The family, that most fundamentalof human groups, is currently perceived to be changing in response to social, biological, cultural and technological developments in our postmodernsociety. While the observed changes in families have been considered by some sociologists to be evidence of adaptation and, therefore, normal, the authors of this volume, consider them maladaptive. Viewing society from the point of view of clinical psychiatry, they point to greatly increased numbers of children born to single mothers, soaring rates of divorce, a statistically confirmed increase in mental disorders,...

'It is indeed the merit of Dr. Alan F. Casy to bring in these pages a clear and comprehensive view of medicinal stereochemistry, a discipline in which he has been active and successful for many years both as a teacher and a researcher. Written for graduate students and research workers in medicinal chemistry and pharmacology, this book will contribute significantly towards a better education of scientists by removing the fear of stereochemistry caused by ignorance, moderating the overconfidence of possible zealots, and outlining a broader context.'-from the foreword by Bernard Testa

Building on the work of Janet, Jung, and Fairbairn, the author details a comprehensive theory of pathology and integrates the major schools of treatment into a holistic outpatient milieu therapy. Abroms emphasizes the role of personality dissociation in depressive pathologies, and works toward unifying the self into a more aware, spiritually connected whole. Clinicians working from a variety of viewpoints will find fruit in his work.

Today there is an overall greater awareness and acceptance of ethnic diversity in American society and a clearer definition of the United States as a pluralistic nation. The last U.S. census showed that well over 100 million Americans, white and non white, identify with an ethnic group. Ethnicity is indicative of more than the personal distinc tiveness derived from race, religion, national origin, or ge ography. It denotes the culture of people-that powerful yet subtle factor that shapes values, attitudes, perceptions, needs, modes of expression, patterns of behavior, and identity. From a...

In this book we present a conceptually integrated approach to disorders of mood. These disorders are defined narrowly as the clinical syndromes of mania and melancholia. The latter is our particular focus, for the simple reason that it is more common and thus more is known about it. Our approach owes much to Adolf Meyer, who first used the term psychobiology. It was he who emphasized in a practical way the importance of the clinician consider ing the joint contribution of psychosocial and biological factors in the genesis of mental disorders. However, until the 1960s, our relative ignorance...

It is sobering to reflect that it has been nearly fifty years since Thomas French's article on the "Interrelations between Psychoanalysis and the Experimental Work of Pavlov," representing the first psychoanalyst to bridge the gap between the theories of conditioning, was published. In hjs paper French clearly delineated the manner and directions in which these two points of view might enrich each other. Regrettably, his open ness to new ideas has not been characteristic of most "schools" of psychiatry thought, which have tended instead to develop an unfortu nate degree of insularity. This...

Nearly a century ago, Emile Durkheim founded the sociology of educa tion on the French cultural and structural premise that the function of educators is to transmit culture from one generation to the next. The clarity of his vision was aided by the era, the place, and the actors in the learning environment. His was an era when the relatively seamless web of western culture, although ripping and straining, was still intact. The place, post-Napoleonic France, was vertically stratified and elaborately structured. And the teachers had reason to think they were agents of authority, whereas most...

This is the inaugural volume of the new series: Critical Issues in Psychiatry: An Educational Series for Residents and Clinicians. It is an appropriate beginning, for this book represents a milestone in the evolution of psychiatric education. For the first time, there will now be a single place where one can find a compre hensive collection of educational goals and objectives to define the broad spectrum of knowledge and skills essential for general and child psychiatry. This collection does not represent the bias of a single educator or program. Rather, it consists of a consensually...

When this series was conceived, a book on substance abuse, including alcohol and alcoholism, was to be of the highest priority. This priority was a reflection of my view that the subject is often inadequately or insufficient ly taught in many training programs. Few clinicians have had comprehen sive didactic education in this area, despite the frequency with which these problems are encountered in practice. All too often these encounters are in situations in which accurate diagnosis and rapid treatment are of critical im portance. We wanted a book that would be concise and easily readable but...

When this series was conceived, a book on substance abuse, including alcohol and alcoholism, was to be of highest priority. This priority was a reflection of my view that the subject is often taught inadequately or insufficiently in many training programs. Yet these problems are com monly encountered in clinical practice, and all too often in situations where accurate diagnosis and rapid treatment are of critical importance. We wanted a book that would be concise and easily readable but also comprehensive in its presentation of the basic principles underlying clinical manifestations,...