Stahl's Essential Psychopharmacology: Neuroscientific Basis and Practical Applications

by Stephen M. Stahl, Nancy Muntner (Illustrator)

With this fully revised fourth edition, Dr Stahl returns to the essential roots of what it means to become a neurobiologically empowered psychopharmacologist, expertly guided in the selection and combination of treatments for individual patients in practice. Embracing the unifying themes of 'symptom endophenotypes', dimensions of psychopathology that cut across syndromes, and 'symptoms and circuits', every aspect of the text has been updated to the frontiers of current knowledge, with the clarity of explanation and illustration that only Dr Stahl can bring. Integrating much of the basic neuroscience into the clinical chapters, and with major additions in the areas of psychosis, antipsychotics, antidepressants, impulsivity, compulsivity and addiction, this is the single most readily readable source of information on disease and drug mechanisms. This remains the essential text for all students and professionals in mental health seeking to understand and utilize current therapeutics, and to anticipate the future for novel medications.

Genres: Psychiatry, Science, Psychology, Reference, Neuroscience, Medicine, Mental Health

1590 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 17, 2007

Reviews

[Doc. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Someone once said to me: "I often wonder if I decided to become a surgeon because I couldn't admit to myself that what I really wanted to study was anatomy." The anatomist would have neither fame nor glory, whereas the surgeon would have both in spades. Since then I've been wishing that I'd had the guts to admit to myself that pharmacology is where my heart lies. So when it comes to this book, I'm biased.

Studying medicine has meant racking up a huge number of textbooks, to none of which I ever did any justice, usually only reading the bits that Indian examiners love to ask—until now: I read this book cover-to-cover. It probably sounds like a cliché to say this, but this made learning so much fun. Like every pharmacology book, it's not going to be easy to remember, but it does its absolute best to help you do so, unlike others.

As the authors mention in their preface, the principle behind the organisation of the book is programmed learning, involving elements of interaction and repetition. So if the text often seems repetitive, that's the point. It's drilling into you. The accompanying diagrams aptly encapsulate most of what is discussed in the text, such that merely flipping through all the images and tables covers the entire content, serving as sufficient revision.

The illustrations themselves deserve all of the stars. They simplify complicated and amorphous matter with the systematic use of icons. Psychopharmacology, after all, is a theoretical branch and the authors are never careless enough to drop their "hypothetically"s. All of that translates to it being overly conceptual and, at times, hard to visualise, which this book does so nicely for us.

Moreover, the illustrations are unique. I never thought I'd be calling a textbook "cute", but Nancy Muntner has done a fantastic job converting Dr. Stahl's drawings into memorable visual aids that imprint themselves on your brain with their unusual, often hilarious and adorable style (think cartoon aliens inside a man's head to depict paranoid psychosis). If more textbooks were as engaging as this, I would've been more enthusiastic about studying.

[Milena · Rating 5 out of 5]

Udžbenik od koga se ne odvajam, moj verni kompanjon kroz duge zimske noći sa presmešnim ilustracijama (čiča-gliša koji šmrče kokain, seroquel čija je najmanja doza za spavanje nacrtana kao mali medved, srednja doza za depresiju kao mama medved i najveća za šizofreniju kao tata medved iz Zlatokose) i - prava retkost - značajnim osvrtom na psihoterapiju i socijalnu podršku tokom tretiranja psihičkih bolesti.

[Lucas · Rating 3 out of 5]

very informative, i actually learned more by reading this then from the actual classes

will rate after i get my grade

[Gary McMurtrie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best textbook I have ever read. Definitely intended for grad/med school, but I think it is extremely readable and informative. My one small complaint, and this is my own fault, is that I wish I had a stronger grasp on neuroanatomy to have a stronger conceptual understanding of the different pathways involved in the mechanisms of addiction and where different parts of the brain innervate to other parts. This book is absolutely fascinating. Its description of common psychiatric conditions and the pharmacological modes of treatment were so illuminating, and I feel like I have a really strong basic understanding of psychopharmacology now. My favorite chapter was actually the chapter on psychosis and schizophrenia. The description of how novel atypical antipsychotics have been able to preserve the intended effects of conventional antipsychotics (D2 antagonism in the mesolimbic pathway), while also avoiding really harmful and unnecessary side effects (simply due to concomitant 5HT2A antagonism and/or 5HT1A agonism) was so cool.
10/10

[Geeks Meticulous · Rating 5 out of 5]

So, this is the first psychopharmacology book I've read and it has completely changed my opinion what I expect from a textbook. Instead of page after page of boring information with occasional tables which I've come to associate with almost every medical textbook out there, this book keeps it interesting. It has it all. Colorful pictures: check, well-illustrated mechanisms: check, witty jokes: check, punny (:O) puns: check, pacman: check. :V After having spent close to a month on this, I've not only learnt a lot but thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience as well. So, I'll give it a 5/5. High recommendation, if you like psychiatry/psychology and just want to have a pleasant time reading about it. :)

[Simon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice overview. However, to my taste overall too chaotic and vague, and not sceptical enough. It clearly seems the writers are big believers in the biological perspective on mental illness, which is not necessarily a bad thing, but renders their claims somewhat naive.

