Forensic psychiatry
Forensic psychiatry Forensic psychiatry is a sub-speciality concerned with the assessment and treatment of mentally disordered offenders. A large part of the work of forensic psychiatrists is the assessment of…
Organic causes of psychiatric symptoms
Organic causes of psychiatric symptoms On pages 72 and 73, we discussed how organic disease can present with cognitive impairment. Patients with organic disease can also present with psychiatric symptoms…
Assessment of risk
Assessment of risk Assessment of patients with mental illness is not complete without an assessment of risk. The following risks should be considered in every case: suicide deliberate self harm…
Management plan and formulation
Management plan and formulation Management plan The management plan is a comprehensive plan of action that starts with the differential diagnosis and investigations necessary to reach a firm diagnosis, and…
Eating disorders
Eating disorders Anorexia nervosa was first described by William Gull in 1868 and is characterised by deliberate and extreme weight loss. In bulimia nervosa, episodes of overeating are followed by…
Psychiatry in primary care
Psychiatry in primary care The majority of people who are diagnosed with a mental illness have no contact with the psychiatric services; instead they are treated by their general practitioner…
Liaison psychiatry
Liaison psychiatry Very few disorders can be considered to wholly affect the body but not the mind, and vice versa. The majority of psychiatric disorders have some impact upon the…
Alcohol dependence I
Alcohol dependence I Introduction Alcohol is the most popular of the psychoactive substances available for recreational use. In small quantities it has a stimulating effect, lifting the mood and causing…
Learning disability
Learning disability As with many other areas of psychiatry, the terminology used to describe what ICD10 classifies as mental retardation has changed regularly, to reflect changing philosophies of care and…
Obsessive–compulsive disorder
Obsessive–compulsive disorder The characteristic features of obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD) are obsessions and compulsions which interfere with a person’s ability to cope with their daily life. Obsessions, also known as obsessional…
