The Instruments of Psychiatric Research


Book Description

This is the first book to deal comprehensively with psychiatric research instruments. Records, reviews and evaluates the most commonly used research techniques, ranging from operational diagnosis through standardized clinical interviews, measurement of psychiatric and neurotic symptoms and ratings of the severity of specific syndromes.




Mental Health Outcome Measures


Book Description

This new edition charts the increased range of mental health outcome domains that are now measurable, while reflecting a new emphasis on positive outcomes and recovery, and the central role of the service user's experience.




The Postmortem Brain in Psychiatric Research


Book Description

Because of the dearth of experimental animal models of psychiatric disorders, the study of the effect of the disease state is only possible in tissue derived from patients vs. controls, especially in the target tissue of disease-related changes in the brain. The human postmortem brain offers the most appropriate experimental paradigm towards understanding the etiology of psychiatric disorders. The availability of post-mortem human samples from psychiatric patients and comparison groups in recent years has contributed prominently to the accumulating body of information leading to a better understanding of these disorders. This is the first book to summarize this research approach and the meaningful data which has recently been acquired.




Mental Health Outcome Measures


Book Description

Guides the reader through the minefield of mental health outcome measurement.




Handbook of Psychiatric Measures


Book Description

The Handbook of Psychiatric Measures offers a concise summary of key evaluations that you can easily incorporate into your daily practice. The measures will enhance the quality of patient care assisting you, both in diagnosis and assessment of outcomes. Comprising a wide range of methods available for assessing persons with mental health problems, the Handbook contains more than 275 rating methods, from the Abnormal Involuntary Movement Scale to the Zung Self-Rating Depression Scale. In this fully revised edition, more than 40 measures have been added both to the book and to the accompanying CD-ROM. The Handbook features: Thoroughly examined and revised measures that provide the most relevant and timely information for clinicians. New measures that empirically provide better patient evaluation Updated costs, translations, and contact information for each measure This handy compendium includes both diagnostic tools and measures of symptoms, function and quality of life, medication side effects, and other clinically relevant parameters. It focuses on measures that can be most readily used in either clinical practice or research. Most of the measures are designed to improve the reliability and validity of patient assessment over what might be accomplished in a standard clinical interview. The measures also demonstrate that the use of formal measures can improve the collection, synthesis, and reporting of information as compared with the use of unstructured examinations. Seventeen disorder-specific chapters, organized in DSM-IV-TR order, include measures for: Disorders of childhood and adolescence Cognitive disorders Sexual dysfunction Eating disorders Sleep disorders Aggression and much more. The discussion of each measure includes goals, description, practical issues, psychometric properties, and clinical utility, followed by references and suggested readings. This revised edition includes updated measure descriptions, new measure variants and research, and newly selected measures particularly appropriate to the domain of discussion. As a clinical tool, this book Describes how, when, and to what purpose measures are used Points out practical issues to consider in choosing a measure for clinical use Addresses limitations in the use of measures including ethnic, cultural, and socioeconomic factors that influence their interpretation Use of this special resource is further enhanced by a CD-ROM containing the full text of more than 150 of these measures -- an invaluable aid for reference and clinical decision-making.




An Introduction to Psychiatric Research


Book Description

Today, professionals treating psychiatric patients are being required to demonstrate quantitatively to the public & to government, insurance, & accrediting agencies that their treatment is based on patients' needs, is appropriate, & is cost-effective. An Introduction to Psychiatric Research provides tools for complying with these demands as well as for undertaking other sorts of scientific inquiries.




Psychological Evaluations for the Courts, Third Edition


Book Description

This is the definitive reference and text for both mental health and legal professionals. The authors offer a uniquely comprehensive discussion of the legal and clinical contexts of forensic assessment, along with best-practice guidelines for participating effectively and ethically in a wide range of criminal and civil proceedings. Presented are findings, instruments, and procedures related to criminal and civil competencies, civil commitment, sentencing, personal injury claims, antidiscrimination laws, child custody, juvenile justice, and more.




The Essentials of Postgraduate Psychiatry


Book Description

The third edition of this highly successful postgraduate psychiatry text offers a comprehensive review of the characteristic causes and treatment of the main psychiatric disorders. As with earlier editions it is subdivided into four parts: models and principles; origins, presentation and course of major clinical symptoms; psychiatry in the social, forensic and medical contexts; treatments both biological and psychological. It is also extensively referenced throughout and emphasises the relationship of research findings to clinical practice. The text has been extensively revised and updated in line with the most recent developments in psychiatric practice and thinking. In particular, more discussion is given to measurement issues, concepts of illness, brain function and neurophysiology. The highly distinguished team of contributors has also been enhanced through the introduction of one or two of the newer stars in the field. This new edition will without doubt be valued by all members of the multidisciplinary mental health care team as well as general practitioners who seek an authoritative yet readable account of modern psychiatry.







Integrated Mental Health Services


Book Description

This book deals with the provision of psychiatric services to populations, a task which requires an integrated system of service components. Generally the target population comprises the residents of a specific geographic area, but it may be a special population, such as homeless people or people with AIDS. Community psychiatry does not deal only with the interaction between a patient and a doctor, but with the system of services and interactions that is needed to treat a variety of patients and to provide long-term care, support, and rehabilitation for patients with chronic disorders. Modern community psychiatry is pragmatic rather than doctrinaire; it measures its success in cost-effectiveness rather than by its faithfulness to any particular theoretical model. It stresses interdisciplinary teamwork and the involvement of consumers. These lessons, learned by community psychiatrists working in the public sector over several decades, are now being increasingly applied in the private sector as better organized, managed systems of care are evolving. This book describes the history of public mental health services and the underpinnings of modern community psychiatry in epidemiology, mental health services research, and administration. It then describes the methods and strategies used to provide the range of services that constitute a comprehensive mental health program. The authors discuss the public health principles that underlie community approaches and present the methods used within the several components of a comprehensive service system to address the needs of specific populations, stressing interdisciplinary teamwork and coordination within an integrated service network.