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comprehensivereview of current clinical descriptions, research , and theories of psychopathology. Descriptive psychopathology is a field that forms the foundation of clinical practice and research in clinical psychology, psychiatry, psychiatric social work, psychiatric nursing, and allied professions in mental health. Since the 1st edition, the editors have devised and updated a handbook to cover both general and specific topics in psychopathology that would be useful to researchers, practitioners, and graduate or other advanced students in the mental health and behavioral medicine professions. To implement this plan, we have very carefully chosen colleagues whom we respect for their expertise in particular fields. These authors include both clinicians and researchers who have outstanding national reputations, as well as more junior behavioral scientists and clinicians who, in our opinion, will achieve similar recognition in the future. The excellent chapters in this book lead us to believe that we have chosen wisely. We would like to express our appreciation to these authors for their outstanding contributions and cooperation. This 3rd edition of the handbook was updated to include the most recent changes in the official diagnostic manual, the American Psychiatric Association Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th ed. (DSM-IV), and two chapters were added to address schizophrenia, a topic of resurgent interest. The remaining chapters have been revised to reflect recent changes in research and theories. The authors were asked to
provide a comprehensive overview of their topics rather than focusing on their own research or theoretical biases. Furthermore, emphasis has been placed on clinical description, research, and theoretical implications, rather than remedial or therapeutic procedures, although these topics are discussed briefly in some chapters.
The volume is divided into six major parts. Part 1 is an overview of various theoretical and methodological issues in psychopathology. In Part 2, the traditional areas of abnormal behavior, including the neurotic and psychotic disorders, are discussed. In Part 3, the personality disorders are described, reflecting the increased attention to these disorders. Part 4 covers the disorders associated with social and situational problems, and
Part 5 focuses on disorders linked to physical trauma and medical illness. Parts 4 and 5 could have also been labeled Behavioral Medicine 1 and 2 because they include topics in behavioral medicine and health psychology. Part 6 describes disorders arising in specific life stages.
