STAHL'S ESSENTIAL PSYCHOPHARMACOLOGY - NEUROSCIENTIFIC BASIS AND PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS

The author of this magnificent work takes a pedagogical, highly understandable approach to the area of psychopharmacology from the level of basic biochemistry and receptor action through practical clinical applications of all major classes of psychotropic compounds. This text is written with the ambitious goal of making the complicated field of psychopharmacology accessible, on both the theoretical and ""everyday"" levels, to the practicing clinician. Towards this goal the author succeeds admirably. The author seeks to reach the audience of prescribing mental health professionals with a medical background who seek a basic and clinical level understanding of the medications that they recommend to their patients. Numerous unique features contribute to the author's goal. First, the liberal use of highly schematic color diagrams in each chapter adds to understanding of such concepts as receptor action, timing of drug effects and clinical outcomes. These diagrams are structured in what initially appears to be an oversimplified, ""cartoon"" form. However, upon further examination it is apparent these illustrations are highly effective in elucidating highly complex material. As well, a pure pedagogical approach with questions and answers at the end allows readers to test themselves on the material presented to ensure maximal retention of key concepts. Finally, while not written at the highly advanced level of the ""bench"" researcher in psychopharmacology, as clearly explained by the author, this text nevertheless is the basis of further inquiry since the author includes a fairly complete bibliography for further reading. This book is a bedrock for basic understanding of the complexand fast moving field of psychopharmacology, and should be a part of every prescribing clinician's library. It is highly recommended and will be useful in many contexts.