Mental Disorders, Medications, and Clinical Social Work

By Sonia G. Austrian

Book Overview

Austrian discusses the etiology, epidemiology, assessment, and intervention planning for common mental disorders. Looking at disorders from an ecosystems perspective, Austrian goes beyond a linear classification approach and DSM-IV-TR categories and encourages social workers to analyze the internal and external environmental factors that contribute to a disorder's development. Austrian's discussion of effective intervention(s) for a particular client also stresses the importance of working with families in treating disorders.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0231081243
• ISBN13: 9780231081245
• Release Date: January 1995
• Publisher: Columbia Univ Pr
• Length: 300 Pages
• Weight: 1.38 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.3" x 0.8" x 6.1"

Customer Reviews

Very Helpful, Useful, and Relevent

I've kept this book close by since I purchased it in 2002. It is a great resource for students as well as practicing clinicians. I have incorporated this volume in my regular study regimen. For each chapter of the DSM-IV-TR I read the corresponding chapters in the following texts: Austrian's Book, Morrison's "DSM-IV Made Easy", Carson, Butcher & Mineka's "Abnormal Psychology and Modern Life", and lastly the "Oxford Textbook of Psychotherapy", by Gabbard, Beck, & Holmes. I have found each of the noted 5 texts immeasurably helpful in my development as a clinician & psychotherapist.

A helpful learning tool

I am an MSW student and have found this book extremely helpful as I concomitantly study the DSM-IV-TR. Combining the reading of, for example, anxiety disorders in the DSM with Austrian's chapter on anxiety disorders helps clarify assessment criteria. I don't believe the purpose of her book is to discuss the shortfalls of the DSM but rather to aid social workers in gaining a better grasp of its contents. I see her introduction as a disclaimer. The DSM is a necessary evil - whether we like it or not, many of us work in environments where its use is unavoidable. Given that, Austrian provides her opinion, rightfully in the introduction, and then gets down to business with the purpose of the book. I do recommend this book for people wanting to learn, but can't speak for those who feel they have already learned it all.