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Child psychiatry: a developmental approach
BOOK
197
REVIEWS
Although these volumes do stand alone, the frequent cross-referencing between volumes (and chapters) could be extremely irritating if access to both is not possible. Together, they provide a thorough review of the research literature and current practice with this client group and will be of benefit to teachers, psychologists, speech therapists and physiotherapists working in this field. They will, perhaps, be most useful in enabling therapists to look further than their own speciality and to see the value of working co-operatively to enhance development. It is unlikely, however. that direct care staff would find the theoretical emphasis of this book appealing. These volumes are best viewed as reference rather than “how to do” books, encouraging the reader to look for further detail in the original texts reviewed. They are a useful addition in an area where there is a dearth of good literature. I look forward to Volume 3 which the authors say will focus on issues of care activities and medical provision. BRONACH CRAWLEY
PHILIP GRAHAM: Child Psychiatry: a Decelopmenfol Approach. Oxford
f25.00
(hardback);
Medical
Publications,
Oxford
(1986). Pages xii + 465.
f 12.50 (paperback).
This book is meant to serve as a practical guide to clinical child psychiatry. Each chapter has suggestions for further reading, and there is also a comprehensive list of references to help the interested clinician. The book has IO chapters. The first 2 chapters are concerned with classification of child psychiatric problems and epidemiology, and psychiatric assessment of children and their families. Chapters 3-9 describe the aetiology, clinical features and management of child psychiatric problems, grouped according to causative factors, ranging from family influences, parental disturbance and developmental problems to specific psychiatric syndromes and psychosocial aspects of physical conditions. The chapter on developmental problems is particularly good since these are described sequentially with related normal development. Chapters 6 and 7 on the psychosocial aspects of physical disorders are very comprehensive. Descriptions include physical and psychosocial aspects of the clinical picture and management, and thereby help the clinician to obtain an overall picture of the problem, although as the author points out the paediatric dedl does not replace additional reference of paediatric texts. These chapters are more comprehensive than may be found in many other child psychiatry texts. Treatment is described in relation to individual problems. In addition, chapter nine describes the concepts and techniques underlying behaviour therapy, individual, family and group therapy and chemotherapy. Descriptions are brief and practical without extensive discussion about theoretical concepts related to treatment modes. There is no bias regarding any one treatment approach. The relevance and need of services for children, both primary and secondary, are discussed in Chapter 9. The final chapter deals with prevention of child mental health problems which is an issue that professionals concerned with children should always bear in mind. The book is, in my view, excellent for anyone requiring a practical task-oriented approach to child psychiatry. It is not suitable as a reference text nor was it intended to be so. It is useful for professionals in Britain but also for professionals in other countries, both developed and developing. because of its simple, clear style and clinical content. A. D. NIKAPOTA
V. PILLARI: Parhways IO Family Myths. Brunner/Mazel,
New York (1986). Pages xviii + 188. $31.00.
The author largely accepts Ferreira’s (1963) concept of a family myth as a pattern of defence mechanisms, agreed upon by the family members to form a more or less rigid role prescription for themselves. In this view, a myth is an unchallenged pattern of functioning, reducing the family’s adaptive flexibility on conferring positive gains by uniting the family in a belief system and in stabilizing the family organization. The information basis for the book comes from 25 elderly, institutionalized people. The author interviewed them in a structured way and developed some opinions about the nature of myths that her subjects revealed as shaping their perspective, their life and their families. Pillari describes myths as ‘non-toxic’ and ‘toxic’, the effect of the latter being more or less ‘toxic’, depending upon the extent to which they are unconscious and rigid. The author presents the clinically rich material as supporting the concept of family myth. but because they are based on individual recollections of past experiences her notions are in many ways more akin to the psycho-analytical structure of myth than a family systems one. The author’s suggestions for the implications of the concept of myths for psychotherapy are interesting, but they could have been strengthened considerably if her research material had been collected within a more clearly operationalized framework. IRAN EISLER
REFERENCE Ferreira
A. J. (1963) Family
myth and homeostasis.
