The Writer's Guide to Psychology: How to Write Accurately about Psychological Disorders, Clinical Treatment and Human Behavior

by Carolyn Kaufman

An accurate and accessible survey of modern psychological theory and practice, this reference offers professional writers practical advice for incorporating psychological elements into their work.

Genres: Writing, Psychology, Nonfiction, Reference, Mental Health, Research, Science

232 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 2010

About the author

Carolyn Kaufman had a doctorate in clinical psychology, and by day she taught psychology to college students.

Dr. Kaufman blogged for Psychology Today and the QueryTracker Blog. She also ran Archetype Writing: Psychology for Fiction Writers. She was often quoted by the media as an expert resource and has appeared in magazines such as Marie Claire and Seventeen, newspapers like The Boston Globe and USA Today, and websites like FOX News and Wired.

She passed away unexpectedly of a brain aneurysm on September 7, 2013. She was 40.

Reviews

[K.M. Weiland · Rating 5 out of 5]

Because authors tend to write about seriously flawed people, we often delve into the realm of psychology, intentionally or not. Stories in a wide array of genres feature psychologists, psychiatrists, psychopaths, schizophrenics, and any number of other characters that fall within the pale of modern psychology. Unfortunately, however, modern authors are too often guilty of taking their understanding of psychology at face value and running away with common misconceptions without a second thought. How many of us know the difference between a psychologist and a psychiatrist or the difference between psychopathy and psychosis? How many of us (and if you’ve watched A Beautiful Mind, you don’t count!) know that schizophrenia does not involve multiple personalities?

Amid this scene of confusion, Carolyn Kaufman’s accessible The Writer’s Guide to Psychology offers both a fascinating read and a wealth of resource material. This is the kind of book you’ll want to read from cover to cover and then store within reach of your desk for quick reference. Kaufman tackles a complicated subject and breaks it down into easily digestible pieces. She discusses everything from common myths and mistakes, to “thinking like a shrink,” to detailed descriptions of many prominent disorders, including mood disorders, dementia, eating disorders, and PTSD, among many others.

The book is peppered with a delightful gamut of extra goodies, including Q&As and the always fun “Don’t Let This Happen to You,” in which Kaufman uses examples from popular film and fiction to illustrate how not to write about psychological subjects. The book came in particularly handy for me, since one of the stories I’m working on features a psychologist (now I don’t have to worry about whether he should be called a psychiatrist instead!), but I have no doubt that it will be equally useful even in writing stories with no blatant connection to psychology. This one will be on my shelf for a long time to come.

[Steelwhisper · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was an okay read for me, somewhere between 2* and 2.5*.

A warning first, this is a very US-centric book. Quite a few of the statements do not fit countries with national health insurance systems. Contrary to Ms Kaufman's statement it is e.g. very easy to get committed to closed psychiatric wards in such countries, and it is very hard or often even impossible to get out again, especially if you've no family or friends able to act on your behalf.

That said, it is a solid reference book for basic information about disorders, treatments and medications, and how they combine, or don't. The well-read writer however may already have reached past the information level provided here, which--if I go by what Ms Kaufman states about PTSD or paraphilias--is rather basic, though concise.

My verdict: a good reference book to quickly check what might work or not, but it won't spare you in-depth research!

[Emma Sea]

this looks really good, but probably not something I need to read right now.

[Tez · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a reference I want every fiction writer to have. It was published in 2010, so I don't know if things in psych industry have changed since then (it's 2020 now), but it will help writers build a foundation of knowledge that they can add to on their own.

The author is unfortunately no longer alive, so she won't be able to update the text with new info. And we readers won't be able to tell her how helpful the book is.

[Collin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good, briefly presented info, though I'm sure after 7 years some of it - probably about medication, especially - is out of date. It wasn't as much in-depth examination into mental illness as I was hoping; a lot of the book was instead taken up with discussion about therapy/therapists, which I didn't expect (though I probably should have).

It's a good jumping-off point for writers, but I actually think this is a good reference for anyone looking to have a more accurate and nuanced view of people with the more well-known mental disorders. For writers looking for an in-depth examination of mental illnesses/disorders, however, or a book with lesser-known disorders, I don't think this would help as much.

(As someone with SAD I was curious to see no mention of it as such, but instead put under some kind of category called "social phobias." Just one thing that might be a wee out of date. Not that the book isn't accurate in its descriptions, but the terminology might be behind.)

