Proof of a ground-breaking psychological theory: that the fear of death is the hidden motive behind almost everything we do.'A joy ... The Worm at the Core asks how humans can learn to live happily while being intelligently aware of our impending doom, how knowledge of death affects the decisions we make every day, and how we can stop fear and anxiety overwhelming us' Charlotte Runcie, Daily Telegraph'Provocative, lucid and fascinating' Financial Times...

Exploring a new approach to interfaith/interreligious communication, the contributors to this collection seek to interact from the perspective of their own tradition or academic discipline with Ernest Becker's theory on the relationship between religion, culture, and the human awareness of death and mortality. While much interfaith/interreligious dialogue focuses on beliefs and practices, thus delineating areas of disagreement as a starting point, these chapters foster interactive communic...

Concerns with how students are taught, and whether and how they learn, has become particularly salient in higher education. This is evident in growing awareness of increases in time-to-degree and declines in attainment rates for many students, including those who are underrepresented, in our nation’s community and public and private colleges and universities. It is also demonstrated vis-à-vis recent findings that more than a third of college students evinced no noticeable improvement in cr...

In Facing Cancer and the Fear of Death: A Psychoanalytic Perspective on Treatment, Dr. Norman Straker proposes that “death anxiety” is responsible for the American society’s failure to address costly futile care at the end of life; more specifically, doctors default on the appropriate prescription of palliative care because of this anxiety. This leads to unnecessary suffering for terminally-ill patients and their families and significant distress for physicians. To address these challenges...

Patients who have both a psychiatric disorder and a substance abuse problem cause most clinicians to throw up their hands in despair. The clinical problems that these "dual diagnosis" patients present are enor mously complex. Diagnostically, how is one to tell if disorders of mood and thinking, for instance, are signs of a mental illness or consequences of substance abuse? How is one to obtain important historic information when the patient may be unable or unwilling to provide it and ther...

If you or someone you love is struggling with borderline personality disorder (BPD), you need up-to-date, accurate, and accessible information on the problems you’re facing and where you can turn for help. But where do you look? Much of the professional literature on BPD is too technical and confusing to be of much help. And searching the Internet for accurate information can be treacherous, with some sites providing useful information and others giving dangerous advice and misinformation....

Structured Relapse Prevention provides the substance use treatment field with an effective program for clients seeking to maintain change and avoid relapse. Completely revised, expanded and redesigned, this edition features session-by-session guides, clinical tools and a comprehensive set of coping skills exercises for use with clients.Structured Relapse Prevention (SRP) is a brief, cognitive behavioural, manual-based counselling approach that is used in a variety...

Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is a mood disorder marked by extreme, fluctuating emotions, black-and-white thinking, problems with interpersonal relationships, and in extreme cases, self-harm. If you have recently been diagnosed with BPD, you likely have many questions. What treatment options are available? How do you tell your friends and loved ones? And what are the common side-effects of medication?A diagnosis of BPD can definitely change your life, but it can also be a c...

Understanding how co-occurring substance use and mental health problems relate to and affect each other can be challenging — how do they interact, and how can you help?Treating Concurrent Disorders: A Guide for Counsellors gives you the information you need to offer effective, comprehensive care to this client population. Divided into three sections, covering assessment, practical applications, and tools and techniques, this guide includes topics such as:conc...

An estimated 70% of adults in the United States have experienced a traumatic event at least once in their lives. Though most recover on their own, up to 20% develop chronic Posttraumatic Stress Disorder. For these people, overcoming PTSD requires the help of a professional. This guide gives clinicians the information they need to treat clients who exhibit the symptoms of PTSD. It is based on the principles of Prolonged Exposure Therapy, the most scientifically-tested and proven treatment t...

Praise for Rebuilding Shattered Lives, Second Edition"In this new edition of Rebuilding Shattered Lives, Dr. Chu distills the wisdom he has gained from many years spent building and directing an extraordinary therapeutic community in a major teaching hospital. Both beginners and experienced clinicians will benefit from this book's unfailing clarity, balance, and pragmatism. An invaluable resource."—Judith L. Herman, MD, Director of Training for the Victims...

Psychiatric Clinical Skills is a practical guide to engaging and assessing people who have mental health problems. Written by a team of experienced clinicians, it focuses on “what to ask” and “how to ask” and covers a wide spectrum of clinical problems and settings. It includes a chapter written from the perspective of people who live with mental health problems.As well as covering the full range of mental health disorders, the guide includes informaition about: