This book is an introduction to clinical health psychology, covering its history, scope, and professional practice
standards. It describes education and training requirements, roles and functions of the psychologist, and ethical
and legal considerations. The authors are highly credible. Dr. Belar, in particular, has been a leader in the development
of health psychology as a specialty area. The authors aim to provide an overview of the issues and challenge of
psychological assessment, intervention, and consultation with medical patients. Its scope is broad in describing
the content of health psychology. It attempts to capture the complexities of psychological service delivery in
a multidisciplinary and rapidly changing health care environment. The target audience includes advanced graduate
students and interns in clinical psychology and practicing clinical psychologists who want to expand their understanding
of health psychology. The authors suggest that it may be useful for other mental health professionals who have
an interest in work with medical or surgical patients. Tables and exhibits supplement the text. All are clear and
well organized. In addition to literature cited, the authors have included reference lists in each chapter that
direct the reader to key sources. References are current and pertinent, but some important works are omitted. Appendixes
include resources important to the practitioner new to the area, e.g., professional organizations, journals. The
authors use case examples to illustrate their discussion. The guidebook is an outstanding reference for students,
interns, and new professionals in health psychology. It provides an insightful consideration of psychologicalservice
delivery to medical and surgical patients. Its discussion of consultation to medical and surgical physicians is
very good. This second edition is important, given rapid change in health service delivery over the ten years since
the first edition.