In the past 20 years meditation has grown enormously in popularity across the world, practised both by the general public, as well as by an increasing number of psychologists within their daily clinical practice. Meditation is now used to treat a range of disorders, including, depression, anxiety, eating disorders, chronic pain, and addiction. In the past twenty years we have also learned much more about the underlying neural bases for meditation, and why it works. The Psychology of Meditation: Research and Practice explores the practice of meditation and mindfulness and presents accounts of the cognitive and emotional processes elicited during meditation practice. Written by researchers and practitioners with considerable experience in meditation practice and from different religious or philosophical perspectives, he book examines the evidence for the effects of meditation on emotional and physical well-being in therapeutic contexts and in applied settings. The areas covered include addictions, pain management, psychotherapy, physical health, neuroscience, and the application of meditation in school and workplace settings. Uniquely, the contributors also present accounts of their own personal experience of meditation practice including their history of practice, phenomenology, and the impact it has had on their lives. Drawing on evidence from both research and practice, this is a valuable synthesis of the ways in which meditation can profoundly enrich human experience.

The Health Psychology Reader is designed to complement and support the recent textbook Health Psychology: Theory, Research and Practice by David F. Marks, Michael Murray, Brian Evans and Carla Willig (SAGE, 2000). It can also be used as a stand-alone resource given its didactic nature. The Reader explores key topics within the health psychology field with incisive introductions to each section by the Editor and includes a selection of the most important theoretical and empirical published work.

Dr. Mruk has produced a highly readable new edition of his original work on an often misunderstood psychological construct--self-esteem. Mruk's view that self-esteem is a critically important influence on psychological adjustment and quality of life is now an accepted tenet in personality theory. Lack of self-esteem is frequently a precursor to depression, suicidal behavior, and other personality disorders. Nonetheless, the clinical diagnosis of self-esteem problems has lacked the basis of an overarching theory. Dr. Mruk's comprehensive analysis distills the literature on self-esteem into practical and reliable treatment methods for both clinicians and researchers. The new edition contains updated research and current terms, and addresses the self-esteem "backlash." He concludes with worksheets and detailed guidelines for conducting self-esteem building workshops. Added features include: Major theories of self-esteem Chapter on the new positive psychology 150 new references Dr. Mruk has developed a writing style that is successfully oriented toward both academic and clinical audiences in the areas of counseling, education, nursing, psychology, and social work, thus providing much-needed information for teachers, students, and practicing clinicians in a clear, concise way.

In this revised new edition, Bayne and Jinks expertly combine the professional and academic aspects of applied psychology. The contributing authors, all experts in their field, provide authoritative and engaging overviews of their areas of expertise and an important range of perspectives. The book is organised into three parts. The first part is a general context for applied psychology including a discussion of questions about evidence based practice. The second part discusses practice and training in a plethora of areas of applied psychology, including all of the traditional routes (for e.g. clinical, health and educational psychology), eight ′relative newcomers′ to the field (for e.g. sport and forensic psychology) and four areas not always regarded as applied psychology: counselling, coaching, careers guidance and lecturing. The innovative third part is a roundtable of expert practitioners commenting on the new directions they would like to see in their areas of applied psychology. Applied Psychology: Research, Training and Practice 2nd Edition will be essential for all students considering a career in an applied field, either those studying applied psychology at undergraduate level or MSc students on applied psychology courses at this level.

Sport and Exercise Psychology Research: From Theory to Practice provides a comprehensive summary of new research in sport and exercise psychology from worldwide researchers. Encompassing theory, research, and applications, the book is split into several themed sections. Section 1 discusses basic antecedents to performance including fitness, practice, emotion, team dynamics, and more. Section 2 identifies factors influencing individual performance. Section 3 discusses applied sport psychology for athletes and coaches, and section 4 includes approaches from exercise psychology on motivation and well-being. The book includes a mix of award winning researchers from the European Sport Psychology Association, along with top researchers from the U.S. to bring an international overview to sport psychology. - Includes international contributions from Europe and the U.S. - Encompasses theory, research, and applications - Includes sport psychology and exercise research - Features applied information for use with coaches, teams, and elite athletes - Identifies performance enhancers and inhibitors

This is the first book to offer a comprehensive review of current research in the psychology of sports coaching. It provides detailed, critical appraisals of the key psychological concepts behind the practice of sports coaching and engages with contemporary debates in this field. Organised around three main themes, it discusses factors affecting the coaching environment; methods for enhancing coach performance; and how to put theory into practice through coaching work. Written by an international team of researchers and practitioners at the cutting edge of psychology and coaching, each chapter introduces a key concept, defines key terms, provides a comprehensive literature review, and considers implications for future research and applied practice. Encompassing the latest developments in the field, it addresses topics such as: the theory behind effective coaching creating performance environments promoting psychological well-being developing resilience through coaching transformational leadership and the role of the coach. The Psychology of Sports Coaching: Research and Practice is an indispensable resource for sport psychologists and sports coaches, and is essential reading for all students and academics researching sport psychology.

Mental health practitioners are most effective when their services respond to the client's lifestyle, cultural and linguistic heritage, and life circumstances. Thus, an essential component of evidence-based psychological practice (EBPP) is attending to the ethnocultural background of the client. A significant challenge in using EBPP to guide treatment interventions with ethnic minority clients is that relatively little applicable research has been conducted, especially research that satisfies rigorous methodological criteria. In this book, experts in the field of ethnic minority mental health treatment discuss why research on culturally informed EBPP has not made more progress and suggest tangible strategies for conducting more meaningful and impactful studies in this area. The chapters address measurement issues such as test translation and adaptation, and research design issues such as meta-analytic strategies and mixed-method approaches. Inspiring examples show how EBPP can be tailored to meet the specific needs of ethnic minorities. This volume is an important step in reducing disparities and promoting effective mental health treatment for underserved populations.