Children With Multiple Mental Health Challenges

Download Children With Multiple Mental Health Challenges full books in PDF, epub, and Kindle. Read online Children With Multiple Mental Health Challenges ebook anywhere anytime directly on your device. Fast Download speed and no annoying ads. We cannot guarantee that every ebooks is available!

Children With Multiple Mental Health Challenges

Author : Sarah Landy, Ph.D., C.Psych
Publisher : Springer Publishing Company
ISBN 13 : 0826199615
Total Pages : 576 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (261 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis Children With Multiple Mental Health Challenges by : Sarah Landy, Ph.D., C.Psych

Download or read book Children With Multiple Mental Health Challenges written by Sarah Landy, Ph.D., C.Psych and published by Springer Publishing Company. This book was released on 2013-10-15 with total page 576 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "...[T]his book provides valuable information on taking care of children with complex mental health challenges. Chapters present information in tabular format, which makes the book easy to use in practice. The case vignettes are practical and helpful in understanding a child as a unique case and not just a diagnosis. The list of the most valid and reliable screening and assessment tools is valuable, as is the information on useful websites. The book also clearly provides up-to-date, basic information on neurobiology and genetics, as well as ongoing research in the field."--Doody's Medical Reviews Mental health practitioners who work with children are often confronted with complex, difficult-to-treat mental health issues that do not respond to conventional methods of psychotherapy. These children have a web of multiple impairments that are comprised not just of emotional and behavioral issues, but also learning and other cognitive disorders.Children With Multiple Mental Health Challenges presents an innovative, evidence-based approach to understanding and treating this difficult population that integrates the child's development and functioning into diagnosis and treatment. It does not rely on diagnostic categories alone, but explores the functioning of children in several dimensions of development and considers multiple levels of influence. The book builds on an individualized, integrated approach to present a variety of evidence-based strategies for working with children with multiple challenges. It considers children from preschool age to adolescence with a number of severe difficulties. These may include extreme aggression, oppositional defiant behavior, significant anxiety and depression, cognitive and academic challenges, delays in speech and language, problems with attention and concentration, sensory integration problems, and unresolved trauma. The treatment strategies included can be used by various specialists within the intervention team, as well as by parents and teachers. Key Features: Presents an innovative approach to working with children with multiple disorders, often the most challenging cases for clinicians Moves beyond standard "recipes" for treatment planning to encompass developmental (including social and biological factors) and functional aspects of working with children Includes case studies as well as detailed treatment plans Offers treatment strategies that can be used by the intervention team, teachers and parents

Parenting Children with Mental Health Challenges

Author : Deborah Vlock
Publisher : Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN 13 : 153810525X
Total Pages : 198 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (381 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis Parenting Children with Mental Health Challenges by : Deborah Vlock

Download or read book Parenting Children with Mental Health Challenges written by Deborah Vlock and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2018-11-08 with total page 198 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Written by a mother, expressly for other parents, this work supports parents as they help their kids manage life with mental illness. It offers insight into the various life “hurdles” every mom or dad must guide their children over—but which loom higher and more frightening when a child’s emotional disorder is thrown into the mix.

Children's Mental Health and the Life Course Model: A Virtual Workshop Series

Author : National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
Publisher : National Academies Press
ISBN 13 : 0309683378
Total Pages : 93 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (96 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis Children's Mental Health and the Life Course Model: A Virtual Workshop Series by : National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine

Download or read book Children's Mental Health and the Life Course Model: A Virtual Workshop Series written by National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2021-01-18 with total page 93 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: With rapidly rising rates of mental health disorders, changing patterns of occurrence, and increasing levels of morbidity, the need for a better understanding of the developmental origins and influence of mental health on childrenâ€™s behavioral health outcomes has become critical. This need for better understanding extends to both the growing prevalence of mental health disorders as well as the role and impact of neurodevelopmental pathways in their onset and expression. Addressing these changes in disease patterns and effects on children and families will require a multifaceted approach that goes beyond simply making changes to clinical care or adding personnel to the health services system. New policies, financing, and implementation can put established best practices and numerous research findings from around the country into action. The Maternal and Child Health Life Course Intervention Research Network and the Forum for Children's Well-Being at the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine jointly organized a webinar series to explore how mental health disorders develop over the life course, with a special emphasis on prenatal, early, middle, and later childhood development. This series centered on identifying gaps in our knowledge, exploring possible new strategies for using existing data to enhance understanding of the developmental origins of mental disorders, reviewing potential approaches to prevention and optimization, and proposing new ways of framing how to understand, address, and prevent these disorders from a life course development perspective. This publication summarizes the presentations and discussions from the series.

