Michael T. Compton – författare

The Complex Connection between Cannabis and Schizophrenia provides an in-depth overview of the current state of research into the role that cannabis plays in schizophrenia, covering both the pathophysiological and the pharmacological implications. It addresses the epidemiology of cannabis use and the risks associated with its use, the biological aspects of the drug, its effects on the brain and the pharmacological possibilities of using cannabidiol to treat schizophrenia.

It is the only book on the market devoted exclusively to examining the links between this very commonly used (and misused) drug and a specific set of devastating psychiatric illnesses, providing a comprehensive guide to our current understandings of this relationship.

Marijuana is the most commonly used illicit drug globally, and is becoming increasingly decriminalized and even legalized worldwide. Among the numerous mental-health concerns related to the drug, there is mounting evidence of an intricate link between cannabis use and schizophrenia and related psychotic disorders. At the same time, there is promising evidence to suggest that cannabidiol, one of the many compounds found in cannabis that activates the brain's cannabinoid receptors, could prove to be an effective antipsychotic to treat schizophrenia.

The Social Determinants of Mental Health aims to fill the gap that exists in the psychiatric, scholarly, and policy-related literature on the social determinants of mental health: those factors stemming from where we learn, play, live, work, and age that impact our overall mental health and well-being. The editors and an impressive roster of chapter authors from diverse scholarly backgrounds provide detailed information on topics such as discrimination and social exclusion; adverse early life experiences; poor education; unemployment, underemployment, and job insecurity; income inequality, poverty, and neighborhood deprivation; food insecurity; poor housing quality and housing instability; adverse features of the built environment; and poor access to mental health care.

This thought-provoking book offers many beneficial features for clinicians and public health professionals: • Clinical vignettes are included, designed to make the content accessible to readers who are primarily clinicians and also to demonstrate the practical, individual-level applicability of the subject matter for those who typically work at the public health, population, and/or policy level.• Policy implications are discussed throughout, designed to make the content accessible to readers who work primarily at the public health or population level and also to demonstrate the policy relevance of the subject matter for those who typically work at the clinical level.• All chapters include five to six key points that focus on the most important content, helping to both prepare the reader with a brief overview of the chapter''s main points and reinforce the "take-away" messages afterward.• In addition to the main body of the book, which focuses on selected individual social determinants of mental health, the volume includes an in-depth overview that summarizes the editors'' and their colleagues'' conceptualization, as well as a final chapter coauthored by Dr. David Satcher, 16th Surgeon General of the United States, that serves as a "Call to Action," offering specific actions that can be taken by both clinicians and policymakers to address the social determinants of mental health.

The editors have succeeded in the difficult task of balancing the individual/clinical/patient perspective and the population/public health/community point of view, while underscoring the need for both groups to work in a unified way to address the inequities in twenty-first century America. The Social Determinants of Mental Health gives readers the tools to understand and act to improve mental health and reduce risk for mental illnesses for individuals and communities.

Students preparing for the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) will also benefit from this book, as the MCAT in 2015 will test applicants'' knowledge of social determinants of health. The social determinants of mental health are not distinct from the social determinants of physical health, although they deserve special emphasis given the prevalence and burden of poor mental health.

According to David Satcher, M.D., Ph.D., the 16th U.S. Surgeon General, we know a great deal more about treating mental illnesses than about preventing them and promoting mental health. In his foreword to Clinical Manual of Prevention in Mental Health, Dr. Satcher applauds this guide as timely and vital, as it provides new and emerging research on the importance of prevention in mental health.

Clinical Manual of Prevention in Mental Health was conceived through discussions within the Prevention Committee of the Group for the Advancement of Psychiatry (GAP), and features contributions from 30 highly regarded clinicians and researchers who are experienced in the treatment and prevention of specific types of mental illnesses.

Clinical Manual of Prevention in Mental Health will help you move toward widespread adoption of mental illness prevention in your own practice setting. This important new reference provides practical suggestions to help you work toward preventing, or implementing preventive measures in the treatment of • Mood disorders• Anxiety disorders• Schizophrenia• Substance use disorders • Suicidality• Family violence• Conduct disorder and other adolescent disorders• Late-life depression, dementia, and mild cognitive impairment• Physical illnesses in psychiatric settings• Cigarette smoking

Compared with other areas of medicine, such as the prevention of infectious disease, our understanding of the prevention of mental illnesses remains in a relatively nascent state, especially in terms of how prevention can be incorporated into routine clinical practice. The authors of the various chapters have endeavored to balance reviewing the available research knowledge with providing guidance for practicing clinicians on how such knowledge can be incorporated into everyday practice.

Clinical Manual of Prevention in Mental Health urges clinicians everywhere to inquire about risk factors and protective factors in patients'' lives in addition to focusing on the presenting problem. It is the authors'' intent to provide mental health professionals with the knowledge and practical applications necessary to be prevention-minded in all of their interactions with patients, families, and the community.

