The idea that there is a fundamental rift between researchers and practitioners should not come as a surprise to anyone familiar with the current literature, trends, and general feelings in the field of clinical psychology. Central to this scientist-practitioner gap is an underlying disagreement over the nature of knowledge - namely that while some individuals point to research studies as the foundation of truth, others argue that clinical experience offers a more adequate understanding of the causes, assessment, and treatment of mental illness.

The Great Ideas of Clinical...

Personality Disorders: Toward the DSM-V offers a scientifically balanced evaluation of competing theoretical perspectives and nosological systems for personality disorders. Editors William T. O'Donohue, Scott O. Lilienfeld, and Katherine A. Fowler have brought together recognized authorities in the field to offer a synthesis of competing perspectives that provide readers with the richest and most nuanced assessment possible for each disorder. The result is a comprehensive, current, and critical summary of research and practice guidelines related to the personality disorders.

Can self-help recordings containing subliminal messages improve your self-esteem or memory? Is hypnotic age-regression therapy a valid way of rediscovering lost childhood memories? Does Thought Field Therapy effectively treat anxiety by manipulating energy fields?
A dizzying array of popular psychology books, articles, and promotion campaigns tout these and other alleged remedies for psychological problems. Faced with this confusion, consumers of mental health services need guidelines for finding effective therapy. This useful book brings together accessible, nontechnical articles by...

This rigorous yet reader-friendly book reviews the state of the science on a broad range of psychological issues commonly encountered in the forensic context. The goal is to help professionals and students differentiate between supported and unsupported psychological techniques--and steer clear of those that may be misleading or legally inadmissible. Leading contributors focus on controversial issues surrounding recovered memories, projective techniques, lie detection, child witnesses, offender rehabilitation, psychopathy, violence risk assessment, and more. With a focus on real-world legal...

50 Great Myths of Popular Psychology uses popular myths as a vehicle for helping students and laypersons to distinguish science from pseudoscience.

• Uses common myths as a vehicle for exploring how to distinguish factual from fictional claims in popular psychology
• Explores topics that readers will relate to, but often misunderstand, such as 'opposites attract', 'people use only 10% of their brains', and 'handwriting reveals your personality'
• Provides a 'mythbusting kit' for evaluating folk psychology claims in everyday life
• Teaches essential...

Since its creation more than eighty years ago, the famous Rorschach inkblot test has become an icon of clinical psychology and popular culture. Administered over one million times world-wide each year, the Rorschach is used to assess personality and mental illness across a wide range of circumstances: child custody disputes, educational placement decisions, employment and termination proceedings, parole determinations, and even investigations of child abuse allegations. The test's enormous power shapes the lives of hundreds of thousands of people -- often without their knowledge. In the...

Written in a lively and entertaining style, Facts and Fictions in Mental Health examines common conceptions and misconceptions surrounding mental health and its treatment. Each chapter focuses on a misconception and is followed by a discussion of related findings from scientific research.

• A compilation of the authors' -Facts and Fictions- columns written for Scientific American Mind, with the addition of six new columns exclusive to this book
• Written in a lively and often entertaining style, accessible to both the undergraduate and the interested general...

This valued resource helps practitioners and students evaluate the merits of popular yet controversial practices in clinical psychology and allied fields, and base treatment decisions on the best available research. Leading authorities review widely used therapies for a range of child, adolescent, and adult disorders, differentiating between those that can stand up to the rigors of science and those that cannot. Questionable assessment and diagnostic techniques and self-help models are also examined. The volume provides essential skills for thinking critically as a practitioner, evaluating...

This valued resource helps practitioners and students evaluate the merits of popular yet controversial practices in clinical psychology and allied fields, and base treatment decisions on the best available research. Leading authorities review widely used therapies for a range of child, adolescent, and adult disorders, differentiating between those that can stand up to the rigors of science and those that cannot. Questionable assessment and diagnostic techniques and self-help models are also examined. The volume provides essential skills for thinking critically as a practitioner, evaluating...