Child and Adolescent Mental Health Volume 9, No.
4, 2004, pp 195–199
Book News
The Therapist’s Use of Self
J. Rowan & M. Jacobs
Buckingham: Open University Press,
2002. pp. 156. £14.99 (pb). ISBN:
0-335-20776-6.
I must admit to a certain prejudice in
starting to read this ÔeclecticÔ book as
this word can elicit quite an allergic
reaction. It is written by authors who
have both a psychodynamic and
humanistic/integrative tradition. Part
of my prejudice stems from trying to
cross theoretical boundaries and a cer-
tain hierarchy of values and beliefs that
we all have about our own orientation.
These prejudices were swiftly dispelled
as the authors have produced an
impressive and comprehensive sweep
of many conceptual systems in a read-
able and informative manner.
The book tries and succeeds in integ-
rating different points of view from
many theoretical orientations of talking
therapies, focusing on different ways of
being a therapist. The key to any talking
therapy is the therapeutic relationship
and the book concentrates on the part
the therapist plays in different types of
therapy, including cognitive beha-
vioural therapy, psychodynamic,
humanistic/integrative and many
others.
The authors define three main types
of relationship and devote a chapter to
each: instrumental, authentic, and
transpersonal. Each theoretical orien-
tation is located in one of these posi-
tions. Although they deny a hierarchy
exists in these ways of being, there is a
covert implication that the list repre-
sents an increasing level of awareness
and sophistication that some readers
may find unsettling.
In the instrumental position, the ther-
apist is the expert, putting right the
client’s problems, who is held at a
distance from impacting on the therap-
ist with a set of techniques and rules.
The therapist at best adopts a persona
in conducting a therapy with aims and
focus that can be manualised. These
forms of therapy, epitomised by CBT,
are most easily researched. All forms of
therapy at some point adopt this posi-
tion.
In the authentic position (a term I
found personally off putting), personal
involvement with the client is more
acceptable and the therapist is closely
identified with the client and the rela-

2004 Association for Child Psychology and Psychiatry.
Published by Blackwell Publishing, 9600 Garsington Road, Oxford OX4 2DQ, UK and 350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148, USA
tionship actively explored. Psychoana-
lytic therapies, humanistic and person
centred therapists work this way. The
issue of counter transference is clearly
relevant here and there is an impressive
discussion of the history and uses of
counter transference as well as types of
empathy. The authors summarise their
findings in very useful tables, referenc-
ing how counter transference and em-
pathy have been written about and how
they are used.
The section on transpersonal position
is the most difficult. It focuses on the
abolition of the boundaries between
people as both therapist and client
come to occupy the same space at the
same time. It tends to get esoteric and
even Ômystical and bizarreÕ and difficult
for those of us not used to reading
things like this. However, the issues
described are familiar to a lot of thera-
pists with discussions about resonance
and linking (although not of the psy-
choanalytic type). The discussion
between the authors in the last chapter
of the book clarifies quite a lot of their
thinking about this way of relating,
which is helpful to the reader in making
their own links to what is being said.
There are some interesting discus-
sions about the role of self-disclosure in
therapy as well as the therapeutic use of
the emotions, thoughts and reactions of
the therapist. ÔThe therapist must
incessantly struggle to bring his woun-
ded self into play in the therapy…In
fact, it is this struggling that develops
the self of the therapist. This struggling
is so central because ultimately the
therapist’s self is the instrument which
will be used in therapyÕ (p. 50).
The role of personal therapy is also
interestingly explored including the his-
tory of a training therapy. The chapter
on training and supervision from the
point of view of the differing positions of
the therapists is also very revealing,
especially the role of the training insti-
tutions. The more instrumental the
training the more the development of
the true self of the therapist is curtailed
as imitation is so much a part of the
training process. This is clearly a con-
troversial point and one likely to pro-
voke strong feelings in the reader. The
dynamics of supervision according to
the three positions is also discussed,
including the use of the supervisors self
in the supervision. I found this one of
the most interesting parts of the book.
The authors end with discussing the
limitations of each orientation as a
point of view in working with clients
and the purpose of therapy and being a
therapist. They write: ÔPerhaps it is
neither ultimately about knowledge,
nor the questioning of knowledge as
about gaining wisdom. And wisdom
seems a fine objective for the therapists
use of selfÕ (p. 114). A wise book indeed
and highly recommended.
