Psychopharmacology

DMT: The Spirit Molecule: A Doctor's Revolutionary Research into the Biology of Near-Death and Mystical Experiences

A clinical psychiatrist explores the effects of DMT, one of the most powerful psychedelics known.

• A behind-the-scenes look at the cutting edge of psychedelic research.

• Provides a unique scientific explanation for the phenomenon of alien abduction experiences.

From 1990 to 1995 Dr. Rick Strassman conducted U.S. Government-approved and funded clinical research at the University of New Mexico in which he injected sixty volunteers with DMT, one of the most powerful psychedelics known. His detailed account of those sessions is an extraordinarily riveting inquiry into the nature of the human mind and the therapeutic potential of psychedelics. DMT, a plant-derived chemical found in the psychedelic Amazon brew, ayahuasca, is also manufactured by the human brain. In Strassman's volunteers, it consistently produced near-death and mystical experiences. Many reported convincing encounters with intelligent nonhuman presences, aliens, angels, and spirits. Nearly all felt that the sessions were among the most profound experiences of their lives.

Strassman's research connects DMT with the pineal gland, considered by Hindus to be the site of the seventh chakra and by Rene Descartes to be the seat of the soul. DMT: The Spirit Molecule makes the bold case that DMT, naturally released by the pineal gland, facilitates the soul's movement in and out of the body and is an integral part of the birth and death experiences, as well as the highest states of meditation and even sexual transcendence. Strassman also believes that "alien abduction experiences" are brought on by accidental releases of DMT. If used wisely, DMT could trigger a period of remarkable progress in the scientific exploration of the most mystical regions of the human mind and soul.

Handbook of Clinical Psychopharmacology for Therapists

Since the publication of its first edition, the Handbook of Clinical Psychopharmacology for Therapists had filled a significant gap in the professional literature available to psychologists and other mental health clinicians: a practical, accessible guide to psychoactive medications that is both comprehensive and free from the complicated language and technical rigor found in medical schools texts. Thousands of therapists keep this book on their shelves to quickly reference drug facts for their clients. Tens of thousands of graduate and undergraduate students of psychology are first introduced to the medical treatment of mental health problems with the handbook. Now in its fifth edition, the book continues to be among the most important references for mental health clinicans.

The book is organized by disorder and, within each disorder, by medication. Reader learn the indications, contraindication, efficacy, side effects, and success indicators for each drug. Interactions between drugs are discussed, as are the differences between using certain medications in the treatment of adults and children and adolescents. In this edition, many details have been updated to reflect finds from ongoic research, including new material about the sexual side effects of antidepressants.

Handbook of Psychiatric Drugs, 2008 Edition (Handbook of Psychiatric Drugs)

This compact handbook features dosage, side effect, and drug interaction information for all psychiatric drugs. It includes information that is useful to the psychiatrist, internist, and student.

Drugs, Society, and Human Behavior, 12th Edition

Designed for the introduction to drugs and substance abuse course as taught in departments of health education, psychology, biology, sociology, and criminal justice, this full-color market-leading text provides the latest information on drugs and their effects on society and human behavior. For over thirty years, instructors and students have relied on it to examine drugs and behavior from the behavioral, pharmacological, historical, social, legal, and clinical perspectives.

Clinical Psychopharmacology Made Ridiculously Simple (Medmaster Ridiculously Simple)

A brief, practical review of the indications for and use of pharmacologic agents in the treatment of psychologic disorders.

Comfortably Numb: How Psychiatry Is Medicating a Nation

Public perceptions of mental health issues have changed dramatically over the last fifteen years, and nowhere is this more apparent than in the rampant overmedication of ordinary Americans. In 2006, 227 million antidepressant prescriptions were dispensed in the United States, more than any other class of medication; in that same year, the United States accounted for 66 percent of the global antidepressant market. In Comfortably Numb, Charles Barber provides a much-needed context for this disturbing phenomenon.

Barber explores the ways in which pharmaceutical companies first create the need for a drug and then rush to fill it, and he reveals that the increasing pressure Americans are under to medicate themselves (direct-to-consumer advertising, fewer nondrug therapeutic options, the promise of the quick fix, the blurring of distinction between mental illness and everyday problems). Most importantly, he convincingly argues that without an industry to promote them, non-pharmaceutical approaches that could have the potential to help millions are tragically overlooked by a nation that sees drugs as an instant cure for all emotional difficulties.

Here is an unprecedented account of the impact of psychiatric medications on American culture and on Americans themselves.

