A few months before the final manuscript of this book was sent to the publisher, Dr. Karl A. Menninger died, shortly before his ninety seventh birthday. Thus, when I sat down to write this preface, he was very much on my mind. I remembered that it had been almost forty years since he wrote A Manual for Psychiatric Case Study, not one of his well-known but probably the most practical of his books. The psycho analytically trained part of me began to wonder what had motivated me to write a book on a topic so similar to that which had earlier drawn the attention of my revered teacher. There is no pressing need for another book on psychiatric evaluation; furthermore, evaluation is a very diffi cult subject to write about in a straightforward way. Whatever my unconscious motivations may have been, I hope they were less significant than those of which I was aware. I wrote this book mainly as part of an effort to reverse certain trends in psychiatric educa tion. In the last decade psychiatrists have increasingly been trained in an environment that emphasizes brief evaluation of patients and de emphasizes teaching about the complexity of human behavior and ex perience. Trainees no longer study psychiatric evaluation in a systematic manner. They take fewer intensive histories, fill out forms instead of describing the patient's mental status, and, with rare exceptions, are not taught how to conceptualize biological and psychosocial interactions.

The Perspectives approach to psychiatry focuses on four aspects of psychiatric practice and research: disease, dimensional, behavior, and lifestory. In Systematic Psychiatric Evaluation, Drs. Margaret S. Chisolm and Constantine G. Lyketsos underscore the benefits of this approach, showing how it improves clinicians' abilities to evaluate, diagnose, and treat patients. Drs. Chisolm and Lyketsos use increasingly complex case histories to help the mental health provider evaluate patients demonstrating symptoms of bipolar disorder, psychosis, suicidal ideation, depression, eating disorders, and cutting, among other conditions. The book also includes an exercise that simulates the Perspectives approach side by side with traditional methods, revealing the advantages of a method that engages not one but four points of view. Featuring a foreword by Drs. Paul R. McHugh and Phillip R. Slavney, the originators of the Perspectives approach, this innovative book will be used in psychiatric training programs as well as by practicing mental health clinicians. -- Arnold E. Andersen, M.D., The University of Iowa College of Medicine

A psychiatric assessment is a structured clinical conversation, complemented by observation and mental state examination, and supplemented by a physical examination and the interview of family members when appropriate. After the initial interview, the clinician should be able to establish whether the individual has a mental health problem or not, the nature of the problem, and a plan for the most suitable treatment. Essentials of Psychiatric Assessment provides the resident or beginning psychiatrist with a complete road map to a thorough clinical evaluation.

A fascinating text that addresses the clinical and educational challenges of treating psychiatric patients from a truly multidisciplinary perspective using a case-based format, Approach to the Psychiatric Patient: Case-Based Essays is the only book of its kind and an indispensable addition to the mental health practitioner's library. The new edition builds upon the strengths that distinguished the first, with composite cases that are carefully constructed to capture real-world problems, followed by essays that provide clear and cogent perspectives on the case. These essays cover a wide range, from the more conventional (such as differential diagnosis of anxiety or the clinical characteristics of delirium) to the unusual and intriguing (such as creativity and mental illness or an analysis of the case in relation to the classic, Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde). Every chapter has been revised, and the book boasts many new co-contributors, as well as the addition of completely new essays. For example, in the chapter on geriatric depression, several new essays have been added on the topics of collaborative care and the embedded psychiatrist, depression and medical illness, and biomarkers to identify depression subtypes, while the chapter on terminal illness features new essays on spirituality and meaning-centered therapy. In addition, there are new essays on co-occurring anxiety and alcohol use disorders, medication assisted treatment for stimulant use, treatment of body dysmorphic disorder, and more.The text possesses many useful attributes for the reader: The more than 100 essays were written by a broad range of specialists, each with particular expertise in their aspect of the case, and the resulting commentary is focused and concise. In addition to the case and discussions, each chapter offers an overview and summary points designed to facilitate further consideration of the patient and clinical situation and to focus on the key points. The book's unique structure enhances its flexibility, allowing the reader to read a case and accompanying essays straight through, or to pick and choose as the need or whim arises. The cases' clinical settings are diverse, ranging from inpatient hospitalizations and emergency room evaluations to outpatient assessments and long-term psychotherapies, maximizing relevance and resonance. Each essay has its own bibliography, which provides both rigorous documentation and additional sources for more exploration of the topic. Approach to the Psychiatric Patient: Case-Based Essays distinguishes itself from prior texts in both the richness of its cases and the ingenuity of its format, and its multidisciplinary wisdom and insight will be appreciated by a wide range of readers.

