Promotions - Choice's Outstanding Academic Titles 2019 - Social & Behavioral Sciences — Political Science — Women's & Gender Studies

Whether the reader is a mental health professional seeking the skills to become a certified substance abuse treatment provider, a student looking to train in addictions counseling, or an educator searching for a textbook for a competency-based addictions treatment course, this book will hit the spot. Each chapter introduces a topic and a list of corresponding competencies and standards required by multiple mental health accreditation bodies, including SAMHSA, CSAT, CACREP, and CSWE. A single scenario unfolds chapter by chapter, acting as a common thread as the reader follows the same client through intake, assessment, diagnosis, placement and treatment planning, addiction theory and treatment approaches, individual counseling, group counseling, family counseling, recovery and relapse dynamics, and aftercare and discharge planning. The final chapters in the book discuss co-occurring disorders, diversity issues, drug classifications, emerging fields of addiction, and certification as a substance abuse counselor. Each is meticulous in its detailed description of the topic at hand, whether that topic is the circumstances under which information in an informed consent form can be redisclosed to a third party, levels of care and placement criteria, or warning signs of relapse. This text should be required reading for all students and practitioners not currently up-to-date in addictions counseling.Summing Up: Essential. Advanced undergraduates and above; professionals.

The author of this fine new book is one of the pioneers in the study of prosocial behavior, specifically altruism: helping another when there is a cost, sometimes significant, to oneself. Batson (emer., Univ. of Kansas) is the author of scores of papers and chapters on altruism and related subjects, including one of the most oft-cited articles on prosocial behavior in social psychology ("From Jerusalem to Jericho," Darley and Batson, 1973); he has been particularly interested throughout his career in the relationship between empathy and altruism. Batson's most notable contribution to the longstanding debate about whether humans are fundamentally selfish or fundamentally altruistic has been his use of various experimental methodologies to approach the problem. This book is a kind of busman's tour of his own and other's research into the empathy-altruism relationship, the twists and turns that research has taken, and the conclusions the author has drawn from it. Organized almost as a kind of scientific adventure story, the book provides an extraordinarily compelling history of research on altruism, as the author is a marvelously engaging storyteller and one of the scientists uniquely qualified to tell this amazing tale of who we are.Summing Up: Highly recommended. All readers.

Ver Eecke (Georgetown Univ.) presents an analysis of schizophrenia that places talk therapy at its center, exploring this intervention's possibilities for enhancing the lives of people who suffer from schizophrenia and those--professionals and family members--who care for them. For Ver Eecke, mental illness is framed in terms of the linguistic challenges that, failing to have been mastered while growing up, account for psychosis and schizophrenia. Through his use of Lacanian psychoanalysis, its points of resemblance to Hegelian philosophy, and the phenomenology of De Waelhens, Ver Eecke lays the groundwork for demonstrations of how schizophrenia may be approached therapeutically. The book concludes by describing three methods for treating schizophrenic patients and offers a reframing of them in terms of the Lacanian ideas discussed earlier in the book. In short, this is a magisterial account of the treatment of schizophrenia, a notoriously intractable condition, and it will have immense appeal to professionals in psychoanalysis, psychology, and social work. The included clinical examples provide fertile material for future conversations about approaches to treatment. Especially illuminating in this regard is Ver Eecke's reflections on the obligatory example of Judge Daniel Paul Schreber, the most famous case of psychosis in the analytic and psychological literature.Summing Up: Highly recommended. Advanced undergraduates through faculty and professionals.

Cognitive Dissonance is a must-read for anyone studying social psychology. Now in its second edition, this work continues to show the utility of Festinger's seminal theory but also modernizes it and, perhaps, expands on it. Harmon-Jones (Univ. of New South Wales, Australia) brings together an impressive array of researchers who address dissonance theory from a variety of perspectives, be it efforts to demonstrate the current and continuing utility of the original theory (part 1), the role of self in dissonance theory (part 2), or models related to dissonance theory that are mathematical, neural, and affective in nature (part 3). All around, the work is well constructed, well researched, and clearly articulated. It shows the continued usefulness of the theory but also demonstrates how new lines of research (such as in the areas of self or neuroscience) can be bolstered by the theory and help further edify it. This reviewer found Judson Mills's chapter on improving the 1957 version of dissonance theory to be especially insightful and useful for connecting the theory to issues of consequence, desirability, and self-relevance.Summing Up: Highly recommended. Advanced undergraduates through researchers and faculty.

