Diagnosis and Treatment Planning Skills for Mental Health Professionals: A Popular Culture Casebook Approach
“A true strength of this book is that the authors are able to describe complex, abstract concepts in a practical, straightforward manner that is highly accessible for students from a variety of mental health professions. The authors should be commended for integrating detailed models for developing diagnostic, case conceptualization, and treatment planning skills into one text. Students often learn these types of clinical thinking skills in separate courses and then experience difficulty in weaving this information together to inform their work with actual clients. The authors of this book succeed in bridging this gap for students. With the use of thirty fascinating case studies drawn from popular culture and from across the spectrum of mental health concerns, students are able to see in vivid detail how diagnosis, case conceptualization, and treatment planning skills may be applied in clinical practice. The rich case descriptions help make the material come alive for the reader so that he or she remains actively involved in the learning process. I recommend this extremely practical and engaging tool for all beginning clinicians as a foundation for developing strong clinical thinking skills.” (Laura Choate, Ed.D., LPC, NCC 2011-06-14)"Diagnosis And Treatment Planning Skills For Mental Health Professionals: A Popular Culture Casebook Approachis a hit. We all think about popular culture figures and wonder what they’d be like if they were real. Schwitzer and Rubin carry this concept steps further by imagining 30 pop culture figures as clinical cases, and approaches them as mental health professionals. Using the Inverted Pyramid Method as an organizing structure, the authors walk students through the process of diagnosing clients, conceptualizing cases, and planning treatment. They illustrate this method and the theories and research underpinning it through the cases derived from popular culture figures and in doing so make the material engaging, compelling, and memorable." (Robin S. Rosenberg, Ph.D. 2011-07-10)“If you are interested in finding a text that creatively describes common clinical issues, this is your book! Distinguished pop-culture-in-counseling authors and educators, Schwitzer and Rubin, collaborate on this vast compilation of material to present step by step directions using often poignant vignettes within a DSM counseling paradigm. A must- read for all counselors, psychotherapists and popular culture enthusiasts!” - Thelma Duffey, Editor, The Journal of Creativity in Mental Health, University of Texas at San Antonio (Thelma Duffy 2011-11-04)