J.M. Erickson
Reviews of Neuroscience & Clinical Text Books by J.M. Erickson — clinician, educator, and author.
As a practicing clinician and graduate-level educator, J.M. Erickson has spent decades working with the foundational texts of neuroscience, psychopathology, and clinical practice. These are his reviews — written for students, therapists, and anyone serious about understanding the mind.
J.M. Erickson is a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker (LICSW) with decades of direct clinical experience, academic instruction, and organizational leadership. His reviews reflect the perspective of a practitioner who has used these texts in the field, in the classroom, and with clients.
School Counselor
Brooks School
North Andover, MA
Member of the Health & Wellness Center that provides clinical short-term treatment, consultation and urgent clinical mental health evaluations in conjunction with medical services provided to on-campus day and boarder high school students.
Psychotherapist / Senior Clinician
Integrated Behavioral Care, LLC.
Andover, MA
Seasoned therapist conducting clinical assessments, diagnosing and utilizing cognitive-behavioral techniques and psycho-educational strategies to treat adolescents and adults diagnosed with major mental health disorders. Formerly General Psychological Associates.
Adjunct Professor / Senior Instructor
Cambridge College, School of Psychology & Counseling
Lawrence, MA
Senior Instructor providing classroom instruction of psychopathology, post-trauma stress reaction, neurobiology, abnormal psychology and ethics at both graduate and undergraduate levels.
by John W. Barnhill
This is one of the best supplemental books for the DSM-5 desk reference text you could get — it wonderfully fleshes out the cases that demonstrate differential diagnosis, clinical assessment and treatment planning. Clearly written, excellent examples and well laid-out, this text will help clinical students and clinical therapists who have been in the field forever. Excellent book!
by Sophia F. Dziegielewski
Very good book! The author did a great job in breaking out key sections that showed the differences between the DSM IV-TR and the DSM 5; further, the case examples and proposed treatment plans were also very well done and would easily provide students with solid illustrative points of differential diagnosis and treatment. This text is good for first year graduate students and seasoned clinicians alike. Great job!
by Judith S. Beck, Aaron T. Beck (Foreword)
Excellent book for CBT beginners! Principles and mock clinical interviews make this an excellent book for graduate students needing a basic understanding of CBT interviews, applications, data analysis, treatment strategies and goals. I also really like how the book set up boxes highlighting key points! Excellent book. The condition and seller were great too!
by American Psychiatric Association
While I own the larger one and teach graduate studies from the full DSM-5, I needed a pocket one for diagnosing clients while at work. Both compact and clearly delineated information in pocket size version of the DSM-5, it has both the F and DSM-5 codes that are often required for billing. It's a great smaller version of a needed text while in the clinical field seeing clients.
by Louis Cozolino
This is the 2014 version of Dr. Cozolino's work — still as well written and easy to read as its 2006 predecessor. The big difference is more data driven material and up to date neuroscience and neurobiology. This is an excellent read for graduate students and anyone who wants to have a thorough understanding of why we think therapy works and why people do what they do.
by Daniel J. Siegel
Excellent book! This is not for the easily distracted, late at night reads, or a study guide after your second glass of wine. It's a serious, in your face, early morning and third cup of coffee serious clinician's book for understanding the neuroscience, neurobiology, and existential algorithms that translates into the thing we call the 'mind.' While it's not my first day on the job reading such texts, I very much appreciate the little gray bubbles that contain the one to two sentences that summarize critical points. Just an excellent book!
by John Preston
The main reason I wanted this small book was so that I could present a small novel to clients who might be interested in reading something about medication, and so when I am in a hurry, I can quickly reference something that can explain medication in layman's terms. It is not meant to be a thorough psycho-pharmacological reference book but it does a good job if you want to reference a quick, easy to understand medication book.
by Edmund S. Higgins MD, Mark S. George MD
This is a very good book especially for undergraduate level students or as a primer for graduate students interested in understanding the role of neurobiology and neuroscience in regards to mental illness and psychopathology — looking at brain structure and functions as it relates to thoughts, feelings and behaviors ranging from the neuro-typical to the pathological. Very good book.
by Robert M. Sapolsky
This is where I really get 'geeky' or over the top excited! This is a classic — a text book that is easy to read, filled with information regarding the brain, autonomic system, fight/flight responses, and stress. It fits nicely with psychopathology courses I have taught over the years to graduate students. Further, this is one of the only books I've read where the footnotes have notes, and these notes are so interesting that I need to make an effort to read the book first, re-read the footnotes and notes, and then took notes to use for teaching. Clearly it's not Dr. Sapolsky's first day on the job! Excellent book and highly recommended!
by Louis Cozolino
Similar to Dr. Sapolsky's work, this book is excellent in that it makes understanding the brain, how it works and how it relates to thoughts, feelings and behaviors in regards to development and abnormal psychology, all easy for graduate level students to thoroughly understand. I've been using this book and Cozolino's other book for years now and find its work, research and application still relevant both to students and clients. In addition, this book is both affordable and easy to understand. Highly recommend!
by John J. Ratey, Eric Hagerman (Contributor)
I needed a book to explain how the brain is affected by things such as exercise, positive thinking and positive peer relations. This is an easy to understand book for lay people and was particularly good for my clients to understand certain aspects of their treatment. Good book, well organized. Recommend for non-professionals and people very new to the field.
by Alliance of Psychoanalytic Organizations
This manual is based on current neuroscience and treatment outcome studies that demonstrate the importance of focusing on the full range and depth of emotional and social functioning. Beginning with a classification of the spectrum of personality patterns and disorders, the entries include a description of the patient's symptoms with a focus on the patient's internal experiences as well as surface behaviors. Intended to expand on the DSM and ICD efforts, this manual opens the door to a fuller understanding of the functioning of the mind, brain, and their development.
by James N. Butcher, Susan M. Mineka, Jill M. Hooley
I bought this book to review as a core text book for my psychopathology course — it had everything I needed such as key concepts, case studies, and clear coverage of the major diagnostic categories. An excellent choice for graduate-level psychopathology instruction.
These reviews reflect J.M. Erickson’s personal assessments as a clinician and educator. All books are recommended for graduate students and practicing therapists.
