The second edition of a clear and accessible guide to the application of statistics in psychiatric practice. The book expertly describes statistical concepts in clear and simple terms, with minimal mathematical content, making it the ideal resource for busy mental health professionals. Fully revised throughout, it features five new chapters covering key advances in the field and important topics in greater detail. Amongst the key concepts discussed in this edition are the logic of randomization, clinical trials, the overuse of p-values, understanding effect sizes, meta-analysis and why clinical experience is limited by observational confounding bias. Featuring a wealth of clinical examples, on topics of high importance or controversy in psychiatry, plus explanations and reasoning, to give clinicians a better understanding of how to apply research to their practice.

Although depression is the most common presentation of bipolar disorder, correct diagnosis generally requires a history of mania and thus presents a formidable challenge. This book provides clinicians with the necessary guidance to distinguish this illness and pursue an appropriate therapeutic course. It brings together a team of clinical investigators who offer cutting-edge research on the topic and address the most critical concerns regarding its treatment.

Bipolar Depression first introduces a hierarchical model for diagnosis to allow the clinician to distinguish between bipolar and unipolar depression, addressing problems of misdiagnosis and overdiagnosis as well as differentiating attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and bipolar disorder. Early chapters review the neurobiology and genetics of this highly heritable condition, presenting studies of neurotransmitter function and brain imaging studies and documenting the susceptibility of specific chromosomes as loci for bipolar disorder. Other chapters address the particular issues of bipolar depression in children, for whom a diagnosis is especially problematic, and suicide, focusing on the need for assessment during both acute and maintenance treatment with interventions appropriate to a patient's symptoms and history. Bipolar Depression offers critiques of specific treatment approaches: - Lithium and antiepileptic drugs: featuring a review of the most recent research on the use of lithium, in which higher doses are shown to be effective, plus coverage of lamotrigine, valproic acid, carbamazepine, oxcarbazepine, and topiramate.- Antidepressants: offering new perspectives on a complex field, including a discussion of the randomized clinical trial literature and observational studies on their use, and citing cautions regarding side effects.- Antipsychotics: evaluating the difference between first- and second-generation medications and discussing their role in controlling acute depressions.- Novel approaches to treatment: including the use of atypical neuroleptics, electroconvulsive therapy, transcranial magnetic stimulation, vagus nerve stimulation, ketogenic diet, omega-3 fatty acids, myo-inositol, and dopamine agonists.- Psychological interventions: focusing on the inclusion of cognitive-behavioral therapy or interpersonal social rhythm therapy for nonmelancholic depressions in patients who had previously received psychoeducation.

Despite the past decade's advances in practice and research, there remains much room for progress in understanding and treating bipolar depression. This book blazes a trail toward that goal, opening new doors in recognizing differences between bipolar and unipolar forms of depression while offering both researchers and clinicians key insights into this troubling illness.

Because most psychiatric illnesses are complex phenomena, no single method or approach is sufficient to explain them or the experiences of persons who suffer from them. In The Concepts of Psychiatry S. Nassir Ghaemi, M.D. argues that the discipline of psychiatry can therefore be understood best from a pluralistic perspective. Grounding his approach in the works of Paul McHugh, Phillip Slavney, Leston Havens, and others, Ghaemi incorporates a more explicitly philosophical discussion of the strengths of a pluralistic model and the weaknesses of other approaches, such as biological or psychoanalytic theories, the biopsychosocial model, or eclecticism.

Ghaemi's methodology is twofold: on the one hand, he applies philosophical ideas, such as utilitarian versus duty-based ethical models, to psychiatric practice. On the other hand, he subjects clinical psychiatric phenomena, such as psychosis or the Kraepelin nosology, to a conceptual analysis that is philosophically informed. This book will be of interest to professionals and students in psychiatry, as well as psychologists, social workers, philosophers, and general readers who are interested in understanding the field of psychiatry and its practices at a conceptual level.

Clinical Psychopharmacology offers a comprehensive guide to clinical practice that explores two major aspects of the field: the clinical research that exists to guide clinical practice of psychopharmacology, and the application of that knowledge with attention to the individualized aspects of clinical practice. The text consists of 50 chapters, organized into 6 sections, focusing on disease-modifying effects, non-DSM diagnostic concepts, and essential facts about the most common drugs. This innovative book advocates a scientific and humanistic approach to practice and examines not only the benefits, but also the harms of drugs. Providing a solid foundation of knowledge and a great deal of practical information, this book is a valuable resource for practicing psychiatrists, psychiatric nurse practitioners, medical students and trainees in psychiatry, as well as pharmacists.

This is the first book-length historical critique of psychiatry's mainstream ideology, the biopsychosocial (BPS) model.

Developed in the twentieth century as an outgrowth of psychosomatic medicine, the biopsychosocial model is seen as an antidote to the constraints of the medical model of psychiatry. Nassir Ghaemi details the origins and evolution of the BPS model and explains how, where, and why it fails to live up to its promises. He analyzes the works of its founders, George Engel and Roy Grinker Sr., traces its rise in acceptance, and discusses its relation to the thought of William Osler and Karl Jaspers.

In assessing the biopsychosocial model, Ghaemi provides a philosophically grounded evaluation of the concept of mental illness and the relation between evidence-based medicine and psychiatry. He argues that psychiatry's conceptual core is eclecticism, which in the face of too much freedom paradoxically leads many of its adherents to enact their own dogmas. Throughout, he makes the case for a new paradigm of medical humanism and method-based psychiatry that is consistent with modern science while incorporating humanistic aspects of the art of medicine.

Ghaemi shows how the historical role of the BPS model as a reaction to biomedical reductionism is coming to an end and urges colleagues in the field to embrace other, less-eclectic perspectives.