[Jane Lebak · Rating 5 out of 5]

I sat down with this last week and went over several sections in order to make sure I'd conveyed a specific condition well in my WIP. It's eminently readable and a good overview for writers. Highly recommended!

[Meaghan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this is a really good, if brief, education about mental illness, personality disorders, therapy and psychiatry for the writer's eyes. The references to the screw-ups in real books and movies were an excellent feature. I would recommend this to any writer who felt they needed to know more about this topic. However, I did think it was repetitive at times, and it also focused only on what COMPETENT therapists would do. I've encountered incompetent clinicians in my time who did exactly the opposite of what the book said they would do.

[Mary Lindsey · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you are a writer, this book is a must! I was thrilled to preview this book and found it useful and relevant to my career as a novelist. Well-written and concise, I recommend it to anyone wanting to accurately portray a character with psychological disorders.

[Mohammad Sabir · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was delighted to have stumbled upon The Writer's Guide to Psychology on the Internet, for I was looking for a book like this for a long time: an easily digestible guide on mental illnesses and how to write them, written by a professional. I was not disappointed.

The book begins with a simple game: fifteen statements related to common beliefs and conceptions about psychology are presented, and you are to guess which ones are true and which ones are false. A very engaging opening, for me at least. Chapter 2 focuses on some myths regarding therapists, the five therapeutic orientations (psychodynamic, cognitive-behaviourial, humanistic, systems, and biological) in a fair amount of detail, integrative approaches, and group therapy. Chapter 3 tackles the therapist's profession, namely the degrees they can have and the ethical principles that they follow. Chapter 4 deals with how real therapy works in a very pleasing amount of detail. Chapters 5-9 elaborate on various disorders (such as schizotypal personality disorder, antisocial personality disorder, dissociative identity disorder etc.) Chapter 10 elaborates on psychopathy, paraphilias, and impulse-control disorders. Chapter 11 covers medications and treatments both modern and historical. Finally, Chapter 12 finishes with emergencies in psychotherapy (namely suicidality, homicidality, and hospitalisations).

I am rather new to field of psychology, so I cannot comment on the content of the book, though the other reviews don't seem to find any notable problems with it. What I can comment upon is how the information was presented, and it was presented fantastically. Dr. Kaufman's writing is very accessible and requires no prior knowledge in psychology to understand. There were also some very helpful tables and illustrations. I loved practically every page of it, and it kept me hooked from beginning to end (even when it discussed psychiatric medications that I had never heard of). Dr. Kaufman also gave advice specifically aimed on how to write mental illness, treatment, and other aspects of the field from time to time, something that I found quite helpful.

So, what do I say overall? Highly recommended for those aiming to write mental illness and therapy into their work, especially for those not very knowledgeable about psychology.

[Mohammad Sadegh Rasooli · Rating 3 out of 5]

http://delsharm.blog.ir/1397/04/21/wr...
دنبال مطلبی در مورد بُعد روان‌شناسی شخصیت‌پردازی بودم که به این کتاب برخوردم. البته هدف این کتاب بیشتر آشناتر کردن نویسنده‌ها با اصول کلی روان‌شناسی و روان‌درمانی، انواع بیماری‌ها و اختلالات روانی و راه‌های درمان آن‌ها، و البته هشدار به نویسنده‌ها در مورد استفاده از کلیشه‌های نادرست در تعریف بیماری‌هایی مانند شیزوفرنی است. در این کتاب به بیماری‌هایی مانند اختلال دوقطبی، افسردگی عمیق، بیش‌فعالی، سادیسم، مازوخیسم، شیزوفرنی، اختلال چندشخصیتی، وسواس و ترس (فوبیا) و چند بیماری دیگر پرداخته شده است. خواندن این کتاب لزوماً برای کسانی که به نوشتن علاقه دارند نیست و هر کسی که علاقه به دانستن انواع اختلال‌های روانی دارد جالب خواهد بود. نویسنده که خود داستان‌نویس هم است و در عین حال دکترای روان‌شناسی دارد، دغدغه‌اش این بوده که اشتباهات مکرر نویسندگان خصوصاً هالیوودی را با این کتاب هشدار بدهد تا نویسندگان در نوشته‌های جدیدشان دچار اشتباه نشوند. او در وبلاگش مطالبی در این خصوص گذاشته است:

