of pregnancy, I was stunned by my over sight."

Intended primarily for mental health professionals, Demystifying Love deals plainly with topics rarely written about for clinicians. The book discusses in a small package highly readable and useful topics, such as love (as both noun and verb), psychological intimacy, sexual desire, as well as infidelity, both in background concepts and clinical guidelines. As the book shows, love is the logical point of departure for a clinical understanding of sexuality and its problems. It is the most conventional framework for understanding sexual behaviors, the one that is broadly endorsed across many cultures, often as the ideal context for sexual expression. The book integrates an analysis of love in patients dealing with intimacy, sexual desire, infidelity, forgiveness and reconciliation. Detailed with compelling case studies, the author's skill as a therapist comes through in the discussion of these topics-many of which are at the heart of numerous couple problems. In creating this illuminating work for mental health professionals, Dr. Levine may have underestimated its appeal. Dr.Levine's ability to shed light on our internal processes as we love and attempt to be loved throughout life may prove to be of interest to a far broader audience.

Intended primarily for mental health professionals, Demystifying Love deals plainly with topics rarely written about for clinicians. The book discusses in a small package highly readable and useful topics, such as love (as both noun and verb), psychological intimacy, sexual desire, as well as infidelity, both in background concepts and clinical guidelines. As the book shows, love is the logical point of departure for a clinical understanding of sexuality and its problems. It is the most conventional framework for understanding sexual behaviors, the one that is broadly endorsed across many cultures, often as the ideal context for sexual expression. The book integrates an analysis of love in patients dealing with intimacy, sexual desire, infidelity, forgiveness and reconciliation. Detailed with compelling case studies, the author's skill as a therapist comes through in the discussion of these topics-many of which are at the heart of numerous couple problems. In creating this illuminating work for mental health professionals, Dr. Levine may have underestimated its appeal. Dr. Levine's ability to shed light on our internal processes as we love and attempt to be loved throughout life may prove to be of interest to a far broader audience.

Barriers to Loving is an intriguing exploration of the role of sexual love over the course of life. Beginning with the mental health professions' avoidance of the topic, Levine proposes a compendium of love's pathologies by reorganizing what is familiar to clinicians into the barriers that limit the formation of adult-adult love, impediments that diminish a partner's lovability, and the impediments to feeling and expressing love for a partner. Before reviewing scientific contributions to the understanding of love, he explores the topics of sexual excess and infidelity and how they relate to the aspiration to love and be loved. The final two chapters synthesize with clarity what to teach about love to young professionals in order to prepare them for the complexities they will soon encounter and provide a sophisticated answer to the question, What is love? Barriers to Loving integrates humanism, science, and clinical experience in Levine's long-appreciated unique and mature voice.

Barriers to Loving is an intriguing exploration of the role of sexual love over the course of life. Beginning with the mental health professions' avoidance of the topic, Levine proposes a compendium of love's pathologies by reorganizing what is familiar to clinicians into the barriers that limit the formation of adult-adult love, impediments that diminish a partner's lovability, and the impediments to feeling and expressing love for a partner. Before reviewing scientific contributions to the understanding of love, he explores the topics of sexual excess and infidelity and how they relate to the aspiration to love and be loved. The final two chapters synthesize with clarity what to teach about love to young professionals in order to prepare them for the complexities they will soon encounter and provide a sophisticated answer to the question, What is love? Barriers to Loving integrates humanism, science, and clinical experience in Levine's long-appreciated unique and mature voice.

The Handbook of Clinical Sexuality for Mental Health Professionals, 3rd Edition, builds on the authors' authoritative first person voice on sexual matters of the previous editions. The work reflects the field's growing sophistication about sexual disorders and their therapies. The scope has been expanded to keep pace with new literature and research in the field, and eight additional chapters have been added. New topics include the politics of diagnosis, persistent genital arousal, asexuality, post orgasm illness, scientific findings concerning origin of orientation, and partnering with the pharmaceutical industry. Easily accessible, the Handbook is divided into sections that touch on fundamental knowledge and skills; treatment; men's major sexual concerns; women's major sexual concerns; problems common to both genders; the diversity of sexual lives; and future and trending topics. Written in a personal, supervisory style, the book will help new therapists anticipate clinical contingencies and help experienced therapists refine their thinking and teaching.

The Handbook of Clinical Sexuality for Mental Health Professionals, 3rd Edition, builds on the authors' authoritative first person voice on sexual matters of the previous editions. The work reflects the field's growing sophistication about sexual disorders and their therapies. The scope has been expanded to keep pace with new literature and research in the field, and eight additional chapters have been added. New topics include the politics of diagnosis, persistent genital arousal, asexuality, post orgasm illness, scientific findings concerning origin of orientation, and partnering with the pharmaceutical industry. Easily accessible, the Handbook is divided into sections that touch on fundamental knowledge and skills; treatment; men's major sexual concerns; women's major sexual concerns; problems common to both genders; the diversity of sexual lives; and future and trending topics. Written in a personal, supervisory style, the book will help new therapists anticipate clinical contingencies and help experienced therapists refine their thinking and teaching.

The author has written an unusually fresh work, applying a biopsychosocial approach to the diagnosis and treatment of a wide range and degree of disorders. The book will provide mental health professionals and graduate students with a trustworthy, sophisticated introduction to sexual health and its problems.

I wrote Sexuality in Mid-Life to assist clinicians in considering love, sex, intimacy, and dysfunction as they occur in this epoch of the life cy cle. The chapters reflect my belief that understanding the processes of living is vital for both the therapist and the patient. Despite my preoc cupation with creating a cohesive book, I often thought of these 11 chapters as essays because in this prose form it is traditional for the author to be palpably present in the text. I tried not to hide behind the passive constructions oftypical psychiatric books. I wanted to create a book that did not restrict itself to scientific findings, clinical experi ences, or ideological traditions. I wanted to discuss relevant issues that were generally avoided by professionals. In approaching the topics of love, extramarital affairs, and menopause, for instance, I hoped to em phasize the developmental potentials inherent in both mid-life's smooth sailing and its underappreciated adversities. Sexuality in Mid-Life is my third solo-authored book. During the writing ofthe first two, I thought I was painting a picture of the life cy cle of sexuality. When a young woman said something complimentary to me about Sex Is Not Simple and quickly added that I had left out any consideration of the sexuality of pregnancy, I was stunned by my over sight."

Regardless of specialty or preferred therapeutic approach, most mental health professionals will eventually have to confront their patients' sexual concerns-whether directly or in the course of addressing other problems. Yet, despite the fact that the importance of sex to mental health has been recognized for over a century, training in the preclinical and clinical years often skims over the topic. With Psychotherapeutic Approaches to Sexual Problems, senior clinical sexuality specialist Dr. Stephen B. Levine offers both mental health trainees and advanced practitioners a comprehensive introduction to this educationally overlooked arena. In tackling issues that include premature ejaculation, anorgasmia, erectile dysfunction, sexual pain, sexual identity, paraphilia, and betrayal, this guide aims to increase its readers' comfort and confidence in assisting patients with their sexual concerns. The author provides a thoughtful discussion of the nature of love-as an active, evolving process involving psychological intimacy, intense sexual interest, and commitment-and shows how sexual problems create barriers to loving. With its personal, supervisory tone, this volume also seeks to stimulate readers' professional interest in the topic, providing a useful perspective on patients' stories. Concise, easily digestible chapters make this a valuable primer for professionals from a range of backgrounds, whether psychiatry, psychology, social work, counseling, marriage and family therapy, nursing, or pastoral counseling.