I understand that the matter itself is rather chaotic and vague, due to so little clear knowledge on the workings of the brain, and I don't (as of yet) have a suggestion for a better psychopharmacology book. Yet still this book left me feeling quite unsatisfied.

[Jami Mazei · Rating 1 out of 5]

Made me cry.

[Zach · Rating 5 out of 5]

I should have read this as an intern. People who criticize Stahl for leveraging his writing into lucrative speaking engagements + pharma deals are allowing their distaste for capitalism to progress to anti-intellectualism. There’s no textbook that compares to the material presented here.

[Mantas Guzevičius · Rating 5 out of 5]

Liked it very much would read again

[Ben · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stahl’s Essential Psychopharmacology is a classic for a reason, it’s a solid psychopharmacology text that goes in depth with strong readability into mechanisms of mental illnesses and the mechanisms of drugs available to treat them. The criticisms of Dr. Stahl are well-known, including the multi-million dollar consulting fees he’s ostensibly received from pharma companies for decades. Those criticisms are worth keeping in mind when reading his books, however it should also be kept in mind that the reality is his writing is very readable while simultaneously being very strong and coherent on explaining the science in depth. His illustrations of course, are world famous, and facilitate understanding of highly complex material substantially.. Dr. Stahl’s renowned work for the State Hospital System in California provides an additional point worth keeping in mind about the author and the credibility of his material, namely that he is a practitioner with a vast amount of real world experience rather than just a university academic. Finally his work in establishing and operating the Neuroscience Education Institute makes available a vast amount of supplementary educational material to facilitate both mastery of the material covered in the book as well as continuing UPDATES to the material in the book AND an additional wealth of material that goes well beyond what is in the book to further explore the topics in question. An NEI membership requires an additional few hundred dollars a year, but for that you get far more than your money’s worth. For starters you get a video lecture series by Dr. Stahl himself covering the material in the book in lecture form, which is a FANTASTIC supplement to the material in the book and something which I found very helpful in extracting the major points Dr. Stahl wants to get across as well as well as understanding the details. Additionally you get videos of the presentations made at the NEI conferences by Stahl as well as dozens of other doctors that go into depth on all the psychopharmacology topics you could want, summarizing new research, providing in depth explanations that go beyond even what is in Stahl’s Essential Psychopharmacology and going into more advanced topics as well to provide continuing learning.

I have copies of Julien’s Primer, Goodman & Gilman, Kaplan & Sadock, Schatzberg, Ghaemi and some other texts on psychopharmacology, all of which are good in their own right and some of which are more advanced than Stahl on certain topics, but as a book to take you from not knowing psychopharmacology at all to knowing a great deal about it, Stahl challenges or outright beats them all on readability, depth of scientific and technical explanation, and blows them out of the water on visual illustrations. More importantly though, none of them have anything close to the power of the ecosystem of additional learning and continuing education material that Dr. Stahl has built around this book, including both the NEI stuff mentioned above as well as the additional Stahl Psychopharmacology books.

Now that I’ve given a review that probably sounds more like a promo for Stahl to some, I’ll say that I wouldn’t consider myself a Stahlite (as some call those who flock to his teachings), as I said above, there are criticisms of him, which are worth thinking about, however I also believe in acknowledging the reality that there is a lot of credit and recognition due to him and his work given his experience and the substantial body of material he has constructed to spread knowledge in psychopharmacology.

And for those wondering why I’ve given such attention to Stahl himself here? For one, the TOC is free in the amazon preview if you want to know the book contents. And two he’s the guy who wrote it, he’s the guy who is going to be teaching you all of the great material in the book and he’s the guy you’re going to be relying on to have his facts and his understanding straight. As an avid reader of technical material and textbooks I can say that it becomes apparent after a time just how important it is to have confidence in your author and to understand who they are in relation to the material they’re discussing, it tells you what you can rely on and what kind of interpretation to give to the material… and yes, even dry scientific material like this must be interpreted thoughtfully, it can often seem like dry recitation of fact, but someone had to review all the research and decide the major points to make and the details to include to support them, someone had to DO that research in the first place, someone had to decide what to publish (and more importantly believe it or not, someone had to decide what research would NOT be published… the so-called file-drawer phenomenon) and someone had to do the write-up, to decide what statistical analyses to run, what statistical data to report and what to leave out. To know what a book really offers to tell you, know the author.

