"Psychological problems are simply aspects of our behavior- broadly defined to include our ways of thinking, perceiving, feeling, and acting-that cause us distress or interfere with functioning in important areas of our lives. This straightforward and pragmatic definition of psychological problems is offered as an alternative to the current medical model view in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders published by the American Psychiatric Association and the International Classification of Diseases published by the World Health Organization that dominates thinking about psychological problems in most of the world today. Psychological problems are not the result of terrifying illnesses of the mind. Although can be very distressing and problematic for individuals, they are surprisingly commonplace variations in the natural continua of psychological problems that arise in perfectly ordinary ways. This perspective has the advantages of scientific validity and reducing the stigma inherent in viewing psychological problems as mental illnesses, mental disorders, or psychopathology"--

A remarkable and extremely important ongoing positive revolution in how we think about psychological problems is rapidly reaching a tipping point. This book provides a manifesto for this revolution. An increasing number of psychologists and psychiatrists are proposing that we either radically change the next edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of the Mental Disorders and the International Classification of Diseases or leave them behind entirely. The author argues for a view of psychological problems that is far less stigmatizing and better supported by the data but which will require large changes in thinking. First, there is no clear distinction between "normal" and "abnormal" psychological functioning. Psychological problems do not reflect rare and terrifying "illnesses" of the mind, but are problematic ways of thinking, feeling, and behaving that lie on continuous dimensions from minor to severe. Crucially, psychological problems are ordinary aspects of the human experience. They are ordinary in the sense of being commonplace-the great majority of us will experience distressing and disruptive psychological problems at some time during our lives-and are ordinary in arising through the same natural interplay of genetic and environmental influences as any other aspect of behavior. The dimensions of psychological problems are highly correlated and these correlations provide vital clues as that allow us to see a hierarchy of causes of psychological problems for the first time. These range from factors that influence the likelihood of exhibiting some kind of psychological problem, but not which kind, to highly specific causes.

This book takes a comprehensive approach to all aspects of mental health, holistically examining the cognitive, emotional, social, and spiritual dimensions of mental health. By examining mental health from a variety of perspectives, the authors have created a holistic view that incorporates public health, medicine and psychiatry, psychology, counseling, and health education. Both classic and contemporary sources support the basic premise of the text, that total health is a complex tapestry of many wellness factors, but that mental health is the integrating cloth woven throughout that lends substance and support to the quality of human experience. For mental or emotional health counselors.

An important new guide to flexible empirically supported practice in CBT. There is a growing movement across health care to adopt empirically supported practice. Treatments for Psychological Problems and Syndromes makes an important contribution by offering a comprehensive guide for adopting a more flexible approach to cognitive behavioural therapy. Edited by three recognized experts in the field of CBT, the text has three key aims: firstly to identify components of models describing specific psychological conditions that are empirically supported, poorly supported or unsupported; secondly to propose theoretical rationales for sequencing of interventions, and criteria for moving from one treatment procedure to the next; and thirdly to identify mechanisms of psychological syndromes that may interfere with established protocols in order to promote more informed treatment and improve outcomes. Written in clear and concise terms, this is an authoritative guide that will be relevant and useful to a wide range of readers from beginning clinicians to experienced practitioners.

In a book that reframes the mental health debate, Robert L. Gallon challenges the widely-held notion that mental disorders are medical diseases. Drawing on his extensive experience as a psychologist who has worked with thousands of patients, he argues that there are no objective indicators of mental disorders and therefore no way of drawing a distinct line between people who have them and people who don't. He outlines an alternative to the disease model defined by nine dimensions of dysfunction that encompass the range of human dysfunctions typically classified as mental disorders. He explains the origin of these problems, not as chemical imbalances and genetic abnormalities, but as the complex interaction of biological, psychological and social factors, called the Biopsychosocial model. Gallon explains the history of psychiatry and how it came to develop a medical model that codifies mental disorders in the psychiatric bible, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), now in its fifth edition. He demonstrates how, in 1950s and 1960s when the miracle psychiatric drugs came on the market, it was to the great economic advantage of both pharmaceutical companies and psychiatrists to describe people's problems in the language of medicine. His alternative to this disease model suggests descriptive types--Reality Misperception, Mood Dysfunction, Anxiety, Cognitive Competence, Social Competence, Somatoform Dysfunction, Substance Dependence, Motivation and Impulse Control, and Socialization Dysfunction--that we can construct to discuss the kinds and severities of problems people experience. These are not discrete abnormalities, but are sorts of dysfunction that can be placed on dimensions of dysfunction. Table of Contents Part I History of Madness 1. Introduction and Some Definitions 2. How madness became Medical 3. The Rise of Psychiatric Diagnosis 4. An Alternative Model Part II Dimensions of Madness 5. Reality Misperception 6. Mood Dysfunction 7. Anxiety 8. Cognitive Competence 9. Social Competence 10. Somatoform Dysfunction 11. Substance Dependence 12. Motivation and Impulse Control 13. Socialization Dysfunction Part III Treatment and Other Issues 14. What is Mental Health Treatment? 15. The Future

This authoritative clinical reference and text--now revised and updated with 50% new content--presents the assessment tools and strategies that every evidence-based psychotherapy practitioner needs. Unlike most assessment texts, the volume is organized around specific clinical problems. It explains how to select and use the best measures to assess clients' symptoms, generate diagnoses, plan appropriate treatments, and monitor progress. Clinician- and student-friendly features include tables comparing and contrasting relevant measures, sample forms, and case examples. Every chapter addresses considerations for primary and managed care settings. New to This Edition *Chapters on new topics: assessment of well-being and transdiagnostic assessment. *New chapters on core topics: eating disorders, personality disorders, and insomnia. *Updated throughout with DSM-5 diagnostic changes, new and updated instruments, current research, and increased attention to transdiagnostic concerns. *Expanded coverage of obsessive–compulsive and related disorders. See also Clinical Handbook of Psychological Disorders, Sixth Edition, edited by David H. Barlow, which presents evidence-based treatments step by step.

