Mental Health
From Simmons Library Research Guides
We have selected these resources to help you find relevant information on your research topic. Please contact a librarian for help using the resources listed in this guide or for help with your research process.
Contents |
Reference and Background Information
Search for Reference sources that contain information about your specific research topic here:
You may also consult the resources below for overviews of the topic that you have chosen to research. Use these resources to help you to put your topic in context and give you the big picture of what information exists about your topic. These resources may have bibliographies at the end of each entry that can help further your research.
- DSM-IV
Level 1 Reference RC455.2.C4 D54 1994
Online Access
A comprehensive resource that provides clinical information and can be used as a educational tool for teaching psychopathology. This text covers many different orientations, such as biological, psychodynamic, cognitive, behavioral, interpersonal, family/systems, etc. This in depth resource is useful for general researchers, as well as professionals in the health and mental health field.
- Year Book of Psychiatry and Applied Mental Health
Level 1 Reference RC329 .Y422 2007
This yearbook serves as a literature survey service, providing abstracts of articles published in the professional literature of psychiatry and applied mental health. The text is split into sections: child and adolescent psychiatry, psychotherapy, alcohol and substance abuse, psychiatry and the law, hospital and community psychiatry, clinical psychiatry, and biological psychiatry.
- Encyclopedia of Mental Health
Level 1 Reference RC437 .K34 1993
A useful source, which describes itself as being a place that researchers can go for help in understanding terms, theories, and beliefs within the field of mental health. Entries run from a paragraph, to about half a page long, are listed alphabetically, and some include bibliographies.
- Gale Encyclopedia of Mental Disorders
Level 1 Reference RC437 .G35 2003
- Gale Encyclopedia of Mental Health
Level 1 Reference RC437 .G36 2008
A two volume encyclopedia of terminology, important people, disorders, drugs, and much more related to mental health. Each extensive entry contains a definition, a detailed description, a purpose, related demographics, treatments and prognosis (when relevant), and resources for further reading.
- Insider's Guide to Mental Health Resources Online
Level 1 Reference RC437.2 .G76 2004
This useful guide provides researchers with advice, tools, and tips on finding relevant information and resources surrounding the topic of mental health. This books serves not only as a mode of finding relevant information, but also displays examples of searching techniques and guidance when using various search engines.
- Mental Health: A Report of the Surgeon General
Level 1 Reference RA790.6 .M46 1999
- Counseling and Psychotherapy Transcripts, Client Narratives, and Reference Works
Simmons Eresource
A searchable collection containing real transcripts of therapy and counseling sessions and first-person narratives illuminating the experience of mental illness and its treatment, as well as reference works to contextualize the primary material.
Legal Aspects
- Essentials of Massachusetts Mental Health Law
Level 1 Reference KFM2765 .B44 1998
- Law and the Mental Health System
Level 1 Reference KF3828.A7 R44 2004
- Legal and Ethical Dictionary for Mental Health Professionals
Level 1 Reference KF3828 .A934 2003
This resource gives concise definitions for legal and ethical terms that may be encountered in counseling, mental health, and social work contexts. There are appendices for the codes of ethics for several professional organizations; contact information for relevant state licensure boards; mental health-related acronyms; and a list of websites for mental health professional organizations.
Finding Articles
Below are suggested databases and indexes for articles on the topic that you have chosen to research. These databases include articles from newspapers, magazines and scholarly journals. Articles are shorter and more narrowly focused than books or reference materials so you should use them after you have narrowed your topic.
- Academic Search Complete
Simmons Eresource
Academic Search Complete is a great place to start your search for both popular and scholarly articles, no matter what your topic is! It contains journals from almost every topic and is designed specifically for academic institutions. It provides more than 5,300 full-text periodicals, 4,400 of which are peer-reviewed journals. This resource also features content as far back as 1865.
- Academic Onefile
Simmons Eresource
Academic Onefile contains 8,000 academic journals, the majority in full-text, available in HTML and PDF formats. In addition it contains hundreds of podcasts and transcripts from NPR, CNN, and the CBC.
- Expanded Academic ASAP
Simmons Eresource
From arts and the humanities to social sciences, science and technology, this database meets research needs across all academic disciplines. Access scholarly journals, news magazines, and newspapers - many with full text and images. Updated daily.
TIP: Use the Advanced Search for a more precise search!
Searching the Web
Simmons librarians have created a customized search engine that allows you
to find Mental Health information on the free web.
Use this Mental Health Google Custom Search Engine box to search all select, quality free web sites at the
same time:
You may also wish to go directly to, or bookmark, the Mental HealthGoogle Custom Search Engine
Tips for Searching the Internet:
- Use the advanced search function, which is available from most search engines:
- Google - See also "Advanced Search Tips"
- Ask - Click "Advanced." See also "Advanced Search Tips"
- Live (MSN) - See also "Options"
- Exalead - See also "Exalead FAQ"
- Yahoo! Search
- Limit your search to .edu and .gov sites. These often provide quality research, statistics, and commentary. Sites ending in .org often have good information, too, but are likely to espouse a strong stance or bias on the issues they cover and may not be objective.
- Try Scandoo, which presents search results from Google, Yahoo! Search, or Live (MSN) with an evaluation about the objectivity, credibility, and overall reliability of the site.
- Consider using a directory of pre-screened, annotated sites:
Writing Style and Citation
For more information on style and citation for this discipline, please contact the Simmons College Writing Center
You may also consider consulting these resources:
- Writing Resources
Free Online
The Writing Center provides online resources for citing your research. If you are unsure of which citation style to use, consult your professor and consider the following:- Use APA (American Psychological Association) when your topic is in the Social Sciences
- Use ASA (American Sociological Association) when your topic is in Sociology
- Use MLA (Modern Language Association) when your topic is in the Humanities
- Use Chicago/Turabian when your topic is in Literature, History or the Arts
- Use CSE (Council of Science Editors) when your topic is in the Sciences
- RefWorks
Simmons Eresource
RefWorks is a great program for organizing articles, books, and other materials you need for research. You can also use RefWorks to create bibliographies, create in text citations in your paper (Write-N-Cite), and share your research with others. Access RefWorks from the A-Z list of resources on the library's web page, and then follow the instructions to create your own username and password. We hold RefWorks Clinics throughout the semester. For more information, ask a reference librarian
