Essentials of Schizophrenia

Abstract

Reviews the book, Essentials of Schizophrenia edited by Jeffrey A. Lieberman, T. Scott Stroup, and Diana O. Perkins (see record 2011-19849-000). With the publication of this book, the editors have provided trainees in psychiatry with a wide-ranging and encompassing overview of schizophrenia that affords them a strong clinical introduction to the illness. The text is highly readable and follows the goal laid out in the preface, in which the editors assert that while much-needed research continues to increase understanding of the origins and treatments of schizophrenia, "there is much to be done to improve the lives and outcomes of patients with mental illness by applying existing knowledge and making evidence-based treatments available". In accomplishing this goal, the editors successfully book an approach that focuses only on the medical model of disease and treatment. The text clearly addresses and defines concepts that are frequently employed in clinical discussions. The book is highly recommended to psychiatry residents, medical and nursing students, and other trainees who may be early in their career. For clinicians already active in the field, the book will serve as a refresher that may challenge some of their current treatment approaches to an illness that remains both baffling and frustrating to treat. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved)