Clinical Assessment of Malingering and Deception (3rd edn). Edited by Richard Rogers, Guilford Press. 2008. US$65.00 (hb). 526pp. ISBN: 9781593856991

Psychiatrists and psychologists commonly conduct assessments where ‘clients’ may, for a host of reasons, attempt to feign mental disorders, psychopathology and neuropsychological deficits. When psychopathology or deficits are identified, they may play an important part in the outcome of the case, whether civil (e.g. compensation) or criminal (e.g. competency issues).

This edited book, which consists of 24 chapters by experts in the field, is in its third edition. It demonstrates the remarkable expansion in the field of malingering and other forms of deception since its first edition in 1988. Major advances have taken place in the development of detection strategies, which include the use of multiple measures rather than relying on a single test, and their solid conceptual foundation and empirical validation. The book's focus is on malingering, but it contains chapters on a range of issues that do not fall directly within this area such as the use of polygraph techniques (e.g. with sex offenders), the controversial field of recovered and false memories, and deception in children and adolescents. A huge strength of the book is the exceptional breadth of relevant subject matter, the appropriate detail and comprehensiveness of each chapter and their consistently good quality.

The book sends a clear message to all clinicians: be vigilant to deception in every case, be well acquainted with the numerous publications on malingering and the tests available to detect deliberate and consequential deception, keep up to date with the rapidly growing research base, incorporate multiple measures of deception into your assessment battery, and when deception is identified describe the person's apparent motivation to deceive without making unsubstantiated inferences regarding their character and personality. This is a very tall, and many would argue unrealistic, order for most clinicians. The field of malingering is rapidly expanding and it should probably be viewed as a specialty in its own right. The best first step for all clinicians is to read this comprehensive, authoritative and informative book. They can then make an informed decision about whether they want to change their practice and how to do it.