Psychiatric and Behavioural Disorders in Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, 2nd edition

This book is a concise and well-written collection of chapters on the assessment and treatment of psychiatric and behavioral disorders among individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. It is broken up into four sections: assessment and diagnosis, psychopathology and special topics, treatment and therapeutic interventions, and policy and service systems. An international group of contributors writes in a manner that is accessible to a variety of readers. They focus on multidisciplinary treatment, with strong contributions from the most current research. Although a relatively short book—424 pages with an index—considering the broad range that is covered, I found it to be comprehensive and very useful as a teaching guide and reference source.

Each of the 25 chapters is carefully constructed with an introduction, body, conclusion, and summary points, all with extensive references. This allows each chapter to stand on its own as a useful reference in this notoriously complicated area of psychiatric care. It also gives readers rapid access to the specific information they desire.

The book covers a wide spectrum of topics, including diagnostic and assessment tools. Other chapters cover the topics of children, depression, anxiety, personality disorders, psychotic disorders, dementia, and forensic issues. Specific information on patient management includes some case examples, and the frequently encountered problem of self-injurious behavior is extensively reviewed. Psychopharmacology, which can be thorny in this population, is covered in depth as well.

In most training programs little time is devoted to this special population, which makes this book a valuable tool in the treatment of this diverse group of people.