Synopsis of Psychiatry: Behavioral Sciences, Clinical Psychiatry

I am an undergraduate who has an interest in entering psychiatry as a career. As far as I am concerned this book has to be the best on the market at the moment. It clearly covers both DSM-IV and ICD-10 classification systems (unlike its bigger brother- the comprehensive textbook of psychiatry by the same editors).The text is supplemented with fantastic clinical vignettes, some of which sound like horror stories from pre-pharmaceutical days, but serve to illustrate the points. Its coverage of psychopharmacology is easily superior to that offered by the Oxford Textbook of psychiatry.I would recommend this book to anyone who is more interested than just a 'snapshot' of psychiatry, which should be everyone regardless of your career choice. In my experience general physicians and other health care professionals would do well to be able to recognise mental illness in all their patients, even if not totally relevant at the time. After all it can seriously interfere with patient understanding and compliance. The UG course in psychiatry at Glasgow University (old curriculum) did not address the issue of psychiatric disease well enough in my opinion and almost demands supplementation with a great text like this one.

Psychiatry is something of a mistreated specialty. It is often thought of as merely treating the insane, having little scientific backing and little relevance to the rest of medicine. Doctors Kaplan and Sadock appear to have tackled the critics and the doubters head on. The first six chapters of their superb Synopsis of Psychiatry demonstrate the relevance of the subject to everyone, not just those in the medical profession, whilst detailing the scientific basis of the subject. The book begins with pictures of tablets and pills used in psychiatry as a quick identification aid. There follows chapters on the doctor/patient interaction, human development and the major theories in the study of personality, psychopathology and psychosocial sciences. A chapter on neuroanatomy rivals many major anatomy textbooks in its clarity and detail and precedes excellent chapters on neurophysiology, neurochemistry, neuroimaging and molecular biology. These first six chapters are worth the price of the book alone and are so well written and accessible that they could easily be cut out and reprinted as a popular science book in their own right. I would recommend that students in all fields of medicine read these chapter as they are relevant to all of us and our interactions with others. Chapter seven begins what most people think of as 'psychiatry' with an extensive discussion of the psychiatric interview along with physical and mental examination of the psychiatric patient - even detailing the laboratory tests relevant to psychiatry. The rest of the book then examines the various disorders and therapies, each chapter written in accessible language which camouflages the extraordinary detail therein. Clear tables and diagrams are included where relevant and many disorders are illustrated by way of an example case history. For any student interested in a career in psychiatry, this book is a must. For the rest, the price may prove prohibitive and that is a great pity. For those that can afford it, this book is worth every penny. For the cash-strapped majority, I recommend that you track this down in your local library at the earliest opportunity.

Written from a US perspective it is nonetheless an excellent theoretical and practical text for the UK context. Especially strong in providing summary of the basic sciences underpinning clinical practice. Can be seen as a short reference book rather than merely a synopsis.

thanks

Great book and very handy in grad school.