Psychodynamic Concepts in General Psychiatry brings together 37 nationally recognized psychodynamic psychiatrists who discuss in detail their understanding of how to work with specific types of patients. Separate chapters on clinical syndromes, including some of the most challenging that psychiatrists encounter—for example, in self-destructive, posttraumatic, and abused patients—provide both a historical review of dynamic perspectives and a detailed discussion of differential diagnosis and treatment selection for each disorder. Extensive clinical examples illustrating the underlying psychodynamic conflicts of patients with these disorders are presented as well.

Also addressed in this volume are the psychological aspects of the settings in which therapy is practiced and the ways in which those settings affect both the psychiatrist and the patient. The final section contains chapters on current topics of particular relevance: the psychology of prescribing and taking medication, the meaning and impact of interruptions in treatment, and the provocative findings of new outcome research and cost-offset studies. The book closes with a recommended curriculum for training in psyschodynamic psychiatry.

Reviews
“It is well organized, generally well written, incredibly thorough, and loaded with cogent clinical examples and vignettes. Each of the three dozen analytically trained contributors is an experienced clinician and ably shares his or her expertise. . . . It is an invaluable reference and should be picked up by a psychiatric resident or new practitioner when he or she changes treatment settings, and by all practitioners when they are faced with a challenging patient or a treatment impasse.”—Psychiatric Services

“This book is a useful reference for any mental health professional. The fundamental principles of psychodynamic theories and the understanding that they provide can only benefit a clinician, even if the majority of treatment is medication-focused. This book illustrates this point clearly. Psychodynamic Concepts in General Psychiatry would be a worthy addition to any health sciences library or bookstore and would make an excellent text for psychiatry residents.”—Doody’s Health Sciences Book Review Journal

“In a volume that is almost encyclopedic in its depth and breadth, nearly two-score contributing authors underline the importance of psychodynamic theory and practice for modern clinical psychiatry. With a multitude of well-chosen case vignettes, they demonstrate the utility of a psychodynamic approach for the evaluation and treatment of patients with a broad spectrum of psychiatric disorders in a wide variety of clinical settings, and they emphasize the necessity of including the teaching of psychodynamic principles in psychiatric training programs.”—John C. Nemiah, M.D., Professor of Psychiatry Emeritus, Dartmouth Medical School , Harvard Medical School, Cambridge, Massachusetts