Positive Psychiatry: A Clinical Handbook

Long overdue, Positive Psychiatry provides a rigorous and clinically useful
guide to the growing body of research that strongly suggests that positive
psychosocial factors such as resilience, optimism, and social engagement are
associated with better outcomes, including lower morbidity, greater longevity,
and a heightened sense of patient well-being. Because most of the research has
been conducted outside of the field of psychiatry, it has had relatively little
influence on everyday clinical practice. This volume, written and edited by
luminaries in the field, hopes to remedy this situation by introducing
clinicians to the guiding principles of positive psychiatry, which hold that
mental health cannot be defined as the mere reduction or even elimination of
mental illness, and that mental health professionals must focus on more than
simply controlling the symptoms of illness.

To that end, the book, while
biologically grounded and exhaustively referenced, is also structured and
written to be accessible. It includes many useful features: Bulleted outlines
of key clinical points are included where appropriate, fostering direct
application of positive psychiatry constructs, measures, interventions, and
outcomes into clinical practice and training. An abundance of interesting and
compelling clinical vignettes illustrate how to incorporate positive psychiatry
techniques and treatment strategies into practice. Comprehensive coverage makes
this volume the "go-to" resource for researchers and clinicians seeking an
overview and details of what positive psychiatry is, why it is needed, and how
to integrate it into research, practice, and training. The roster of
contributors is a "who's who" in the field of positive mental health, rendering
this the definitive source of information on positive psychiatry.

Chief
among the book's strengths is its emphasis on empirically grounded applications,
and the editors have ensured that limitations in the available evidence base are
identified, as well as directions for further research. Positive Psychiatry
fills a critical gap in the treatment literature, and researchers, clinicians,
and trainees in psychiatry and allied mental health fields will welcome its
publication.