From the reviews:
William Dorfman and Lenore Walker, in First Responder's Guide to Abnormal Psychology, have written an excellent primer for police, firefighters, and rescue personnel. Regrettably we live in an increasingly dangerous world, where the services of these individuals are increasingly in demand, and now they will have a clearer understanding of the mental health issues faced by victims of disasters. This book fills in a gap in the literature and should be mandatory reading for all personnel who deal with the victims of disaster and crime. Albeit surprisingly comprehensive for a primer, the writing is clear and to the point. Ample examples are provided so that the reader is able to link the theoretical with the clinical. Moreover, the level of the writing is just right. The authors have my enthusiastic endorsement for this important contribution to the literature.
- Michel Hersen, Ph.D. ABPP, Professor and Dean, School of Professional Psychology, Pacific University, Forest Grove, Oregon
Drs. Dorfman and Walker have done a masterful job at synthesizing the volumes of information on mental illness and abnormal behavior into a concise text. They have done this without compromising the science, nor the clinical, components of behavioral science. The book is an excellent text for those educating and training first responders!
- Robert A. Leark, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Forensic Psychology, Alliant International University, Los Angeles, California
Well done! This book was written to help all those experiencing mental health emergencies by educating first responders who are most often in a position to help. This book should not only be incorporated in all training of first responders but be on the bookshelf of all who conduct such training, first responder supervisors, and people in professions frequently exposed to crisis situations.
- Charles R. Figley, Ph.D., Editor, Traumatology and Director, the Florida State University Traumatology Institute in Tallahassee, Tallahassee, Florida
First Responder's Guide to Abnormal Psychology is an original contribution to the field. First responders, those who are first on the scene of an emergency, need to understand how people respond to disaster both physically and emotionally. They need to understand abnormal psychology, most particularly as it applies to people in crisis. There is little in the literature that addresses this need. Dorfman & Walker have written a text that responds to that need. In a thorough and jargon free manner, they provide an overview of abnormal psychology as we understand it today in a way that meets the needs of first responders. The scope is broad in its theoretical understanding and clear in its clinical examples. It will be useful to those teaching and training all of those people who become the first responders, that is fire departments, criminal justice systems and health care systems. It will serve to enhance the education and training of those first responders.
- Laura Barbanel, EdD, ABPP, Brooklyn College, Executive Director, Trauma Treatment Center, Manhattan Institute for psychoanalyis and Author of Psychological Interventions in times of crisis
This book will save lives. A unique toolkit and briefing book for first-responders, it fills a critical gap. This comprehensive and innovative resource puts cutting-edge research, theory, and experience into practical form. It will help those who risk their lives to help us.
- Kenneth S. Pope, Ph.D., ABPP, Author of What Therapists Don't Talk About and Why
First Responder's Guide to Abnormal Psychology: Applications for Police, Firefighters and Rescue Personnel presents the major mental health diagnostic categories for the nonpsychologist reader toward the goal of improving the interactions of first responders with individuals who may meet criteria for a mental health disorder. ... In summary ... this book meets its goal of being a guide to abnormal psychology. The chapters related to the mental disorders and the legal system are thorough and easily readable. (Carrie H. Kennedy, PsycCRITIQUES, Vol. 52 (39), 2007)
