Book Reviews : THE LIFESPAN DEVELOPMENT OF INDIVIDUALS: BEHAVIOURAL, NEUROBIOLOGICAL AND PSYCHOSOCIAL PERSPECTIVES: A SYNTHESIS Edited by David Magnusson Cambridge University Press, 1996. Pp. 126, Hb. £65.00. ISBN 0-521-47023-4

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310
For
a
start,
it
is
larger
format
(A3)
yet
devotes
more
pages
to
the
subject.
This
makes
it
easier
to
read,
but
less
easy
to
stuff in
a
pocket.
It
is
also
a
very
useful
source
of
information,
ploughing
its
furrow
deeper
than
the
BNF
is
even
intended
to.
So,
there
is
information
on
elimination
hall=lives,
plasma
levels,
the
frequency
of
adverse
reactions
and
helpful
comparisons
of
drugs
and
interactions.
Usefully,
drugs
of abuse
are
covered
but,
oddly,
so
is
ECT.
Counselling
and
psychosurgery
are
not!
The
coverage
is
quite
up
to
date;
reversible
MAOIs
are
included
although
no
specific
mention
is
made
of
serotonin
receptor
modulators.
Also,
the
frequently
used
sulpiride
is
not
included,
yet
remoxipride,
withdrawn
in
the
UK,
is.
There
is
also
an
intriguing
section
on
&dquo;new
unapproved
treatments
of
psychiatric
disorders&dquo;
such
as
naloxone
for
hallucinations.
Is
this
some
sort
of
editorial
hedge-betting
to
extend
the
book’s
useful
life
by
ensuring
that
if
any
of
these
do
become
approved,
they
will
have
been
featured
here?
Perhaps
I
am
being
too
hard.
After
all,
the
book
does
achieve
what
it
sets
out
to
do
and
I
have
not
come
across
such
an
easily
accessible
and
complete
information
resource
on
this
subject
before.
It
is
also
revised
regularly
(but
not
as
often
as
the
BNF)
and
available
on
subscription.
To
BNF
or
not
to
BNF,
that
is
the
question.
Whether
’tis
better
to
buy
this
is
an
issue
which
depends
on
the
individual
reader’s
needs.
Patrick
J.
Hopkinson
Honorary
Researcher,
Institute
of Psychiatry,
London
WORKING
ALONGSIDE
PEOPLE
WITH
LONG
TERM
MENTAL
HEALTH
PROBLEMS
Rachel
Perkins
&
Julie
Repper
Chapman
and
Hall,
1996.
Pp.
225,
Pb.
£13.99.
ISBN
0-412-61140-6
Given
the
importance
of
psychiatric
rehabilitation
it
has
always
surprised
me
that
there
are
so
few
textbooks
on
the
subject.
British
readers
will be
familiar
with
Watts
and
Bennett’s
classic
Theory
and
Practice
of
Psychiatric
Rehabilitation
and
Geoff
Shepherd’s
Institutiofzal
Care
and
Rehabilitation.
This
new
book
is
destined
to
become
a
classic
for
the
nineties,
and
some
of
the
thinking
is
likely
to
guide us
into
the
millennium.
Unlike
many
edited
books
this
text
does
not
suffer
from
the
lack
of
a
clear
structure.
Perkins and
Repper
start
off
with
three
chapters
on
’The
People
and
Their
Needs.&dquo;
This
is
followed
by
a
section
on
&dquo;Roles
and
Relationships.&dquo;
Part
three
covers
&dquo;Contexts
of
Support,&dquo;
including
such
difficult
issues
as
multi-disciplinary
and
multi-agency
working.
Part
four
deals
with
&dquo;Specific
Therapeutic
Interventions:
Helping People
Cope.&dquo;
The
final
section
is
&dquo;Some
Challenges
for
the
Future.&dquo;
The
prime
aim
of
the
authors
is
summarised
in the
introduction,
&dquo;In
this
book
we
have
addressed the
basic
issues
of
how
non-disabled
people
can
come
to
understand,
relate
to
and
effectively help
people who
have
serious
ongoing
mental
health
problems.&dquo;
It is
an
aim
that
the
authors
have
succeeded
in.
Their
overall approach
to
rehabilitation
is
described
as
ensuring
that
people with
serious
mental
illness
’have
access
to
roles,
relationships
and
activities
in
the
communities
of
their
choice,
and can,
as
far
as
possible
live
the
lives
they choose...
Specialist mental
health
services
must
rise
to
the
challenge
of
providing
genuinely
acceptable
and
accessible support
that accords
with
the
wants
and
wishes
of
those
whom
they
serve.&dquo;
This
book
will
appeal
to
a
wide
readership.
It
is
clearly
written
and
very
well
referenced.
It
firmly
establishes
Rachel
Perkins
as
one
of
Britain’s
leading
rehabilitation
practitioners.
Jerome
Carson
Senior
Lecturer
in
Clinical
Psychology,
Institute
of
Psychiatry,
London
Book
Review
Editor,
The
International
Journal
of
Social
Psychiatry
THE
LIFESPAN
DEVELOPMENT
OF
INDIVIDUALS:
BEHAVIOURAL,
NEUROBIOLOGICAL
AND
PSYCHOSOCIAL
PERSPECTIVES:
A
SYNTHESIS
Edited
by
David
Magnusson
Cambridge
University
Press,
1996.
Pp.
126,
Hb.
£65.00.
ISBN
0-521-47023-4
I
am
not
usually
in
favour
of
conference
proceedings
masquerading
as
books.
The
interplay
that
makes
a
lively
conference
is
quite
different
from
the
coherence
which
makes
a
successful
book.
The
advantage
of
running
a
Nobel
Symposium,
of
course,
is
that
you
do
get
a
better
class
of
cotnributor
than
the
average
run-of-the-mill
excuse
for
a
couple
of
days
at
the
seaside
can
rake
up,
and
the
contributors
are
likely
to
feel
under
pressure
to
do
more
than
just
rehash
their
last
few
papers.
There
is
a
fine
collection
of
academic
stars
here -
Bateson
on
developmental
systems,
Kagan
on
temperament,
Hinde
on
interpersonal
relationships,
Rutter
on
developmental
psychopathology,
l3altes
on
the
psychology
of
aging,
etc
etc,
and
all
their
contributions
seem
to
me
to
be
scientifically
excellent.
This
must
have