Tamara McClintock Greenberg, PsyD, MS
PSYCHOLOGIST • AUTHOR • SPEAKER
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA
Feel entitled to an absorbing life
The Psychological Impact of Acute and Chronic Illness
A Practical Guide for Primary Care Physicians
December 2006, Springer
Primary care physicians have a unique, long-term relationship with their patients. The nature of this relationship places primary care physicians in the position of managing both the physical and psychological response to serious illness. The Psychological Impact of Acute and Chronic Illness is specifically designed to help the primary care physician navigate normative and maladaptive reactions to illness. Physicians will learn how to identify coping responses in medically ill individuals, as well as proven strategies for intervention and pharmacological treatment of patients presenting with mental illness. Chapters are concise but comprehensive and emphasize the basics, from aspects of the illness process to knowing when to refer patients to mental health providers. Case examples throughout the book illustrate important concepts and techniques that enable the reader to maximize coping in patients and their families.
REVIEWS
“Greenberg discusses in logical fashion the nature of the doctor-patient relationship, the psychological processes at play in “becoming” a patient, family dynamics and the chronically ill patient, special issues in dealing with “difficult” patients, and so forth. She touches on all the key areas to be considered in understanding the psychological needs of the medical patient — from the potential for religion to be helpful for one person, to its potential for doing harm by inducing guilt or rage in another, to considerations of financial, race, gender, or other barriers in accessing care, to helpful coping styles used by the patient. Greenberg is thorough and thoughtful in covering the spectrum of factors to consider when discussing such an important and complex issue… Dr. Greenberg has courageously begun a dialogue between mental health professionals and medical physicians that is long overdue.”
“The writing is clear and the narrative flows well; the text is scholarly and well referenced.”