Ricky Emanuel
Royal Free Hospital, London
Supporting Families: Child Protec-
tion in the Community
Ruth Gardner
Chichester: Wiley & Sons Ltd, 2003.
pp. 177. £55.00 (hb). ISBN:
0-471-49970-6.
This book is written from the standpoint
of the aims and objectives of the Na-
tional Society for the Prevention of
Cruelty to Children (NSPCC). It gives
an account of work undertaken with
parents and children by the project staff
of the NSPCC and it describes the
results of its work over a two-year
period with particular reference to im-
plications for policy and practice re-
garding child protection in the
community. Recent research findings
from other studies are also included as
part of the author’s aims to highlight
the important and multifactorial as-
pects of child protection in the commu-
nity. The author acknowledges that
ÔBecause our sampling methods were
not scientific, the findings should be
treated with cautionÕ (p. 36). Despite
this weakness, there is much to be
gained from the trend of the findings
and also from the other sources of
information reviewed by the author.
There are also verbatim statements
from parents about some of their own
experiences of abuse either as children
or in terms of domestic violence, and
from children and parents about neigh-
bourhood and family issues. All of this
adds to the richness of the book. This is
a book about the reality of vulnerable
families - children and parents - and
about services and the importance of
identifying the needs of such families
and providing better services against
the background of the principles of the
Children Act 1989. This book is more
likely to appeal to practitioners with a

196 Book News
particular interest in the area of child
protection, but it is nevertheless one
that researchers and teachers in the
field may also find useful.
Trian Fundudis
Fleming Nuffield Unit, Newcastle upon
Tyne
Early Reading Development and
Dyslexia
Valerie Muter
London: Whurr Publishers, 2003.
pp. 212. £22.50 (pb). ISBN: 1-86156-
327-2.
In Early Reading Development and Dys-
lexia Muter synthesises a broad sweep
of major research findings and makes
them her own. In so doing she provides
a persuasive account of the progress
that has been made over the past 10–
15 years in our understanding of how
4–7-year-old children learn to read, the
specific difficulties experienced by
those with dyslexia, and how we can
identify and help them.
The book, which provides an account
of the importance of phonological
awareness and other processes in read-
ing development and of the core phono-
logical deficit of dyslexia, is balanced
between research into reading develop-
ment and dyslexiaÕ (113 pages) and the
practice of assessment and intervention
(99 pages). For those who are new to the
area, it is a very readable account with
technical terms that relate to cognitive
processes, research design, genetics,
brain structures and psychometrics
being clearly explained. The reader is
first introduced to the processes that
are involved in reading and dyslexia,
and then to factors that put children at
risk of reading delay, protective influ-
ences and factors that help children to
compensate for their difficulties. In the
second half of the book the reader is
introduced to procedures that can be
used to identify children at risk of
dyslexia and programmes that schools
can follow to reduce the incidence of
reading difficulties. Muter then guides
the reader through a comprehensive
model for diagnostic assessment and
introduces intervention programmes
that have been demonstrated to help
children with dyslexia. Well-positioned
case studies put flesh on theory and
practice, as they are expounded. Indeed
the account of Nicholas, a child whose
needs were not recognised in school, is
one of the clearest and most insightful
that I have read. The other five case
studies illustrate how a child’s profile of
reading skills can change over time and
how children with additional difficul-
ties, e.g. epilepsy and hemiplegia, can
be helped by a research-informed
assessment of their reading and other
educational needs.
The book provides a strong case
against the hands-off assessment fa-
voured by some educational psycholo-
gists, and should be required reading
on courses of training for educational
and clinical psychologists as well as for
those undertaking specialist courses in
reading and dyslexia. It should also be
of interest to Special Educational Need
Co-ordinators and to parents of chil-
dren with dyslexia.
Peter J. Hatcher
University of York
The Neuropsychiatry of Epilepsy
M. Trimble & B. Schmitz (Eds.)
Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press, 2002. pp. 350. £39.95 (pb).
ISBN: 0-521-00516-7.
