Psychiatric-Disorders Books

Rothschild does a great job of explaining the relationship between trauma and its impact on the body/mind and how listening to the body can play an important role in recovering from traumatic experiences.

It's quite technical and not the type of book I enjoy reading in sequence. I found it much more interesting to read different sections on a "need to know" basis. I was sometimes amazed at how well it applied to my own experiences.

Shipped quickly and in wonderful condition. A perfect book for anyone studying about trauma.

This book gives a very good explanation of trauma and some excellent examples of how to work with it. The information may not be new to those working in the field, but it is the clearest description of brain functioning and trauma that I have read and the treatments she offers are very usable. I highly recommend this book especially for those just learning about trauma or new to working with the clients body.

I read this book cover to cover. I found it extremely easy to read. I have recommended this book to several of my colleagues that assist patients with trauma. I feel like this book could be also given to patients. I felt it contained enough biological data to assist persons to understand the basis for the trauma response.

This book is wonderful. It is the best of many books I have read on trauma's effects and the treatment of trauma survivors. As a survivor myself, I found the book immensely calming. It illuminated many things I did not notice and explained so many parts of myself that I have lost touch with or no longer understand. Most importantly, it gave truly effective ways of communicating with myself and my body in order to calm myself and learn effective coping mechanisms.

Aside from all that, the book is just plain interesting. The mind-body connection is a fascinating thing. Wow!

Using this as a handbook with DSM IV in a graduate course. Very helpful and concise. Much easier to navigate than DSM IV.

"DSM-IV Made Easy" makes the understanding of psychological diagnoses & their medical coding understable & definitely easy! EW

good book, recommended by my professor as an extra. Glad I got it

I bought this book after it was suggested by one of professors in my M.A. in Counseling Psychology program. It is very helpful for the begining clinician in making a diagnosis and it also provides examples of clients with the particular disorders in order to demonstrate a clear picture of what the presenting features are like.

With its interesting clinical vignettes, this book makes the information in the DSM IV palatable. The DSM IV is a huge book loaded with information and facts. THIS book helps to make the diagnoses real and personal. I enjoyed reading it not just to study for my Licensed Mental Health Counselor test but also as an interesting guidebook to mental health disorders.

By now what might be called the deadly-disease memoir is a standard literary genre: the successful, happy man or woman laid low by a fatal ailment, soldiering on against all odds. Thomas Graboys' new book about living with Parkinson's disease silences cynicism about yet another entry into the sweepstakes. Besides being a man of much more than average gifts, material wealth, looks and success, he writes from the perspective of someone whose entire identity was shaped by being a medical doctor, a brilliant cardiologist, someone whose life's work was to take care of others. All this is now lost to him and he admits, with frequently bruising candor, the emotional cost to him and his family.

Dr. Graboys' particular case of Parkinson's, as he explains, involves actual dementia, and although the book was written with the aid of a co-author, nevertheless the signs of mental difficulty are evident in the short-windedness and occasional repetitiveness of the writing. Several dozen pages are devoted not to Graboys' own writing but to passages contributed by his siblings, his children and their in-laws, passages the author did not screen in advance of their inclusion. What would be defects in another book here are in themselves touching, clear evidence of the author's ongoing struggle to maintain some sense of self-worth and productivity. He does not spare himself, dissecting in painful detail the ravages his progressive disease, and his occasional denial of its seriousness, has inflicted on his second marriage. (He did not reveal to his spouse at the time of his wedding that he was already suffering from Parkinson's, and it is perhaps significant that his wife does not contribute any writing of her own.) By the end of this volume the reader is shattered, drained, but also moved and uplifted by Dr. Graboys' resilience and optimism in the face of the darkest odds.

I was inspired by reading Dr. Graboy's story. The one thing I found disconcerting was his continued driving. I know he wants his independence but even if he drives only to two local places he could injure himself or someone else on the way.

Fascinating memoir of the same illnes my relative is enduring. I intend to share this with everyone i know who has a loved one with lewy body dementia. We must all live life to the fullest now, while are brains are healthy. Dr. Graboys' story is one of how love and humanity are possible beyond that, long into this illness. Beautiful!

