Oxford handbook of psychiatry

The Oxford Handbook of Psychiatry is a new book directed at medical students, doctors coming to psychiatry for the first time, psychiatric trainees, and other professionals who may have to deal with patients with psychiatric problems. It is written by a group of experienced, middle-grade psychiatrists and is designed to provide easy access to the information required by psychiatry trainees on the wards or on-call. It closely follows the familiar format of the Oxford Handbooks series, and provides coverage that is comprehensive, evidence based and practical.


The content of the handbook is written in the concise, note-based style characteristic of the series, with topics confined to single pages. The book is divided into four sections: Fundamentals of Psychiatric Practice; General Adult Psychiatry; Psychiatric Subspecialties; and Useful Reference Material. Within each chapter, topics are covered in a clear, logical, manner.


For the clinical disorders there is detailed information on the aetiology, epidemiology, clinical features, common differential diagnoses, assessment / investigation, management, and prognosis. There is in-depth coverage of psychiatric assessment, psychopathology, evidence-based practice, mental health legislation in the UK, therapeutic issues, transcultural psychiatry, and eponyms in psychiatry.


The book is internally cross-referenced and has both key references to important papers and to further information resources. As well as being indexed alphabetically, it is also indexed by ICD-10 / DSM-IV codes, and there is a quick index for acute presentations.


This Handbook is practical and directive in style, designed to provide portable reassurance to doctors beginning psychiatry. There is helpful advice for the management of difficult and urgent situations, and the text is peppered with clinical observations on the practice of clinical psychiatry and guidance based upon the experience of the authors.