The Clinical Handbook of Health Psychology

Abstract

A Health Psychology Textbook The Clinical Handbook of Health Psychology Paul Marc Camic and S. J. Knight (Eds.). Seattle: Hogrefe & Huber (www.hhpub.com). 1998, 629 pp., $49.50, $67.00 (Can) (hardcover). The editors of The Clinical Handbook of Health Psychology, Paul M. Camic and Sarah J. Knight, identify the purpose of their book as that it "help the reader in the translation of research and theory in health psychology and medicine into clinical interventions" (p. XIII). The book is intended for students enrolled in graduate health psychology courses, for graduate students in advanced training programs learning to practice in the field of health psychology, and for practicing clinicians. In the preface, the authors set the tone of the book: that it is clinically focused and "leaves room for clinical creativity and the mysteries of the healing process. " They discuss their concept of healing at some length in the preface and introductory chapter, and even include chapters on spirituality and medical art therapy, presumably to educate readers on how healing is addressed in other disciplines. The first two chapters serve as an introduction to the volume addressing "the art and science of healing" and assessment, respectively. Chapters 3-13 cover content areas in health psychology, with some covering disorders grouped according to body systems (cardiac, respiratory, gastrointestinal, endocrine, obstetric-gynecological, urological), others covering problems organized according to a particular theme (chronic pain, dental-related problems, oncology and hematology), and still others targeting a specific disorder (multiple sclerosis and HIV/AIDS). The final section addresses "community, social, spiritual and creative involvement" with chapters on social support, spirituality and religion, medical art therapy, and health risk reduction in minority populations. The first two chapters focus on issues frequently confronted by health psychologists. In chapter 1, the authors (Camic and Knight) highlight such themes as "the environment of care," "integrative treatment" and "alternative therapies." Chapter 2 provides an in-depth discussion of the purpose of assessment in health psychology, sociocultural issues, and how results are used. I found particularly helpful a description of guidelines for interviewing medical patients. Chapters 3-13 were generally consistent and included a description of anatomy and physiology, common disorders addressed by health psychologists, recommendations for assessment and treatment, and one or more illustrative cases. Depending on the content of the chapter, some authors addressed professional issues, ethics, or working with professionals from other disciplines. In most cases, results from current research were skillfully integrated with helpful clinical instruction from these respected professionals. In general, I found these chapters to be the most useful in the volume. The final four chapters, to varying degrees, represented unusual topics for a book on health psychology, although their inclusion makes more sense considering the aforementioned focus on healing. …