Current trends in morbidity suggest that by the beginning of the twen ty-first century, psychiatric illness may become the most pressing problem in public health in many of the advanced countries. As ably demonstrated by Vandenberg, Singer, and Pauls, the principal identifia ble etiology of the major psychiatric disorders is heredity; if progress is to be made in prevention and treatment of these disorders, it may have to come from improved understanding of their inheritance. A relentless ...

Some investigators have argued that emotions, especially animal emotions, are illusory concepts outside the realm of scientific inquiry. However, with advances in neurobiology and neuroscience, researchers are demonstrating that this position is wrong as they move closer to a lasting understanding of the biology and psychology of emotion. In Affective Neuroscience, Jaak Panksepp provides the most up-to-date information about the brain-operating systems that organize the fundamenta...

More than forty years ago, Dr. Aaron T. Beck's pioneering Depression: Causes and Treatment presented the first comprehensive account of all aspects of depression and introduced cognitive therapy to health care providers and patients struggling with one of the most common and devastating diseases of the modern age. Since that classic text first appeared, the appreciation of the multifaceted nature of mood disorders has grown, and the phenomenological and biological aspects of psych...

This professional text covers every aspect of Autistic Spectrum Disorders (ASD), from science to services, from the most disabling Kanner's syndrome to the most high-functioning Asperger syndrome, and from birth to old age.The book contains the latest research on the assessment, diagnosis, treatment, intervention and support of individuals with ASD, and examines their implications at various stages of life. A wide range of neurological, genetic, psychological, developmental, social...

From Aaron T. Beck and colleagues, this is the definitive work on the cognitive model of schizophrenia and its treatment. The volume integrates cognitive-behavioral and biological knowledge into a comprehensive conceptual framework. It examines the origins, development, and maintenance of key symptom areas: delusions, hallucinations, negative symptoms, and formal thought disorder. Treatment chapters then offer concrete guidance for addressing each type of symptom, complete with case exampl...

During the past decade a diverse group of disciplines have simultaneously intensified their attention upon the scientific study of emotion. This proliferation of research on affective phenomena has been paralleled by an acceleration of investigations of early human structural and functional development. Developmental neuroscience is now delving into the ontogeny of brain systems that evolve to support the psychobiological underpinnings of socioemotional functioning. Studies of the infant b...

The biological and psychological basis of pet therapy / animal-assisted therapy and what this means for practice "A comprehensive, scientific foundation for human-animal therapy." (Judith Solomon) In recent years, the ancient symbiosis between humans and their pets has entered a new phase, marked by the burgeoning clinical specialty of human-animal therapy. This approach uses the relationship between humans and their (mainly) mammalian pets to support the growth of emotion regulation, soci...

Everything clinicians need to know about the emotional well-being of kids.With the number and type of mental health issues in kids on the rise, and as more and more clinicians and counselors are being pushed to the front lines of defense, now more than ever there is a need for a comprehensive, practical resource that guides professionals through the complexities of child and adolescent mental health. This practical, comprehensive book answers that call.

It is widely accepted that most psychiatric disorders are associated with cognitive impairment and that neuropsychological approaches can help unravel the mechanisms underlying brain function and help us develop a better understanding of these disorders. In this book, a panel of the world's leading experts describe the development of neuropsychological approaches to the investigation, description, measurement and management of a wide range of mental illnesses. Part One explains the rationa...

In the past couple of decades studies investigating the genetic background of psychiatric disorders have mushroomed. Research into brain mechanisms and the regions of the brain involved in certain dysfunctions have greatly improved our knowledge of the relationship between brain pathology and psychopathology. By contrast, we know far less about 'why' certain individuals remain vulnerable to psychiatric disease at all, and whether the causes of disease were selected by evolutionary forces o...

Medically unexplained symptoms and somatisation are the fifth most common reason for visits to doctors in the USA, and form one of the most expensive diagnostic categories in Europe. The range of disorders involved includes irritable bowel syndrome, chronic widespread pain and chronic fatigue syndrome. This book reviews the current literature, clarifies and disseminates clear information about the size and scope of the problem, and discusses current and future national and international gu...

The media, scientific researchers, and the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual all refer to "autism" as if it were a single disorder or a single disorder over a spectrum. However, autism is unlike any single disorder in a variety of ways. No single brain deficit is found to cause it, no single drug is found to affect it, and no single cause or cure has been found despite tremendous research efforts to find same. Rethinking Autism reviews the scientific research on causes, symptomology, cours...