Handbook of Psychiatric Drugs

In the authors' own words at the beginning of the book, this is written for clinicians, maybe especially for psychiatrists. However, I think the interested researcher or even lay person would also find it an informative read. It's not written in difficult language and I think the lay person would probably understand the vast majority of it. Author of Adjust Your Brain: A Practical Theory for Maximizing Mental Health.

This 5 X 8, 264pp paperback is essentially a second edition of the 2000 text by the same authors (though that 1st edition was more of an edited book and by a different publisher). The authors are well-known and respected in psychopharmacolgy and this 2006 edition is completely revised and updated. It includes chapters on all of the major classes of drugs used in mental health, including antipsychotics, antidepressants, mood stabilizers, anxiolytics, sedative-hypnotics, psychostimulants, cognitive enhancers and treatments for Alzheimer's, and drugs for treating substance abuse. There is an index. Each chapter is easy to read, comprehensive and cites current research. The book is easy to carry around and refer to, with numerous tables and charts. I carry it with me when working the ER and evaluating psychiatric and substance abusing patients who are taking medications or probably need to be taking them... I gave it 5 stars because of all that one gets for the price (I paid $25 for it when it first came out, plus free shipping/handling so that was a great buy). I notice that the price has already increased by $2.50. Still, this is a good buy for the money. There are many other current psychopharmacolgy texts that are more detailed but also much more expensive. For something cheaper (just the necessary facts) try the book by Albers and colleagues. This book stands in the middle, so to speak, and as such is a solid piece of work and a worthwhile purchase. Recommended.