Dear students and instructors,

Welcome to Abnormal Psychology! I am a licensed clinical psychologist and an associate professor of Psychology at the University of Michigan. I have taught Abnormal Psychology since my early days of graduate school in the late 1990s. Over the years, I became disillusioned with the textbooks I was using because they did not have the level of depth and content focus that I consider critical for early students of mental health science. Thus, I decided to meet the challenge and write this book.

This book is about the science of mental health. It tackles the complexity of the field without glossing over the limitations of our science or bypassing the philosophical questions that remain unanswered about the nature of human behavior and the human condition. The book aims to provide students with an in-depth overview of the causes, phenomenology, and treatment of the core mental health disorders recognized by western psychiatric and psychological societies. Yet, it integrates a global and cross-cultural perspective throughout all chapters that exposes the limitations of western conceptualizations of mental health and explores how context and culture play a critical role in determining the boundaries between normal and abnormal behavior.

I am passionate about mental health science. I wrote this book to share that passion with you and with the hope that others will become just as passionate about the fascinating world of mental health. I wish you all a captivating journey as you explore with me the complexities of mental health disorders.

Nestor L. Lopez-Duran PhD

Associate Professor

University of Michigan