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Women's Mental Health Services: A Public Health Perspective. Edited by B. L. Levin, A. K. Blanch, and A. Jennings (1998). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 1998,428 pages.
The evaluation of mental health services is an established field that has recently expanded with the continuing evolution of managed health systems and organizations. It is critical that these systems be understood if appropriate evaluations are to take place and improvements are to add, rather than detract from, limited service dollars. Unfortunately, understanding mental health services today is like understanding children: By the time they are well understood, they have developed into someone (something) different. Thus, it is critical to be able to understand the commonalities and unique qualities of service systems, quickly and efficiently, in order to make rational allocations of services.
In this book, the editors have provided an excellent tool for understanding the issues of women's mental health services. The book is a compilation of reprinted articles and original chapters that address the issues of women's mental health services from a range of perspectives from epidemiology to qualitative methods and in academic settings to state departments of mental health. In addition, advocacy perspectives, descriptions of current services, and alternative models of care are discussed.
The book is divided into two parts. Part 1 addresses general service delivery issues, in both public and private settings, and those concerning a variety of populations of women. Part 2 addresses special issues important to women, including empowerment, survival of trauma, and two specific at-risk populations:...