A better title for our purposes would be
ÔSome of the Neuropsychiatry of Epi-
lepsy in AdultsÕ. The book is nicely
produced, extensively indexed, and
usefully referenced. Although men-
tioned in passing, specific discussion
of interictal psychoses, alternative psy-
choses, and affective disorders are
omitted. There are some welcome
reviews.
There is an interesting discussion of
epidemiological issues of neuropsychi-
atric disorders in epilepsy by Krishna-
moorthy and much of this is applicable
to children. In the chapter on limbic
connectivity, it is hard to disentangle
where the evidence comes from human
brains and where from speculations
from animal work. Janz contributes a
very interesting chapter on the psychi-
atry of idiopathic generalised epilepsy
and discusses personality types in dif-
ferent syndromes. He shows that post-
ictal and alternative psychosis occur at
similar rates in idiopathic generalised
epilepsies and temporal lobe epilepsy.
Postictal psychosis occurring after a
lucid interval is an interesting condi-
tion, usefully described by Kanemoto. It
is vanishingly rare in childhood if it
occurs at all, perhaps because it follows
an average 18 years after epilepsy
onset. Blumer explains that suicide
may occur many years after the onset
of epilepsy and may be related to inte-
rictal dysphoric disorder.
Stephen Brown’s beautiful chapter on
dementia and epilepsy includes discus-
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sion of a possible mechanism for the
occasional deterioration of adolescents
who have temporal lobe epilepsy. The
chapters on behavioural and neuropsy-
chological aspects of frontal lobe epi-
lepsy, and the psychiatric effects of
surgery for temporal lobe epilepsy con-
tain useful Tables and are mostly about
adults. The antidepressant effects of
vagal nerve stimulation (Elger and
Hoppe) are an unexpected benefit for
those whose bodies now contain a vagal
nerve stimulator but whose seizures
remain poorly controlled.
Richard Brown includes a helpful
discussion of the uses/meanings of
dissociation in the context of non-epi-
leptic seizures. Another chapter argues
for a physical underpinning to pseudo-
seizures, but this is of less interest to
the clinician, who is more concerned to
clarify what is keeping them going. An
excellent but lightly referenced chapter
by Frank Besag is on epileptogenic,
reversible, cognitive and behavioural
problems that may appear fixed (state
dependent). It is the only one in the
book that is mostly about children.
Schmitz gives a clear and fair account
of anticonvulsant induced behavioural
problems, which includes children, and
there is an excellent summary of the
effect of seizures and medication on
cognition by Aldenkamp. Finally, a
cogent chapter by Schöndienst recom-
mends non-compliance as an indication
for psychotherapy in the treatment of
epilepsy.
Michael Prendergast
Prudhoe Hospital, Northumberland
PACTS 2 Series: Parent, Adolescent
and Child Training Skills – Series 2
(8 booklets) Series Editor:
M. Herbert, Guide Editors:
M. Griffiths, A. Carr, S. Guerin,
E. Hennessy, S. G. Mattis,
T. H. Ollendick, D. Heyne,
S. Rollings, C. R. Hollin, D. Browne &
E. Palmer
Oxford: Blackwell, 2002. pp. 60
(average length). £44.99 for set of 8.
Titles also available individually. ISBN:
1-854333-59-3.
The PACTS Series originally came out as
12 slim booklets published by the
British Psychological Society to cover
common disorders in children. They
were all personally written by Martin
Herbert and were excellent how toÕ
guides. Now Martin Herbert had edited
a further eight guides addressing adol-
escence. Some of these are quite

outstanding guides for practitioners,
full of practical steps to take and
worldly wisdom as well as good theor-
etical grounding. The one on Panic
Disorder has Tom Ollendick as a co-
author and is up to date in using the
latest cognitive and behavioural
approaches. The one on Depression
and Attempted Suicide is by Alan Carr
and, again, is thorough and broad in its
approach, not shying away from medi-
cation if this is required in addition to
psychological therapy. Then there are a
couple on behaviours that are less
commonly covered in other places,
including Avoiding Risky Sex, and
Gambling. It is very welcome to have
these issues addressed in such a prag-
matic way, although often the evidence
of the outcome of what is proposed is
still thin. The approach taken to School
Refusal is also very sound, and there is
a general discussion in one booklet
about Social and Anti-Social Behaviour
by Martin Herbert himself. The booklets
on Delinquency and Offending (Clive
Hollin and others) and on Aggression
and Bullying (Guerin and Hennessy) are
more summaries of interventions rather
than step-by-step guides as to what to
do. In particular, the one on delin-
quency and offending had no reference
either to multi-systemic therapy, or to
treatment foster care, yet these are
perhaps the two best empirically valid-
ated interventions for this condition.
