As one of Mitchell Rosenthal’s last contributions to our field, this comprehensive text certainly does not disappoint. With this handbook, Mitchell Rosenthal, along with his coeditors, Robert Frank and Bruce Caplan, seek to provide the reader with a career’s worth of experience and knowledge. This comprehensive rehabilitation psychology handbook provides a breadth of information, covering clinical conditions commonly treated in the rehabilitation setting, assessment of functioning following injury, clinical interventions, pediatric rehabilitation, special interest topics such as spirituality, and professional practice issues. The text will appeal to students, practitioners, and rehabilitation researchers. The Handbook’s comprehensive coverage of the field is a major strength. The editors manage to cover most relevant topics within rehabilitation psychology while also creating a resource which is easy to read and well-organized. The Handbook will make an excellent textbook for a graduate level course on rehabilitation psychology. It will also serve as an excellent reference for the multidisciplinary professionals involved in rehabilitation including neurologists, physiatrists, nurses, and rehabilitation therapists.

The Handbook is divided into six sections: Part I provides the reader with current research and practice guidelines for the medical conditions most commonly treated in a rehabilitation setting. These include neurological conditions, such as traumatic brain injury, stroke, multiple sclerosis, and dementia, as well as physical medicine conditions, such as spinal cord injury, limb amputation, burns, and chronic pain. Part II focuses on common methods for assessment and evaluation of the psychosocial and neurobehavioral sequelae of the clinical conditions addressed in the book. There are chapters that address evaluation of functional status and quality of life, neuropsychological and forensic evaluation in a rehabilitation setting, assessment of personality and psychopathology, as well as the utility of neuroimaging in patients with central nervous system dysfunction. Part III provides a review of psychological interventions. An entire chapter is dedicated to the treatment of substance use disorders, while another chapter covers adjustment to disability, and a third chapter focuses on meeting the needs of the primary caregiver. Two additional chapters address methods of cognitive rehabilitation and the use of assistive technology for patients with cognitive impairments. One third of the chapters in the second edition are new and representative of the current state of the field. The second half of the book houses most of these major changes. Part IV represents an entirely new addition to the Handbook, and addresses the specific needs of pediatric patient populations. Areas addressed include the role of the pediatric neuropsychologist in a rehabilitation setting, a review of neurodevelopmental conditions, rehabilitation in such chronic conditions as Juvenile rheumatic disease, and the role of family, school, and the community in the rehabilitation process. Part V addresses several new areas in the field of rehabilitation psychology that affect patient outcome. These include vocational rehabilitation, the role of spirituality, special issues in female populations, the impact of society on disability, neuroplasticity as it relates to treatment outcome, work-related injury, and so-called “positive psychology.” Part VI addresses professional practice issues relevant to the rehabilitation setting, including professional ethics, federal healthcare policy, administration of inpatient rehabilitation teams, and developing competency as a rehabilitation psychologist, with an emphasis on the process for seeking diplomate status through the American Board of Rehabilitation Psychology (ABRP).

Individual chapters in the Handbook are written by leading researchers and clinicians within rehabilitation-related specialties. Readers will be impressed with chapters authored by Janet E. Farmer (Chapter 19) on neurodevelopmental disabilities, Erin D. Bigler (Chapter 13) on neuroimaging, and Thomas A. Novack (Chapter 10) on traumatic brain injury. As is the case with most books covering such an expansive topic, there are a few notable weaknesses. To some degree, depth is sacrificed for breadth of content. Experienced clinicians and scholars may need to turn to other sources for a more in-depth, advanced treatment of some topics. Nonetheless, the Handbook can serve as a useful quick and secondary source. A second drawback is that the new edition does not entirely replace the first. Several chapters from first edition were not carried over to the second edition, a decision which the editors made to maintain a manageable volume of information. One noticeable omission is that there is no longer a chapter addressing the challenges and importance of outcome research within rehabilitation psychology. Given the state of our healthcare system, and increasing challenges clinicians face obtaining reimbursement for services provided, the omission of this chapter is unfortunate. In fact, it could be argued that there has never been such an important time to focus on outcome research and proving the effectiveness of the services provided by rehabilitation psychologists.

Neuropsychologists may be less impressed with the chapters covering assessment and treatment of personality and psychopathology. While these chapters do highlight the importance of distinguishing between neurological and environmental or situational factors impacting personality and psychological functioning, relatively little attention is spent explaining the neurological mechanisms which can result in psychological disorders and even less attention is paid toward interventions addressing these conditions. Particularly disappointing is the lack of information regarding the risks and benefits of psychopharmacological interventions for these patient populations given the frequency with which antidepressant, neuroleptic, stimulant, anticholinesterase inhibitor, and similar medications are used.

Despite these few limitations, the second edition of Handbook of Rehabilitation Psychology provides a comprehensive but approachable resource on almost all topics relevant to rehabilitation psychology. As a result, the text should have broad appeal not only to rehabilitation psychologists and neuropsychologists, but also to multiple disciplines that collaborate in the rehabilitation enterprise.