http://archetypewriting.blogspot.com/

یکی از اختلالاتی که در این کتاب از آن یاد شده، اختلال تغذیه است که بیشتر در زنان سفیدپوست رخ می‌دهد چون جامعه و رسانه الگوی زن لاغراندام را سال‌هاست به ذهن زنان حقنه کرده. کار به آنجا کشیده شده که چند مدل معروف آمریکایی به خاطر رژیم‌های غذایی خطرناک از دنیا رفته‌اند. این بیماری آغازش با باورهای غلط و تلقین است ولی در نهایت به وسواسی می‌انجامد که موجب ترجیح مرگ بر چاقی می‌شود، حتی چاقی‌ای مانند بزرگ شدن برخی از اجزای بدن زنانه پس بلوغ که کاملاً طبیعی است.

چیزی که دوست داشتم در کتاب باشد ولی اثری در آن نبود، بررسی پیچیدگی‌های روانی انسان‌هاست. مثلاً پرداختن به اینکه چرا شخصیت‌های نویسندگانی چون داستایوسکی یا آلبر کامو این قدر پیچیده ولی باورپذیرند در حالی که این همه شخصیت عجیب و غریب در بسیاری از فیلم‌ها و کتاب‌ها وجود دارد که هیچ رقم نمی‌شود باورشان کرد.

[Sarina Langer · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's simple: if you're a fiction writer of any genre, you need to read Kaufman's guide.

Don't worry, you don't need to become a psychology expert to write your book. A basic understanding, however, is a must.

If you don't think psychology comes into your writing, think again. It's a part of your story if you have characters, which is... everyone of us. There's psychology behind everything we do (say, every argument or every reaction). That can't not affect your characters!

There's another reason every writer should read this, too. I think we have an obligation to every mentally ill person of any psychological disorder to represent them properly. The number of writers who think a split personality is the same as schizophrenia is too damn high, my fellow writers!

Accurate representation matters so, so much, and The Writer's Guide to Psychology will help you do it. It's not a dry read either--there's a quiz at the front and Kaufman's tone is lighthearted, so it's not a difficult read.

You don't need to read the whole book (it's short--232 pages) in one go if psychology really isn't your thing. Just dip into the chapter relevant to your character and learn what you need.

As writers, we have to do our research and we have to do it right. This book will help you do just that so you're clear on symptoms, behaviours, and don't confuse DID and schizophrenia.

[Stina Lindenblatt · Rating 4 out of 5]

The premise behind The Writer’s Guide to Psychology by Carolyn Kaufman is brilliant. This book is perfect for anyone who’s writing a novel.

In chapter two (Why People Do What They Do), Carolyn discusses the different therapist stereotypes portrayed in films and novels. She then goes into the five different therapy orientations (e.g. psychodynamic therapy) and describes how each would be used to help a client overcome whatever issues he’s dealing with. But she takes it one step further by explaining how each therapy can help you understand your character (even if your character doesn’t require therapy).

Another benefit of the book is that Carolyn explains the realities of therapy, and helps you create realistic scenes in which your main character is either receiving therapy or conducting a therapy session. Again, novels, TV shows, and movies often misrepresent this, so it’s not a good idea to use them as a guide when you write your story.

Carolyn also describes the difference between someone who needs therapy to help them deal with some aspect of their life verses someone who has a diagnosable disorder. A large chunk of the book then covers the different disorders, including:
• Mood, anxiety, and psychotic disorders
• Childhood disorders (autistic spectrum disorder, ADHD, conduct disorder)
• Dementia
• Eating disorders
• Post traumatic stress disorder
• Dissociation
• Personality disorders

And let’s not forget the chapter on psychopaths and villains. Here you get insights into what makes a psychopath and how to makes yours believable. This also includes the corporate psychopath, the individual who’s hungry for power. And finally, there’s a chapter on drugs and treatments, such as electroconvulsive therapy, and one on emergencies in psychotherapy (suicidality, homicidality, and hospitalization).

