This book will be of use to those who create and implement psychiatric treatment plans and by all levels of mental health providers. Incidentally, JCAHO uses this system as a standard for comparison. All in all, this reference is a must for any mental health collection.—E-Streams, 2/1/2004

This is a worthy successor to Kennedy's first edition. In this world of JCAHO, CMS and other external reviewers, having a modern treatment planning system is essential for a psychiatric hospital. This is the only book available to provide guidance to those designing psychiatric hospital treatment planning systems and to those trying to understand how to implement psychiatric treatment planning in a hospital. This book is the indispensable guide for those who need to design and maintain psychiatric treatment planning systems, for those who train others, and for those who want to implement effective treatment planning in a hospital setting.—Harold Carmel, M.D., Duke University and John Umstead Hospital

Fundamentals of Psychiatric Treatment Planning, Second Edition, by Dr. James Kennedy, is a comprehensive manual which enhances the role of nursing with the multidisciplinary clinical team. His integration of nursing diagnosis and nursing care planning into the Master Treatment Plan encourages and fosters continuous nursing assessment and evaluation throughout the treatment planning process. This manual will be an invaluable reference in the educational preparation of advance practice nurses in psychiatric care as well as in the clinical area.—Kathryn Raymond, M.S. R.N. B.C., Psychiatric Clinical Nurse Specialist, Worcester State Hospital, Worcester, Massachusetts

Dr. Kennedy has taken the concept of global assessment of functioning to a new level. By breaking functional level into domains, a previously non specific scale has become a tangible measure of outcomes and a vital tool in the evaluation and treatment of mental illness. One of the singularly most difficult concepts in treatment planning is that of 'measurability'. Dr. Kennedy has provided a tool that can be used by all levels of mental health providers to quantify function as well as measure improvement—possibly the single most important factor to monitor.—Lauren Parsons, M.D., Clinical Director for Operations, North Texas State Hospital

This manuscript was a pleasure to review. I found Kennedy's common sense approach to treatment planning to be an efficient and effective means for identifying and achieving appropriate, measured and positive patient outcomes. The guidelines and standards provided in this manual are essential for operating in the demanding environment of managed care. I believe that this manual will have staff from inpatient and outpatient clinics asking, 'Why haven't we been doing this?' I have been using Kennedy's Axis V (Subscales) for evaluating patients in our Psychiatric Partial Hospital Program at our Community Mental Health Center. It was used as the basis for establishing accurate, functional levels and for providing clear clinical direction. It always hit the mark. I have also used them as a teaching tool for our caseworkers and case managers in order to facilitate their oversight of milieu and treatment modality.—Peter C. Kosanovich, M.Ed., Base Service Unit Director, Cambria County Mental Health, Johnstown, Pennsylvania

This book provides an interesting framework for conceptualizing treatment planning around the psychosocial domains of the Kennedy Axis V. It is an excellent text for the beginner or the veteran clinician. It will see high use in an era of evidence based treatment.

For the 2nd time, Dr. James Kennedy has authored a treatment-planning book which clearly delineates the steps and eases the process of treatment planning and documentation. This organized and methodical guide provides a simple yet comprehensive approach to the clinicians' most important work. Each section is scripted to carefully and completely address any question or concern about the treatment planning process. The inclusion of the Nursing Care Plan into the Master Treatment Plan is a significant addition. Dr. Kennedy's inclusive discussion of all aspects of treatment planning makes it clear that he has analyzed the process fully.—Margaret Knight, Ph.D., A.P.R.N., B.C., Assistant Professor, Regis College, Weston, Massachusetts

This book provides an interesting framework for conceptualizing treatment planning around the psychosocial domains of the Kennedy Axis V. It is an excellent text for the beginner or the veteran clinician. It will see high use in an era of evidence based treatment.—Jeff Bearden, LMSW-ACP, BCD, Director of Forensic Psychiatric Programs, North Texas State Hospital, Vernon, Texas

This second edition of Dr. Kennedy's Fundamentals of Psychiatric Treatment Planning is an impressive body of work that will undoubtedly prove itself to be both helpful and timely. The focus on treatment outcome measures affords clinicians a powerful tool for guiding and evaluating the effectiveness of their work at a time when increased accountability is demanded of all providers. It offers an organized framework for psychiatric treatment wherein all clinical staff, as well as the patient, have the opportunity to become real players in the work of affecting meaningful change.—James E. Smith, LMSW-ACP, DCSW, Superintendent, North Texas State Hospital

From its inception, this model has offered a well-tuned, sensible approach that many clinicians, facilities, and treatment teams have found helpful in their efforts to develop good treatment plans. The model allows for flexibility in the degree of specificity of the documentation—depending on the anticipated length of stay, the thoroughness of the rest of the charting related to treatment progress, the clinical style of the treatment team, and the time constraints they face. One improvement noted in this edition is that the model now more clearly incorporates the nursing care plan into the master treatment plan to eliminate redundancy and to increase the nurse's participation in interdisciplinary treatment planning.—Stacey Dixon, Ph.D., Psychiatric Services, 2/1/2004

Overall, this is an excellent book for treatment planners in the healthcare professions that directly administer or provide healthcare services to patients.—Elaine M. Scorza, MS, RN, APN, BC, Doody's Book Reviews, 2/1/2004