This volume is addressed to professionals and students in community mental health-including researchers, clinicians, administrators, educa tors, and students in relevant specialities within the fields of psychology, psychiatry, social work, public health, and nursing. The intent of this book is to serve as a practical resource for professionals and also as a di dactic text for students. In addition,·the volume seeks to make a theoret ical contribution to the field by presenting, for the first time in book form, a behavioral-ecological perspective in community mental health. We present behavioral-ecology as an emerging perspective that is concerned with the interdependence of people, behavior, and their sociophysical environments. Behavioral-ecology attributes mental health problems to transactions between persons and their settings, rather than to causes rooted exclusively within individuals or environments. In this vol ume we advance the notion of behavioral-ecology as an integration of two broad perspectives--behauioral approaches as derived from the indi vidual psychology of learning, and ecological approaches as encompassing the study of communities, environments, and social systems. Through the programs brought together in this book we are arguing for a merging of these two areas for purposes of advancing theory, research, and prac tice in community mental health.

Community mental health care has evolved as a discipline over the past 50 years, and within the past 20 years, there have been major developments across the world. The Oxford Textbook of Community Mental Health is the most comprehensive and authoritative review published in the field, written by an international and interdisciplinary team.

In the devastation that follows a major disaster, there is a need for multiple sectors to unite and devote new resources to support the rebuilding of infrastructure, the provision of health and social services, the restoration of care delivery systems, and other critical recovery needs. In some cases, billions of dollars from public, private and charitable sources are invested to help communities recover. National rhetoric often characterizes these efforts as a "return to normal." But for many American communities, pre-disaster conditions are far from optimal. Large segments of the U.S. population suffer from preventable health problems, experience inequitable access to services, and rely on overburdened health systems. A return to pre-event conditions in such cases may be short-sighted given the high costs - both economic and social - of poor health. Instead, it is important to understand that the disaster recovery process offers a series of unique and valuable opportunities to improve on the status quo. Capitalizing on these opportunities can advance the long-term health, resilience, and sustainability of communities - thereby better preparing them for future challenges. Healthy, Resilient, and Sustainable Communities After Disasters identifies and recommends recovery practices and novel programs most likely to impact overall community public health and contribute to resiliency for future incidents. This book makes the case that disaster recovery should be guided by a healthy community vision, where health considerations are integrated into all aspects of recovery planning before and after a disaster, and funding streams are leveraged in a coordinated manner and applied to health improvement priorities in order to meet human recovery needs and create healthy built and natural environments. The conceptual framework presented in Healthy, Resilient, and Sustainable Communities After Disasters lays the groundwork to achieve this goal and provides operational guidance for multiple sectors involved in community planning and disaster recovery. Healthy, Resilient, and Sustainable Communities After Disasters calls for actions at multiple levels to facilitate recovery strategies that optimize community health. With a shared healthy community vision, strategic planning that prioritizes health, and coordinated implementation, disaster recovery can result in a communities that are healthier, more livable places for current and future generations to grow and thrive - communities that are better prepared for future adversities.

To enhance its pedagogic utility and resource value, we have organized the volume around several unique features. First, the emphasis of the book is on major current topics in community mental health. Second, in Part I we devote three chapters to the conceptualization, values, and knowledge bases informing behavioral-ecology in order to provide the context for the entire volume. Third, most chapters are project oriented, with contributors describing, evaluating, and discussing their own innovative research/intervention programs. We have selected these projects as "exemplars" of behavioral-ecology in action. Fourth, we have included introductory comments in each part. They complement the presentations by placing the chapters within the behavioral-ecological framework, providing an overview of the relevant literature and issues pertaining to the part topics, and contributing to the integrative thread of the volume. Finally, an appendix listing resources in community mental health and behavioral-ecology is included.

The ecological perspective is a contextual approach which works at the interface between families and the broader ecology or ecosystem of the child; the approach is not new but has not been widely adopted due to the lack of illustrative material available for practitioners. Through an approach more descriptive and explanatory than empirical, the author shows the clinician (or other child care professional) why the child's environment is crucial and provides techniques to draw people in the child's environment into the healing process.

Progress in Behavior Modification, Volume 18 covers the developments in behavior modification. The book discusses the behavioral analysis of chronic pain and its management; controlled drinking; and the research and applications in behavioral community psychology. The text also describes the physical, social, and programmatic context of behavior; the behavioral assessment and management of pediatric pain; and self-reinforcement by children. The advances in behavioral approaches to adolescent health care are also considered. Psychologists, psychiatrists, and pediatricians will find the book invaluable.