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Your Mental Health: A Layman's Guide to the Psychiatrist's Bible
Two of the authors of the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, the standard reference in the field, explain the causes and treatments of various mental disorders and help readers perform self-diagnoses. 75,000 first printing. BOMC & QPB Alt.
- GenresPsychology
448 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1998
45 people want to read
About the author
Allen Frances
39 books43 followersAllen J. Frances (born 1942) is an American psychiatrist.
He is currently Professor and Chairman Emeritus of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Duke University School of Medicine.
He is best known for serving as chair of the American Psychiatric Association task force overseeing the development and revision of the fourth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV).
Frances is the founding editor of two well-known psychiatric journals: the Journal of Personality Disorders and the Journal of Psychiatric Practice.
He is currently Professor and Chairman Emeritus of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Duke University School of Medicine.
He is best known for serving as chair of the American Psychiatric Association task force overseeing the development and revision of the fourth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV).
Frances is the founding editor of two well-known psychiatric journals: the Journal of Personality Disorders and the Journal of Psychiatric Practice.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
January 8, 2022
Your Mental Health: A Layman’s Guide to the Psychiatrist’s Bible is a translation into regular English of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, also known as the DSM-IV, which was published in 1994. This edition of Your Mental Health was published in 1998. I’m pretty sure there have been one or more newer editions of the DSM since then. I think there may be one or two of the categories of mental illnesses discussed in the book that have seriously updated descriptions or treatments, but for the most part, the categories seem to be pretty much the same just as the illnesses will be pretty much the same. However, in newer editions, there may be newer medications or other treatments available.
Your Mental Health begins with a list of twenty questions you can use for preliminary self-diagnosis. Each of these questions refers you to a section of the book. There you will find both a brief introduction and a more in-depth description of the condition, some thoughts on how this condition is related to normal functioning, treatment options, and further resources for that condition. This is not a book intended primarily for self-treatment.
The book as a whole does a good job of demystifying the various mental health conditions and pointing out the various benefits and pitfalls of the available treatment options. Many of the conditions are very treatable now, although a few are less so.
It is a good read if you are interested in mental health at all.
Your Mental Health begins with a list of twenty questions you can use for preliminary self-diagnosis. Each of these questions refers you to a section of the book. There you will find both a brief introduction and a more in-depth description of the condition, some thoughts on how this condition is related to normal functioning, treatment options, and further resources for that condition. This is not a book intended primarily for self-treatment.
The book as a whole does a good job of demystifying the various mental health conditions and pointing out the various benefits and pitfalls of the available treatment options. Many of the conditions are very treatable now, although a few are less so.
It is a good read if you are interested in mental health at all.
June 27, 2022
Very useful guide to understanding and using the standard diagnostic system for assessing psychiatric conditions and seeking help as needed.
"Most psychiatric disorders result from an inborn genetic vulnerability that then interacts with all the many challenges our environment throws at us. Our genes are just as powerful in increasing the odds that we will get depressed, experience panic attacks, become an alcoholic, or have a paranoid temperament as they are in raising the risk for diabetes, heart disease, or cancer."
The authors are very aware of Darwinian natural selection. "If natural selection is so keen on promoting successful adaptation, why has it tolerated the survival of all of these seeming maladaptive patterns in our genetic repertoire? The most obvious answer is that natural selection is far from perfect . . . But beyond this, it is likely that all of the psychiatric disorders represent an exaggerated expression of the tendencies that in much more muted form confer adaptive advantages.
"Most psychiatric disorders result from an inborn genetic vulnerability that then interacts with all the many challenges our environment throws at us. Our genes are just as powerful in increasing the odds that we will get depressed, experience panic attacks, become an alcoholic, or have a paranoid temperament as they are in raising the risk for diabetes, heart disease, or cancer."
The authors are very aware of Darwinian natural selection. "If natural selection is so keen on promoting successful adaptation, why has it tolerated the survival of all of these seeming maladaptive patterns in our genetic repertoire? The most obvious answer is that natural selection is far from perfect . . . But beyond this, it is likely that all of the psychiatric disorders represent an exaggerated expression of the tendencies that in much more muted form confer adaptive advantages.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews