Psychiatry

Abstract

This chapter in the Oxford Handbook of Clinical Specialties explores the specialty of psychiatry. It discusses seeing patients, taking a psychiatric history, the mental state exam, risk assessment, confidentiality, physical examination, descriptive psychopathology, the classification of disorders (ICD-10/DSM-5), and community care. It explores schizophrenia, depression, bipolar affective disorder, anxiety, withdrawing psychotropics, suicide, self-harm, crisis intervention, urgent psychiatry situations, and managing violence. It describes dealing with delirium, dementia, depression, psychosis, and behavioural difficulties, as well as disorders of sleep, autism spectrum disorders, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, intellectual disability, and personality, eating, psychosexual, and perinatal disorders. It examines therapies and psychotherapies including cognitive, behavioural, dynamic, systemic/family, counselling, and supportive, group, play, and art therapies. It discusses compulsory treatment and hospitalization, the Mental Health Act law and consent, and capacity.