Any general-interest library or health collection needs LIFE IN THE BALANCE: A PHYSICIAN'S MEMOIR OF LIFE, LOVE, AND LOSS WITH PARKINSON'S DISEASE AND DEMENTIA. The author is both a doctor and patient, at the peak of his career at age forty-nine when he was diagnosed with an aggressive form of Parkinson's and dementia. His memoir is revealing and insightful - and considers Parkinson's from the rare vantage point of both patient and doctor.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

Tom Graboys offers sensitive and poignant insight into a devastating disease that afflicts millions as patients, family and caregivers. Being married to a fellow academic physician, world renowned and respected, who suffers from Parkinsonism, I miss my spouse's wise counsel as the "go-to"- person described by Graboys, who continues to be a comforting, wise healer. This book fills that gap a bit by honestly describing the agony of the disease and how to cope with certain loss of self as previously known.

This book was eye-opening to the struggles of the person with OCD. It was also hopeful, funny, and an enjoyable read. I loved it.

Fascinating look into the world of OCD -- spelled out in an informative, entertaining fashion.

Jeff Bell uses the metaphor of a tape player to describe his struggle with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder in his harrowing memoir, "Rewind, Replay, Repeat." Bell has been a successful radio personality for many years, which makes his willingness to come clean about his illness all the more remarkable. He is a doubter, who states, "I have all five of my senses, but tend not to trust any of them." Because he does not believe what he perceives, Bell mentally replays entire sequences of his life over and over again. He also revisits places to check that he has not harmed anyone or failed to do something essential. He calls his story "a tale of fear and torment and agony and shame."

After experiencing a few OCD symptoms as a child, Bell enjoys a normal adolescence, goes on to college, earns an MBA, marries his college sweetheart, and starts a career in commercial radio. He and his wife, Samantha, have a little girl, Nicole. Everything is going wonderfully. Unfortunately, the peace of mind that he enjoyed for so many years is shattered when his OCD returns with a vengeance. He begins to obsess about a near-collision that occurs while he is piloting his father's boat. He spends hours worrying about some minor damage that he may have inflicted on someone else's cabin cruiser. Not only does he think about this event constantly, but he also visits the marina over and over to look for physical clues. This fixation on an unimportant incident takes over his life to such an extent that it begins to affect his marriage and his ability to concentrate at work. He stays up all night worrying, and his sleeplessness makes him groggy during the day. Rather than owning up to his condition, Bell makes a valiant effort to hide the truth from his colleagues, friends, and loved ones. He is living a double life and it is destroying him emotionally.

Even after he reluctantly shares his secret with his family and agrees to seek help, the first therapist that Bell consults has no useful answers for him. Although his devoted wife is steadfast in her support of her beleaguered husband, she finds his behavior increasingly unsettling. After sixteen months of "pent-up rage," Bell curls up on the bathroom floor of his house and bawls like a baby. He is deteriorating and he has no idea what to do to make things better.

"Rewind, Replay, Repeat" illuminates the agonizing world of doubters and checkers--those unfortunate souls who cannot leave well enough alone. OCD sufferers include: the woman who must unlock her front door repeatedly to check the stove; the driver who feels compelled to circle the block to make sure that he didn't run over a pedestrian; the terrified child who keeps asking his mother the same question a thousand times and is never satisfied with the answer; the washers who scrub their hands dozens of times a day until their skin is raw and painful; and the savers who hoard objects of no value until their homes resemble garbage dumps. Medical science has yet to pinpoint exactly what causes the brains of OCD patients to misfire.

This is an intensely personal, painfully honest, and extremely detailed look at one man's journey into the abyss and back. After he learns that he has OCD, an incurable condition, Bell struggles for years to get his life under control with a combination of spiritual awakening, a support group, cognitive behavioral therapy, and drug treatment. "Rewind, Replay, Repeat" is an informative, touching, and vividly written first-person account that will give hope and comfort to OCD sufferers and their families. It is a welcome addition to other excellent non-fiction works on this subject that include the classic "The Boy Who Couldn't Stop Washing" by Judith Rappaport and "Brain Lock" by Jeffrey Schwartz.

I originally picked this gem up thinking it would be interesting to read from a psychological point of view. Once I started into it, though, I began to recognize certain elements of my own behavior. Though I would not say I am a full-blown OC, I do sometimes have obsessive-compulsive thoughts and behaviors (probably as most people do at some time in their life). Just the title and him referring to the tapes that keep replaying in his brain was enough for me to squash my own destructive thoughts. Whenever I start wasting time on obsessive thoughts, I just think of his analogy of the tapes that keep playing, then rewinding and replaying. I then choose to shut the tape player off. Very freeing! A courageous and interesting story. Thank you for sharing, Mr. Bell.!

