Michael Emlet's Descriptions and Prescriptions: A Biblical Perspective on Psychiatric Diagnoses & Medications to assess the benefits and limitations of psychiatric diagnoses and
medications. Emlet breaks these two concepts down into different parts
of the book, attempting to give concise but substantive introductions
and explorations of each. So, part one gives ten chapters on "Understanding Psychiatric Diagnoses". Here, Emlet gives a brief survey
of the history of psychiatric diagnoses, an explanation of how diagnoses
are made, and an exploration of both the common pitfalls and benefits
of diagnoses. In part two, the good doctor presents nine chapters on "understanding psychoactive medications". He walks readers through the "classes" of psychoactive drugs, the theory of chemical imbalance, and,
again, the benefits and limitations of such drugs. In the final three
chapters he pulls all of this information together to present readers
with a "wisdom framework" for thinking about diagnoses and medications.The primary appeal of Descriptions and Prescriptions is Emlet's ability to be brief (the chapters are only a few pages each) while also offering depth and specificity for pastors and other ministry professionals, folks who may or may not have classical training in counseling. That makes Descriptions and Prescriptions an ideal book for seminarians -- because Emlet is able to capture the issues, using some of the best resources in the field, while also offering wise criticisms when those criticisms are merited. In less than 100 pages, Emlet has given us pastors a resource that belongs in every pastor's library, and deserves reading and rereading often.
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I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for my honest review here.