The Encyclopedia of Psychoactive Plants: Ethnopharmacology and Its Applications

The most comprehensive guide to the botany, history, distribution, and cultivation of all known psychoactive plants

• Examines 414 psychoactive plants and related substances

• Explores how using psychoactive plants in a culturally sanctioned context can produce important insights into the nature of reality

• Contains 797 color photographs and 645 black-and-white illustrations

In the traditions of every culture, plants have been highly valued for their nourishing, healing, and transformative properties. The most powerful plants--those known to transport the human mind into other dimensions of consciousness--have traditionally been regarded as sacred. In The Encyclopedia of Psychoactive Plants Christian Rätsch details the botany, history, distribution, cultivation, and preparation and dosage of more than 400 psychoactive plants. He discusses their ritual and medicinal usage, cultural artifacts made from these plants, and works of art that either represent or have been inspired by them. The author begins with 168 of the most well-known psychoactives--such as cannabis, datura, and papaver--then presents 133 lesser known substances as well as additional plants known as “legal highs,” plants known only from mythological contexts and literature, and plant products that include substances such as ayahuasca, incense, and soma. The text is lavishly illustrated with 797 color photographs--many of which are from the author’s extensive fieldwork around the world--showing the people, ceremonies, and art related to the ritual use of the world’s sacred psychoactives.

Essential Psychopharmacology: the Prescriber's Guide: Antipsychotics and Mood Stabilizers (Essential Psychopharmacology Series)

In response to the rapid developments in pscyhopharmacology, this is a spin-off from Stephen Stahl's new completely revised and updated edition of his much acclaimed Prescriber's Guide. It covers the 20 most important drugs in use today for psychosis and mood stabilization. From a review of the first Prescriber's Guide: ' ... The clinical tips and pearls that are found in each entry are invaluable - not only are dosing guidelines provided, but also the author's educated and respected opinion regarding potential advantages and disadvantages of each drug. The book's major strength is its readability and user friendliness. The art of psychopharmacology is finally given the space it deserves. ...This guidebook is an excellent source of information for the art of prescribing psychotropic medications and belongs in every clinician's library.' The Annals of Pharmacotherapy

In response to the rapid developments in psychopharmacology, this is a spin-off from Stephen Stahl's new completely revised and updated edition of his much acclaimed Prescriber's Guide. It covers the 20 most important drugs in use today for psychosis and mood stabilization.

Child And Adolescent Clinical Psychopharmacology Made Simple

This short and easy-to-understand book offers all the information you need about the use of psychoactive medications in the treatment of childhood and adolescent psychological disorders.

The book is organized by disorders most commonly encountered in young people, like ADD, depression and bipolar disorder, anxiety, learning disorders, and psychotic disorders like schizophrenia and borderline personality disorder. Each chapter includes diagnosis criteria for each problem, treatment indications and contraindications, and notes for monitoring, evaluation, and follow-up care. The book identifies popular classes of drugs by brand and generic names, and provides fact sheets that therapists can offer parents or parents can show to doctors who may need more information to make sound treatment decisions.

Psychopharmacology: Drugs, the Brain and Behavior

Recent advances in molecular pharmacology and brain imaging have revolutionized our understanding of how psychoactive drugs work. Now, from the authors of Principles of Neuropsychopharmacology, comes a new undergraduate textbook integrating these developments. The first section of the book provides extensive foundation materials, including the basic principles of pharmacology, neurophysiology and neuroanatomy, synaptic transmission, and methods in psychopharmacology. The second section describes key features of major neurotransmitter systems, including the catecholamines, serotonin, acetylcholine, glutamate and GABA. The third and fourth sections discuss theories and mechanisms of drug addiction and psychopathology. All major substances of abuse as well as drugs used to treat mental illness are covered.

Psychopharmacology: Drugs, the Brain and Behavior is unique in its breadth of coverage, ranging from historical accounts of drug use to clinical and preclinical behavioral studies to the latest research on drug effects in transgenic mouse models. Student engagement with the material is fostered by opening each chapter with a relevant vignette and by providing breakout boxes presenting novel or cutting-edge topics for special discussion. The book is extensively illustrated with full-color photographs and line art depicting important concepts and experimental data. Psychopharmacology: Drugs, the Brain and Behavior is appropriate for undergraduate psychopharmacology or drugs and behavior courses that emphasize relationships between the behavioral effects of psychoactive drugs and their mechanisms of action.