With rapid ageing of the world's population, psychiatry of old age has become a crucial discipline. This succinct guide to the scope and practice of the psychiatry of old age provides an up-to-date summary of existing knowledge, best practice and future challenges for the specialty, from a global perspective. From definitions and demography to epidemiology, aetiology, and principles of assessment, diagnosis and management, each chapter is sharp, clear and practical, enhanced by tables and diagrams for quick assimilation and reference on the ward or in the clinic. As well as the main psychiatric conditions encountered in old age, coverage also includes legal and ethical issues, and the neglected topic of alcohol and drug abuse in the elderly. Written by leading clinicians, teachers and researchers and offering a much-needed international focus, this compact guide is essential reading for practising psychiatrists and geriatricians, as well as trainees, nurses and medical students.

While the ABPN has now supplied such standards for psychiatry, psychiatric interviewing instruction has not been standardized in the US or in other countries. Similarly, the few psychiatric interviewing books available are written in textbook form, often long and often from the subpecialty perspective (e.g. psychodynamic interviewing). Critically, no interviewing guides to date take a true biopsychosocial perspective. That is, they limit themselves to “interviewing” as an isolated technique divorced from full patient assessment, which for quality patient care must include the interface of psychological and social components with biological components. Similarly, few interviewing texts are fully integrated with DSM/ICD categorical diagnostic schemata, even though these descriptive diagnostic systems represent the very core of our clinical language—the lingua franca of the mental health professions. Without good descriptive diagnoses there cannot be adequate communication of clinical data among providers. The proposed book will meet this need for training in biopsychosocial assessment and diagnosis. The patient interview is at the heart of psychiatric practice. Listening and interviewing skills are the primary tools the psychiatrist uses to obtain the information needed to make an accurate diagnosis and then to plan appropriate treatment. The American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology and the Accrediting Council on Graduate Medical Education identify interviewing skills as a core competency for psychiatric residents. The Psychiatric Interview: evaluation and diagnosis is a new and modern approach to this topic that fulfills the need for training in biopsychosocial assessment and diagnosis. It makes use of both classical and new knowledge of psychiatric diagnosis, assessment, treatment planning and doctor-patient collaboration. Written by world leaders in education, the book is based on the acclaimed Psychiatry Third Edition by Tasman, Kay et al, with new chapters to address assessment in special populations and formulation. The psychiatric interview is conceptualized as integrating the patient's experience with psychological, biological, and environmental components of the illness. This is an excellent new text for psychiatry residents at all stages of their training. It is also useful for medical students interested in psychiatry and for practicing psychiatrists who may wish to refresh their interviewing skills.

Many published books that comment on the medical model have been written by doctors, who assume that readers have the same knowledge of medicine, or by those who have attempted to discredit and attack the medical practice. Both types of book have tended to present diagnostic categories in medicine as universally scientifically valid examples of clear-cut diseases easily distinguished from each other and from health; with a fixed prognosis; and with a well-understood aetiology leading to disease-reversing treatments. These are contrasted with psychiatric diagnoses and treatments, which are described as unclear and inadequate in comparison. The Medical Model in Mental Health: An Explanation and Evaluation explores the overlap between the usefulness of diagnostic constructs (which enable prognosis and treatment decisions) and the therapeutic effectiveness of psychiatry compared with general medicine. The book explains the medical model and how it applies in mental health, assuming little knowledge or experience of medicine, and defends psychiatry as a medical practice.

Two Johns Hopkins psychiatrists explain the Perspectives approach to evaluating patients with psychiatric disorders. The Perspectives approach to psychiatry focuses on four aspects of psychiatric practice and research: disease, dimensional, behavior, and lifestory. In Systematic Psychiatric Evaluation, Drs. Margaret S. Chisolm and Constantine G. Lyketsos underscore the benefits of this approach, showing how it improves clinicians' abilities to evaluate, diagnose, and treat patients. Drs. Chisolm and Lyketsos use increasingly complex case histories to help the mental health provider evaluate patients demonstrating symptoms of bipolar disorder, psychosis, suicidal ideation, depression, eating disorders, and cutting, among other conditions. The book also includes an exercise that simulates the Perspectives approach side by side with traditional methods, revealing the advantages of a method that engages not one but four points of view. Featuring a foreword by Drs. Paul R. McHugh and Phillip R. Slavney, the originators of the Perspectives approach, this innovative book will be used in psychiatric training programs as well as by practicing mental health clinicians.

The aim of the American Psychiatric Association Practice Guideline series is to improve patient care. Guidelines provide a comprehensive synthesis of all available information relevant to the clinical topic. Practice guidelines can be vehicles for educating psychiatrists, other medical and mental health professionals, and the general public about appropriate and inappropriate treatments. The series also will identify those areas in which critical information is lacking and in which research could be expected to improve clinical decisions. The Practice Guidelines are also designed to help those charged with overseeing the utilization and reimbursement of psychiatric services to develop more scientifically based and clinically sensitive criteria.