"This book, now revised in a section edition, examines the problem of over-diagnosis in psychiatry, focusing on problems with current diagnostic systems. It will show that diagnosis is not always a good guide to treatment selection, and that diagnoses have bee expanded in scope to justify currently popular methods of pharmacotherapy or psychotherapy. The most important categories that are over-diagnosed are bipolar disorders, major depression, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder. The boundary of pathology and normality remains unclear. This edition will also discuss dimensional systems that are transdiagnostic, and show how over-diagnosis is linked to the practice of aggressive psychopharmacology"--
Bringing together treatment and referral advice from existing guidelines, this text aims to improve access to services and recognition of common mental health disorders in adults and provide advice on the principles that need to be adopted to develop appropriate referral and local care pathways.
This book addresses the unique sociocultural and historical systems of oppression that have alienated African-American and other racial minority patients within the mental healthcare system. This text aims to build a novel didactic curriculum addressing racism, justice, and community mental health as these issues intersect clinical practice. Unlike any other resource, this guide moves beyond an exploration of the problem of racism and its detrimental effects, to a practical, solution-oriented discussion of how to understand and approach the mental health consequences with a lens and sensitivity for contemporary justice issues. After establishing the historical context of racism within organized medicine and psychiatry, the text boldly examines contemporary issues, including clinical biases in diagnosis and treatment, addiction and incarceration, and perspectives on providing psychotherapy to racial minorities. The text concludes with chapters covering training and medical education within this sphere, approaches to supporting patients coping with racism and discrimination, and strategies for changing institutional practices in mental healthcare. Written by thought leaders in the field, Racism and Psychiatry is the only current tool for psychiatrists, psychologists, administrators, educators, medical students, social workers, and all clinicians working to treat patients dealing with issues of racism at the point of mental healthcare.
The German version of this work has a long tradition, and this fourth edition is the first to see an English version. Its main feature is the international approach regarding both authors and topics. The four internationally renowned editors were able to acquire the leading specialists for each field as contributors to the book. No less than 120 authors, half of them from non-German speaking countries, ensure an extremely high standard and that cross-cultural aspects are considered. Another major feature is that the book presents the evidence such that it may be examined from at least four different entry points -- via basic disciplines of psychiatric knowledge about groups defined by demographic criteria. Detailed linkages to other chapters allow the inclusion of neighbouring disciplines, such as the neurosciences and molecular biology. Contemporary Psychiatry is also unique in including chapters on psychiatric disorders caused by catastrophes, disasters etc. -- aspects totally neglected by normal textbooks. While this book gives an overall view of the state of the art of psychiatric knowledge, it even goes so far as to suggest future perspectives.
This book is a guide for psychiatrists struggling to incorporate transformational strategies into their clinical work. The book begins with an overview of the concept of critical psychiatry before focusing its analytic lens on the DSM diagnostic system, the influence of the pharmaceutical industry, the crucial distinction between drug-centered and disease-centered approaches to pharmacotherapy, the concept of “de-prescribing,” coercion in psychiatric practice, and a range of other issues that constitute the targets of contemporary critiques of psychiatric theory and practice. Written by experts in each topic, this is the first book to explicate what has come to be called critical psychiatry from an unbiased and clinically relevant perspective. Critical Psychiatry is an excellent, practical resource for clinicians seeking a solid foundation in the contemporary controversies within the field. General and forensic psychiatrists; family physicians, internists, and pediatricians who treat psychiatric patients; and mental health clinicians outside of medicine will all benefit from its conceptual insights and concrete advice.
In this stirring and beautifully written wake-up call, psychiatrist Daniel Carlat writes with bracing honesty about how psychiatry has so largely forsaken the practice of talk therapy for the seductive—and more lucrative—practice of simply prescribing drugs, with a host of deeply troubling consequences. Psychiatrist Daniel Carlat has noticed a pattern plaguing his profession. Psychiatrists have settled for treating symptoms rather than causes, embracing the apparent medical rigor of DSM diagnoses and prescription in place of learning the more challenging craft of therapeutic counseling, gaining only limited understanding of their patients’ lives. Talk therapy takes time, whereas the fifteen-minute "med check" allows for more patients and more insurance company reimbursement. Yet, DSM diagnoses, he shows, are premised on a good deal less science than we would think. Writing from an insider’s perspective, with refreshing forthrightness about his own daily struggles as a practitioner, Dr. Carlat shares a wealth of stories from his own practice and those of others that demonstrate the glaring shortcomings of the standard fifteen-minute patient visit. He also reveals the dangers of rampant diagnoses of bipolar disorder, ADHD, and other "popular" psychiatric disorders, and exposes the risks of the cocktails of medications so many patients are put on. Especially disturbing are the terrible consequences of overprescription of drugs to children of ever younger ages. Taking us on a tour of the world of pharmaceutical marketing, he also reveals the inner workings of collusion between psychiatrists and drug companies. Concluding with a road map for exactly how the profession should be reformed, Unhinged is vital reading for all those in treatment or considering it, as well as a stirring call to action for the large community of psychiatrists themselves. As physicians and drug companies continue to work together in disquieting and harmful ways, and as diagnoses—and misdiagnoses—of mental disorders skyrocket, it’s essential that Dr. Carlat’s bold call for reform is heeded.
The revisions of both DSM-IV and ICD-10 have again focused the interest of the field of psychiatry and clinical psychology on the issue of nosology. This interest has been further heightened by a series of controversies associated with the development of DSM-5 including the fate of proposed revisions of the personality disorders, bereavement, and the autism spectrum. Major debate arose within the DSM process about the criteria for changing criteria, leading to the creation of first the Scientific Review Committee and then a series of other oversight committees which weighed in on the final debates on the most controversial proposed additions to DSM-5, providing important influences on the final decisions. Contained within these debates were a range of conceptual and philosophical issues. Some of these - such as the definition of mental disorder or the problems of psychiatric “epidemics” - have been with the field for a long time. Others - the concept of epistemic iteration as a framework for the introduction of nosologic change - are quite new. This book reviews issues within psychiatric nosology from clinical, historical and particularly philosophical perspectives. The book brings together a range of distinguished authors - including major psychiatric researchers, clinicians, historians and especially nosologists - including several leaders of the DSM-5 effort and the DSM Steering Committee. It also includes contributions from psychologists with a special interest in psychiatric nosology and philosophers with a wide range of orientations. The book is organized into four major sections: The first explores the nature of psychiatric illness and the way in which it is defined, including clinical and psychometric perspectives. The second section examines problems in the reification of psychiatric diagnostic criteria, the problem of psychiatric epidemics, and the nature and definition of individual symptoms. The third section explores the concept of epistemic iteration as a possible governing conceptual framework for the revision efforts for official psychiatric nosologies such as DSM and ICD and the problems of validation of psychiatric diagnoses. The book ends by exploring how we might move from the descriptive to the etiologic in psychiatric diagnoses, the nature of progress in psychiatric research, and the possible benefits of moving to a living document (or continuous improvement) model for psychiatric nosologic systems. The result is a book that captures the dynamic cross-disciplinary interactions that characterize the best work in the philosophy of psychiatry.
This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. To ensure a quality reading experience, this work has been proofread and republished using a format that seamlessly blends the original graphical elements with text in an easy-to-read typeface. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.
