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Psychopathology: From Science to Clinical Practice is a wonderful attempt at bridging basic science and clinical practice. The overarching framework is noble and aims at nothing less than translating findings from basic science into specific recommendations for treatment. The individual chapters are cowritten by experts in psychopathology and experts in psychotherapy, and each chapter spans an enormous range of knowledge.
In addition to bridging science and practice, the book aims at bridging theoretical orientations by focusing on general principles of change rather than theory-specific interventions. It is argued that theoretical orientations represent the most abstract level and theory-specific interventions represent the most specific level (e.g., interpretation in psychodynamic therapy, cognitive restructuring in cognitive therapy, and exposures in behavior therapy), whereas principles of change are found in between and can therefore be useful to clinicians of different theoretical backgrounds.
Another important feature of the book is its goal to go beyond Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) symptoms and diagnoses by focusing on other features typically associated with DSM disorders, for example, the fact that irritability is a key part of depression even though it is not one of the diagnostic criteria and the fact that depressed individuals often provoke anger and frustration in other people.
Thus, the book has important strengths because of the focus on science-practice integration, the attempt to bridge theoretical orientations, and the inclusion of nonsymptom factors.
At the same time, it is clear from page one that the book has its conceptual foundations in a cognitive-behavioral symptom-based framework. For example, in the introductory chapter, the editors note that “therapists should complement their diagnostic (DSM-based) evaluation with careful consideration of nonsymptomatic factors that have been empirically associated with this d