Mental Health Social Work: Evidence-Based Practice.

Mental Health Social Work: Evidence-Based Practice. Mental Health Social Work: Evidence-Based Practice. ColinPritchard. Basingstoke, England: Taylor & Francis, 2006, 324 pages.ISBN ISBNabbr.International Standard Book NumberISBNInternational Standard Book NumberISBNn abbr (= International Standard Book Number) → ISBN m: 0-415-31902-1 $20.99 paperback. Colin Pritchard's Mental Health Social Work: Evidence-BasedPractice is a unique blend of scholarship and practical applications andan infusion of relevant insights into mental health as captured by someof the greats of British literature British literature is literature from the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands. By far the largest part of this literature is written in the English language, but there are also separate literatures in Latin, Welsh, Scottish Gaelic, Scots, Cornish, Manx, . Not only is it an informative pieceof scholarship, but it is written in a manner that is enjoyable to read.Pritchard conveys throughout the book a respect for individuals withmental illness and his gratitude for the invaluable knowledge he gainedfrom clients throughout his years of mental health practice. The first four chapters of the book provide a historical overviewof mental disorders as well as a psychiatric framework for practice.Using this framework, the remaining 10 chapters of the book encompassthe psychiatric, biopsychosocial, and emergency perspectives related toevidence-based mental health practice in social work. Within theseperspectives are chapters on what Pritchard terms the minor mentalhealth disorders (for example, neuroses, substance abuse, andpersonality disorders Personality DisordersDefinitionPersonality disorders are a group of mental disturbances defined by the fourth edition, text revision (2000) of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV) ) and the major mental health disorders (forexample, depression, bipolar disorder bipolar disorder,formerly manic-depressive disorderor manic-depression,severe mental disorder involving manic episodes that are usually accompanied by episodes of depression. , and schizophrenia), as well asinterfacing issues including housing, child welfare, and suicide. Thebook provides the latest research evidence for related treatments and isfurther strengthened by each chapter's inclusion of learningobjectives and case studies. Mental Health Social Work: Evidence-Based Practice providesvaluable insights into how (British) culture shapes definitions andsystems of evidence-based practice and service delivery. As such,Pritchard's text provides a very helpful juxtaposition juxtaposition/jux��ta��po��si��tion/ (-pah-zish��un) apposition. jux��ta��po��si��tionn.The state of being placed or situated side by side. when used asa supplement to an American-based perspective. I recommend it as avaluable addition to the practitioner's resource library as well asa supplemental text for use in the classroom. Once you read this book,you will no doubt agree with me that Pritchard certainly earned therecognition of Emeritus at the University of Southhampton. Catherine N. Dulmus, PhD Buffalo Center for Social Research School of Social Work University at Buffalo