The idea behind the book is to help you avoid making the same mistakes so many lay writers make when writing a novel that requires some insight into psychology or therapy. Throughout the book, there are little tidbits called “Don’t Let This Happen To You” that will help you avoid the mistakes that will weaken the credibility of your writing. Plus, Carolyn has a great suggestion in chapter one for coming up with plot ideas. I’m not going to tell you what it is, though. You have to read the book.
Overall, I’m thrilled that I bought the book. It’s open me to a huge range of plot ideas for future projects. You’ve got to love a book that can do that.

[Sharon Coleman · Rating 3 out of 5]

There was a lot, on how to portray those in the psychiatric profession in a believable manner. There was a lot about medications and what would realistically be prescribed to what patient. Clearly the author has read many books that hit her pet peave buttons on these topics. If your characters are in this profession you likely would find this part very useful.

I would have liked more on a wider range of human behavior from normal to extreme pathology, and how to realistically portray the more subtle sides of the human condition.

Perhaps her next book can talk in more subtle terms. I would read another book by this author as the information was accessible and the sections about severe pathology were useful.

[Jen · Rating 3 out of 5]

A decent reference to have on your desk, though a decent Google might reveal similar info for the lay-person. If you've had any interaction with the world of mental health either as a client or the caretaker of a patient/client, about half the book is redundant. If you've, say, been to therapy a few times and never seen a psychiatrist, it will clear up alot of assumptions and myths. If you want to write about the really disturbed (true villans, etc) I think the book is helpful. If you want to write a character with lots of vague quirks, some illogical beliefs but never to the point of stating an exact diagnosis by a clinician - you can probably skip it.

[Emy Calirel · Rating 2 out of 5]

I guess this just wasn't what I was expecting. I found the first part to drag, I wasn't super interested in the last part. I was interested in the disorders descriptions, but be aware that this book offers a BRIEF overview of each illness. This is in no way enough to write a character, you'll have to do your own research and dig a lot deeper. It's a good starting point though, and the section on DID was the most interesting to me.

In the end, the book went too in depth in things I didn't care much for (it's interesting, but it was too detailed for me) and not enough in what I was actually interested in learning about.

[Patty Jansen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is an excellent reference for writers wanting to accurately portray characters who either have a mental condition or come into contact with people who do.

The book cuts through cliches, gives examples of wrong and right portrayal of mental health professionals, lists their education, explains the difference between a phychologist and a psychiatrist, between bipolar disorder and depression and schizofrenia, and much, much more.

[Ashley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good book with a lot of information, but it seemed extremely based on mental illness and therapy--not on general psychological concepts useful to writers. Of course, the title of the book should have suggested this to me, but it still wasn't exactly what I had been expecting--especially because I was interested in historical information, and the book provides very little information other than what's current.

So all in all--a good and useful book, but not what I was looking for.

[Deb Salisbury · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Writer's Guide to Psychology explains psychology and the clinical practice of psychology in clear, easy to understand chapters. While it's intended for writers, I think anyone wondering about the basics will find this book helpful. It gives examples of how the subject is treated in film and fiction, and shows how it was done right - or wrong. Highly recommended!

[Clarissa Draper · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a must read for all writers.

[alexander shay · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very informative and helpful guide for anyone writing characters with mental disorders, or characters who treat those with them. I would definitely encourage anyone writing either of those characters to do further research on the subject matter, but this is a good general guide and a great starting place. It debunks many misconceptions about therapy, therapists, and various disorders, clarifies what disorders both are and are not, how some of them are treated, and how a therapist should approach a client with that disorder for optimal outcomes.

While a more recent publication than many writer's resources I've come across over the years (published 2010), it's mentioned in the closing pages of the book about the upcoming DSM-5. The -5 has now been out for 6 years, and there are some important changes made, like the LPE specifier for conduct disorder. While therapists don't just stop diagnosing disorders that are moved or removed from the DSM, it is on their shoulders to stay up to date with changes in classifications, medications, etc, and as such, it is also on the writer to keep up to date with things like new versions of the DSM.

I would highly recommend looking at the DSM-5 itself after reading this book, to make sure your writing your characters properly, as well as recent research on the disorder or therapies you want to write about, psychopathy especially. The chapter on psychopaths in this book is one of the most accurate sources I've come across, but again even it is old enough that some of the content is outdated thanks to newer research. I've been researching psychopathy for 8 years, only 2 of which were within an academic setting, and I'm still learning all kinds of things.

