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In its Introductory Theory chapter, the reviewed book correctly points out that in Chinese medicine, "no...dualism between the body and mind exists...." The mind affects the body and the body affects the mind. The psyche-soma relationship is completely bi-directional. The integration of body and mind is not a concept to strive for in Chinese medicine but rather is part of its fundamental theory. Hence, a textbook and clinical manual of the treatment of mental-emotional diseases has, so far, been a much desired but sorely lacking work.

Chinese Medical Psychiatry: A Textbook & Clinical Manual fills this gap in the Chinese medical literature in an unsurpassed fashion. Not having expected anything less than a superb work from the most prolific author and practitioner of Chinese medicine in the West, Bob Flaws, and his co-author, psychiatrist James Lake, this book sets new standards in the field of Chinese medicine as far as its thorough research, Western and Chinese medical disease discussions, and clinical references, such as case histories and clinical audits, are concerned.

The book's unique style, divided into three Books, is of much clinical assistance especially for Western practitioners of Chinese medicine. Book One begins with a short chapter on the history of Chinese medicine psychiatry and is followed by a lengthy chapter on introductory theory. Besides more clearly explaining the basic Chinese medical theory on the psychesoma dualism, the mind and spirit, and the different causes of psychological diseases, this chapter also includes a section succinctly outlining extremely common but in the English language rarely discussed, concepts; these include Zhu Danxi's six depressions and Li Dong-yuan's yin fire theory. The chapter ends with a look at the different treatment modalities, including sections on Chinese medicinals, acupuncture, and psychotherapy.

Chapter three is titled Essence-Spirit Materia Medica and lists commonly used Chinese medicinals in the specialty of psychiatry. Unfortunately, although very informative and interesting for the medicinals presented, the discussion of less than 50 different medicinals limit the scope of this materia medica, especially in comparison to the vast use of medicinals throughout the book. Following the materia medica, chapter four lists the ingredients, functions, and indications of standard formulas for patterns commonly seen in psychiatric patients.

Chapters five and six discuss acupuncture points and formulas for psychological diseases. Furthermore, chapter seven contains both a novel discussion of an acupuncture protocol developed by Bob Flaws and indicated for patients presenting with the clinically extremely common yin fire scenario and an in-depth examination of the 13 Ghost Points, including a translation of and various commentaries on Sun Si-miao's Song of the 13 Ghost Points.

The last chapter of Book One draws on psychiatrist James Lake's expertise and explains basic principles of effective communication with mentally and emotionally disturbed patients; this chapter also outlines principles of how to best integrate Chinese and Western medicine psychiatry.

It is Book Two and Book Three which make this work so unique. Instead of simply outlining the disease mechanisms and treatments of either traditional Chinese diseases (such as plum pitt qi, visceral agitation, etc.) or Western diseases (such as bipolar disorder, depression, etc.), the authors decided to list both of these classification systems: the Chinese Essence Spirit Diseases in Book Two, and The Treatment of Western Psychiatric Diseases with Chinese Medicine in Book Three. One of the reasons for going beyond the more standard format of discussing traditional Chinese diseases is explained by the authors in the introduction to Book Three: "As Chinese medicine becomes more and more integrated into the dominant Western health care delivery system, Western practitioners of Chinese medicine need to be able to work within the framework of that system."

The discussion of the 22 Chinese essence spirit diseases and the 11 Western medical diseases follows the detail presented in Book One. Each disease, in both Book Two and Book Three, consists of three sections: Western medicine, Chinese medicine, and research and case histories.

The Western medical part is very extensive and covers most if not all of the following for each disease: nosology, epidemiology, differential diagnosis, etiology and pathophysiology, common Western medical treatments with their benefits and drawbacks, prognosis, and a short but very useful section listing signs and symptoms indicating to the practitioner of Chinese medicine to refer the patient to a Western physician.

The Chinese medical section is the same in Book Two and Book Three; it thoroughly discusses the disease causes and mechanisms and concisely instructs on the treatment based on pattern discrimination. For each pattern, the main symptoms, treatment principles, medicinal treatment formulas with formula analysis and modifications, and acupuncture points are listed.

The research and case history section lists abstracts from recent studies in China and, to a more limited degree, in the US. The studies cover both the field of acupuncture as well as Chinese medicine. Case histories stem exclusively from the Chinese medical literature.

Overall, this textbook and clinical manual, from its thorough introduction to the detailed disease discussions, is extremely rich not only in Chinese medical information but also in Western medical facts relevant for the Western practitioner of Chinese medicine. As a result, if there exists such a thing as a one-stop research tool in medicine, then this work certainly is very close to that, at least for Chinese herbalists. For acupuncturists who strictly limit themselves to performing acupuncture, the value of this work lies in its introductory section on acupuncture, on the succinct disease mechanism and pattern descriptions and on the point prescriptions listed for all patterns. Furthermore, some of the clinical audits and case histories focus on acupuncture. However, reflecting the predominance of Chinese herbal medicine over acupuncture in China, this book certainly is more tailored to practitioners and advanced students practicing Chinese medicine in its probably most effective form: individually prescr ibed bulk herb prescriptions.

This is an advanced textbook of Chinese medicine. It is not for people who are not familiar with the theory of Chinese medicine and who are looking for an inspiring introduction to this field. This is not to say, however, that this work cannot be a very worthwhile addition to the library of interested psychiatrists and psychologists.

Unique in its composition of listing not only either Chinese or Western diseases but rather both and of providing extremely detailed and helpful Western medical information designed for the practitioner of Chinese medicine, this book enhances the Chinese medical practitioners' understanding of their patients' Western medical disease diagnosis, assists them in becoming more effective communicators with their patients, and greatly improves their skill of prescribing Chinese medicines and acupuncture. In so doing, Chinese Medical Psychiatry: A Textbook & Clinical Manual will not only aid in increasing the dialogue between Chinese and Western practitioners by furthering mutual understanding, but it will also improve every Chinese medical clinician's effectiveness in dealing with mental-emotional disorders.