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Textbook in psychiatric epidemiology
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Journalof PsychosoraaticResearch,Vol. 41, No. 1, pp. 97-99, 1996 Copyright © 1996ElsevierScienceInc. All dshts reserved. 0022-3999/96 $15.00 + .00
BOOK REVIEWS Textbook in Psychiatric Epidemiology. Edited by MING T. TSUANO, MARICIO TOHEN, and GWENDOLYN E. P. ZANNER. New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1995. Price £45. 483 pp. THE IMPRESSIVEMETHODOLOGICALprogress in psychiatric epidemiology over the last two decades has created a need for a textbook covering the new techniques, which range from large scale population~based surveys to molecular epidemiology. The main aim of the editors of Textbook in Psychiatric Epidemiology was to meet this need by producing a primer in basic epidemiological methods for those training in psychiatric epidemiology and to provide a guide to the methodological issues specific to psychiatric epidemiology. This multi-author book is divided into four sections. The first part of the textbook is a reprint of Bruce Dohrenwend's classic " 'The problem of validity in field studies of psychological disorders' revisited." Although l enjoyed re-reading this paper, I thought its reproduction here was rather superfluous. The second and third parts are devoted to study design, analytic methods, and diagnostic measurement. These sections are the heart of the book and determine, therefore, if it ultimately fails or succeeds. Unfortunately, the first chapters on basic epidemiological concepts are limited in scope and cannot compete with the many exceptional introductions to epidemiology that are currently available. Essential conceptual issues such as confounding and effect modification receive very little mention, and there is an absence o f the sense of intellectual excitement that characterizes books such as Kenneth Rothman's Modern Epidemiology. Later chapters are more useful, however, and focus on particular problems in psychiatric epidemiology, such as validity, reliability, comorbidity, diagnostic interviews, and an interesting chapter on psychiatric genetics by Faraone and Tsuang. Health services research is covered only briefly. This is unfortunate because this is a rapidly expanding area and one to which epidemiological methods are particularly suited. The fourth part consists of chapters reviewing the epidemiology of specific psychiatric conditions. This is quite a useful section, although the chapters are variable in quality and some are inevitably rather out-of-date. For example, the chapter on geriatric psychiatry contains no mention of the recent advances in the molecular epidemiology of Alzheimer's disease. Readers of the Journal o f Psychosomatic Research should note that there is little on somatization or the epidemiology of psychiatric disorders in general hospitals. Disappointingly, this ambitious textbook is only partially successful. Its coverage of basic epidemiological methodology is rather inadequate, and it would certainly require considerable supplementation. However, it could still serve as a useful source book for a training program. It also contains enough o f interest for practicing psychiatric epidemiologists to find it a useful reference text. Dr JOHN GEDDES University Department of Psychiatry Oxford S0022-3999(96)00029-3
Developing Cognitive Behavioural Counselling. SCOTT,STRADLING,and DRYDEN. Sage Publications Ltd, 1995. Cloth £19.95 Pbk £9.95; 141 pp. ISBN 0-8039-7894-4. DEVELOPING COGNITIVE BEHAVIOURALCounselling is an innovative text from the developing counselling series of books edited by Windy Dryden. The authors have developed an integrated approach to counseling clients using psychiatric diagnosis for assessment and cognitive behavioral strategies for treatment. To its credit, this paperback presents a myriad of ideas, information, and practical examples. At times, however, it seems overly complicated and jargonistic. The book is targeting a counselor and counseling trainee audience, and it assumes that the readers have a "working knowledge of cognitive behavioral therapy." In my view, it would seem essential that readers are thoroughly familiar with cognitive behavioral therapy principles and strategies, as well as psychiatric classification and diagnosis, in order to fully appreciate the richness of this book. Other readers who may benefit from this book include psychiatrists, psychologists, counseling psychologists, clinical researchers, and clinical tutors. The content includes cognitive behavioral counseling for 97
Journalof PsychosoraaticResearch,Vol. 41, No. 1, pp. 97-99, 1996 Copyright © 1996ElsevierScienceInc. All dshts reserved. 0022-3999/96 $15.00 + .00
BOOK REVIEWS Textbook in Psychiatric Epidemiology. Edited by MING T. TSUANO, MARICIO TOHEN, and GWENDOLYN E. P. ZANNER. New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1995. Price £45. 483 pp. THE IMPRESSIVEMETHODOLOGICALprogress in psychiatric epidemiology over the last two decades has created a need for a textbook covering the new techniques, which range from large scale population~based surveys to molecular epidemiology. The main aim of the editors of Textbook in Psychiatric Epidemiology was to meet this need by producing a primer in basic epidemiological methods for those training in psychiatric epidemiology and to provide a guide to the methodological issues specific to psychiatric epidemiology. This multi-author book is divided into four sections. The first part of the textbook is a reprint of Bruce Dohrenwend's classic " 'The problem of validity in field studies of psychological disorders' revisited." Although l enjoyed re-reading this paper, I thought its reproduction here was rather superfluous. The second and third parts are devoted to study design, analytic methods, and diagnostic measurement. These sections are the heart of the book and determine, therefore, if it ultimately fails or succeeds. Unfortunately, the first chapters on basic epidemiological concepts are limited in scope and cannot compete with the many exceptional introductions to epidemiology that are currently available. Essential conceptual issues such as confounding and effect modification receive very little mention, and there is an absence o f the sense of intellectual excitement that characterizes books such as Kenneth Rothman's Modern Epidemiology. Later chapters are more useful, however, and focus on particular problems in psychiatric epidemiology, such as validity, reliability, comorbidity, diagnostic interviews, and an interesting chapter on psychiatric genetics by Faraone and Tsuang. Health services research is covered only briefly. This is unfortunate because this is a rapidly expanding area and one to which epidemiological methods are particularly suited. The fourth part consists of chapters reviewing the epidemiology of specific psychiatric conditions. This is quite a useful section, although the chapters are variable in quality and some are inevitably rather out-of-date. For example, the chapter on geriatric psychiatry contains no mention of the recent advances in the molecular epidemiology of Alzheimer's disease. Readers of the Journal o f Psychosomatic Research should note that there is little on somatization or the epidemiology of psychiatric disorders in general hospitals. Disappointingly, this ambitious textbook is only partially successful. Its coverage of basic epidemiological methodology is rather inadequate, and it would certainly require considerable supplementation. However, it could still serve as a useful source book for a training program. It also contains enough o f interest for practicing psychiatric epidemiologists to find it a useful reference text. Dr JOHN GEDDES University Department of Psychiatry Oxford S0022-3999(96)00029-3
Developing Cognitive Behavioural Counselling. SCOTT,STRADLING,and DRYDEN. Sage Publications Ltd, 1995. Cloth £19.95 Pbk £9.95; 141 pp. ISBN 0-8039-7894-4. DEVELOPING COGNITIVE BEHAVIOURALCounselling is an innovative text from the developing counselling series of books edited by Windy Dryden. The authors have developed an integrated approach to counseling clients using psychiatric diagnosis for assessment and cognitive behavioral strategies for treatment. To its credit, this paperback presents a myriad of ideas, information, and practical examples. At times, however, it seems overly complicated and jargonistic. The book is targeting a counselor and counseling trainee audience, and it assumes that the readers have a "working knowledge of cognitive behavioral therapy." In my view, it would seem essential that readers are thoroughly familiar with cognitive behavioral therapy principles and strategies, as well as psychiatric classification and diagnosis, in order to fully appreciate the richness of this book. Other readers who may benefit from this book include psychiatrists, psychologists, counseling psychologists, clinical researchers, and clinical tutors. The content includes cognitive behavioral counseling for 97