Overall, I would recommend that this
series is present for anybody working
with adolescents, as they provide a very
useful guide for trainees to get stuck in
with treatment.
Stephen Scott
Institute of Psychiatry, London
Autism: From Research to Individ-
ualised Practice
R. L. Gabriels & E. D. Hill (Eds.)
London: Jessica Kingsley, 2002.
pp. 288. £15.95 (pb). ISBN: 1-84310-
7801-5.
The stated aim of this book is to close
the gap between research and clinical
practice, providing professionals with a
synthesis of research, theory and clin-
ical practice. Gabriels and Hill have
succeeded admirably in this goal, with
chapter topics ranging from diagnosis
and genetics through to services for
adults and families.
Unlike many books with chapters
written by different authors, this book
is coherent, with each chapter contri-
buting naturally to the development of
the reader’s understanding of current
theories of autism and their relevance to
intervention. Most chapters also stand
alone as valuable resources in their own
right, and I was particularly impressed
by the chapters by Gabriels and Kers-
tien detailing the development of a sib-
ling support group, and by Schuler and
Fletcher on making communication
meaningful.
My one disappointment was that
there was no critical discussion of the
relative values of different research
methodologies. For instance, in the
section covering treatment outcomes,
there was no mention of the need for
randomised control trials in order to
properly evaluate different approaches.
However, overall this is an excellent and
informative book that will be useful to
many professionals in the fields of
research, clinical practice or education.
Greg Pasco
St George’s Hospital Medical School
Treatment Manual for Anorexia
Nervosa. A Family Based Approach
J. Lock, D. le Grange, W. S. Agras &
C Dare
New York: The Guilford Press, 2001.
pp. 270. £18.50 (pb). ISBN: 1-572-
30836-2.
This manual is intended for clinicians
skilled in work with families, and offers
an approach to the understanding and
treatment of adolescent anorexia nervo-
sa (AN) based on the family therapy
model used in treatment trials under-
taken at the Maudsley hospital. ÔMan-
ualÕ implies something far more
prescriptive than is found between its
pages – a framework for a specific
approach more accurately reflects the
style. Nevertheless, the reader is direc-
ted to elements thought essential to the
treatment’s effectiveness, particularly
in the early stages of treatment. The
treatment is not Ôstand aloneÕ. It is
intended to be conducted within a
multidisciplinary team, alongside med-
ical support and with supervision.
Treatment is in three phases: phase 1
involves refeeding the patient; phase 2,
the negotiation of new patterns of rela-
tionships; and phase 3, adolescent
issues and termination. At each stage
the how and why of therapeutic man-
oeuvres are explained, and example
sessions transcribed verbatim. The
family is seen as a resource for the
patient, and not, as many families per-
ceive themselves, to blame. Through-
out, the manual contains reminders of
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Book News 197
the importance of the therapist’s stance
toward families.
We are increasingly familiar with dis-
order specific treatments from modali-
ties such as CBT. We also know that
clinicians, particularly those well sea-
soned, do not always welcome their
perceived limitations. In practice, I find
that I readily recommend the manual to
new team members and trainees, as
much for the principles of working with
families with this condition as the detail
of practice. I am grateful that Lock et al.
have captured those principles so
clearly and accessibly. Whether this
manual becomes a benchmark book
remains to be seen. Expectations that
clinical services deliver evidence-based
treatments are likely to increase rather
than diminish, and where a treatment
manual exists, evidence for its effect-
iveness is usually hot on the heels.
Dasha Nicholls
Great Ormond Street Hospital for
Children NHS Trust
Serious Emotional Disturbance in
Children and Adolescents:
Multisystemic Therapy
S. W. Henggeler, S. K. Schoenwald,
M. D. Rowland & P. B. Cunningham
New York: Guilford Press, 2002.
pp. 260. £26.95 (hb). ISBN: 1-57230-
780-3.
