Caring for the Mind: The Comprehensive Guide To Mental Health [Paperback]

Dianne Hales (Author), Robert E. Hales (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 1996

More than 27 million adults and 7.5 million children in the United States have a diagnosable mental disorder--more than the combined total of people with cancer, heart disease, and lung disorders.  This book is the indispensable guide to mental health and mental disorders that they and their families need.  It offers lucid presentations of these conditions in systematic form: what each is, signs and symptoms, causes, diagnosis, treatment (therapy, medications, self-help), risks and complications, impact on relationships, and prognosis.  Enhancing the book's usefulness are checklists, vivid case histories, and a special feature for each disorder: the diagnostic criteria of the American Psychiatric Association's definitive Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th Edition, known as DSM-IV.



"A treasure house ... this title has no equal in breadth, depth, or timeliness."--Library Journal

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

An extensive reference guide to mental health and mental disorders.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

The coauthors, a professional writer and her psychiatrist husband, fully cover the field of mental health, including discussions of major disorders and a range of treatments, from talking therapy to medication and electroshock. Using criteria from the DSM-VI (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, American Psychiatric Pr., 1994. 4th ed.), the Haleses provide, in readable form, more information than most nonpsychiatric physicians have on these topics. The chapter on medication will be helpful to nonmedical professionals (e.g., psychologists, social workers) as well as patients. Sections on hypnosis, family therapy, posttraumatic stress, suicide, sleep, violence, aging, self-help, sex, and alcohol, among others, make this a treasure-house for journalists and students as well as families of the mentally ill. Not formatted as an encyclopedia, this guide instead offers chapters broken down into short paragraphs with subheads or boxed descriptions of specific problems so that one can quickly isolate the relevant materials. Essential for all libraries, this title has no equal in breadth, depth, or timeliness.?E. James Lieberman, George Washington Univ. Sch. of Medicine, Washington, D.C.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 896 pages
• Publisher: Bantam (May 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0553375113
• ISBN-13: 978-0553375114
• Product Dimensions: 7.2 x 1.7 x 9.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #489,888 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Dianne Hales is a widely published, award-winning freelance journalist. She has served as a contributing editor for Parade, Ladies Home Journal, Working Mother and American Health and has written for many national publications, including Family Circle, Good Housekeeping, New York Times, Readers' Digest, Washington Post, Woman's Day, and World Book. In addition to more than a dozen trade books, she is the author of the best-selling college health textbook, An Invitation to Health, and coauthor of An Invitation to Personal Change.

Dianne never expected to fall madly, gladly, giddily in love with Italian, the world's most enchanting language. But fall she did, and her latest book, LA BELLA LINGUA, tells both the dramatic story of Italian and her adventures over more than twenty years of studying and speaking the language.

Dianne ilives in northern California with her husband Robert E. Hales, M.D., and daughter Julia--who were surprised and delighted to discover that their wife and mother was becoming Italian.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Useful, but limited, November 1, 1999

By 

[e-mail] (Oakland, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Caring for the Mind: The Comprehensive Guide To Mental Health (Paperback)

I have to say that I felt let down by this book. It was recommended to me, and I picked it up with anticipation, ready to buy a copy. I was very disappointed, (as a psychotherapist specializing in recovery issues), to find that the dual diagnosis approach to recovery and mental health was mentioned exactly once, then ignored in favor of the old "either/or" paradigm discarded by most of us in the eighties; thus the sections on addiction and mental health are of limited use, since the interactions between the two are ignored. This book is better than nothing, but you'll have to infer your treatment plans if you let yourself be limited by its contents. Hopefully a forthcoming edition will bring it's recovery paradigm into the nineties, before they're too far behind us.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars the best comprehensive, univeral book on mental health, October 3, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Caring for the Mind: The Comprehensive Guide To Mental Health (Paperback)

Having first discovered this remarkable book in my local suburban library whilst preparing my training course for volunteers on a 24 hour HELPLINE (for relatives and friends of those with a mental illness), I felt that this large paperback was the best book I had seen. As a social worker, I also needed up to date information and chapters with sections detailed on aspects of psychiatry, and this book was perfect. However, I have found it difficult to purchase it here. I cannot take out a permanent loan from the library, so I must buy a copy for me and also one for a friend who also works in the field! An excellent well presented text!.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars comprehensive, understandable, very easy to use, August 15, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Caring for the Mind: The Comprehensive Guide To Mental Health (Paperback)

Linda Selliger's is useful, Caring for the Mind goes beyond useful because of its comprehensive discussion of all aspects of the diagnosis and treatments that are currently accepted. A section in each diagnostic catagory gives a "how does this illness or distress feel to the individual" which helps to illuminate the characterists of the problem, adding to better understanding of the diagnosis.