This text seeks to inform health and social care staff who inevitably work with problems that have a mixture of bio-psycho-social influences. The helping professions therefore require some knowledge of all three areas in order to assess and treat effectively. The text highlights the principles of evidence based practice in health and social care and explores the current understanding of the influence of genetic, epigenetic and environmental factors on behaviour. The developmental stages when learning is most likely to occur from infancy to old age are examined, with case studies and implications for practice discussed throughout.

There is a growing body of evidence that genetic and epigenetic (pre-dispositional) factors play a larger role in psychological development than was previously understood. The text highlights this research, but in order to promote as “Genes via environment” thinking, rather than reinforcing the more polarized, already established, “Nurture versus Nature” debate.

The text comprises six chapters. Chapter 1 identifies the principles of evidence based practice in health and social care including ethical considerations when choosing which interventions to provide and commission. Chapter 2 explores the complex combination of genetic, epigenetic and environmental factors that may cause or contribute to developmental and psychological disorders in childhood and severe mental illness in adults. This chapter would be of particular interest to trainee psychologists, those working in Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) and student mental health nurses.

Chapter 3 examines the influence of learning on development, including an overview of the established theories on how learning takes place. The case studies are of clinical presentations to social work departments. As any therapeutic interventions would be delivered by mental health services, rather than social care professionals, the examples would be more helpful for health staff such as psychologists and nurses. Chapter 4 reviews the evidence supporting the theory that there are common stages of cognitive, intellectual, emotional and moral development when learning is most likely to occur. This chapter would be most useful for those working with children and families in health or social care for its explanations of what is known about psychological development and the clinical implications for when it is disrupted.

Chapter 5 focuses on the developments and challenges associated with adolescence and early adulthood. This includes the physical influences experienced by teenagers and the adaptation of skills required to become an independent adult. The text concludes with Chapter 6, which considers the last two transitional stages of development, that of middle life and old age, and the implications for psycho-social provision. This text would therefore be of benefit to professionals working in services commissioned to work with these age groups.

The text offers guidance to the helping professions on how to ensure they are delivering psycho-social interventions based on current research that is of good quality. There is a reminder of the ethical considerations in ensuring that the services offered to those in need are evidence based, rather than because of professional managerial or commissioner bias.

A strength of the text is that it is designed for those working in both health and social care. It would therefore have appeal for social workers and mental health nurses, for example, who are increasingly working in overlapping roles. The learning theory chapter is dense and there are some references throughout the text that do not necessarily add to the reader's understanding of the issues being explored.

The importance of emphasizing the ethical considerations of providing evidence based care cannot be underestimated. I would therefore particularly recommend this book to trainees in the helping professions, in order to help instil in them a culture of evidence based thinking and learning at the early stages of their professional development.