I cannot recommend this account of a person's journey into the terrors of OCD highly enough. I suffer from OCD and read as much as I can on this topic, and this is the best personal story I have ever encountered on this subject. Without whining or blaming, the author carefully and honestly shares his torture. With a reporter's skills, he has us on the scene with him, feeling his agony and rooting for his recovery. A close friend who does not have OCD and borrowed my book was equally in awe of the author as she read of his struggle and his eventual recovery. I would recommend this book to family and friends of OCD sufferers as Jeff shares what his wife, children and parents went through during the height of his disorder. Professionals who treat OCD sufferers will benefit from it as well. It will be a real eye opener into our world. You will not be disappointed in this heartfelt, amusing, and heartbreaking story. This is a book I found extemely hard to put down. Please read this book.

With thanks to David S. Shannahoff-Khalsa for adding to the small but growing body of scientific study on yoga. It is absolutely astounding the combination of sound, mudra, posture and focus that Kundalini Yoga offers. I will present some of the practices to the yoga class I offer here in Perth, Australia. I do know, as the students will, that it is the practice that affords the rebalancing, not the marvelling at it but the doing of it.

Meta B. Doherty
Yoga Instructor and author of Sattwa Cafe, an Ayurvedic Cookbook published by Lotus Press, USA

This book is a nice reference in Kundalini meditation and breath technique. I enjoyed learning about the healing benefits of the meditations and prana (breathwork).

I have been practicing Kundalini Yoga (with prana, mantra & meditation) for about a year now and absolutely love it! I continue to rotate KY with Vinyasa/Hatha style yoga too (which I have enjoyed doing for 20 years). Kundalini Yoga has taught me to be open to anything and continues to expand my awareness. Spiritual growth express! Excellent book!

I tried this method as a self-treatment for OCD, from which I had suffered for quite a few years (about 26 years, actually), and which was getting worse. The breathing method prescribed is quite arduous and I was not sure that it would work for me. Actually, to be blunt, I was quite skeptical that it would work for anyone, as I am not a believer in any Eastern religion (or other religion) and am generally inclined to believe that the benefits of meditation, yoga, and like practices are overblown, even when significant. However, I was desperate, and I had read Mr. Shannahoff-Khalsa's scientific articles, which appeared to have been conducted according to sound scientific protocols and to give significant support to the hypothesis that certain kinds of breathing methods can treat OCD. I actually found that the method worked -- my obsessions diminished and eventually went away. I do not take any prescription medications, and I actually do not even practice the method anymore (I don't need to). Of course, I am simply one person, and it is possible that things would have changed for me, anyway, with or without this method. However, nothing had worked before this except, to some extent, Saint John's Wort, which I do still take but which had never cured (merely alleviated) my obsessions. I also worked on psychological techniques I learned from Steven Phillipson's website, which I also highly recommend. Perhaps my recovery was a consequence of one of these or a combination, not of the pranayama breathing; perhaps it was merely something that would have happened by itself. But I don't think so, and I would urge anyone who is suffering as I did to try this. You have very little to lose and a lot to gain. I myself saw results right away.

I am a Ana Brett & Ravi Singh Kundalini Yoga DVD fan. I found this book intriguing and insightful. It amply demonstrates how Kundalini Yoga is a technology based on models of the mind/body construct which, although instrinsic to yoga lore for thousands of years, are just now being given credence by "mainstream," researchers. This book bridges the gap admirably. Yoga Quick Fixes - Ana Brett & Ravi Singh

I found a copy of this book on the shelf in Barnes and Nobles. I was so impressed by the scientific research supporting the practices and also by the testimonals that I begin doing the protocol on my own almost immediately. I have had amazing results. I have tried countless healing modalities from conventional to alternative and I have not found any treatment that offers lasting results. I have been doing the PTSD protocol for 3 months now and my life has transformed. For the first time in my life I am enjoying myself. Anyone who suffers from chronic psychological problems should read this book and try the protocol that fits their particular situation. There is absolutely nothing to lose and a lot to gain!!!!!!!

This is a great book! It is well written, easy to read and very understandable.

the book came quickly (like only a few days even though they said it would be weeks) and it was in great condition! i would definitly order from here again!

