Abstract

The second edition of A Primer of Clinical Psychiatry provides a broad overview of the major topics in psychiatry and provides the clinical skills necessary for competent clinical practice. It also includes an up-to-date overview of the scientific literature behind this fascinating and challenging medical discipline.

This book covers in detail the psychiatric interview, the mental state examination, and clinical investigations relevant to psychiatry.

All of the major syndromes of psychiatry are addressed including schizophrenia, depressive disorders, bipolar disorder, anxiety, post-traumatic disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorders, eating disorders, somatoform disorders and personality disorders and cover epidemiology, aetiology and clinical aspects, and discussion of specific treatment approaches.

A separate section reviews biological and psychosocial aspects of treatment in psychiatry, with worked case examples. A chapter on psychiatric emergencies is included in this section.

Discrete chapters cover specialist areas such as child and adolescent psychiatry, old age psychiatry, forensic psychiatry, dual disability and substance use disorders.

Enhancing each chapter is a case-based role-play scenario, complete with model answers. Each scenario is set out to model modern pedagogical theory, with roles, setting, tasks, and model answers all articulated and cross-referenced to the core text. Readers can adopt various roles within the scenarios, including that of the doctor (general practice registrars, interns, and residents), allied health staff, or patients themselves and their relatives. The scenarios cover everything from basic skills such as taking a history or describing a disorder, to more advanced problems, such as working with the hostile family and assessing risk in the emergency setting. This case-based role-play approach is ideal for those preparing for psychiatry Observed Structured Clinical Examinations (OSCEs).

A Primer of Clinical Psychiatry 2^nd edition aims to introduce the pertinent facts of clinical psychiatry to medical students and students of mental health disciplines. It will also be a useful resource for established clinicians, including GPs and the more advanced psychiatric trainee or mental health professional.