Archs gen. Psychiur. 9, 457-463.
197
REVIEWS
Although these volumes do stand alone, the frequent cross-referencing between volumes (and chapters) could be extremely irritating if access to both is not possible. Together, they provide a thorough review of the research literature and current practice with this client group and will be of benefit to teachers, psychologists, speech therapists and physiotherapists working in this field. They will, perhaps, be most useful in enabling therapists to look further than their own speciality and to see the value of working co-operatively to enhance development. It is unlikely, however. that direct care staff would find the theoretical emphasis of this book appealing. These volumes are best viewed as reference rather than “how to do” books, encouraging the reader to look for further detail in the original texts reviewed. They are a useful addition in an area where there is a dearth of good literature. I look forward to Volume 3 which the authors say will focus on issues of care activities and medical provision. BRONACH CRAWLEY
PHILIP GRAHAM: Child Psychiatry: a Decelopmenfol Approach. Oxford
f25.00
(hardback);
Medical
Publications,
Oxford
(1986). Pages xii + 465.
f 12.50 (paperback).
This book is meant to serve as a practical guide to clinical child psychiatry. Each chapter has suggestions for further reading, and there is also a comprehensive list of references to help the interested clinician. The book has IO chapters. The first 2 chapters are concerned with classification of child psychiatric problems and epidemiology, and psychiatric assessment of children and their families. Chapters 3-9 describe the aetiology, clinical features and management of child psychiatric problems, grouped according to causative factors, ranging from family influences, parental disturbance and developmental problems to specific psychiatric syndromes and psychosocial aspects of physical conditions. The chapter on developmental problems is particularly good since these are described sequentially with related normal development. Chapters 6 and 7 on the psychosocial aspects of physical disorders are very comprehensive. Descriptions include physical and psychosocial aspects of the clinical picture and management, and thereby help the clinician to obtain an overall picture of the problem, although as the author points out the paediatric dedl does not replace additional reference of paediatric texts. These chapters are more comprehensive than may be found in many other child psychiatry texts. Treatment is described in relation to individual problems. In addition, chapter nine describes the concepts and techniques underlying behaviour therapy, individual, family and group therapy and chemotherapy. Descriptions are brief and practical without extensive discussion about theoretical concepts related to treatment modes. There is no bias regarding any one treatment approach. The relevance and need of services for children, both primary and secondary, are discussed in Chapter 9. The final chapter deals with prevention of child mental health problems which is an issue that professionals concerned with children should always bear in mind. The book is, in my view, excellent for anyone requiring a practical task-oriented approach to child psychiatry. It is not suitable as a reference text nor was it intended to be so. It is useful for professionals in Britain but also for professionals in other countries, both developed and developing. because of its simple, clear style and clinical content. A. D. NIKAPOTA
V. PILLARI: Parhways IO Family Myths. Brunner/Mazel,
New York (1986). Pages xviii + 188. $31.00.
The author largely accepts Ferreira’s (1963) concept of a family myth as a pattern of defence mechanisms, agreed upon by the family members to form a more or less rigid role prescription for themselves. In this view, a myth is an unchallenged pattern of functioning, reducing the family’s adaptive flexibility on conferring positive gains by uniting the family in a belief system and in stabilizing the family organization. The information basis for the book comes from 25 elderly, institutionalized people. The author interviewed them in a structured way and developed some opinions about the nature of myths that her subjects revealed as shaping their perspective, their life and their families. Pillari describes myths as ‘non-toxic’ and ‘toxic’, the effect of the latter being more or less ‘toxic’, depending upon the extent to which they are unconscious and rigid. The author presents the clinically rich material as supporting the concept of family myth. but because they are based on individual recollections of past experiences her notions are in many ways more akin to the psycho-analytical structure of myth than a family systems one. The author’s suggestions for the implications of the concept of myths for psychotherapy are interesting, but they could have been strengthened considerably if her research material had been collected within a more clearly operationalized framework. IRAN EISLER
REFERENCE Ferreira
A. J. (1963) Family
myth and homeostasis.
Archs gen. Psychiur. 9, 457-463.