Michael Sharpe – författare

There is currently a great deal of interest in patients with functional somatic symptoms - physical complaints which are not explained by organic findings - but until now there has been little information available on the principles and practical methods of management. This book covers all the main themes in the management of somatic disorders, and will be invaluable both as a comprehensive academic reference and as a practical clinical guide. The authors cover problems specific to children and the elderly, and organization of care, as well as the clinical syndromes such as hypochondriasis and chronic pain, chronic fatique, and low back pain.Treatment of functional somatic symptoms is the first comprehensive, authoritative and practical guide on the management of a wide variety of medically unexplained symptoms which are very frequent in all areas of primary and hospital care. The book will be useful to clinicians and to research workers as a source book and clinical manual.

All long-term illnesses, whatever their diagnosis, have much in common. The difficulties and challenges that come with illness, and the strategies to overcome them, are shared by most patients. Managing an illness effectively and tackling the difficulties it causes can greatly improve how you feel and your quality of life.This book identifies the challenges posed by illness and suggests a wide variety of ways in which you might meet them. Key to this is the idea of becoming expert in managing your own illness and learning how best to deal with it. The authors accept that you know more than them about how you experience it, so that rather than telling you what to do, they offer a tool box from which you may pick the strategies that best suit you. The two authors, one a person with a long-term illness and one a doctor, combine their expertise and experience to offer a practical and comprehensive guide along your own unique journey.If you have a long-term illness, or if you care for someone who does, then this is a book for you.

Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) remains one of the most controversial illnesses, both in terms of its causes, and the best ways to treat the illness. For years, sufferers have had to deal with scepticism from their families, employers, and even health care professionals. The vast amount of conflicting advice that has been published up to now has served only to confuse sufferers, and professionals, even more. Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: The Facts presents a compassionate guide to this illness, providing sufferers and their families, with practical advice, based solely on scientific evidence. It is unique in being written by both a sufferer and a physician, both of whom have had extensive experience of talking to, and helping, patients. Included in the book is a detailed guide to self-help, written from a patient's perspective, but evidence-based. The book also deals with a number of special issues, advising on how to choose therapies and therapists, and how to deal with CFS in children. The book additionally includes an overview of the history of the illness, looking at the nature and causes of CFS, and the opportunities for the future. The book will be invaluable for sufferers from CFS, their friends and families, and the numerous health professionals who come into contact with sufferers from this illness.

This book uses five areas model of cognitive behaviour therapy to help people experiencing a range of medically unexplained neurological symptoms, including chronic headaches, fatigue, dizziness, loss of sensation, weakness and numbness.

Overcoming Functional Neurological Symptoms uses the proven and trusted five areas model of Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) to help people experiencing a range of medically unexplained symptoms, including chronic headaches, fatigue, dizziness, loss of sensation, weakness and numbness.Easy to use and practical, this CBT workbook:Presents the insights of award-winning authors who are experts in the fieldContains therapeutic advice proven to work through years of research and practiceEnsures patients success through specific plans leading to positive resultsProvides advice for friends and family of patientsThis book is designed for CBT practitioners, psychiatrists, psychologists, neurologists, physiotherapists, occupational therapists and healthcare workers to share with their patients.A linked and completely free online support course is located at www.livinglifetothefull.com with additional resources at www.fiveareas.com

Birmingham, the cradle of the industrial revolution and the world's first manufacturing town, is an important focus for many family historians who will find that their trail leads through it. Rural migrants, Quakers, Jews, Irish, Italians, and more recently people from the Caribbean, South-Asia and China have all made Birmingham their home. This vibrant history is reflected in the city's rich collections of records, and Michael Sharpe's handbook is the ideal guide to them. He introduces readers to the wealth of information available, providing an essential guide for anyone researching the history of the city or the life of an individual ancestor. His work addresses novices and experienced researchers alike and offers a compendium of sources from legal and ecclesiastical archives, to the records of local government, employers, institutions, clubs, societies and schools. Accessible, informative and extensively referenced, it is the perfect companion for research in Britain's second city.