Psychopathology: Foundations for a Contemporary Understanding
Psychopathology: Foundations for a Contemporary Understanding
Psychopathology is intended for first-year graduate students in clinical psychology, counseling psychology, and related fields, and it has been specifically designed to meet the needs of students in these courses. Maddux and Winstead have brought together the most distinguished researchers in the fields of clinical psychology and psychopathology in order to provide up-to-date information about theory and research, as well as to challenge students to think critically about psychopathology. Thoroughly revised and updated from the previous edition, the book focuses throughout on what has been demonstrated by research, not on what has been claimed by theories that may be accepted or traditional but lack empirical support. The first section presents and analyzes the basic concepts we need to understand any disorder; the second examines the disorders most frequently encountered in clinical practice.
User Ratings and Reviews
2 Stars Much ado about nothing
While this textbook may be up to date with current research, that is about all the positive I could note about it. They don’t even define psychopathology in the first chapter. If you are a professor, find a different text book.
4 Stars Good Text!
As a professor of psychology in a Master’s program (which focuses on training people to become Psychological Examiners), I use this text in my “Psychopathology” course. Although I supplement the material heavily in the sections dealing with child psychopathology, I’ve found this to be a nice introduction to psychopathology at the graduate level, or even for an advanced undergraduate class. I don’t think that the language used is too “doctoral” (as stated in one review on this site), but you do have to be fairly well versed in psychological science to appreciate a large amount of the etiology and biology aspects of the chapters.
Overall, I would recommend this book as a nice “starter” for someone interested in psychopathology, although for a graduate course an instructor would definitely have to supplement the readings with extra material.
4 Stars Refreshingly good text
Most textbooks of this nature tend to be a regurgitation of the current DSM. The difference with this one is that it looks at psychopathology from many viewpoints and within a range of behaviors. This will stimulate your thinking about what is considered normal and abnormal. This text is good for seasoned professionals who do not want the same ‘ol, same ‘ol.
5 Stars Great information!
Some comments below complain that the vocabulary is too advanced- well, that may be true but personally that’s what I want in an upper-level textbook!
Very accurate and a true asset to any student or mental health professional. Highly recommended!
1 Stars Biased and inadequate
This book was required reading to supplement Barlow in an Advanced Psychopathology class in the doctoral program I attend. The only reason we are using the book is because this is the professors first time teaching the class. As a class we have decided that every chapter we studied in this book is a colossal waste of time. It is used as a basis to communicate the contributing authors biases and personal viewpoints on the field of psychology and specifically the current diagnostic system.
It is a poorly written biased collection of individual’s opinions. If you must buy it, I would recommend sharing a copy with a classmate, as it is not worth keeping after the class commences.
Filed under: Mental Health Book Reviews