"Brilliant" and "scholarly" is what the series editor Judy Kuriansky, Ph.D. called my new book, Sex, Love, and Mental Illness: A Couple's Guide to Staying Connected which is coming out in January, 2011. I'd like to think so, too. Brilliant, because there is truly no other book published on this important topic; scholarly, because the book required reading piles and piles of research to determine how various mental disorders affect sexuality and partners.
Sex, Love, and Mental Illness covers most of the disorders in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM), including mood and anxiety disorders, eating disorders, substance abuse, body-related disorders including sexual pain problems, personality problems, problem usually diagnosed in childhood like ADD and Asperger's syndrome, and severe mental illnesses like schizophrenia. Using case examples based on my sex therapy practice, each chapter discusses the nature of the disorder, how it affects emotional and physical intimacy, and some suggestions for overcoming the problems.
I'll be featuring short excerpts on this blog based on findings from my book. I'm very much looking forward to helping the millions of couples whose lives are affected by mental health problems, as well as therapists who work with them. The book is now available for preorder on amazon.com and Barnes & Noble onine.