
An indispensable home reference for women, from the college years to old age The Complete Guide to Mental Health For Women is designed to help women take control of their mental health, whether their concern is a specific disorder or simply the psychological stresses of a life in transition. Within an accessible format that includes tables, charts, and comprehensive lists, over fifty experts provide the most up-to-date information on the entire range of women's mental health issues, ADDICTION ANXIETY BIPOLAR DISORDER DEPRESSION EATING DISORDERS LIFESPAN PSYCHOLOGY LIFE ISSUES FROM SEXUALITY TO RELATIONSHIPS TO TRAUMATIC EXPERIENCE AND ILLNESS POSTPARTUM DEPRESSION PSYCHOPHARMACOLOGY PSYCHOTHERAPEUTIC TREATMENTS, FROM EMDR AND DIALECTICAL BEHAVIORAL THERAPY TO TRADITIONAL INSIGHT THERAPY MENTAL HEALTH EFFECTS OF RACISM AND POVERTY QUESTIONS TO ASK A PSYCHOLOGIST OR PSYCHIATRIST TRAUMA Drawing on the latest thinking in psychiatry and psychology, and written for women of diverse backgrounds, this trade reference guide to women's mental health provides a comprehensive and readable overview to the psychological issues that concern women most. Arguing that women want and need to understand their mental health as more than a question of disorder or normality, it begins with the life cycle, helping women understand the major issues and biological changes associated with young adulthood, middle age, and old age. The Complete Guide to Mental Health for Women also specifically addresses the psychological importance of women's sexuality and relationships, and discusses how social contexts, such as poverty and racism, affect mental health. Part Two explores specific mental disorders, including those, like postpartum depression, related to times when women are particularly vulnerable to mental illness. Part Three takes a closer look at treatments, including the use of antidepressants and other drugs, and various types of psychotherapy, from cognitive behavioral treatments to EMDR and beyond. The Complete Guide to Mental Health for Women ends with a section on life enhancements that discusses some of the activities that can help us live fuller lives. Lauren Slater, Ed.D., is a psychologist and Knight-Ridder Science Journalist Fellow at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She is the author of Love Works Like This, A Metaphorical Memoir, Prozac Diary, and Welcome to My Country. Jessica Henderson Daniel, Ph.D., A.B.P.P., is director of training in psychology at Children's Hospital, Boston, assistant professor at Harvard Medical School, and past president of the Society for the Psychology of Women in the American Psychological Association. Amy Banks,M.D., is an instructor in psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and a faculty member at the Jean Baker Miller Training Institute.
Author

Lauren Slater (born March 21, 1963) is an American psychotherapist and writer. She is the author of numerous books, including Welcome to My Country, Lying: A Metaphorical Memoir, Opening Skinner’s Box, and Blue Beyond Blue, a collection of short stories. Slater’s most recent book is The $60,000 Dog: My Life with Animals. Slater has been the recipient of numerous awards, among them a 2004 National Endowments for the Arts Award, and multiple inclusions in Best American Volumes, and A Knight Science Journalism Fellowship at the Massachusetts Institute for Technology. Slater is also a frequent contributor to The New York Times Magazine, Harper's Magazine, and Elle, among others. She has been nominated several times for National Magazine Awards in both the Essay and the Profile category. Slater was a practicing psychotherapist for 11 years before embarking on a full-time writing career. She served as the Clinical and then the Executive Director of AfterCare Services, and under her watch the company grew from a small inner city office to a vibrant outpatient clinic servicing some of Boston’s most socioeconomically stressed population. After the birth of her daughter, Slater wrote her memoir Love Works Like This to chronicle the agonizing decisions she made relating to her psychiatric illness and her pregnancy. In a 2003 BBC Woman’s Hour radio interview, and a 2005 article in Child Magazine, Slater provides information on depression during pregnancy and the risks to the woman and her baby. She lives and writes in Harvard, Massachusetts.