Disease Control Priorities, Third Edition (Volume 4)

Author : Vikram Patel
Publisher : World Bank Publications
ISBN 13 : 1464804281
Total Pages : 304 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (648 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis Disease Control Priorities, Third Edition (Volume 4) by : Vikram Patel

Download or read book Disease Control Priorities, Third Edition (Volume 4) written by Vikram Patel and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 2016-03-10 with total page 304 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Mental, neurological, and substance use disorders are common, highly disabling, and associated with significant premature mortality. The impact of these disorders on the social and economic well-being of individuals, families, and societies is large, growing, and underestimated. Despite this burden, these disorders have been systematically neglected, particularly in low- and middle-income countries, with pitifully small contributions to scaling up cost-effective prevention and treatment strategies. Systematically compiling the substantial existing knowledge to address this inequity is the central goal of this volume. This evidence-base can help policy makers in resource-constrained settings as they prioritize programs and interventions to address these disorders.

Mental disorders : diagnostic and statistical manual

Author : Committee on Nomenclature and Statistics American Psychiatric Association
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9780598568939
Total Pages : 146 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (689 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis Mental disorders : diagnostic and statistical manual by : Committee on Nomenclature and Statistics American Psychiatric Association

Download or read book Mental disorders : diagnostic and statistical manual written by Committee on Nomenclature and Statistics American Psychiatric Association and published by . This book was released on 1952 with total page 146 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

State of the World's Children

Author : UNICEF.
Publisher : UNICEF
ISBN 13 : 9280644424
Total Pages : 100 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (86 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis State of the World's Children by : UNICEF.

Download or read book State of the World's Children written by UNICEF. and published by UNICEF. This book was released on 2009 with total page 100 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: On 20 November 2009, the global community celebrates the 20th anniversary of the adoption by the United Nations General Assembly of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the unique document that sets international standards for the care, treatment and protection of all individuals below age 18. To celebrate this landmark, the United Nations Children's Fund is dedicating a special edition of its flagship report The State of the World's Children to examining the Convention's evolution, progress achieved on child rights, challenges remaining, and actions to be taken to ensure that its promise becomes a reality for all children.

Mental Disorders and Disabilities Among Low-Income Children

Author : National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
Publisher : National Academies Press
ISBN 13 : 0309376882
Total Pages : 472 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (93 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis Mental Disorders and Disabilities Among Low-Income Children by : National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine

Download or read book Mental Disorders and Disabilities Among Low-Income Children written by National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2015-10-28 with total page 472 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Children living in poverty are more likely to have mental health problems, and their conditions are more likely to be severe. Of the approximately 1.3 million children who were recipients of Supplemental Security Income (SSI) disability benefits in 2013, about 50% were disabled primarily due to a mental disorder. An increase in the number of children who are recipients of SSI benefits due to mental disorders has been observed through several decades of the program beginning in 1985 and continuing through 2010. Nevertheless, less than 1% of children in the United States are recipients of SSI disability benefits for a mental disorder. At the request of the Social Security Administration, Mental Disorders and Disability Among Low-Income Children compares national trends in the number of children with mental disorders with the trends in the number of children receiving benefits from the SSI program, and describes the possible factors that may contribute to any differences between the two groups. This report provides an overview of the current status of the diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders, and the levels of impairment in the U.S. population under age 18. The report focuses on 6 mental disorders, chosen due to their prevalence and the severity of disability attributed to those disorders within the SSI disability program: attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, oppositional defiant disorder/conduct disorder, autism spectrum disorder, intellectual disability, learning disabilities, and mood disorders. While this report is not a comprehensive discussion of these disorders, Mental Disorders and Disability Among Low-Income Children provides the best currently available information regarding demographics, diagnosis, treatment, and expectations for the disorder time course - both the natural course and under treatment.