This is book is an excellent guide to
good clinical practice, relevant whether
or not clinicians wish to embark upon
multisystemic therapy. It is full of
enlightening guidelines to good prac-
tice. There are few books that tell us
how to cope with really complicated
psychiatric problems that might, for
example, include repeated suicide
attempts and on-going serious, danger-
ous anti-social behaviour. This book,
however, systematically writes down
how to work with the different contexts,
be they school, local community, peers,
family, and the justice system. I was
particularly struck by the idea of having
a local worker involved who knows
where the local drug spots are, what
constructive activities there are for
youth in the area, and so on. By keeping
the MST workers involved with this,
there is an opportunity to improve the
child’s functioning within their own
environment. This is far more likely to
lead to generalisation than ÔfixingÕ them
in an in-patient unit or during a foster
care placement, after which they
resume their previous habits and re-
lapse once back home. MST takes the

198 Book News
opposite approach, whereby the MST
workers try to influence the treatment
regime even in in-patient units and
during foster care, so that there is a
relatively coordinated and seamless set
of treatment experiences for the young
person. Whilst taking a systems ap-
proach, MST fully recognises the use-
fulness of psychiatric diagnosis and of
medication where appropriate. It also
recognises that at times children will
need to be transferred to therapeutic
foster care if their parents are simply
unable to cope, but has clear ideas on
how to make this work and to maximise
the rapid return of the young person to
the family of origin.
Several randomised controlled trials
attest to the effectiveness of MST with
these seriously emotionally disturbed
children, a relatively new departure
from its use for recurrent delinquency.
This book is therefore very useful not
only for the seasoned clinician wonder-
ing what to do next, but also has the
MST approach backed up with evi-
dence based trials to persuade the
managers to take it on. I highly recom-
mend it.
Stephen Scott
Institute of Psychiatry, London
The Effects of Parental Dysfunction
on Children
R. J. McMahon & R. V. De Peters
(Eds.)
New York: Kluwer Academic/Plenum
Publishers, 2002. pp. 230. $65.00 (hb).
ISBN: 0-306-47252-X.
This book was published in 2002 and
reports on a symposium held in 1998,
so it is an unfortunate delay in publi-
cation date. It is a collection of nine
chapters taken from a symposium in
Banff. The chapters range fairly
widely, from the general review of the
causation of schizophrenia to longitud-
inal studies. However, there are inter-
esting and unusual nuggets to be
found. These include a very thoughtful
chapter on the association between
parent and child anti-social behaviour
by Paul Frick and Bryan Loney that
shows that fathers with anti-social
personality disorder have children with
higher rates of conduct disorder whe-
ther or not they are in contact with
them. A reflective piece by Mark Dadds
about the way parents of anxious
children can exacerbate the problem
by feeding into their anxiety is presen-
ted, and Serbin et al. present a longi-
tudinal study of aggressive and
withdrawn children that relates adult
outcome with parenting style in child-
hood. All too often longitudinal studies
report continuities, but are unable to
say whether these reflect on-going
continuity of the environment in which
the child and young person lives, or
whether it is a true characteristic of
the young person. However, unlike
many other studies, the anti-social
population in this study did not show
a great deal of continuity of this trait,
so it is hard to draw conclusions that
fit in with the rest of the literature.
Olson offers a clinician’s view of how
to help children with foetal alcohol
syndrome, and Catalano et al. report
a controlled trial of an intervention for
substance abusing parents and their
children. This found that it did indeed
reduce the use of drugs by the parents
but, unfortunately, the child behaviour
outcomes were not improved.
Stephen Scott
Institute of Psychiatry, London
Development and Learning
M. L. Wolraich
London: BC Decker, 2003. pp. 373.
$79.95. ISBN: 1550092243.
Research into disorders of development
and learning has increased substan-
tially over the past decade. This has not
only increased our understanding of
such disorders, but has enabled the
design of management and intervention
techniques. This book is aimed at pri-
mary care physicians; it is mainly des-
criptive rather than evaluative, which
gives it the feel of a basic reference
manual. Each chapter is written in a
concise clear manner, giving a brief, but
sufficient description of the area of
interest.
The first half of the book (Chapters 1
to 8) details theories of typical develop-
ment, assessment procedures and
methods of screening and intervention.
