Products - Books

Biofeedback: A Practioner’s Guide (3rd Edition)

Mark S. Schwartz, Ph.D. and Frank Andrasik, Ph.D. (Editors)


930 Pages, Size: 7" x 10"

Description (from the publisher): “The definitive text in the field, this comprehensive volume provides state-of-the-science coverage of biofeedback research, applications, clinical procedures, and biomedical instrumentation. With contributions from leading experts, the volume offers a unique combination of practical know-how and scholarly expertise. A wealth of information is presented in an accessible, streamlined style, including helpful glossaries throughout. Featured are detailed protocols for helping patients cultivate lower physiological arousal and for addressing an array of specific clinical problems: headaches, temporomandibular disorders, Raynaud’s disease, essential hypertension, neuromuscular problems, elimination disorders, and much more.”

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Uses for the book: The book is still used as a graduate text and used by clinical professionals, researchers, and by students and professionals pursuing certification by the Biofeedback Certification Institute of America (BCIA). I used it as an undergraduate text assigning only selected chapters, and allowing additional chapters to be used for extra credit.

History of this book: I noted elsewhere in About Me and elsewhere, my proudest and most gratifying single professional accomplishment has been the 3 editions of the book Biofeedback: A Practitioner’s Guide. Thus, I am pleased to provide access to the Guilford Press information for anyone wanting to review it and consider purchasing it. Options for purchasing it include directly from Guilford Publications or from me. I sometimes have a few copies that I can autograph if requested and send to you for the same price as purchasing it from Guilford. 

1st Edition I started preparing this book in 1983 during my years in Rochester, MN. The long and bitterly cold winters provided considerable time for me to work on it. The number of contributors was limited to only 7. I picked some friends, and some for whom I had heard about or had read something they had prepared. I picked contributors who were early in their professional lives and who I thought would work very hard to produce an excellent chapter. I also required that their personalities were such that I could work well with them which partly meant that they would accept me with my idiosyncrasies which includes my editing compulsiveness. I labored writing and editing for 3 years with no one else seeing any of my drafts or those by the other authors. I had no idea how the book would be received. There were some truly excellent books already published, several of which I considered impressive. I was not preparing a book to compete or replace any of these. That would have seemed very presumptuous of me. I just wanted to develop a book that allowed me and the contributors to add to this array of books, to say as much as we could that had not been addressed yet or, in a few situations, to improve upon what was already published by adding content not already published. I had ideas to express and the other contributors, my associates as I referred to them, had ideas and experience to express that would hopefully add to array of published books. 

The book was published just before the 1987 Annual Meeting of the Biofeedback Society of America held in Colorado Springs that year. That also was the end of my year as President of the BSA, thus “my meeting.” What a glorious time that was for me at the famous Broadmoor Hotel. That 500 pages book was very well received and sales over the next few years reflected that. The book was one of the featured books by the Behavioral Science Book Service. 

2nd Edition After a few years, Guilford and I agreed to pursue the second edition. I had transferred to Mayo Clinic Jacksonville in 1988, bought a boat and had been spending most weekends and vacations on the boat. The weather and boating were not conducive for me to write and edit a book, so it took longer than planned. I took my luggable (heavy and not a laptop) portable computer and papers on the boat for many months but never did any work. I finally got smart enough to reprioritize my time and finished the second edition published in 1995 just in time for the Annual Meeting of the AAPB (formerly BSA). This time the book was 900 pages to the chagrin of the top executives of Guilford. They knew it would be longer than the first but urged me to limit it to about 700 pages. I truly tried to do that and my estimate, based on the typed copy-edited drafts, was that we were close to that number. About the first half of the book’s approved copy-edited chapters were sent for printing the galley proofs waiting for the rest of the chapters to be approved. As I recall, this was done to expedite publishing it so it would be ready for the Annual Meeting. As I continued my calculations as the first chapters were sent for printing, I realized that we were probably going to be far over the 700 pages and I sent a letter with this and some options to Guilford. However, by the time this was all the more clear, the process and printing had progressed too far to pursue options. The published book was over 900 pages!! When Guilford informed me that this was their estimate from the printer, I recall talking to Bob Matloff, President of Guilford, and kidding with him that if we delayed binding by a couple of months I could add enough pages to top 1000 pages and make it longer than the DSM-IV. Bob has a great sense of humor. His office is close to Editor-in-Chief, Seymour Weingarten. A small parlor separated their offices and he “yelled” to Seymour my proposal….paused several seconds…and told me that Seymour did not respond and was not smiling. 