Common Mental Health Disorders

Author : National Collaborating Centre for Mental Health (Great Britain)
Publisher : RCPsych Publications
ISBN 13 : 9781908020314
Total Pages : 316 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (23 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis Common Mental Health Disorders by : National Collaborating Centre for Mental Health (Great Britain)

Download or read book Common Mental Health Disorders written by National Collaborating Centre for Mental Health (Great Britain) and published by RCPsych Publications. This book was released on 2011 with total page 316 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Bringing together treatment and referral advice from existing guidelines, this text aims to improve access to services and recognition of common mental health disorders in adults and provide advice on the principles that need to be adopted to develop appropriate referral and local care pathways.

Children of Parents with Mental Illness 2

Author : Vicki Cowling
Publisher : Aust Council for Ed Research
ISBN 13 : 0864314736
Total Pages : 265 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (643 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis Children of Parents with Mental Illness 2 by : Vicki Cowling

Download or read book Children of Parents with Mental Illness 2 written by Vicki Cowling and published by Aust Council for Ed Research. This book was released on 2004 with total page 265 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book contains both personal narratives and chapters written by clinicians and practitioners. Issues covered include the genetics of mental illness; talking with children to allay anxiety and give age- appropriate information; assessment of children in crisis; the value of peer support activities; the needs of children placed in out-of-home care; cultural considerations in understanding mental illness; and how our mental health care can fail the children of parents with mental illness. [Back cover, ed].

Hidden Valley Road

Author : Robert Kolker
Publisher : Anchor
ISBN 13 : 0385543778
Total Pages : 426 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (855 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis Hidden Valley Road by : Robert Kolker

Download or read book Hidden Valley Road written by Robert Kolker and published by Anchor. This book was released on 2020-04-07 with total page 426 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • OPRAH’S BOOK CLUB PICK • ONE OF GQ's TOP 50 BOOKS OF LITERARY JOURNALISM IN THE 21st CENTURY • The heartrending story of a midcentury American family with twelve children, six of them diagnosed with schizophrenia, that became science's great hope in the quest to understand the disease. "Reads like a medical detective journey and sheds light on a topic so many of us face: mental illness." —Oprah Winfrey Don and Mimi Galvin seemed to be living the American dream. After World War II, Don's work with the Air Force brought them to Colorado, where their twelve children perfectly spanned the baby boom: the oldest born in 1945, the youngest in 1965. In those years, there was an established script for a family like the Galvins--aspiration, hard work, upward mobility, domestic harmony--and they worked hard to play their parts. But behind the scenes was a different story: psychological breakdown, sudden shocking violence, hidden abuse. By the mid-1970s, six of the ten Galvin boys, one after another, were diagnosed as schizophrenic. How could all this happen to one family? What took place inside the house on Hidden Valley Road was so extraordinary that the Galvins became one of the first families to be studied by the National Institute of Mental Health. Their story offers a shadow history of the science of schizophrenia, from the era of institutionalization, lobotomy, and the schizophrenogenic mother to the search for genetic markers for the disease, always amid profound disagreements about the nature of the illness itself. And unbeknownst to the Galvins, samples of their DNA informed decades of genetic research that continues today, offering paths to treatment, prediction, and even eradication of the disease for future generations. With clarity and compassion, bestselling and award-winning author Robert Kolker uncovers one family's unforgettable legacy of suffering, love, and hope.

