Oxford Handbook of Behavioral Emergencies and Crises

The Oxford Handbook of Behavioral Emergencies and Crises includes the most up-to-date and valuable research on the evaluation and management of the most challenging patients or clients faced by mental health providers-individuals who are at high risk of suicide, of other-directed violence, or of becoming the victims of interpersonal violence. These are cases in which the outcome can be serious injury or death, and there can be negative consequences not onlyfor the patient, but also for the patient's family and friends, for the assessing or treating clinician, and for the patient's clinic or medical center. Virtually all mental health clinicians with an active caseload will see individuals with such issues. This Handbook is comprised of chapters by leadingclinicians, researchers, and scholars in this area of practice. It presents a framework for learning the skills needed for assessing and working competently with such high-risk individuals. Chapters draw a distinction between behavioral emergencies and crises, and between emergency intervention and crisis intervention. The book examines the inter-related aspects of the major behavioral emergencies; that is, for example, the degree to which interpersonal victimization may lead an individual on apathway to later suicidal or violent behavior, or the degree to which suicidal individuals and violent individuals may share certain cognitive characteristics. This resource is not simply a knowledge base for behavioral emergencies; it also presents a method for reducing stress and acquiring skillsin working with high-risk people.

"This Handbook clearly and creatively lays out effective techniques for rapidly responding to a broad array of real-world crises. Empirically solid and clinically astute, this work is without peer as a guide to providing urgent care. When time is of the essence, every practitioner will want to have Kleespies' extraordinary book within arm's reach." --John Monahan, PhD, Shannon Distinguished Professor of Law, Psychology, and Psychiatry, University of Virginia"The assessment, prediction, and management of patients' violence toward themselves and toward others are the most challenging and demanding clinical tasks. Dr. Kleespies deserves KUDOS for bringing together experts to address these issues in a life-span perspective from children to the elderly. This Handbook should be on the desk of every clinician. It is an incredible collection of tools and resources."--Donald Meichenbaum, PhD, Research Director of The Melissa Institute for Violence Prevention and Treatment, Miami, FL"Recent events involving interpersonal violence, mass shootings, school and workplace shootings, suicide, 'suicide by cop, ' and other behavioral emergencies have brought a sense of urgency to the search for a better understanding of how to prevent these events. The common explanation that 'he (or she) just snapped' is at best an incomplete explanation and, at worst, a justification for failing to apply recent, pertinent theory and research into preventing behavioral emergencies... Kleespies' Handbook is organized around a central goal of providing young practitioners and their mentors with both a knowledge and a skill base for addressing common behavioral emergencies."--David J. Drummond, PhD, Affiliated Associate Professor of Psychiatry, Oregon Health & Sciences University"While its 573 pages may be initially intimidating, this results from one of the book's greatest assets--its copious references. There are 35 chapters divided into eight sections that cover emergencies varying from managing suicidal risk to evaluation of victims of violence to the duty to protect. The information provided is thorough, specific, and clearly documented...the breadth and depth provided in each section will be valuable to trainees and seasoned practitioners alike." --PsycCRITIQUES

Phillip M. Kleespies, PhD, ABPP, is Assistant Clinical Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at Boston University School of Medicine and a Clinical Psychologist at the VA Boston Healthcare System. He has been a pioneer in developing the area of psychological practice known as behavioral emergencies. Dr. Kleespies was the founding President of the Section on Clinical Emergencies and Crises, a section of the APA Society of Clinical Psychology. Hismany publications and his mentoring have emphasized acquiring a knowledge base as well as clinical skill in decision making under dynamic conditions with high-risk individuals.