A new book by Mark Sullivan, MD, PhD, focuses on the bioethics of chronic illness care and the importance of promoting patient autonomy and action. The Patient as Agent of Health and Health Care, published by Oxford University Press, provides a new theory of the patient as the primary agent of health and health care and argues that health care reform must take place at deeper level than has been considered to date. Described as a “clear, thoughtful, detailed, remarkable guide,” The Patient as Agent argues that truly patient-centered care requires a sense of patient-centered health that is perceived by the patient and defined in terms of the patient’s vital goals. If we get health wrong, Dr. Sullivan warns, we will surely get health care wrong.

In Student Stress at the Transition to Middle School, Ann Vander Stoep, PhD, and Kelly Thompson, MSW, provide teachers, counselors, and administrators with a complete package for implementing the “Emotional Health Checkup,” a program designed to identify and help middle school students who are in need of additional emotional support. Published by W. W. Norton & Company, Inc., the book makes a powerful contribution to the field of school mental health by addressing a critical transition in life for adolescents. This “must-read for school personnel” explains how to carry out classroom screening to detect if a student’s stress has shifted from a manageable level to an unhealthy “distress” level and how to follow up with distressed students to create a support plan to address needs for academic, social, or emotional support.  The book also describes how a school decides if the Emotional Health Checkup is a good fit for their school and how to get the school on board to implement the program.