Fostering the Emotional Well-Being of Our Youth

Author : Philip J. Lazarus
Publisher : Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN 13 : 019091887X
Total Pages : 577 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (99 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis Fostering the Emotional Well-Being of Our Youth by : Philip J. Lazarus

Download or read book Fostering the Emotional Well-Being of Our Youth written by Philip J. Lazarus and published by Oxford University Press, USA. This book was released on 2021 with total page 577 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Fostering the Emotional Well-Being of our Youth: A School- Based Approach is an edited work that details best practices in comprehensive school mental health services based upon a dual-factor model of mental health that considers both psychological wellness and mental illness. In the introduction the editors respond to the question: Are our students all right? Then, each of the text's 24 chapters (five sections) describes empirically sound and practical ways that professionals can foster supportive school climates and implement evidence-based universal interventions to promote well-being and prevent and reduce mental health problems in young people. Topics include: conceptualizing and framing youth mental health through a dual-factor model; building culturally responsive schools; implementing positive behavior interventions and supports; inculcating social-emotional learning within schools impacted by trauma; creating a multidisciplinary approach to foster a positive school culture and promote students' mental health; preventing school violence and advancing school safety; cultivating student engagement and connectedness; creating resilient classrooms and schools; strengthening preschool, childcare and parenting practices; building family-school partnerships; promoting physical activity, nutrition, and sleep; teaching emotional self-regulation; promoting students' positive emotions, character and purpose; building a foundation for trauma-informed schools; preventing bullying; supporting highly mobile students; enfranchising socially marginalized students; preventing school failure and school dropout; providing evidence-based supports in the aftermath of a crisis; raising the emotional well-being of students with anxiety and depression; implementing state-wide practices that promote student wellness and resilience; screening for academic, behavioral, and emotional health; and accessing targeted and intensive mental health services"--

Disruptive Behavior Disorders

Author : Patrick H. Tolan
Publisher : Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN 13 : 1461475570
Total Pages : 211 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (614 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis Disruptive Behavior Disorders by : Patrick H. Tolan

Download or read book Disruptive Behavior Disorders written by Patrick H. Tolan and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2013-07-09 with total page 211 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Aggressive behavior among children and adolescents has confounded parents and perplexed professionals—especially those tasked with its treatment and prevention—for countless years. As baffling as these behaviors are, however, recent advances in neuroscience focusing on brain development have helped to make increasing sense of their complexity. Focusing on their most prevalent forms, Oppositional Defiant Disorder and Conduct Disorder, Disruptive Behavior Disorders advances the understanding of DBD on a number of significant fronts. Its neurodevelopmental emphasis within an ecological approach offers links between brain structure and function and critical environmental influences and the development of these specific disorders. The book's findings and theories help to differentiate DBD within the contexts of normal development, non-pathological misbehavior and non-DBD forms of pathology. Throughout these chapters are myriad implications for accurate identification, effective intervention and future cross-disciplinary study. Key issues covered include: Gene-environment interaction models. Neurobiological processes and brain functions. Callous-unemotional traits and developmental pathways. Relationships between gender and DBD. Multiple pathways of familial transmission. Disruptive Behavior Disorders is a groundbreaking resource for researchers, scientist-practitioners and graduate students in clinical child and school psychology, psychiatry, educational psychology, prevention science, child mental health care, developmental psychology and social work.

Research Anthology on Mental Health Stigma, Education, and Treatment

Author : Management Association, Information Resources
Publisher : IGI Global
ISBN 13 : 1799885992
Total Pages : 1305 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (998 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis Research Anthology on Mental Health Stigma, Education, and Treatment by : Management Association, Information Resources

