Textbook of consultation-liaison psychiatry

Textbook of consultation-liaison psychiatry

an area that Stoudemire correctly notes as a “critical research agenda for the next decade.” In sum, Psychological Factors Affecting Medical Condition...

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an area that Stoudemire correctly notes as a “critical research agenda for the next decade.” In sum, Psychological Factors Affecting Medical Conditions is an excellent book that helps unravel complicated mind-body interactions in order to advance the clinical practice of medicine. It should be read by mental health personnel, as well as other medical specialists interested in providing optimal care to patients. STEPHEN

ALAN

GREEN,

M.D.,

M.A.

Washington, D.C. PI1 SO163-8343(96)00157-O

Textbook of Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry. Edited by James R Rundell and Michael G. Wise. Washington, DC, The American Psychiatric Press, 1996 ($112.00), 1171 pp. This is the first major textbook that focuses exclusively on consultation-liaison (C-L) psychiatry. The editors are well-known C-L psychiatrists and used a distinguished editorial board to help them assemble the topics and authors for this textbook. The textbook is divided into four sections. The first section focuses on general principles of C-L psychiatry and includes chapters on its history, the process of consultation and organization of a C-L service, economic issues relating to C-L psychiatry, liaison psychiatry, and several other chapters that discuss basic concepts involved in C-L work. All of the chapters are well written by leading authorities in the area. An especially good chapter is on the behavioral responses to illness that discusses personality and personality disorders that are often seen in medical and surgical settings. The second section of the book focuses on 11 common psychiatric disorders that are frequently present in C-L patients. These include delirium, de-

mentia, depression, mania, somatoform disorders, anxiety and panic, substance abuse, sexual disorders, eating disorders, sleep disorders, and factitious disorders and malingering. The third section of the book focuses on some of the more common settings in which C-L activities occur. These include not only internal medicine and surgery but also transplantation, oncology, neurology and neurosurgery, obstetrics and gynecology, pediatrics, and a number of other settings. The chapter on geriatric medicine and medical-psychiatric units are particularly well done. In addition, the chapter on the C-L psychiatrist in the primary care clinic is well done and is a topic that should receive increasing attention from C-L. psychiatrists. The fourth and final section of this book focuses on several specific treatment approaches that are commonly used in C-L settings. These include psychopharmacology, treatment approaches for chronic pain, electro-convulsive therapy, psychotherapy in medical and surgical settings, and behavioral medicine. The chapter on psychotherapy is particularly well done and should be read and utilized in all training courses for students and residents engaged in C-L psychiatry activities. In conclusion, this textbook is well organized and well edited and should be in the library and used on a regular basis by all psychiatrists involved in C-L activities. The use of tables, charts, and graphs are effective throughout and the references are excellent and up to date. I have utilized this book in my own practice and in my own tea& ng on at least a weekly basis since receiving my copy. -1anticipate that other psychiatrists involved in C-t. work will do likewise and will keep this next to their standard textbook of psychiatry as one of their prfmary reference sources.

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