Improving the measurement of symptoms of emotional disorders has been an important goal of mental health research. In direct response to this need, the Expanded Version of the Inventory of Depression and Anxiety Symptoms (IDAS-II) was developed to assess symptom dimensions underlying psychological disorders. Unlike other scales that serve as screening instruments used for diagnostic purposes, the IDAS-II is not closely tethered to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM); rather, its scales cut across DSM boundaries to examine psychopathology in a dimensional rather than a categorical way. Developed by authors David Watson and Michael O'Hara, the IDAS-II has broad implications for our understanding of psychopathology. Understanding the Emotional Disorders is the first manual for how to use the IDAS-II and examines important, replicable symptom dimensions contained within five adjacent diagnostic classes in the DSM-5: depressive disorders, bipolar and related disorders, anxiety disorders, obsessive-compulsive and related disorders, and trauma- and stressor-related disorders. It reviews problems and limitations associated with traditional, diagnosis-based approaches to studying psychopathology and establishes the theoretical and clinical value of analyzing specific types of symptoms within the emotional disorders. It demonstrates that several of these disorders contain multiple symptom dimensions that clearly can be differentiated from one another. Moreover, these symptom dimensions are highly robust and generalizable and can be identified in multiple types of data, including self-ratings, semi-structured interviews, and clinicians' ratings. Furthermore, individual symptom dimensions often have strikingly different correlates, such as varying levels of criterion validity, incremental predictive power, and diagnostic specificity. Consequently, it is more informative to examine these specific types of symptoms, rather than the broader disorders. The book concludes with the development of a more comprehensive, symptom-based model that subsumes various forms of psychopathology-including sleep disturbances, eating- and weight-related problems, personality pathology, psychosis/thought disorder, and hypochondriasis-beyond the emotional disorders.

In recent years, the assumption that there is a significant connection between normal psychological and biological differences and the development of psychological disorders has grown and research in this area has developed rapidly. This textbook, written by internationally known psychologists with expertise in both the areas of abnormal and differential psychology, aims to integrate evidence and idea from healthy personality and temperament on the one hand and psychological disorders on the other. This is achieved by viewing personality traits as predispositions to disorder, and by questioning how far the causes of various disorders can be seen as an extension or exaggeration of processes underlying normal personality or temperament. These main themes are discussed using a biological perspective, i.e., based on the theory that personality can be deconstructed into a number of basic dimensions (of biological origin) that also act as vulnerability factors for disorder. This is a second-level textbook for undergraduate students of psychology, but will also be recommended for health professionals and their trainees, psychiatrists, clinical psychologists and nurses.

This book presents an innovative approach to clinical assessment in psychiatry based on a number of psychopathological dimensions with a presumed underlying pathophysiology, that are related to fundamental phenomenological aspects and lie on a continuum from normality to pathology. It is described how the evaluation of these dimensions with a specific, validated rapid assessment instrument could easily integrate and enrich the classical diagnostic DSM-5 or ICD-10 assessment. The supplemental use of this dimensional approach can better capture the complexity underlying current categories of mental illness. The findings from a large patient sample suggest how this assessment could give a first glance at how variable and multifaceted the psychopathological components within a single diagnostic category can be, and thereby optimise diagnosis and treatment choices. Being short and easy to complete, this dimensional assessment can be done in a busy clinical setting, during an ordinary psychiatric visit, and in an acute clinical context, with limited effort by a minimally trained clinician. Therefore, it provides interesting and useful information without additional costs, and allows research work to be performed even in difficult settings.

What are the critical success factors in effective executive coaching? What are the key competencies of a psychologically-informed coach? What are the similarities and differences between coaching and therapy? This book provides business coaches and management consultants with the framework for a psychological approach to executive coaching. It shows how performance-related issues in the workplace often have a psychological dimension to them and provides the reader with an understanding of how to work in more depth to help people resolve their issues and unlock their potential. It analyzes what constitutes effective coaching, stressing the importance of sound coaching principles, good coaching process, the desirable competencies of the coach, the importance of the coaching relationship and the issue of ‘coachability’. It also examines the impact of a stronger psychological approach to coaching, exploring the key psychological competencies required, how to develop them, and the training and supervision issues implicit in this approach. A recurrent theme is the personal development of the coach throughout the coaching process and Peter Bluckert highlights the contribution that the Gestalt perspective offers the coach, through the use of self as instrument of change. Anecdotes, stories and case samples are used throughout the book to illustrate situations so that the reader builds a picture of what psychologically-informed coaching looks like and how to practice ethically, responsibly and competently. Psychological Dimensions to Executive Coachingprovides business and executive coaches, management consultants, human resource specialists, corporate executives/senior managers, health/social workers, occupational psychologists, teachers, psychotherapists and counsellors with the essential information they need to be successful coaches and empower their clients.