Description
Book SynopsisPersecutory delusions, the unfounded beliefs that others intend harm to the individual, are a major psychiatric problem. They are a common feature of severe mental illnesses such as schizophrenia, delusional disorder and bipolar disorder, often lead to admission to psychiatric hospital, and are a cause of considerable distress to patients and carers. However, increasingly it is recognised that persecutory delusions reflect the severe end of a spectrum of paranoia, which also encompasses beliefs and worries about threats from others that are common in the general population. In the last ten years an increasing number of researchers and clinicians have focussed on explaining paranoid experience in both clinical and non-clinical populations, with fascinating results. This recent research is presented for the first time as a book. In this landmark publication, the three major authorities in the field bring together the current knowledge about the assessment, understanding, and treatment of
Trade Review'Persecutory Delusions is an outstanding book that provides a unique update on the assessment, biological and psychological processes, and treatment of this important clinical phenomenon. Freeman, Bentall, and Garety, all seasoned clinicians who have also made valuable contributions to theories of delusions, have assembled world experts on this topic for the first time in this welcomed volume. The state-of-the-art summary of research, theory, and clinical practice related to persecutory delusions make this book a critical resource for anyone seeking to understand or treat psychosis.' * Professor Kim T. Mueser, Dartmouth Medical School *
' Delusions have long been known to psychiatry - but have largely been considered a subset of 'psychosis'. However, over the last decade a range of scientists, psychologists, phenomenologists, pharmacologists, and imagers have been studying delusions in their own right, and social epidemiologists and geneticists have been looking for their causes in clinical populations and wider society. This book is the first to pull together these different perspectives under one cover. For scientists and practitioners who study and treat psychosis this is a remarkable resource. This will be a "go to" reference book for developing a comprehensive understanding of delusions.' * Professor Shitij Kapur, Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London *
Table of ContentsASSESSMENT, EPIDEMIOLOGY AND PROGNOSIS; THEORY - PSYCHOLOGICAL PROCESSES; THEORY - BIOLOGICAL PROCESSES; TREATMENT - OVERVIEWS; TREATMENT - THERAPY EXAMPLES