Chapter 1 introduces theories of motor,
cognitive, language, behavioural, mor-
al, and gender development in order to
provide the reader with a basic know-
ledge of the processes involved in typ-
ical development. The following three
chapters list common measures of
development (general, motor, and lan-
guage). Assessment measures are des-
cribed in terms of their design
background, the domains that they
test, the subtests that they are com-
posed of, and how an individual’s per-
formance is classified. These chapters
14753588, 2004, 4, Downloaded from https://acamh.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1475-3588.2004.00104_13.x by Universidad Autonoma de Madrid, Wiley Online Library on [16/04/2024]. See the Terms and Conditions (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/terms-and-conditions) on Wiley Online Library for rules of use; OA articles are governed by the applicable Creative Commons License
may be a useful tool when choosing
assessment measures.
Chapters 5 to 7 describe methods of
screening and intervention. Chapter 5
discusses different screening methods,
and the importance of sensitivity and
specificity in detecting children who
would benefit from intervention tech-
niques. The chapter has a welcome
emphasis on application; how to ex-
plain results to parents, and how to
use screening efficiently. Continuing
the applied theme, chapter 6 empha-
sises managing the developmental dis-
order with the aim of realising the
child’s full potential through goals and
target outcomes. This chapter discus-
ses the role of the clinician as an
advisor and partner to the parent.
Chapter 7 talks about intervention.
The concept and goals of early inter-
vention are introduced, followed by a
discussion of research into the longi-
tudinal impact of early intervention,
and a brief description of the factors
considered to determine the success of
an intervention. Chapter 8 details the
interaction between child abuse and
developmental disabilities. It explains
that the difficulty in managing a child
with a developmental disorder can
lead to child abuse. Details are given
on how this might occur, how to
assess child abuse, and the types of
abuse that are most relevant to devel-
opmental disability. Management, out-
comes, and prevention are also
discussed.
The final chapters describe 14 devel-
opmental disorders in turn. Disorders
such as cerebral palsy, Down Syn-
drome and Fragile X Syndrome are
introduced in terms of epidemiology,
classification, diagnosis, and treat-
ment, before discussing aspects of
development specific to that syndrome.
Many chapters include useful tables
detailing the time course of develop-
mental problems, or the types of treat-
ment used with that disorder.
Chapters on Williams syndrome and
Prader-Willi syndrome are welcome
additions to this edition of the book.
In general, this section of the book is a
great source for brief but informative
descriptions of disorders of develop-
ment and learning.
The book is clearly written and is a
useful first-stop for learning more
about disorders of developmental and
learning, their assessment and man-
agement.
Emily Farran
University of Reading

Videos: Behind the Symptoms and
Behind the Behaviour Mental
Health Media,
London, 2001 (http://www.
mhmedia.com) 32-32 mins. £39.95.
These two complementary videos last
about 30 minutes each and are aimed
at professionals from Health (Symp-
toms) and Education (Behaviour) work-
ing with primary age children. They
consist of short interviews with profes-
sionals working in the field, illustrated
by brief clips of role-played consulta-
tions. The videos will be most useful for
those working at the interface between
primary care, education and CAMHS,
particularly primary mental health/pri-
mary care liaison workers and special
educational needs co-ordinators.
Although there will be little new infor-
mation for these professionals, the vid-
eos would be a valuable resource in
schools and health centres. There is a
strong emphasis on the importance of
partnership between school and par-
ents and two particularly clear mes-
sages are outlined. The first is that
children with difficulties presenting to
professionals in primary care or educa-
tion are often doing so for the first time,
allowing an important opportunity for
intervention that should not be missed.
Second, it is stressed that even the most
complex situation can be helped by
often a very simple intervention such
as listening.
Chris Roberts
Surrey Oaklands NHS Trust
Social Aggression Among Girls
M. K. Underwood
New York: Guilford Press, 2003.
pp. 252. £18.50. ISBN: 1-57230-865-6.
Marion Underwood, Associate Professor
of Psychology at the University of Texas,
has written a timely and much needed
book . She examines in a thorough way
aspects of girlsÕ aggression, concluding
that girls for several reasons seem to
abstain from expressing anger in phys-
ical ways but turn to indirect means like
undermining an opponent’s social
standing by spreading rumours, cre-
ating isolation and manipulating rela-
tionships, to name but a few.
