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EVIDENCE-BASED MENTAL HEALTH PRACTICE: A TEXTBOOK. Robert E. Drake, Matthew R. Merrens, and David W. Lynde, (Eds.) New York: Norton, 2005, 494 pp.
For those of us who work in the field of mental health care, the term "evidence-based practice" is one with which we are very familiar. Services increasingly are held to the standard of the provision of evidence-based treatments; practitioners too must endeavor to ensure that the treatment models they employ are grounded in a solid base of evidence. Administrators in hospitals and community-based settings are required to demonstrate through the use of outcome measures that the services they provide are in fact yielding positive outcomes for clients and that they meet the needs of the clients.
This book, Evidence-Based Mental Health Practice: A Textbook, provides an excellent blueprint for practitioners, clinical leaders, administrators, and students about the implementation of evidence-based practices (EBP). It is organized in a logical, accessible manner and is an excellent compilation of contributions from leaders in the field of mental health. The book is organized into four sections. The first section sets the stage by reviewing the history of mental health treatments and the philosophical shifts that have impacted changes to the system. The second section defines the principles of evidence-based practices and makes a solid case for why services must be grounded in evidence. The third section discusses implementation and the fourth section outlines current proven practices.
Anyone who has spent a number of years in the field will relate to the prologue provided by David W. Lynde, in which he nicely sets the stage with an account of his own experiences in mental health service delivery, a portrayal that is so easy to relate to. He outlines the history, presents the philosophical changes that have occurred in the field, and acknowledges the vital contribution of consumers who have taught us...