Integrated Treatment of Psychiatric Disorders

More than any other professional activity, integrated treatment -- the simultaneous use of psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy to treat patients with mental disorders -- defines the field of psychiatry and distinguishes it from other mental health disciplines and medical specialties. This volume represents cutting-edge discussions -- including frequent use of clinical vignettes by skilled and senior clinicians -- of the clinical indications, challenges, and approaches of this most common type of psychiatric intervention. Beginning with an overview of the scientific literature supporting integrated treatment, including a fascinating discussion on how patients attribute meanings to medications and how these meanings affect treatment compliance, subsequent chapters address these topics: * Theoretical support for integrative treatment -- despite a legacy of conflict about the combined use of psychodynamic psychotherapy and medication. Suggests that practitioners move away from dualistic thinking by focusing on the neurobiological aspects of psychotherapy and explores the concept of sequential treatment.
* Techniques for providing integrative treatment for patients with borderline personality disorder -- especially timely in light of the soon-to-be-adopted APA Guideline on the treatment of this disorder, which specifically advocates integrated treatment. * Techniques for providing integrative treatment for patients with substance abuse disorder -- an area marked by intense controversy between physicians and nonmedical addiction therapists about the appropriate role of medications. Reviews three leading psychotherapies -- twelve-step facilitation, motivational enhancement therapy, and relapse prevention -- and discusses 11 important goals in the use of psychotherapy for opioid, nicotine, alcohol, and cocaine addictions. * Methods for enhancing patient compliance and adherence -- since more than 50% of patients fail to follow medication instructions. Provides clear techniques for effective intervention through cognitive therapy. * The benefits and challenges of split treatment -- in which the psychiatrist manages patient medication and another mental health professional conducts psychotherapy -- using clinical vignettes to demonstrate practical and effective interventions.
This increasingly common arrangement is favored by managed care organizations, which perceive it as more cost effective, despite scientific evidence to the contrary. Enhanced by charts, graphs, and illustrations, this up-to-date review will find a broad audience among psychiatric practitioners and residents, psychologists, social workers, nurse practitioners, substance abuse counselors, and case managers in community psychiatry. By offering the very latest in its field, this comprehensive volume will also prove especially valuable to students of cognitive behavioral therapy and psychopharmacology.