One cannot understand the malignant narcissism, destructiveness, and mindless consumerism of the present time, nor the human potential for authentic love and reason, without engaging the voluminous work of Erich Fromm (1900-80), one of the most profound and prescient social thinkers of the 20th century. During the last eight years of Fromm's life, Funk was Fromm's student and research assistant, and appointed him his literary executor. That special relationship serves as the basis of this beautifully crafted book. Funk interweaves aspects of Fromm's life history with Fromm's rich humanist social/psychological theory, all the while drawing on his "direct encounter" with Fromm. Interestingly, it is the idea of the "direct encounter" that Funk sees as central to Fromm's emphasis on the human need for intense relatedness to all things, the idea that grounds Fromm's notion of seeing "life itself as an art." Funk refers to the present book as an introduction. But it is much more than that. Funk extends Fromm's ideas in highly original ways. In the end, one might regard this brilliant book as a testament to Fromm's artistry as a teacher.Summing Up: Essential. Lower-division undergraduates through faculty and professionals; general readers.

This is a book readers won't want to put down. Grisel (Bucknell Univ.) is a neuroscientist specializing in addiction research and a recovering addict herself; she intertwines personal experience and professional expertise to create a work that combines scientific research, history, and storytelling about addictive substances and the hopeful but troubled search for cures. It is not a comfortable read, between the blunt narrative and the realization that despite great advances in understanding the biological correlates of addiction, current attempts at "solving addiction" often fail in part due to society's misunderstanding of those suffering with it. Seven of the 11 chapters focus on the unique features of individual drug classes: THC, opiates, alcohol, tranquilizers, stimulants, psychedelics, and other abused drugs. Occasional images are scattered throughout the text to illustrate concepts, and a short notes section provides references. The writing style is conversational and accessible, as the inclusion of anecdotes eases readers into the scientific explanations of the various types of drugs and their mechanisms of action. A highly recommended read for those who want to gain insight into what it means to be an addict from someone who has experienced it personally and professionally.Summing Up: Highly recommended. All readers.

Olatunji (Vanderbilt Univ.) has edited an impressive and important volume. Not only does the work offer insights into transdiagnostic processes--perhaps one of the most promising approaches to these disorders to come around in a long time--but also powerful insights into etiology and treatment. The chapters on transdiagnostic processes demonstrate a strong awareness of the comorbid nature of these illnesses and provide powerful insights into their development, maintenance, and treatment. The chapters on intolerance of uncertainty and distress tolerance were, for this reader, especially illuminating. Completing this detailed and scholarly look at current understandings about the development of anxiety disorders are three well-written chapters that look at the relationship between treatment for them (specifically anxiety, OCD spectrum, and trauma and stress-related disorders) and prevention. It is also worth noting that an entire chapter (chapter 14) is devoted to cultural considerations in anxiety and related disorders, a viewpoint that cannot, in this reader's opinion, be overstated. A vitally useful resource for professionals and practitioners and a "must have" for any practitioner reference library.Summing Up: Highly recommended. Advanced undergraduates through faculty and professionals.

Richard Reichbart is a psychoanalyst, psychotherapist, lawyer, and parapsychologist. He puts all of these skills to use in The Paranormal Surrounds Us, a provocative and entertaining tour de force that challenges mainstream ways of conceptualizing both aesthetics and scientific inquiry. Instead of dismissing so-called "psychic phenomena" or granting them marginal significance, Reichbart puts anomalous phenomena front and center when he discusses such disparate topics as Navajo shamanism, Ingmar Bergman's cinema, and the craft of stage magicians. Shakespeare's Hamlet has arguably been the topic of more analysis than any other literary character, but Reichbart provides a treatment that is both creative and convincing. He asserts that his fellow psychoanalysts bypass putative telepathy and precognition during therapy not only to their detriment but to that of their clients as well. He chastises literary critics for missing the "psychic connections" in novels by James Joyce and Leo Tolstoy. A useful glossary will help readers from various disciplines understand the terms employed in this book, and will assist them as they find the foundations of their reality challenged. It is not an exaggeration to call Reichbart's oeuvre a masterpiece with the potential to shift paradigms.Summing Up: Highly recommended. All levels.

This two-volume work edited by Osofsky (Louisiana State Univ.) and McAlister (Boston Medical Center) is a comprehensive examination of all aspects of violence and trauma in children and adolescents. Based on current evidence in the field, it explores a variety of relevant theoretical models. There are many figures and tables that illustrate concepts clearly. This may be the definitive work on the topic to date. It tackles a difficult subject in an easy to understand format, interspersed with case studies that further illuminate the issues involved. Volume 1 defines and explores the different types of trauma that children may experience and the impact of such exposure on physical, social, and emotional health and development. Volume 2 explores various models of prevention and intervention, as well as trauma-informed care in a variety of settings. The effects of trauma on individuals, families, and communities are reviewed. The concept of cultural or historical trauma is introduced as a way to further understand the far-reaching effects of violence and exploitation. This two-volume set is essential for anyone working with children in any capacity, and for professionals and students involved in identifying and treating children who have experienced trauma.Summing Up: Essential. Advanced undergraduates and above; professionals.