Product Description

The New Oxford Textbook of Psychiatry is the definitive source for all psychiatrists and trainees, now available for the first time in paperback at low cost. It covers all areas of general psychiatry in depth, and includes sections on each of the subspecialties (for example child psychiatry and forensic psychiatry). It is designed to be used by those in higher training, for continuing education and reaccreditation, and as a specialists' reference. The textbook has been planned with the three themes of contemporary psychiatry in mind. First, the subject has become more unified: there are no longer competing theoretical schools; the biological and psychosocial models have been largely reconciled; and the scientific and clinical points of view have been brought together in an evidence-based approach. The second theme is the importance of the social context in which psychiatry is practised, particularly as this takes place increasingly in the community. Thirdly, the practice of psychiatry is becoming increasingly similar in different countries; this book takes a worldwide approach with expert contributions from many countries. Accounts of clinical practice are linked to the underlying science, and to the evidence for the efficacy of treatments. Physical and psychological treatments, including psychodynamic approaches, are covered in depth. The history of psychiatry, ethics, public health aspects, and public attitudes to psychiatry and to patients, are all given due attention. The book opens with a subject which is central to the editors' view of the practice of psychiatry: the patient's experience of psychiatric illness. Oxford University Press now publishes an integrated set of psychiatry textbooks offering a high-quality book for every stage of training. Psychiatry: An Oxford Core Text is ideal for medical students; trainees will continue to find the Shorter Oxford Textbook of Psychiatry an ideal grounding in the practice of psychiatry which is particularly appropriate for postgraduate examinations; and the New Oxford Textbook of Psychiatry completes the trinity with a truly international, comprehensive, and scientifically based reference work. This new paperback edition brings the New Oxford Textbook of Psychiatry within the reach of every practising psychiatrist.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #547376 in Books
• Published on: 2003-07-03
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 2
• Binding: Paperback
• 2432 pages

About the Author
Professor Gelder was formerly Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Oxford and is the co-author of Psychiatry: An Oxford Core Text and the Shorter Oxford Textbook of Psychiatry

Customer Reviews

A comprehensive and heavyweight book with a light touch
This two volume book is a reference text covering in detail the whole subject of psychiatry. Although it weighs in at over 7kg and has over 2000 pages, it is a credit to the editors (three of psychiatry's biggest hitters) that it manages to maintain a light touch and readability that is rare in works of this sort. The list of the (roughly) 300 contributors to the various chapters reads like a Who's Who of psychiatry, with each author writing about his or her specialist field.

The volume starts with a general overview of psychiatry and includes a chapter on psychiatry and the media by Professor Anthony Clare, the expanding role of psychiatrists as managers and other fundamentals of the subject. After chapters on the contributions of both basic sciences and psychodynamic thought to psychiatry, the core subjects are covered. In these, the latest research findings in basic sciences are blended with clinical research and practice. The chapters are written in a dynamic style, with the occasional gem such as that in the chapter on hallucinogen and phencyclidine use 'Differentiating the two drugs in emergencies is important...one rapid bedside test to differentiaite the two drugs is the palm sign. The examiner asks the patient to describe the names of all the colours in the examiner's outstretched palm. A typical LSD patient reports with misplaced awe a vision of multiple colours and images. A phencyclidine patient simply attacks the hand'. Overall, although the text is quite expensive, it is a work of great authority and easy style. I would certainly recommend it to professionals in the field.