Plenum Press Description: The editors have brought together 72 contributors to produce 41 chapters and 885 pages. This was a monumental task and has produced a volume considerably larger than the first edition which appeared in 1982. This edition contains 14 new chapters and most of the chapters have been completely rewritten. The authors have also been asked to provide evaluations of their area of expertise. By and large, this material reflects a puzzlement that behavior modification and therapy somehow has not quite filled the promise it appeared to have earlier. The book has five parts with varying numbers of chapters. Part I is called
Foundations and provides chapters on the history, development, theoretical and
experimental basis of cognitive therapy and behavioral analysis. Part II deals
with assessment and research in five chapters. General issues including
training, client rights, community involvement, and drugs comprise Part III. The
application of behavioral strategies to adults in Part IV takes 15 chapters
organized both around diagnostic classifications (i.e., anxiety, schizophrenia)
and problem behaviors (i.e., drugs and smoking). Part V deals with children and
adolescents and the use of behavioral techniques. It has 13 chapters again
dealing with both diagnostic classes, (i.e., anxiety and depression) and problem
behaviors (i.e., sexual abuse and habit disorders). There is a subject index for
the entire volume while each chapter has its own list of bibliographic
references. Discussion: While it is going too far to say there is a pessimistic tone to this book, it is evident the authors do not see behavioral approaches as either dominating the field or being clearly ascendant as it once appeared they were. The contributors do not understand why so many mental health professionals appear to ignore what behavioral techniques have to offer and insist on dabbling around on the inside of the black box. There is a general sense of failure to communicate adequately the full scientific nature of the rigor which behavioral approaches both require and offer. Yet none seem to consider the possibility that behavioral techniques may just be smashingly boring to many and hence not have much reinforcement value. The chapters are of uneven quality, as may be expected, although each appears to conform to the outline the editors imposed. Reading them, after many years of using behavioral techniques, is often tedious. There does not seem to be much new. However, the sudden burst of growth in cognitive behavioral concepts, a phrase that would have been thought self-contradictory some years back, is the fastest growing area. The chapter on sexual abuse of children is written from the viewpoint of children's advocacy and prosecutors. It fails to consider the problems generated by the rush to action prior to having factual data. Consequently there is no mention of the weaknesses of prevention programs nor the possibility of prosecution in false claims. On the whole, this handbook is useful and valuable even for those having the first edition. It is a comprehensive review of the field and provides an appraisal of the crucial weakness of behaviorism. At the same time, there is considerable hopefulness that behavioral techniques may continue to be developed and prove helpful. However, there is a bit more pessimism about behaviorism as a science of human behavior. Reviewed by Ralph Underwager, Institute for Psychological Therapies, Northfield, Minnesota.
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