This is the second edition of a successful one volume textbook which honors the long and productive research, clinical and teaching career of Dr. Michael G. Madianos. The book succeeds greatly in addressing the totality of fields of psychiatry and it is both practical and innovative.The book has been enriched to include future in psychiatry.
The book is well organized in ten sections and contains 48 chapters.There are too many chapters to comment on them individually.The book introduces new themes that are both informative and interesting.
The first section which includes the “History of Psychiatry” provides a synopsis of psychiatric transformations and provides the reader with a glimpse into the development in psychiatry in Greece. Given the fact that history of mental health care is not limited in geographical boundaries, this chapter would be a great reference for Greek and non-Greek health care professionals as well. The “Human and its personality”, “Micro-macro environment”, “Epidemiology” represent the genetic and environmental factors that play an important role in the development and formation of the personality in relation with the pathogenesis of mental disorders.This section reviews in brief the roles and disciplines of the whole therapeutic team.
The second part presents the nosological entities of all psychiatric disorders and provides evidence-based information on the etiological factors, epidemiology, diagnosis, prediction and management. Diagnostic criteria of DSM IV and ICD 10 are presented covering all mental disorders. It is of note that Child psychiatry is given extended attention.
The third section deals with some truly interested themes on special topics in Psychiatry such as Differential diagnostics, Comorbidity, Time and psychopathology and Geriatric psychiatry.
The fourth section reviews pharmacological, psychological and psychosocial treatment. The chapters focus on therapies including discussion on pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, psychotropic medication and somatic therapies. Dr. Madianos does an excellent job of synthesizing the information concerning all forms of therapies into readable tables.
The fifth section describes hospital treatment, emergency, acute care and liaison psychiatry.The information given is accurate and well-organized in tables to help the physician deal with critical incidents. The author presents helpful guidelines for evaluating and minimizing the risk of violence.
The sixth section reviews Social and Community Psychiatry, Preventive Psychiatry, Psychosocial Rehabilitation. The author presents mental health care reforms in general and in Greece as well. Especially the chapter referring to prevention emerge the need for the prevention of mental illness as the next frontier in mental health research.
The seventh part discuss a very interested topic that concerns patient’s quality of life.This provides a shift and a broader conceptualization of psychiatric patient’s treatment as a social human being.
The eighth and ninth parts deal with research and psychiatry and emphasizes in evidence-based psychiatry and the newly represented themes of informatics and telepsychiatry respectively.This is a thoughtful formulation of future issues.
The last part discusses clinical, legal and ethical issues in psychiatry.
There is an extensive appendix providing detail information on prescription of psychotropic drugs in Greek Formulary, a sample psychiatric diagnostic and clinical evaluation, a copy of the Mini Mental State Examination, a copy of Global Assessment of Functioning Scale and the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM IV diagnoses (SCID I).
There are some truly outstanding chapters in this collection.The example of Nosology of “Psychiatric disorders” manages to provide a useful and practical structure for students and professionals as well.The chapters are well-written and concise.
“Substance-related mental and personality disorders” is a practical overview of a group of conditions that has received insufficient attention but represent an important topic of public concern.
“Social and community psychiatry” is a comprehensive overview that reflects the expertise of the author.
Each chapter contains a number of references for students who are interested in additional information. Terminology is carefully presented. The concepts are described effectively by providing illustrative tables and figures. It can serve as an exceptional primer and overview for students and a comprehensive tool for clinical psychiatric issues for specialists and anyone interested in the psychiatry.
The book’s goal is to provide the reader with a broad but concise picture of psychiatry. Dr. Madianos’s intent is that the book will serve as a textbook in clinical psychiatry that will capture the interest of students and professionals as well.
This book is an excellent reference for any mental health professional, psychiatrist or nonpsychiatrist physician or anyone interest in the field. “Clinical psychiatry” is a valuable book and Dr. Madianos is to be congratulated for his rich contribution to psychiatric field.
