Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Preface
Acknowledgment
Part I. Quality of Life: Meanings and Values
Chapter 1. Methodological and Conceptual Issues
Chapter 2. Measuring the Value of Quality of Life
Chapter 3. Schizophrenia and Mood Disorders
Chapter 4. Quality of Life Research Projects
Chapter 5. Quality of Life Profiles
Chapter 6. Temporal Patterns in Quality of Life
Part II. Illness-Related Indicators
Chapter 7. Clinical Manifestations
Chapter 8. Emotional and Somatic Distress
Chapter 9. Functional Capacity
Chapter 10. Suicidal-Related Behaviors
Chapter 11. Circadian Rhythm Disruption
Chapter 12. The Impact of Adverse Drug Reactions
Chapter 13. The Role of Cognitive Impairment
Part III. Personality-Related Traits
Chapter 14. Awareness of Illnesses
Chapter 15. Coping Strategies
Chapter 16. Self-Constructs
Chapter 17. Perceived Social Support
Chapter 18. Personality Dimensions
Chapter 19. Lack of Pleasure (Anhedonia)
Part IV. Enhancing the Quality of Life
Chapter 20. Perceived Health Care Needs
Chapter 21. Predicting Quality of Life Deficits
Chapter 22. The Distress/Protection Vulnerability Model
Chapter 23. What is the Treatment?
Chapter 24. Summary and Future Directions
About the Author
Index
Reviews
“Professor Michael Ritsner has done the allied fields of psychiatry, epidemiology, genetics, and related disciplines a huge service in providing an incisive yet comprehensive study of health-related quality of life deficits of people with severe mental disorders. Understanding the experience of those affected with severe mental disorders and how that experience impacts their life course has often been an area of unsystematic speculation, but Professor Ritsner transcends prior efforts and dissects this topic with vast amounts of empirical data and the clarity of a world-class scientist. He wrestles with the multiple dimensional determinants of quality of life as a construct, predictor, and outcome indicator with rigor, richness, and nuance. His views on this critical topic are wise and prescient.” – <strong>Mark F. Lenzenweger, PhD; Distinguished Professor of Psychology, The State University of New York at Binghamton, and Professor of Psychology in Psychiatry (Adjunct), Weill Cornell Medical College, NY, USA</strong>
“Across 24 chapters this comprehensive volume offers readers an outstanding state of the art understanding of the myriad of phenomenon which influence the quality of life of persons diagnosed with serious mental disorder. There is essential and readily assessable information for practitioners, scientists and policy makers that enables a new and human understanding of the life and needs of this often-marginalized group and which can guide the way for increasingly humane and effective mental health treatments.” – <strong>Paul H. Lysaker, Ph.D., Staff Psychologist, Roudebush VA Medical Center and Professor of Clinical Psychology, Department of Psychiatry, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, USA</strong>
“An excellent, comprehensive overview about quality of life in severe mental disorder. It is not only about quality of life measurement in scientific research, it’s about how to get a comprehensive understanding of quality of life, its origin and development and how to bring this important concept into clinical practice in order to close the gap between the subjective perspective of our patients and expert-rated outcomes in health care.” – <strong>Prof. Dr. Anne Karow, Psychosis Centre, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Centre for Psychosocial Medicine, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE), Hamburg, Germany</strong>
“Mental illness has a profound impact on functioning and quality of life and those with severe forms of illness tend to experience long-term deficits in these areas. Dr. Ritsner, an eminent psychiatrist and researcher, provides a valuable, holistic and comprehensive review of current knowledge on severe mental illness and their impact on quality of life. Furthermore, the review provides an excellent evaluation of vulnerability and mitigating factors, as well as optimal treatment strategies and future research perspectives. This book is highly informative and would be welcomed by clinicians of different disciplines working in mental health, as well as academics equally. In addition, it fills an important unmet need for a comprehensive source on the topic for the lay public.” – <strong>Arun V. Ravindran, MB, MSc, Ph.D.; Professor and Director, Global Mental Health Affairs & The Office of Fellowship; Training, Department of Psychiatry Graduate Faculty, Institute of Medical Sciences University of Toronto, Canada</strong>
Additional Information
Audience: Researches, psychiatrists, psychologists, neurologists, neuroscientists, pharmacologists, graduate students, health care providers and policy makers in the fields of mental health and rehabilitation
