In the last twenty years the clinical prediction of dangerous behaviour has become an increasingly contentious issue in psychiatry. Several studies have called into serious question the ability of mental health professionals to predict the possible future dangerous behaviour of their clients. These results have caught the attention of lawyers, and been cited in several challenges to individual practitioners. Psychiatrists and psychologists have had to realize that if they claim predictive competence they will be called on to accept the legal and ethical consequences. Dangerousness represents a much needed attempt to draw together the most recent views of the legal scholars, social scientists, and clinicians who have thought most deeply about these problems. It aims to help the reader decide what degree of responsibility the mental health professions should accept as they offer influential opinions which on the one hand may result in unfair confinement of patients and prisoners, but on the other may expose society to unwarranted risk.

Product Description: At 13 years old, Red Szell became fascinated with climbing and made it his life's ambition to climb the Old Man of Hoy, a 450 foot sea stack off of Scotland's north coast. Those dreams went dark at nineteen when he learned he was going blind...read more

The diagnosis and classification of mental disorders are essential elements of psychiatric practice. Labeling and classifying phenomena enables the conveyance of a host of information about the clinical picture, etiology, pathogenesis, prognosis, and treatment of a patient's condition. Recent developments have introduced a new rigor and precision into a diagnostic process previously viewed as highly idiosyncratic and imprecise. This volume reviews the major clinical syndromes in the light of current research, and offers recommendations for improving and refining our approach to diagnosing and classifying psychiatric disorders. The authors address issues involved in constructing classification systems and considers the value of multiaxial approaches to the diagnostic process. The implications of diagnostic and classificatory systems for clinical practice, mental health education, and program administration are thoroughly examined. Particular attention is paid to evaluation of the new system of classification adopted by the American Psychiatric Association, which is the focus of much interest worldwide. Together, these chapters constitute a comprehensive appraisal of contemporary approaches to the diagnosis and classification of mental disorders, and of the impact of diagnosis and classification in the field.

Product Description: The diagnosis of dissociative identity disorder, formerly known as multiple personality disorder, remains controversial, despite its inclusion as an established diagnosis in psychiatry’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM-IV)...read more

Product Description: Dialogues Across Diasporas focuses on the shared historical legacies of members of the Africana and Latina diasporas, and the cultural impact of the African diaspora in the Americas. This book seeks to emphasize connections rather than divisions among different migratory ethnic communities via a reconfiguration of borders and ethnic identities...read more

Almost two decades have passed since the publication of the first edition of this acclaimed text. The new third edition carries on the tradition of the previous two in offering a practical, state of the art presentation of the interview process. The critical first step to diagnosis and treatment, the interview is as much art as science, and this text provides a wealth of material to enhance clinical skill as well as empirically-derived foundations. The structure of the text has been retained, with chapters by noted experts detailing current innovations in theory and practice, including recent changes to the DSM-IV. Completely revised and updated, accessible, and illustrated with relevant case material, the third edition of Diagnostic Interviewing will be a welcome text for instructors and students, as well as a valuable resource for clinicians.

Product Description: First published in 1991. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

Product Description: “Gary Greenberg has become the Dante of our psychiatric age, and the DSM-5 is his Inferno.” —Errol Morris Since its debut in 1952, the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders has set down the “official” view on what constitutes mental illness...read more

Product Description: Unlike most of the literature in forensic mental health assessment, this book posits the existence of broad principles of forensic assessment that are applicable across different legal issues and are derived from and supported by sources of authority in ethics, law, science, and professional practice...read more

Product Description: First published in 1992, Fundamentals of Psychiatric Treatment Planning outlines an approach that quickly became the definitive standard for writing treatment plans. Developed by clinical psychiatrist James A. Kennedy, this practical, intuitive method organizes psychiatric problems into seven categories: psychological impairment, social skills, violence, activities of daily living, substance abuse, medical impairment, and ancillary impairment...read more

Product Description: This manual presents a novel approach to multidisciplinary treatment planning based on a system of categorization around level of functioning rather than diagnosis. Its working premise is that symptoms and behaviours, not diagnoses, are the true indicators of treatment needs...read more