For non-scientific types | Clinical Psychopharmacology Made Ridiculously Simple

very good | Clinical Psychopharmacology Made Ridiculously Simple | John Preston, James Johnson

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	• Clinical Psychopharmacology Made Ridiculously Simple John Preston, James Johnson Medmaster, 1994 - 79 pages average customer review:based on 20 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Clinical Psychopharmacology a "must-have"

When my son was diagnosed at age 15 with early-onset schizophrenia, I was anxious to understand the kind of medication he may have to take--probably for the rest of his life. I found this book and others at the library. This was the most concise, practical and user-friendly reference I have had the privilage of reading. It has a great index.

For non-scientific types

I got this book to get a better understanding of anti-depressants. It is easy to understand and great for someone who doesn't know anything about chemistry. Read and understand how your medication helps your brain!

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very good

Very good book as a quick reference. I would like to see it have a little more indepth material.

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A nice psychopharm review, with some caveats

I'm a second year psychiatry resident who teaches medical students as well as sees patients. Like everyone else in my class, my 1st experience with this series was the excellent Clinical Microbiology Made Ridiculously Simple. Unlike that book, this one is not filled with funny pictures to help you remember the different medications. However, this book does give an excellent basic review of clinical psychopharmacology. I especially like the sections on "what to tell patients". I also like the way that it highlights the major mistakes that physicians make that might lead to treatment failure. The chapters are easily digestible and not overwhelming with lists of side effects like some other psychopharm references.

On the other hand, though I realize that this is a pharmacology reference, I find that the book is far too basic in its attempt to summarize the major psychiatric disorders prior to discussing the pharmacotherapy. For example, in distinguishing schizophreniform disorder from schizophrenia, there is no mention of the 6 month time frame required to diagnose schizophrenia. This might lead to confusion if the reader relied solely on this book for information. Another issue, is that the authors rarely explain the mechanism of action of the medications - this would be very important to medical students studying for their exams. Additionally, I am concerned about the very limited place that psychotherapy has in the treatment algorithms outlined in the book. For example, in the algorithm of treatment resistant depression, a course of psychotherapy would generally be considered for a patient who has failed one trial of an antidepressant, yet doesn't even show up on the algorithm at all. Finally, one thing that I like about Stahl's excellent "Essential Psychopharmacology: the Prescriber's Guide" that is missing here is that Stahl explains each individual medication's little niche. From this book, it's not really clear why one might choose one SSRI over another.

Despite the above mentioned issues, I think this book is a great quick and easy read and even seasoned professionals will get something out of it!

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reviews: 1, 2, page 3, 4

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