Abstract

The Disorders is a derivative volume of articles pulled from the award-winning Encyclopedia of Mental Health, providing A-to-Z coverage of the many disorders afflicting mental health patients, including alcohol problems, Alzheimer's disease, depression, epilepsy, gambling, obsessive-compulsive disorder, phobias, and suicide.
According to 1990 estimates, mental disorders represent five of the ten leading causes of disability.* Among "developed" nations, including the United States, major depression is the leading cause of disability. Also near the top of these rankings are bipolar depression, alcohol dependence, schizophrenia, and obsessive-compulsive disorder. In addition, mental disorders are tragic contributors to mortality, with suicide perennially representing one of the leading preventable causes of death worldwide.
The Disorders presents a comprehensive overview of the disorders afflicting mental health patients. It describes the impact of mental health on the individual and society and illustrates the factors that aid positive mental health. Thirty-five peer-reviewed articles written by more than 50 expert authors include essential material on specific disorders affecting modern society. Professionals and libraries will find this timely work indispensable.
"The litmus test for a volume such as this rests in asking two questions. Are the articles cogent articulations of current thinking and methodology? Do they serve to both explicate and enrich the subject area? These critera, we can say, are satisfied. This book deserves a strong recommendation as a test and reference for psychopathology. Broad based, the book is written by experts for generalists as well as for those doing clinical work in the given areas... The diversity, clinical coverage, and liveliness of the ideas make this collection stimulating for practitioners and academics alike. Each topic enjoys a robust portrayal. Disorders are place in epidemiological context, their diagnostic features provided, and their most obvious forms illustrated. The often overlooked social impairment or prevention is refreshingly included in many cases, elucidating the implications of the disorders beyond matters of diagnosis and invervention, also covered thoroughly in most cases."
-CONTEMPORARY PSYCHOLOGY
"The majority of mental health students and professionals would find this book immensely useful... Information is well organized and easily accessible..."
-DOODY REVIEW SERVICES