The Associates and I had done a great job with this edition and it was well received. Sales were good but somewhat less than the first edition. The field was changing including the growth of EEG biofeedback and this edition had only one chapter on EEG biofeedback. Other applications were developing in the late 1990s that were not anticipated or feasible in this edition unless we had planned on and had been permitted to prepare more than 1000 pages. (I am smiling as I write this.). Nevertheless, I was very pleased with this edition and, according to some, it become the standard book in the field. 

3rd Edition When the third edition was being planned and arranged, Seymour Weingarten, Guilford Editor-in-Chief, and I spoke on the phone and he again emphasized the need for shortening the book to about 700 pages. I understood and agreed. This time I needed help editing and writing the book and was incredibly grateful and relieved that Frank Andrasik, a true professional giant, impressively competent, and an incredibly easy person with whom to work, agreed to join with me in editing the book and co-authoring several chapters. We also added a few EEG chapters and other new and exciting application areas. We shortened and shortened, condensed and condensed more of the prior chapters, updated most of the rest of the book, added many other authors and co-authors. It was a new book, just as the 2nd edition was a new book compared to the original. These editions were not just edited and updated versions of the prior edition. 

We strove to make as much of the book readable and understandable by all professionals, many students, and many among the better educated among the general public. We worked on the readability of the text to accomplish this for much of the book. We added an extensive glossary for many chapters to facilitate understanding by many readers. ] 

We were again very grateful for the reviews and manner in which it was received and valued by the field. However, the EEG field had now seen a few books in this subspecialty. University courses that had emphasized biofeedback were now more often broader Behavioral Medicine courses with biofeedback segments. A 900 page book, yes it again turned out to be this long – was apparently not ideally suited as a secondary text for such courses. Some of the passionate biofeedback educators at universities had left academia, had modified their professional careers, or had died. A 900 page book was deemed not practical for undergraduates by some although some others have used it in undergraduate courses. Biofeedback was growing in Western and Eastern Europe and elsewhere in the world including the Far East, Middle East, and South America, and Russia. Some of those professionals read English but, I think that our book, as good as it is, is not practical for many in those countries. Nevertheless, the book has sold in many countries. Frank and I had a delightful book signing experience at the Biofeedback Society of Europe meeting in Vienna, Austria, in February, 2006. Everyone we met there from many European and Middle East countries, spoke and read English. 

Table of Contents: Go to Guilford website to review this.www.guilford.com/cgi-bin/cartscript.cgi?page=pr/schwartz.htm&sec=toc&dir=pp/

Contributors: Go to Guilford website to review these.www.guilford.com/cgi-bin/cartscript.cgi?page=pr/schwartz.htm&sec=contrib&dir=pp/

About the Authors (from Guilford):
[Go to Guilford website to read description.]www.guilford.com/cgi-bin/cartscript.cgi?page=pr/schwartz.htm&sec=aboutes&dir=pp/

Reviews (Excerpts): 
“The new edition of Biofeedback: A Practitioner’s Guide is the classic, encyclopedic text on the practice of biofeedback. The book is well organized, comprehensive, readable, and well-documented and should be on the bookshelf of every student, practitioner, researcher, and instructor in the field of applied psychophysiology.” -- Review in the journal, Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback. For the second edition (and I presume this applies to the 3rd edition too), a review in the same journal (previous name Biofeedback and Self-Regulation) included the following quote: “For anyone entering the biofeedback field, seeking a comprehensive reference or update on the field, or studying for BCIA certification, this text should be consulted first….The biofeedback practitioner who consults this book may feel as if a wise and experienced biofeedback clinician were sitting in the room as a coach….It is informative and thought-provoking even for the most experienced biofeedback practitioner, yet it is accessible to the intelligent beginner.” 

4th Edition. Hardcover published March 2016 and softcover published April 2017. http://www.guilford.com/books/Biofeedback/Schwartz-Andrasik/9781462531943