Abnormal Illness Behaviour [Hardcover]

Issy Pilowsky (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 23, 1997 | ISBN-10: 0471965731 | ISBN-13: 978-0471965732 | Edition: 1

This book addresses the problem of the widespread misunderstanding and confusion in the medical profession about patients with abnormal illness behavior. It provides a general introduction to the early recognition and management of abnormal illness behavior and offers medical, nursing, and mental health care professionals the skills to identity abnormal illness behavior in their patients, provide appropriate psychological care and recognize when to recommend specialist psychiatric help.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Providing a general introduction to the early recognition and management of abnormal illness behaviour, this book is written by an expert on the topic. It offers medical, nursing and health care professionals the skills to identify abnormal illness behaviour in their patients, how to offer appropriate care, and when to provide specialist psychiatric help. It addresses the growing interest in abnormal illness behaviour and its causes, and provides an invaluable tool within the disciplines of psychological medicine and liaison psychiatry.

From the Back Cover

Abnormal Illness Behaviour describes not only the problems of patients with bodily symptoms for which no adequate organic cause can be found, but also those who deny the presence of disease which is obvious to others. The former, regarded as manifesting ?somatisation? but often labelled pejoratively as hypochondriacs, hysterics and even malingerers, have a different perception of their health problems to that of the doctor and this often leads to misunderstanding and unhelpful emotional reactions in medical professionals interacting with these patients. There is growing interest in the phenomenon of ?somatisation? and its causes, which now forms an important research field within the disciplines of psychosomatic medicine, consultation?liaison (?general hospital?) psychiatry, community psychiatry and general practice (primary care medicine). This book describes the nature of various forms of abnormal illness behaviour from a clinical perspective. It provides an historical and theoretical background and a general introduction to the early recognition and management of abnormal illness behaviour. It describes for those in the medical, nursing and health care professions the skills needed to identify abnormal illness behaviour in its various manifestations, how to offer appropriate care and when to refer patients for specialised psychiatric care. Written by an author well known for his introduction of the term ?abnormal illness behaviour? and his research in the fields of hypochondriasis, psychiatric aspects of pain and the development and application of the ?illness behaviour questionnaire?, this book will be of immense value to general practitioners, physicians, surgeons, neurologists, psychiatrists and clinical psychologists, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, social workers and anaesthetists associated with pain clinics.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 278 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 1 edition (July 23, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0471965731
• ISBN-13: 978-0471965732
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,995,820 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Abnormal Illness Behaviour - A new perspective., July 1, 2000

By 

Sandra Braude (South Africa) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Abnormal Illness Behaviour (Hardcover)

Issy Pilowsky has introduced a concept which provides a new approach to the diagnosis and management of conditions such as hypochondriasis,'hysteria' and somatoform pain disorder. He also describes and discusses abnormal denial of illness. Since its first appearance in 1969 this concept has generated fruitful research and improved understanding of a complex and controversial cluster of conditions, which occupy a borderland area between psychiatry and general medicine. The descriptions of the clinical casses add enormously to the value of this book, which is extraordinarily readable.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An exceptional contribution to medicine., September 27, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Abnormal Illness Behaviour (Hardcover)

This appraisal is by Professor Scott Henderson (Director, National Health & Medical Research Council Psychiatric Epidemiology Research Centre, The Australian National University, Canberra,ACT 0200 Australia.) From "In Times to come: The study of Mental Disorders in the Third Millenium." Australasian Psychiatry 6(1):3-7. February 1998. "And now, this whole corpus of thinking is set out-imperishably-in Issy's recent book.......the monograph "Abnormal Illness Behaviour". Anyone who wants to practise medicine-in any specialty-needs to carry in their head what has been set out in this volume. It is not hyperbole to recommend that it be mandatory reading prior to medical registration in any decent country. This book is an exceptional contribution to medicine."

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A definitive account of this area of medicine, November 15, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Abnormal Illness Behaviour (Hardcover)

From the Australian and New Zealand J Psychiatry {Aug 1998,32(4):593-594)Review by George Mendelson: Professor Pilowsky's book is well described in the Foreword by Professor Sir David Goldberg as 'the accumulated wisdom of a lifetime spent helping patients with psychologically determined symptoms'. It is a book which should be in the personal library of every clinician, and on the reading list of every medical school.