Download or read book Research Anthology on Mental Health Stigma, Education, and Treatment written by Management Association, Information Resources and published by IGI Global. This book was released on 2021-02-05 with total page 1305 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In times of uncertainty and crisis, the mental health of individuals become a concern as added stressors and pressures can cause depression, anxiety, and stress. Today, especially with more people than ever experiencing these effects due to the Covid-19 epidemic and all that comes along with it, discourse around mental health has gained heightened urgency. While there have always been stigmas surrounding mental health, the continued display of these biases can add to an already distressing situation for struggling individuals. Despite the experience of mental health issues becoming normalized, it remains important for these issues to be addressed along with adequate education about mental health so that it becomes normalized and discussed in ways that are beneficial for society and those affected. Along with raising awareness of mental health in general, there should be a continued focus on treatment options, methods, and modes for healthcare delivery. The Research Anthology on Mental Health Stigma, Education, and Treatment explores the latest research on the newest advancements in mental health, best practices and new research on treatment, and the need for education and awareness to mitigate the stigma that surrounds discussions on mental health. The chapters will cover new technologies that are impacting delivery modes for treatment, the latest methods and models for treatment options, how education on mental health is delivered and developed, and how mental health is viewed and discussed. It is a comprehensive view of mental health from both a societal and medical standpoint and examines mental health issues in children and adults from all ethnicities and socio-economic backgrounds and in a variety of professions, including healthcare, emergency services, and the military. This book is ideal for psychologists, therapists, psychiatrists, counsellors, religious leaders, mental health support agencies and organizations, medical professionals, teachers, researchers, students, academicians, mental health practitioners, and more.

Building Children's Resilience in the Face of Parental Mental Illness

Author : Alan Cooklin
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 9780367183127
Total Pages : 272 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (831 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis Building Children's Resilience in the Face of Parental Mental Illness by : Alan Cooklin

Download or read book Building Children's Resilience in the Face of Parental Mental Illness written by Alan Cooklin and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2020-09-03 with total page 272 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Mental illness in a parent presents children with multiple challenges, including stigma, self-doubt and self-blame, ongoing anxiety and depression, that are rarely discussed in the public domain. This important new book, written by young people who have lived through these experiences, as well as professionals working alongside their families, highlights the relationships between children, parents and professionals, and the emotional issues they all face. A key focus of the book is the relationships in all combinations between the children, parents and professionals, as well as the responses to each other illustrated throughout. It will be ideal for all those working in the health, social and educational professions, as well as parents and children themselves.

Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health

Author : Kristie Brandt
Publisher : American Psychiatric Pub
ISBN 13 : 1585625299
Total Pages : 384 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (856 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health by : Kristie Brandt

Download or read book Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health written by Kristie Brandt and published by American Psychiatric Pub. This book was released on 2014-10-03 with total page 384 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health: Core Concepts and Clinical Practice is a groundbreaking book that provides an overview of the field from both theoretical and clinical viewpoints. The editors and chapter authors -- some of the field's foremost researchers and teachers -- describe from their diverse perspectives key concepts fundamental to infant-parent and early childhood mental health work. The complexity of this emerging field demands an interdisciplinary approach, and the book provides a clear, comprehensive, and coherent text with an abundance of clinical applications to increase understanding and help the reader to integrate the concepts into clinical practice. Offering both cutting-edge coverage and a format that facilitates learning, the book boasts the following features and content: A focus on helping working professionals expand their specialization skills and knowledge and on offering core competency training for those entering the field, which reflects the Infant-Parent Mental Health Postgraduate Certificate Program (IPMHPCP) and Fellowship in Napa, CA that was the genesis of the book. Chapters written by a diverse group of authors with vastly different training, expertise, and clinical experience, underscoring the book's interdisciplinary approach. In addition, terms such as clinician, therapist, provider, professional, and teacher are intentionally used interchangeably to describe and unify the field. Explication and analysis of a variety of therapeutic models, including Perry's Neurosequential Model of Therapeutics; Brazelton's neurodevelopmental and relational Touchpoints; attachment theory; the Neurorelational Framework; Mindsight; and Downing's Video Intervention Therapy. An entire chapter devoted to diagnostic schemas for children ages 0--5, which highlights the Diagnostic Classification of Mental Health Disorders of Infancy and Early Childhood: Revised (DC:0-3R). With the release of DSM-5, this chapter provides a prototypical crosswalk between DC:0-3R and ICD codes. A discussion of the difference between evidence-based treatments and evidence-based practices in the field, along with valuable information on randomized controlled trials, a research standard that, while often not feasible or ethically permissible in infant mental health work, remains a standard applied to the field. Key points and references at the end of each chapter, and generous use of figures, tables, and other resources to enhance learning. The volume editors and authors are passionate about the pressing need for further research and the acquisition and application of new knowledge to support the health and well-being of individuals, families, and communities. Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health: Core Concepts and Clinical Practice should find a receptive audience for this critically important message.

