Professor Dean McKay, Professor Jonathan S. Abramowitz and Professor Eric A. Storch, with over 1000 publications between them are the renowned editors. Dean McKay, PhD, is the Professor of Psychology at Fordham University in New York. He serves on the board of directors of the Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) specialty area for the American Board of Professional Psychology. He was President for the Association of Behavioural and Cognitive Therapies (2013–2014). Jonathan S. Abamowitz, PhD, Professor and Associate Chair of Psychology, and Research Professor of Psychiatry at the University of North Carolina, also a past President for the Association of Behaviour and Cognitive Therapies (2014–2015). Whilst, Eric A. Storch, PhD, occupies the position of Professor of Clinical Psychology in the departments of Paediatrics, Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences, and Health Policy and Management at the University of South Florida, and the All Childrens Hospital Guild Endowed Chair, where he is also Director of Research.
Each of the editors are internationally renowned experts in the field of CBT, their professional background and interests set the tone for this first edition volume published in 2017.
The authors number 82 contributors, all of whom have a grounding in psychological medicine. Between them, in this volume, they have produced 33 contemporary and informative chapters written within 550 pages, whilst citing close to 3000 references. The quality of authorship referencing, bibliography and indexing is excellent, it has clearly taken a great deal of effort and ability to produce.
The editors set out three aims for this volume with the clinical practitioner firmly in mind. ‘To shed light on both the empirically supported and the unsupported components of conceptual models of psychopathology’; to inform clinicians the impact various sequencing of treatment interventions may have on clinical outcomes; and third, to identify the features of psychopathology sometimes encountered that can interfere with the effectiveness of established clinical interventions. These collective aims are designed to guide the clinician towards empirically supported treatment methods in the execution of their practice.
Chapters typically begin with a comprehensive description on the nature of the problem or syndrome in focus, followed by discussion around information and data concerning predisposing factors, aetiology, incidence and prevalence. There is often a description and interesting discussion of the relevant theoretical models on the subject. Towards the end of each chapter there is commonly a section on ‘treatment appraisal and applications of treatment’. Here can be found a description of the current relevant treatments and an appraisal of their effectiveness supported by extensive review of the evidence in the literature, then follows a conclusion that draws together this information and on which recommendations for treatment are proposed.
Each chapter explores a discrete subject area. The earlier chapters focus on the full range of anxiety disorders and are comprehensively covered. What then follows does not obviously follow any particular order or grouping of subject matter and generally each chapter stands alone. There are chapters giving attention to childhood emotional and behaviour problems, affective disorders, intimate relationship difficulties, alcohol use disorders, insomnia, paraphilias, hoarding, trichotillomania and non-suicidal self-injury, to name some of them. Some subject areas are only briefly touched on, with a relatively small chapter given to Schizophrenia and another to Borderline Personality Disorder for example. Relatively new areas that are gathering interest are introduced also, with a chapter devoted to Neural Network Models, promoting the importance of understanding mechanisms of learning and memory, and there is another on Acceptance & Commitment Therapy, which appears to be a treatment of interest throughout a number of sections in this volume.
Also worth noting is the connection it has established with the 5th edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5). In each chapter of this volume the disorder, syndrome or problem in focus is underpinned by knowledge and clinical guidance contained in the DSM-5. This most recent edition of DSM introduced a number of changes in its 2013 publication, many have still not filtered into general clinical knowledge thus far, so it is with added benefit this volume will inform those who have not had access to the DSM-5, and will keep the reader up with the latest thinking presented within it.
With reference to the three aims the editors had set out to achieve, they have successfully accomplished all they set out to. It feels close to being exhaustive in its examination of the most relevant empirically supported interventions for the problems and syndromes contained within this volume. Historically, filtering this knowledge to the clinicians on the front line has been challenging, as many barriers have prevented the flow of necessary information. This volume takes a major step to help overcome these difficulties. The contributors have searched through vast quantities of relevant papers, and painstakingly sorted through them to reveal the best supported treatment methods known to date. In essence they have done the hard work so others don’t have to so much. Their efforts will greatly assist therapists to utilise the strongest empirically supported evidence-based treatments into their practice. This is an outstanding book, definitely worth considering and is highly recommended to students, educators, researchers and clinicians with an interest in this field.
Conflicts of Interest
None.