[Benedek Dr. Bálint · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finally, I had a summer with a bit more time than usual to immerse myself into the depths of psychopharmacology. As I am working in CAP, I always felt that my knowledge regarding pharmacology could be refined. This book was recommended me by international residents in CAP. It was quite a heavy read, took me around 1,5 months to finish it with 600 flashcards produced from the most important points (even though I omitted two chapters which are not relevant for me: dementias/chronic pain).

I have tried to read several psychopharmacology books recently, but this one is outstanding with its concise format, plenty of illustrations that are clear and informative, and most importantly its successful attempt to depict the nuances and differences between agents within the same class (e.g. SSRIs). The book does this without becoming repetitive which is a big thing as other psychopharmacology books tend to repeat the same information over and over. In Stahl's Essential Psychopharmacology, the author refers you to the previous chapters, so reading from beginning to end is clearly advisable. It is up-to-date, and it has an additional prescriber's guide book for both adult and child psychiatry which includes drug-specific dosages and side effects. If I am forced to find some flaws, it would be definitely Chapter 3 (Ion channels as Targets of Psychopharmacological Drug Action) as it is too detailed and scientific, thus harder to understand compared to other chapters.

Overall, I highly recommend taking the time and going through it as it made me much more confident and thoughtful in prescribing psychopharmacological agents.

[.]

Не съм го прочел щото е 1716262 страници. Но прочетох поне 2 глави и е хубаво написано - нормално ЕДИН АВТОР Е и има хубави картибки..


Това, което е разочароващо е в самата наука... И ест читателят материалист рацуоналист в заблуда неразличавайки знания от предположения би решил, че науката е много напреднала и е обяснила всичко ..


Само дето повечето от механизмите на лекарствата са дълбоко неизвестни, а тези които проверих ОБЯСНЕНИ са плитко схематични.

Картата не е териотирята, но това емпирика трудно може да обясни на рационалиста материалист.


Не рецепторите не изглеждат така и нямат нарисуваните отдели за залавяне за различния медикамент. Това е ПРОСТО ОНРАЗОВАТЕЛЕН МОДЕЛ за да може читателя да ги запомни.

Учебника е топ за учене, но за разбиране не е особено, щото май и самата наука е до никъде в разбирането на механизмите как работят повечето лекарства за мозъка.

Но пък е интересно..

[Joe Klein · Rating 5 out of 5]

At times feels oversimplified and “just so” but this is more likely a reflection of the limited understanding we have of psychiatric illnesses. Nonetheless, provided a framework of understanding to grapple with complex pharmacological relationships.

[Hiteshkumar Chavada · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best book for psychopharmacology

[Piotr Krawczyk · Rating 5 out of 5]

Obowiązkowo dla każdego (psychiatry)!

[Halvor Harnæs · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stahl er veldig god på å gjøre psykofarmakologien oversiktlig og visuell. Samtidig trekker det ned at han unngår helt eller delvis de mer kontroversielle sidene ved bruk av psykofarmaka.

[Kevin Mathew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Accessable, useful, perhaps indispensable.

[Jakub Fleites-Jończyk · Rating 3 out of 5]

Too many characters and descriptions, too little action.

[Aimee J Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great snag off the used bookstore shelf for $3! This is an extremely complex book, not suggested for the casual reader. My fascination with psychiatric disorders, chemistry, chemical structure, and biology drew me to this read.

The book, as I said, is very in depth and goes into the neurobiological concepts underlying drug treatment of psychiatric disorders. There is an on-going, constant battle regarding medications and their pros and cons regarding treatment of psychological disorders which is why this interested me.

The book is filled with high color illustrations and graphics, although do not be fooled, the drawing of the ineffectiveness of an SSRI therapy when serotonin 5HT is depleted, does not by any means make it easier to understand. :)

[John Hsieh · Rating 4 out of 5]

I typically don't read medical text books from cover to cover, but other than a few sections on newer research which is less clinical relevant, I did manage to read this book all the way through. I find the book overall to be enjoyable, practical, and clear. Stahl's picture illustrations are also very helpful. Overall, the book provide pretty solid fundamental knowledge to psychopharmacology.

[Kadek]

this book is very complate. I have a sign to understanding this book

[Rebecca Zanrè · Rating 4 out of 5]

it underestimates the effects on the brain that cognitive behavioural therapy has. other than that it should be compulsory to read for students of clinical psychology!

[Mary Dameron · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent review of psychopharmacology.