Brand New Publication: General Practice: The Integrative Approach - by Professor Kerryn Phelps & Dr Craig Hassed

Sydney, Australia, October 23, 2010 --(PR.com)-- Elsevier Australia is very proud to announce the forthcoming publication of an exciting new book by Professor Kerryn Phelps & Dr Craig Hassed – ‘General Practice: The Integrative Approach’ which will publish in November 2010.

Professor Kerryn Phelps and Dr Craig Hassed bring with them a wealth of experience in the area of both General Practice and Integrative Medicine and offer medical students, general practitioners and practitioners of integrative medicine/complementary and alternative medicine a resource for practising in today’s environment.

The book covers the philosophy underpinning general practice in the 21st Century, and deals with primary and secondary prevention as well as acute and chronic disease management.

General Practitioners are increasingly needing to come to terms with the concept and application of Integrative Medicine where their patients choose to combine both traditional and alternative therapy treatments to treat a range of medical conditions. It is imperative that General Practitioners understand the benefits and limitations of complementary and alternative therapies so that they can manage their patients condition to ensure the best and most positive outcome.

Professor Kerryn Phelps was elected as the President of the Australasian Integrative Medical Association Inc. (AIMA) in December 2009. Known to many as "Dr Kerryn," she has been a familiar face to many Australians since the 1980s. Since that time she has appeared regularly on television, radio and in the print media informing the Australian public on a wide range of health issues. She is particularly focused on bringing the message of integrative medicine, public health and human rights issues to the public at large.

In May 2000, she was elected Federal President of the Australian Medical Association, becoming the first woman to head this organisation and serving a maximum term of three years.

In 2003 Professor Phelps was awarded the Centenary Medal by the Australian Government for services to Health and Medicine. That same year she was appointed Adjunct Professor at Sydney University in the Faculty of Medicine in the Schools of Public Health and the Discipline of General Practice.

In 2010 Professor Phelps became Conjoint Professor in the School of Public Health and Community Medicine at the University of NSW. She continues to consult with patients at her Sydney clinics.

Professor Phelps is also the current health writer for the ‘Australian Women’s Weekly’ and writes medico-political commentary for ‘Medical Observer Magazine’.

Dr Craig Hassed is a General Practitioner and Deputy Head of Department at the Monash University Department of General Practice. His teaching, research and clinical interests include mindfulness-based stress management, mind-body medicine, meditation, holistic healthcare, health promotion, complementary therapies and medical ethics. Craig is regularly invited to speak and run courses in Australia and overseas and is a regular media commentator on these issues. He also writes regularly for medical journals and has published four books; “New Frontiers in Medicine” (Volumes 1 and 2), a third book on mindfulness-based stress management entitled “Know Thyself” and a fourth on an holistic lifestyle approach to healthcare, “The Essence of Health”.

An official book launch for ‘General Practice: The Integrative Approach’ by Professor Phelps & Dr Hassed will take place at the Australian Museum in Sydney in late November.

For more information about this book please visit: http://shop.elsevier.com.au/phelps

For media and press enquiries please contact Annabel Dent on email: a.dent@elsevier.com or Tel: (02) 9422 8554.

###