Journal of Psychosomatic Research 70 (2011) 302ndash303

Book reviews

The treatment of eating disorders a clinical handbookCM Grilo JE Mitchell (Eds) New York The GuilfordPress 2010 Price $7500 US 606 pages

Eating disorders is still a relatively young field comparedto other psychological disorders and commensurately less isknown about effective treatment approaches especially inthe area of anorexia nervosa and working with adolescentsHowever the body of research is growing rapidly andrepresents a Herculean and daunting task for the clinician tosummarise and understand Thus the appearance of thisbook The Treatment of Eating Disorders A ClinicalHandbook edited by Carlos Grilo and James Mitchell andincluding 35 chapters from experts in the field summarizingknowledge and describing therapeutic approaches is to bewelcomed It fills the gap left by the last attempt at this typeof work the ldquoHandbook of Treatment for Eating Disordersrdquoby David Garner and Paul Garfinkel published in 1997 Assuch it does represent a ldquomust-haverdquo for clinicians ortrainees who are specializing or planning to specialize in theeating disorder field

The book includes wide coverage of eating disordergroups including anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa aswell as binge eating disorder and the other Eating DisorderNot Otherwise Specified categories the latter grouprepresenting the most common diagnosis presenting fortreatment Given the lack of clear front runners for treatmentapproaches for some eating disorders it was important to seethe inclusion of the summary of the evidence base fortreatments across the first three chapters Somewhatdisappointingly these three chapters also summarizedinformation relating to the diagnosis and assessment ofeating disorders thus providing limited coverage ofimportant issues related to developing initial rapport inassessment with a client group that is notorious for beingambivalent about treatment and dropping out of therapy Inparticular more could have been said about motivationalinterviewing approaches given the growing evidence in theeating disorder field that motivation is an important predictorof retention and outcome

One of the extremely useful aspects of the book is theinclusion of 11 ldquomini-manualsrdquo some but not all of whichare available as books or chapters in other books Somewhatsurprisingly neither the contents pages nor the chapterheadings flagged that they were manuals This did not

0022-399910$ ndash see front matter copy 2011 Elsevier Inc All rights reserved

become apparent until one started reading the chapter Theeditors were clearly aiming for wide coverage of potentiallyuseful therapeutic approaches which is a strength but giventhe lack of strong evidence base for some of the treatmentapproaches highlighted in the book some type of ldquoevidencebase ratingrdquo for each of the mini-manuals should have beenprovided in the opening lines or chapter headings Theclinical usefulness was somewhat uneven across the ldquohow todo itrdquo chapters but in all perusal across these chapters willenable clinicians to grasp the essential principles of goodtreatment with complex eating disorders Additional sectionsexamined special topics and research issues and of specialimportance here were the chapters dealing with childhoodeating difficulties and offering support for carers Overallthis book represents a rich resource for practitioners anddeserves a place in every university library

Tracey D WadeSchool of Psychology

Flinders University South Australia AustraliaE-mail address traceywadeflinderseduau

doi101016jjpsychores201008004

The Art and Science of MindfulnessSL Shapiro LE Carlson American Psychological Asso-ciation 2009 ISBN 9781433804656 pound4850 194 pages

Buddhist scholar Thich Nhat Hanh wrote ldquoThe most precious

gift we can give to others is our presencerdquo

In The Art and Science of Mindfulness IntegratingMindfulness Into Psychology and the Helping ProfessionsShapiro and Carlson (2009) posit that mindfulness a 2500-year-old Buddhist concept is not only essential to all formsof psychotherapy but may provide personal benefits tohelping professionals and expand our existing model ofhealth and health care

This book consists of three sections The first sectionpresents a definition of mindfulness and discusses its utilityin multiple domains of psychotherapy Specifically theauthors address how cultivation of a mindful attitude towardpatients might enhance therapeutic relationships and patientoutcomes They also outline how the tenets of mindfulness

303Book reviews Journal of Psychosomatic Research 70 (2011) 302ndash303

(eg impermanence essential nature) can be integrated intotherapy without explicit mention or formal practice ofmindfulness Finally the authors summarize the theoreticalpractical and empirical basis for commonly employedmindfulnessacceptance-based treatments

The second section reviews the research on mindfulness-based therapies highlighting the psychological and physicalbenefits of mindfulness practice across diverse clinicalpopulations and settings However the authors contendthat we should not only ask if treatments work but ask whythey work To this end the final chapter of this section isdevoted to discussing how mindfulness may exert salutaryeffects across both clinical and nonclinical populationssuggesting pathways for future research

The third section of this book details ways to expand ourcurrent conceptualization and application of mindfulnessThree themes are given special attention self-care positivepsychology and future directions Although research in thearea of mindfulnessself-care is nascent preliminary evi-dence suggests that practicing mindfulness protects againsttherapist ldquoburnoutrdquo promotes psychological well-being andnurtures qualities vital to health care professionals (egempathy) Therefore the authors advocate for its integra-tion into current curricula and clinical training programsThis section also discusses current perspectives on mind-fulness health and healing and the integration of positivepsychological variables into this framework It is argued

that mindfulness should be considered not only as atreatment for illness but as a way of life that promoteshealth and development

Overall The Art and Science of Mindfulness provides athorough review of the relevant scientific research anddiverse clinical applications of mindfulness It offers helpfulresources for scientists practitioners and educators andpresents promising directions for future clinical research andparadigm expansion Of particular value is the sectionemphasizing the importance of self-care Although thisdomain is critical to the ldquosuccessrdquo and longevity of theprofessional hisher patients and own well-being it is anarea that fails to receive adequate attention in the vastmajority of programs educating future clinicians and healthcare professionals It was pleasing to see the authorsinvesting in promoting health in patients and professionalsalike Lastly this text is an important contribution to theliterature on the benefits of cultivating mindfulness in bothprofessional and personal realms It wonderfully illustratesthe many ways in which mindfulness is a ldquoprecious giftrdquo thatcan be shared with ourselves others and the greater society

Erin WalshUniversity of Kentucky USA

E-mail address edubwalshgmailcom

doi101016jjpsychores201009001