Insight and Psychosis [Hardcover]

Xavier F. Amador (Editor), Anthony S. David (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 8, 1998 | ISBN-10: 0195084977 | ISBN-13: 978-0195084979

The cornerstone of any psychiatric evaluation, the mental status exam, requires an assessment of insight -- a term commonly employed by clinicians to describe a patient's awareness (or lack thereof) of having a mental disorder. However, the relationship between the accuracy of self-knowledge and mental health is complex, and as a result the term "insight" has become riddled with conceptual ambiguities. This book takes a multidisciplinary approach to examine the nature and significance of insight. The first section introduces the issues and problems one is confronted with when attempting to gauge insight, and proposes solutions such as scales to make assessments. The second section investigates the origins of poor insight, while the third section examines cross-cultural differences in the awareness of and attitudes toward poor insight. The final sections explore the clinical implications of insight, including discussions on how insight affects behavior and examinations of advancements in the treatment of impaired insight. The volume presents recent advances in the study of insight from the perspectives of varied disciplines, including clinical and cognitive psychology, clinical and forensic psychiatry, neurology, neuropsychology, and philosophy, to provide a better understanding of the phenomenology, origins, cross-cultural differences, and clinical implications of insight.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Some books are memorable for the way in which they clarify a subject, assembling an array of seemingly unrelated facts into a coherent whole. Other books make their mark by unpacking the complexities of a topic that turns out to be more intricate then [sic] we had ever suspected. Insight and Psychosis falls in this latter group. . . . At a certain point in its development, a field is ripe for the kind of grand synthesis that shatters old paradigms and establishes new ones. The study of insight has not yet reached that stage. But the analytic approaches presented in this volume, cumulated over time, are the surest path toward the goal of convincingly explicating this complex and important phenomenon."--Psychiatric Services

"Students, as well as seasoned professionals, will appreciate the multiple perspectives, the development of the concept of insight and the delineation of its clinical implications brought together in one volume."--Readings

"The book is divided into five sections . . . Part I deals broadly with phenomenology. . . . Part II concentrates on models which may help to explain the aetiology of lack of insight. . . . Parts III and IV are concerned with social and behavioural aspects of the problem. . . . Part V deals with the clinical implications of impaired insight, highlighting again its association with poor treatment compliance. Here there is a satisfying shift from academic considerations to firmly practical measures. . . . In brief, this book can be highly commended as a landmark publication in a hitherto much neglected field. It presents a stimulating mix of theory, systematic research and basic clinical observation, and illustrates well the contribution of the new breed of clinician/neuroscientist to the advancement of understanding in a difficult and important arena. This work will doubtless become the major reference book for those working in the field for quite some time."--Cognitive Neuropsychiatry

About the Author

Xavier F. Amador, Assistant Professor in Clinical Psychology and Associate Science Director, Schizophrenia Research Unit, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons and New York State Psychiatric Institute. Anthony S. David, Senior Lecturer in Psychological Medicine and Consultant Psychiatrist, King's College Hospital and the Institute of Psychiatry, London.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 384 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (January 8, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0195084977
• ISBN-13: 978-0195084979
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.3 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,271,109 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars good book, September 29, 2011

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This review is from: Insight and Psychosis (Hardcover)

When I opened the package many large alive black ants crawled out everywhere, Now I have smashed dead ants on the book but it is still readable.argh....