Customer Reviews

Kaplan and Sadock's Comprehensive Textbook of Psychiatry (2 Volume Set)

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

As the title says, this is an extremely comprehensive and up to date text containing all you ever wanted to know (plus things you never knew existed) about psychiatry - from its historical roots, biological, psychological and social determinants, medications, psychiatric sub-specialties, plus other detailed information about topics that are often not even mentioned in similar psychiatric texts.

Consequently this is a very lengthy tome and one might find onseself having to sift through a lot of information to reach the specific information that is being sought. All opinions and current research on a topic is broadly covered in a well-balanced manner. As with all "comprehensive" texts, information tends to be repeated (and sometimes fragmented) in multiple sections and this can be frustrating when one is trying to gather all the information on a given topic (which does not fall under one of the multiple headings).

...But modern information technology to the rescue with the CD-ROM version. The interface is very flexible and configurable with a powerful search engine for the complete text, images & medications contained within; there is the ability to highlight (in user defined colours) & annotate text; one can even edit, rewrite, format, cut & paste text and images in a way akin to a "lite" edition of MS Word... If you have plenty of printer toner and reams of paper, you could even print YOUR VERY OWN edition of this Comprehensive Textbook of Psychiatry (for private use only of course!)

I am unclear why, but the significant advantage of being able to fully manipulate the contents and rapidly search the CD-ROM version (as opposed to the bulky 2 volumes book set) is not heavily promoted by the publisher (their technical support team were not even able to confirm if this version could be edited when I rang them). This would have been a big selling point in my opinion.

Final comment - very pricey text (moreso when you know how much CD-ROM media costs) - however not many other options available of the same calibre. Definitely a specialist reference, and probably worth the money if you're in the mental health profession or undergoing post-graduate studies in this field.

This textbook is definitly the GOLD STANDARD concerning the everyday learning and practice of psychiatry . The huge sum of persons involved in its making gives it the credibility other textbooks lack . Every section going from neural sciences to ethic problems going thru psychopharmacology and child psychiatry has been thouroughly discussed with a simple , clear and precise manner . Every graduate in psychiatry ( as myself ) should get his hands on this book . It's a MUST ...

If you are a therapist, psychologist, psychiatris, or just love to learn about psychiatry, this is an amazing reference book set. It is an encyclopedia on psychiatry. I used this set of books in my classes for my masters degree in Marital and Family Therapy. It was reccomended to me by my supervisor, a licensed psychologist for over 30 years, as a good reference book for my education and my private practice. If you are in the field, you need this book.

This is probably the best reference/text to be found concerning psychiatry (and related fields). Anyone in a behavioral science field could benefit from this 2 volume, 55 chapter text. Excellent information, case studies, algorithms, tables & figures, & DSM-IV-TR/ICD-10 dx criteria, etc.

A major shortcoming is the index. The index could be much more detailed considering how much detail is in the text. As noted by another reviewer, one might have to tediously comb through an entire chapter or section to find information not indexed. However, the lackluster index doesn't outweigh the utility of this product.

If you are in psychiatry, then you know that this is the basic textbook of psychiatry training. If you are a medical student (unless you are going into psychiatry), this book is to comprehensive as a reference, and I strongly recommend the 10th edition synopsis book, which itself is around 1500 pages. This book has everything in it, and great tables to boot. I don't find it overwehlming to read as well. Though it may explain a lot of history behind a diagnosis and diffent changes throughout the course of it, it does not come off as being an "overwordy" text, like many comprehensive textbooks can be. It does not leave me with the "what did I just read, i need to re-read that" sense. So this is a good investment for the psychiatrist, and an absolute investment for any resident. This book, when actually used, will allow you to pass the boards.

I first purchased the 6th edition of CTP a few years back, and new I had to keep up with this exciting title. The 6th edition deserved 5 stars, however, this latest edition has a few mistakes and isn't put together well at all. Overall, the 7th edition is a great book and necessary for students of psychiatry and possibly other disciplines; There are new topics, new medications, and new pictures/diagrams, however, the biggest problem is how the disorders are presented. In the 6th edition, one could simply turn to page 1236 for GAD and all biological, anatomical, psychodynamic, and treatment concerns. In the 7th edition the chapters are split into categories, so if you want to look up GAD your stuck reading the whole anxiety section to find the information. Very bad for reference. I've found several spelling errors and scientific errors as well. If this is just another book to add to your library and your well educated enough to pick up mistakes then it's okay, otherwise I'd wait to see what the 8th edition of CTP brings.

Inaccurate on ME (CFS). The treatment of ME is better than most other general texts in that it does have a few facts such as some details on endocrine and immune pathology. But it also repeats the same old falsehoods found in a lot of others. These include that there is good evidence for CBT and GET; no listing of other therapies; stating that etiology is in part at least probably psychiatric; etc. Obviously a careful review of the literature was not conducted.

This CD is very easy to navigate and it holds the whole
2-volume text of Kaplan and Sadock's textbook. The textbook is the smartest and most coplete book that I ever encounted in murky field of Psych.
As for myself, it is much easier to scroll the computer screen than glean into such heavy printed manual as K&S's.

Beware! The publishers of the current, 9th, edition advertise online access. Indeed, the publishers provided excellent access from the text's publication in June 2009 until they closed it at the beginning of this year. Online access is now again available, but has been (at what must have been considerable expense) revamped so that one can no longer use one's computer to print sections for personal use. In the process, they've also made it less readable on a computer screen as well. I had used the text almost exclusively online, because each of the two volumes (10+ pounds each) is too heavy for any sustained or repeated use. Of course, no will buy another copy because Lippincott Williams & Wilkins and Wolters Kluwer, the publishers, have decided to prevent online use that they've already sold, which means they're not making more money. They are, however, discouraging further sales: anyone who seriously wants to study the text will now want to use a copy machine. Also, of course, many who have previous editions will simply use someone else's for the occasional newer material.

Drawing from history, culture, some Anthropology and Literature, Genetics, Epidemiology, Psychology and of course Medicine and Psychiatry, this is the Grand-daddy of Mental health texts. It also makes for a fascinating read (albeit in small chunks at a time) unlike texts in most other fields of medicine.