Even while many states have passed legislation pertaining to "medical marijuana" and others have decriminalized or even legalized recreational use, a debate continues within society as to whether marijuana is simply a harmless substance that should be fully legalized, a possibly beneficial treatment for patients with certain illnesses, or a drug with the potential to worsen addiction and cause mental health problems. The controversy persists in the medical community as well, where accumulating evidence implicates marijuana use, especially in adolescence, as a risk factor for poor educational achievement and substance use disorders, as well as schizophrenia and related psychotic disorders -- all of which complicates the heated discourse on legalization.

Although other books have explored the medical marijuana and the neuroscience behind marijuana, no single source of comprehensive information on marijuana and mental health in modern American society has existed to date. Balanced, focused, and highly readable, Marijuana and Mental Health fills this void. It provides an academic foundation for further study while also informing clinical mental health practice as well as policy decisions by articulating the connection between marijuana and mental health, particularly in the United States.

Chapters offer a concise compilation of research in this area, discussing topics such as: • The effects of marijuana on the brain and mind• Marijuana-related legislation• Medical marijuana• Comorbidities between marijuana misuse and mood and anxiety disorders• The complex link between marijuana use and psychotic disorders• Synthetic cannabinoids• Treatment and prevention of marijuana misuse

Relatable clinical vignettes that contextualize these issues and illustrate the clinical applicability of the content, as well as key chapter points that emphasize major takeaways, make Marijuana and Mental Health the authoritative reference for clinical and research psychiatrists, psychiatric residents and fellows, clinical psychologists, and psychiatric nurses.

The American Opioid Epidemic: From Patient Care to Public Health provides practicing psychiatrists, trainees, and other mental health professionals with the latest information on opioid addiction, including misuse of heroin and other illicit opioids, the role of prescription analgesic opioids, and recent overdose trends. Although highly effective in relieving acute pain, opioids can cause untold damage to people''s lives, health, and social structures. Recognizing the efficacy of these drugs when prescribed appropriately, the editors call not for eliminating access or for incarcerating those who are addicted, but for changing the patterns of prescribing and use. The crisis is analyzed by expert contributors from a wide variety of perspectives; they address issues of epidemiology and toxicology, prevention and harm reduction, and common comorbidities. Stressing that prevention and treatment do work, expert contributors provide down-to-earth, public-health-focused strategies that clinicians and public health workers alike will find indispensable. Moreover, the use of clinical vignettes and key chapter points help ground the reader and highlight the most important concepts.The book is comprehensive in its exploration of all facets of the crisis: • A thorough overview of prescription opioids is presented, including descriptions of the agents and their physiological effects, details on the origins of the opioid prescription use and misuse epidemic, current national trends in the nonmedical use of these prescription medications, and the consequences of long-term use of prescription opioids, such as the risk of initiating use of heroin and other illegal opioids.• Screening, assessment, and treatment planning for opioid use disorder is explored in detail, as is the pathophysiology, clinical signs, and management of opioid withdrawal.• The epidemiology, pathophysiology, and toxicology of opioid-related overdose are covered, guiding clinicians in key principles of overdose management -- from evaluation to treatment to prevention. Readers will learn about the pharmacology and clinical use of the main opioid overdose reversal agent, naloxone, as well as the toxic profiles of the most common opioids implicated in overdose deaths.• The social determinants of the opioid epidemic are addressed from historical, demographic, and socioeconomic perspectives, as well as the pharmaceutical marketing-related, regulatory, and governmental policy-oriented factors that shape health disparities around opioid addiction and its consequences.• Harm reduction programs, including syringe access programs, overdose prevention education (including naloxone training and dispensing), education for safe injection practices, and facilitating access to opioid agonist treatment, are thoroughly explored. Harm reduction strategies that clinicians can use with individual patients are also discussed.

The American Opioid Epidemic: From Patient Care to Public Health provides an in-depth look at clinical and public health approaches to this epidemic from both psychiatric and medical perspectives and gives mental health professionals the big picture necessary to understand the epidemic, as well as the clinical detail required to help patients avoid or overcome opioid addition.

Mental health does not exist in a vacuum. The context in which an individual is born, grows, lives, and works has a profound impact on their mental and physical well-being. But although the powerful effects of these social determinants of mental health are not in question, how to affect them in actionable ways is.

Struggle and Solidarity addresses that gap in a compelling manner. By taking a case study approach to seven key pieces of federal legislation—among them, the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1933, the Social Security Act of 1935, the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and the Housing and Urban Development Act of 1965—it demonstrates how public policies, even when not explicitly mental health–related, can shape social determinants and improve mental health in the United States.

For each of the seven laws, the book describes

• The crisis in society that spurred the law''s inception• Some of the key individuals and groups who drove its passage• How the law has evolved over time—including its shortcomings• How the law can continue to influence mental health in the future

Forgoing academic language in favor of a more approachable style and including photographs of some of the key players involved in each piece of legislation, this volume is accessible to all audiences while still making vivid and rigorous connections between national policymaking and the social determinants of mental health, summarizing the literature linking key social determinants affected by each law to mental health outcomes.

In sharing real examples of how individuals and groups have successfully advocated for policy changes, the authors of this book illustrate how important advocacy work can be accomplished and inspire readers to get involved in similar work to improve mental health today and in the future.