This book also doesn't touch on every possible disorder out there, such as gender dysphoria/gender identity disorder and others, so looking at the DSM-5 would also be helpful to see if you're making a character who might have a disorder or condition not in this book that is still diagnosable. And the DSM-5 also doesn't use the Axis I/Axis II/etc distinctions anymore either, so some terminology may be different now than it was when this book was published.

But it does serve as a really good spring board and includes resources the author used to make the book and do her own research, which can serve to start someone's individual research on the subject matter. It talks about the most common disorders in real life and how to make them accurate in fictional representations. My favorite part, actually, were the little boxes where Kaufman takes various books and movies (some of them very popular and well known) and basically rips them apart for how inaccurate they are in their description or representation of mental disorders or therapy. This book is a great guide for what to do in writing, but also includes great examples of what not to do as well.

[Shyra · Rating 4 out of 5]

I decided to get this book out of curiosity and the fact that I was interested in crafting a character battling a psychological disorder. It was my first time creating such a character and I wanted the portrayal to be as accurate as possible.

The book is divided into three distinct and prominent sections—therapists/therapy, the disorders, and medications. I have noted several reviewers stating the insignificance of the detailed explanation behind the responsibilities of a therapist, but in all honesty, I beg to differ.

This book is written specifically with the idea of helping a writer create accurate portrayals of a character facing psychological disorders. It is impertinent that the writer understand what goes on behind a therapy session (especially if they've never been to therapy themselves), the kinds of therapy method most suitable for their character's disorder, and how a good/bad therapist would act.

In fact, I found the book in its entirety extremely informative and immensely useful. It wasn't just focused on detailing and differentiating the various psychological disorders. Rather, the author took their time to explain the medications used to treat such disorders, the usefulness behind such medications, and precisely how they work (coupled with diagrams to help the reader better visualise the concept).

Overall, I would say that The Writer's Guide to Psychology is worth the read for anyone willing to try their hand at creating a character diagnosed with a psychological disorder. Not only is it written in an easy-to-understand way, it is also filled with information the average person probably would not acquire from a simple search on the internet.

The author has also graciously inputted various misconceptions about the different psychological disorders to better help writers avoid such mistakes when writing their stories.

[Andrew Diamond · Rating 5 out of 5]

My wife gave me this book for Christmas. I sat down to skim it and wound up reading the whole thing. The book describes the characteristic thought patterns and behaviors of common psychological disorders as well as the ways in which hospitals and therapists treat these disorders. The book is aimed at helping authors accurately represent patients, therapists and treatments, all of which are often misrepresented in crime and thriller novels. The writing is so clear and straightforward, however, that this book will be useful to anyone who wants a concise overview of common psychiatric illnesses and their treatments.

[Helena Handbasket · Rating 5 out of 5]

An amazing resource. If you are planning on writing a character that has any kind of mental illness or even want to make an offhand reference to mental illness, read this first. Incorrect depictions of mental illness in fiction all to often contribute to the mistreatment of the mentally ill in reality.

[amadi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brief Psychology Intro

It doesn’t go into great details of each main disorder that it mentions but does separate facts from fiction which, I enjoyed reading. And even though I took Psych 101 twice, for fun, I still confuse some of the words myself. So this is definitely helpful if you want to write realistically and not have people like me laugh as we read.

[Steven Allen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very interesting book, as I have always found psychology fascinating.

As a writer I thought that perhaps this book might help me create more rounded characters.

For the writing I do, this book is not as helpful as I was hoping.

Still a good read, and one that I would recommend to any hopeful writer.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super reference book for writers who want to ensure the behaviour of a character with a psychiatric disorder remains true to form and consistent. The author has also write fiction and it shows in this extremely useful guide.

[Shelley Diamond · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book gives a mostly accurate yet simplistic view of psychotherapy. If it is used appropriately by writers in their writing, it's probably fine. My concern would be if readers think they actually know more than they really can know from reading this book.

[Scott Colby · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book late last year and it has been incredibly helpful in the writing of my first draft of my novel. I wanted to make my villain realistic and Carolyn's well-researched book helped me determine he had antisocial personality disorder. I was saddened to read of Carolyn's premature death.

[Nicole · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely brilliant. Best book I’ve seen in the subject, not just for writers, but for lay people looking for an overview of psychiatric disorders and treatment.

[Jason Ellis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fairly exhaustive, organized, and well-written.