Book arrived on time and in the shape and form advertised! Great seller to do business with!

This is one of the most useful reference books for those in nursing who are going to focus in psychiatric nursing. This is a great book but it can get wordy at times.

Other than the Chapter materials, there are many additional useful information including an online resource, tables, examples and images to facilitate learning.

Carol Hebald's brave and honest memoir is one of the best memoirs I have read. Her words affected me deeply on many levels, and her struggle and triumph both are a testimonial to what it means to be human. Her voice, powerful and compelling, must be heard. Her insistence on living her life honestly and with dignity, her will, and her courage are inspiring for any reader. I read the memoir in one sitting, unable to put it down, and I will recommend it to my students, to my friends, and to anyone who will listen as a work which must be read. I have also read Ms. Hebald's collection of poetry "Spinster by the Sea" which is also a testament not only to what she has to say but also to the skill and beauty with which she says it.

I first met Carol when she gave a reading from The Heart Too Long Suppressed at our hospital, at which time I purchased her book. As a mental health professional I was especially interested in learning from a patient's perspective. I was not disappointed. In her story, Carol reaches into the depth of her being to give us an honest account of her memories and experiences. In so doing, she has given us the opportunity to follow her journey through the mental health system. It leaves us wondering, who really advocated for her? And in the end we find out, it is she. In my opinion this book should be required reading for anyone training to be a Psychiatrist, Psychologist, Counselor, Social Worker or Mental Health Nurse.
Diane Boaz, R.N., Psychiatric Home Health Nurse, Allen Hospital, Waterloo, Iowa

I found this book incredibly insightful and admire the courage it took for Carol Hebald to open up her life and let us in. Her story is probably one of thousands if not millions who have been misdiagnosed by the mental health profession. By the end of the book it seemed perfectly clear to me that if Carol had not taken control of her own life and had not thrown the toxic pharmaceutical cocktails overboard once and for all, she would have been a lifelong victim of psychiatry. Carol's book can help countless people realize the label they have been given by the psychiatrist is just that, a label, with no actual meaning or strength to it, except that which the individual or society grants to it. I applaud her for writing a book that can and will change people's life for the better!

Dave Statter
Executive Producer of the film Prescription:suicide?

As a child, Ms. Hebald had no allies once her father died, but even he, on his deathbed, "abused" her when she was five. Others from her mom to her baby-sitter to her lovers to her doctors made her feel that life is miserable. For instance, as a teen a psychiatrist acclaimed she was a sure shot suicide. A series of hospitals and a bunch of losers with psychiatrist degree provided Ms. Hebald little solace, plenty of unhelpful advice and turned her stomach into a chemical processing plant. Finally at forty-four, she decided it was time to recycle her life starting with dumping her drug paraphernalia into the ocean.

Readers should understand this is not an easy memoir to follow as Carol Hebald goes deep inside her brain to her soul to explain four decades of mental illness highlighted by several suicide attempts. The author is all over the place with the influences in her life turning her autobio somewhat into a NYC rush hour train. Though it is difficult to follow her narrative, the audience will find it worth the time for anyone dealing with mental illness or a family member because overall this is a powerful condemnation warning for the buyer to beware.

Harriet Klausner

Anyone who is fortunate enough to have encountered Carol Hebald's poetry knows the wonder of being exposed to an extraordinary talent, one which some of today's most successful authors and novelists envy.

Now we know at what cost to her this skill was engendered.

I would like to see an annotated volume, in which her poetry can be read in the context of the story that unfolds in "The Heart Too Long Suppressed".

This book is great. This is my third psychology class, but this is the first book that explains the different components of the science (or art) in clear, concise, and easily understood reading. I have only read 5 chapters so far, but I anticipate selling my other psychology books and keeping this one as my reference on this subject in the future.

I like this textbook it is well written, easy to read and understand, and the chapters are laid out very nicely.

A well balanced textbook for nursing psique, includes nursing care plans, follow up evaluation, organized and structured in a very professional way.

This product was exactly what I thought I was getting. No surprises. Will continue to buy my textbooks through Amazon!

Easy reading, informative, & well put together. As a nursing student myself, I highly recommend this text.

