Handbook Of Mental Illness In The Mentally Retarded

This volume aims to provide the reader with a contemporary account of his torical, diagnostic, treatment-management (including the individual and the service systems perspectives), and training dimensions of mentally ill/mentally retarded individuals from interdisciplinary perspectives. Emphasis is placed on current and evolving aspects of this topic. The broad scope of our approach is consistent with the concepts and practices that currently typify this topical area of clinical and research activity. This volume is divided into five sections. Part I deals with the definitional aspects: the nature and incidence, the historical aspects, and a view of assessing the types of needs of mentally ill/mentally retarded individuals. Part II ad dresses the key issues in treatment intervention: from an individual therapeutic aspect through vocational considerations, as well as the role of the parents in these helping processes. Part III focuses on systems of service delivery, ranging from inpatient and day treatment models to the delivery of services in the home; at all times, the emphasis is on programs that have been successful. Part IV presents a modern perspective on the multiple challenges in training both men tal health and mental retardation specialists, as well as the critical dimension of providing a well-trained cadre of paraprofessionals in both fields. And finally, Part V encompasses key current research perspectives as well as possible future directions for this rapidly growing area of professional interest and involve ment.

The development of behavior modification principles and procedures and the ensuing research have had a dramatic impact on services for mentally re tarded persons. This book is the second edition of a volume that is designed to update readers on some of these many developments. Although many of the chapter titles and authors from the first edition remain unchanged, we have added additional chapters to reflect new areas of research. The book is thus a critical review of this literature and, as such, provides essential and important notions about what we know and what can be done to expand our current knowledge. The authors of the chapters are all recognized experts who have been active in publishing in the research areas they critique. As a result, they have a good understanding of what are the major issues in the field. And because they are also active in service provision to persons with identified handicaps, their material will be especially useful to practitioners and, it is hoped, to those_ professionals who are working in the field in estab lishing data-based treatments. One important change in the field has concerned the terminology used to We are aware that persons with mental retar describe handicapped persons. dation are no longer referred to as "the mentally retarded," and although no disrespect is intended, for the sake of continuity the original title has been retained on the advice of the publisher.

Since the 1970s, the development of normalization philosophy and the implementation of community care policies have highlighted the nature and treatment of psychiatric and behavior disorders in people with mental retardation and rekindled the interest of scientists, psychiatric practitioners, and service providers. With these changes has grown a substantial body of new research and information on the phenomenology, epidemiology, classification, and clinical features of mental illness and behavior disorders in mentally retarded persons. In response to this growing interest and awareness, the editors, together with internationally renowned contributors from the United States and Europe, have compiled the first comprehensive handbook of the current theory and practice of mental health treatment and care in mentally retarded children and adults. Both contemporary and in-depth, this multidisciplinary, multidimensional volume covers all available therapeutic methods, including psychopharmacotherapy, psychotherapy, behavior therapies, cognitive therapy, and the systems approach for all the main diagnostic disorders in people with mental retardation. Parts I and II present an overview of epidemiology and clinical presentation, including research trends, and therapeutic methods, including psychotherapy, psychopharmacology, behavioral therapies, cognitive and social learning treatments, and working with families and caregivers. Parts III and IV focus on psychotherapeutic interventions, such as rational emotive group treatment with dually diagnosed adults, pre-therapy for persons with mental retardation who are also psychotic, and systemic therapy, and how to apply these methods to the treatment of specific mental illnesses, such as schizophrenia, epilepsy, and mood and anxiety disorders. Parts V and VI discuss how to treat behavior disorders such as aggression/self-aggression (pharmacotherapy and strategic behavioral interventions) and self-injurious behaviors (multimodal contextual approach), including group therapy for sex offenders and a pedagogical approach to behavior problems, and which treatment methods, such as psychodynamically oriented psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy, are most effective with children, including developmental-dynamic relationship therapy with more severely mentally retarded children. Parts VII and VIII provide guidance on mental health services and staff training, including psychiatric treatment in community care and a model for inpatient services for mentally ill persons with mental retardation, and the editors final chapter, which draws together all the various therapeutic approaches described in previous chapters to provide a practical framework for an integrative approach. Filling a major gap in the literature, this indispensable resource for psychiatrists, psychologists, and educators working with mentally retarded persons is also intended for general practitioners, doctors, social workers, and therapists working in the same or related fields.

This book reviews theoretical and empirical work in the developmental approach to mental retardation. Armed with methods derived from the study of typically developing children, developmentalists have recently learned about the mentally retarded child's own development in a variety of areas. These areas now encompass many aspects of cognition, language, social and adaptive functioning, as well as of maladaptive behavior and psychopathology. In addition to a focus on individuals with mental retardation themselves, familial and other "ecological" factors have influenced developmental approaches to mental retardation. Comprised of twenty-seven chapters on various aspects of development, this handbook provides a timely, comprehensive guide to understanding mental retardation and development.

This handbook provides the reader with the applied knowledge essential for initiating, building, and continuing community service programs for the mentally retarded. Applied to specific populations, and to both urban and rural settings, the model also offers a blueprint for establishing successful service systems.

In the 16 years since the publication of the second edition of this volume, psychological theory and research in mental retardation has continued to expand and extend scientific, theoretical, and clinical understanding of this most complex and challenging human condition. Explicit effort has been made to translate theory and research into useful and efficacious assessment, intervention, prevention, and policy actions. This third edition provides an opportunity to critique major conceptual developments and empirical research in an effort to stimulate further behavioral research of practical, social importance. The Handbook presents work by prominent contributors to a major scientific endeavor that has grown dramatically during the last three decades. The challenge for each author was to identify important theoretical and empirical issues, provide a critical, selective review of exemplary research, and discuss the questions that remain unanswered in each area. In short, the goal for this third edition was to consolidate the knowledge gained during the past 30 years and to present a blueprint for future research in mental retardation, the broader field of learning disabilities, and other developmental disorders such as autism. Providing totally different coverage and direction from the previous edition, this text fills a crucial instructional need in graduate courses related to the psychology of mental retardation. With its emphasis on psychological research and theory, it offers an important alternative to many available texts that primarily emphasize the application of research.

This handbook is a practical, quick-reference guide to the evaluation and management of acute psychiatric symptoms seen in emergency departments and inpatient psychiatric and medical-surgical units. The book presents a step-by-step approach to each symptom, beginning with a list of questions necessary for initial assessment and proceeding to psychopharmacologic interventions, DSM-IV-TR criteria, differential diagnosis, and disposition guidelines. Additional chapters address safety concerns, the mental status examination, use of restraints and seclusion, child and elder abuse, and special needs of children, adolescents, geriatric patients, mentally retarded individuals, and patients with HIV. A chapter on legal and forensic issues is also included.

'This book...is both timely and important, Great strides have been made in the understanding of mental illness, in the effectiveness of treatments, and in the improvement of living conditions for those who suffer. But much still needs to be done. People with mental disabilities continue to experience discrimination and stigma and are not able to enjoy the full fruits of American life. The Rights of People with Mental Disabilities reviews the issues and contemplates the areas in which all consumers, mental health professionals, and advocates can continue to make improvements. I Commend the authors for their work.' Rosalynn Carter