Underwood explores the link between
developmental stages and different
forms of aggression. Girls as young as
three encounter peer rejection when
physically aggressive – a message that
anger is unwelcome and therefore
needs to be ÔhiddenÕ.
As girls become more verbally skilled,
conflicts are dealt with by ÔgossipÕ or
threatening social exclusion. We learn
that friendships of an intimate and
dependent nature are quite gender spe-
cific and thus render girls more vulner-
able to social rejection.
This becomes particularly evident in
adolescence when female aggression
can not only destroy another person’s
social reputation but also their roman-
tic relationships. Little exploration,
however, takes place regarding phe-
nomena like girl gangs, female terror-
ism or serious harassment.
Another factor might be that girls are
dealt with differently by parents and teach-
ers insofar as they are expected to talk
about feelings rather than act them out.
What can be done to prevent girls
becoming mean and hurtful? The author
cites models of school based interven-
tions (The Sheffield Anti-bullying Pro-
ject), strategies parents might be able to
undertake and Ôharnessing the power of
sisterhoodÕ. It is here that the book is
rather Ôthin on the groundÕ and comes
across as naive and unconvincing.
Underwood is a scholar who certainly
bases her knowledge on a wealth of
studies (roughly 15% of the book con-
sists of references!) but remains some-
what in her academic Ôivory towerÕ.
Birgit Berg
Consultant Child & Adolescent
Psychiatrist, London
The Clinician’s Guide to the
Behavior Assessment System for
Children (BASC)
C. R. Reynolds & R. W. Kamphaus
New York: The Guilford Press, 2002.
pp. 288. £46.00 (hb). ISBN: 1-572-
30772-2.
This well written book clearly describes
a multidimensional method of assess-
ment of children and adolescents. The
BASC was designed originally for psy-
chologists, but is employed by a range
of other professionals. The book begins
with a detailed description of what the
BASC is, along with the five compo-
nents that make up the scale (teacher
rating scales, parent rating scales, self
report of personality, structured devel-
opmental history and student observa-
tion system). Within these components,
the BASC considers a range of scales,
which address both internalising, and
externalising problems; school based
problems, and is applicable for children
2 to 18 years of age. A detailed descrip-
tion of each scale (for example, hyper-
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Book News 199
activity, anxiety, locus of control,
aggression, somatisation, self-esteem,
and self-reliance) is then provided,
along with research to support it and a
very clear, concise scale interpretation
guide. Both age related and clinical
norms are available (non American
readers should be aware that these are
American norms).
Further into the book a very helpful
three-step guide is presented, which
assists the reader in making sense of a
child’s profile. A series of detailed case
studies illustrate the clinical utility of
the BASC alongside other psychometric
instruments and qualitative data. The
authors provide examples of written
reports based on this case material that
pull all the information together and
then translates it into meaningful rec-
ommendations for clinical practice. The
penultimate chapter pays particular
attention to the BASC ADHD monitor
and the student Observation System.
The authors describe how the main
BASC assesses Ôa broad sampling of
child behaviourÕ and, as such, the
symptoms of hyperactivity and inatten-
tion may be present but not necessarily
indicative of an ADHD presentation.
The ADHD monitor therefore permits a
more detailed assessment, with the aim
of hopefully reducing over diagnosis of
ADHD. Finally, the Student Observa-
tion System (SOS) is a structured way of
conducting a functional behavioural
assessment using momentary time
sampling. The authors point out, how-
ever, that while frequently used, further
research is needed to establish the
utility of both the BASC ADHD monitor
and the SOS. The final chapter is dedi-
cated to the application of the BASC in
specific settings (paediatrics and foren-
sics) and situations (prevention and
program evaluation).
Overall, this text is very readable and
succeeds in meeting its original aims
i.e. describing a structured behavioural
assessment system for children and
adolescents. I do not use the BASC,
but as a practising clinical psychologist,
explanatory texts of psychometric
instruments such as this are warmly
welcomed. I would therefore recom-
mend this book for those clinicians
who use or intend to use the BASC in
their clinical practice. Finally, on the
basis of this book, I would also consider
using these scales in complex cases,
where multiple informants and multi-
disciplinary team work is necessary.
Susan Bruce
Clinical Psychologist, Newcastle CAMHS