This is a fascinating review of the history of mental illness for periods of time that are usually rather hard to research. I cannot speak for the accuracy since I am not a historian and I do not have the resource library to check out it's references, but it seems quite reasonable and well researched. I enjoyed the book for the thoughts it provoked and how it filled in gaps about the development of the notions of mental illness over the last several hundred years. This book has been the key to many intreguing disucssions.

This book was a delightful read. It is a fascinating trip back through history on a thought provoking topic, and the authors present their view in a scholarly manner. There is enough anecdotal information to keep it moving and interesting, and it is far from being "dry". If you have even a casual interest in the rise of mental illness in Britain and North America you'll definitely enjoy this book.

Dr. E. Fuller Torrey does excellent research and gives extensive information on the life and times of the maltreatment of the mentally ill. Very good book. I recommend this to anyone who has been diagnosed with a mental illness or has family members suffering from a mental illness.

This book shows me that the mentally ill are still treated like a human zoo just like they were back in the times of Bedlam in London. Just look at the movies and tv news reports....the public is made to fear mental illness instead of understand it.

Dr. Torrey's book tries to break down the walls of stigma and ddiscrimination to educate people.

_The Invisible Plague_ is written by psychiatrist E. Fuller Torrey and examines the issue of the increase in worldwide cases of insanity since the eighteenth century. The book is at once both a scientific study which attempts to explain certain statistical data from different parts of the world, including Europe, the United States, and Canada, as well as a history of the mental asylum. Torrey examines in particular the issue of insanity and it's two principal forms - that of schizophrenia and that of manic-depressive psychosis. He also examines the role of insanity within literature, examining writings of such figures as Edgar Allen Poe, Hawthorne, and Melville, among others of course. Data from successive censuses taken in various countires seem to support Torrey's conclusions that insanity is indeed increasing, though with the era of deinstitutionalization this becomes more difficult to prove. Thus, according to Torrey, this issue may be covered up, because where formerly patients were admitted to asylums today they are not. Explanations for this increase have traditionally varied. Torrey also discusses some of the theories as to the causes of insanity - all biological, including genetics, stress, and environmental factors, as well as toxins and microbes in the environment. While the warnings in this book may appear alarmist, this book offers an informative introduction to the issue of insanity, which continues to plague the modern world despite its ancient origins. As a history text this book is good in that it reveals some of the developments which were responsible for the birth of modern day psychiatry and the state mental institution or asylum. Perhaps we can see in insanity, a reflection of the larger struggles of civilization as it makes its way from its birth pangs in ancient times, to its growth development, and eventual old age and decline.

I THOUGHT THE BOOK COVERED A GOOD AMOUNT OF GROUND. ALTHOUGH SOME WAS A LITTLE DEEP FOR ME IN THE CONTENT. BUT OVERALL I ENJOYED IT AND WILL BE READING SOME PARTS OVER AT TIMES.

A very good technical resource for those dealing with a family member who has BPD.

There is a terrible glut of misinformation on BPD. Many books on the subject are seriously flawed, and the Internet is worse than useless. Searches for BPD are more likely to reveal "hate sites" put together by estranged ex's than anything with a scholarly or clinical basis.

I strongly recommend this book to anyone affected by this terrible disorder. It is balanced, readable, and based on the best available research. Gunderson and his co-authors discuss the nature of BPD and treatment options without demonizing either those who suffer from BPD or those who care for them.

Useful book for families trying to figure out what is going on with their child.

Professionals John Gunderson M.D. and Perry Hoffman Ph.D., with the aid of other expert contributors, present Understanding And Treating Borderline Personality Disorder: A Guide For Professionals And Families, a straightforward discussion of how to live with, care for, treat and help borderline patients. Chapters discuss the diagnosis and treatment of borderline disorder, and issues directly pertaining to families including forming a support system, living with the possible negative effects of borderline disorder, family involvement in treatment, and more. Sample cases, plain- terms discussions and definitions, and a highly accessible style and format make Understanding And Treating Borderline Personality Disorder immediately comprehensible to readers of all backgrounds. Highly recommended for anyone whose family or professional life places them in contact with or makes them responsible for borderline patients.

Ce collectif est utile et réconfortant à la fois. Avec beaucoup de simplicité, d'empathie et d'humanité, les auteurs laissent la parole aux spécialistes et aux patients confrontés au trouble borderline. Clair, professionnel, argumenté, en un mot brillant, " Understanding and treating Borderline Personality Disorder " fait toute la lumière sur une maladie encore méconnue en France.
A lire absolument.