Mindful Motherhood

Author : Cassandra Vieten
Publisher : New Harbinger Publications
ISBN 13 : 1572248556
Total Pages : 216 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (722 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis Mindful Motherhood by : Cassandra Vieten

Download or read book Mindful Motherhood written by Cassandra Vieten and published by New Harbinger Publications. This book was released on 2009-05-01 with total page 216 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From hormones to stretch marks, labor pains to diaper changes, motherhood is an adventure like none other. The rapid changes in your body, your lifestyle, and your very identity call for a certain mental agility. Mindfulness can help you meet the challenge and approach every experience with your new baby with open eyes and an open heart. Easy ten-minute meditation exercises and yoga poses throughout this book will help you cultivate greater flexibility and mindful awareness during pregnancy, childbirth, and your baby's first year. Whenever you have a moment to spare, open Mindful Motherhood and discover a skill that will help you find balance and fulfillment during those times when you feel most overwhelmed. Co-published with the Institute of Noetic Sciences (IONS). Mindful Motherhood contains what so many other parenting books omit:: the consoling information that each mother has the ability to know, deep within, how to care for her child. Mindful Motherhood is a gem. -Christiane Northrup, MD, author of Women's Bodies, Women's Wisdom Wise, soothing, and helpful-this is really good stuff for new mothers. -Jack Kornfield, author of The Wise Heart

The Social Determinants of Mental Health

Author : Michael T. Compton
Publisher : American Psychiatric Pub
ISBN 13 : 1585625175
Total Pages : 260 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (856 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis The Social Determinants of Mental Health by : Michael T. Compton

Download or read book The Social Determinants of Mental Health written by Michael T. Compton and published by American Psychiatric Pub. This book was released on 2015-04-01 with total page 260 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Social Determinants of Mental Health aims to fill the gap that exists in the psychiatric, scholarly, and policy-related literature on the social determinants of mental health: those factors stemming from where we learn, play, live, work, and age that impact our overall mental health and well-being. The editors and an impressive roster of chapter authors from diverse scholarly backgrounds provide detailed information on topics such as discrimination and social exclusion; adverse early life experiences; poor education; unemployment, underemployment, and job insecurity; income inequality, poverty, and neighborhood deprivation; food insecurity; poor housing quality and housing instability; adverse features of the built environment; and poor access to mental health care. This thought-provoking book offers many beneficial features for clinicians and public health professionals: Clinical vignettes are included, designed to make the content accessible to readers who are primarily clinicians and also to demonstrate the practical, individual-level applicability of the subject matter for those who typically work at the public health, population, and/or policy level. Policy implications are discussed throughout, designed to make the content accessible to readers who work primarily at the public health or population level and also to demonstrate the policy relevance of the subject matter for those who typically work at the clinical level. All chapters include five to six key points that focus on the most important content, helping to both prepare the reader with a brief overview of the chapter's main points and reinforce the "take-away" messages afterward. In addition to the main body of the book, which focuses on selected individual social determinants of mental health, the volume includes an in-depth overview that summarizes the editors' and their colleagues' conceptualization, as well as a final chapter coauthored by Dr. David Satcher, 16th Surgeon General of the United States, that serves as a "Call to Action," offering specific actions that can be taken by both clinicians and policymakers to address the social determinants of mental health. The editors have succeeded in the difficult task of balancing the individual/clinical/patient perspective and the population/public health/community point of view, while underscoring the need for both groups to work in a unified way to address the inequities in twenty-first century America. The Social Determinants of Mental Health gives readers the tools to understand and act to improve mental health and reduce risk for mental illnesses for individuals and communities. Students preparing for the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) will also benefit from this book, as the MCAT in 2015 will test applicants' knowledge of social determinants of health. The social determinants of mental health are not distinct from the social determinants of physical health, although they deserve special emphasis given the prevalence and burden of poor mental health.