Norman Sartorius

Many mentally ill people are the victims of stigma, which leads to additional suffering and humiliation. Negative stereotypes and prejudicial attitudes against them are often reinforced by their media representation as unpredictable, violent and dangerous. Hence the importance of the study of stigma as an explanatory construct of much that transpires in the management of the mentally ill in our societies. This book describes the experience of stigmatization at the level of the individual, and...

Around the world, a vast number of children and adolescents suffer from mental and neurological disorders and only a small proportion of them receive adequate care. This is so in both developing and developed countries. The need to raise awareness about this problem and provide specific advice regarding their prevention and treatment was identified as a priority for the World Psychiatric Association by Professor Ahmed Okasha during his Presidency of the Association and resulted in the creation...

This series acknowledges the substantial gap that still exists in psychiatry between research evidence and clinical practice: clinicians are sometimes incompletely aware of research findings, or regard them as biased, not convincing or not relevant to their practice. By using systematic reviews with accompanying commentaries this volume is able to assess the «evidence» and «experiences» to give a critical and objective account of the relevant issues, while focusing on key topics. This...

Obsessive-compulsive disorder is probably the psychiatric disorder for which most significant progress has been made on the last 20 years concerning pharmacologic and psychotherapeutic interventions. A number of studies have shown that OCD is much more prevalent than previously thought, occurring in an estimated 2% of the adult population around the world. A serious discrepancy still exists between research evidence and clinical practice and an update of this evidence and an international debate...

According to the World Health Organization’s World Health Report 2001, one family in four worldwide has at least one member currently suffering from a mental disorder. This disorder often remains undiagnosed and untreated, but the behaviour of the ill person usually has a significant impact on the quality of life of the family and on the mental health of the other members of the family, and generates feelings of shame, guilt, helplessness and despair. This book provides a comprehensive picture...

Research evidence concerning the precursors (a sign or symptom that heralds another) and prodromes (an early or premonitory symptom of a disease) of the various mental disorders is growing but is at present widely dispersed and inaccessible. Clinicians have to rely on their own experience, which is often limited, when faced with several delicate diagnostic and treatment issues. This book aims to approach for the first time in a comprehensive way this emerging area of clinical psychiatry. The...

This title provides a comprehensive overview of clinical, epidemiological, psychobiological, psychosocial and service organization aspects of disaster psychiatry. It takes a practical approach and includes a series of reports on significant experiences made in this field in various regions of the world. An Unbiased and reliable reference point, endorsed by the WPA Includes contributions from internationally acclaimed experts

From Chapter 1 «Depression, like many other mental disorders, is characterised by the presence of a number of symptoms which are changeable over time.» Among these symptoms are a depressed mood and a loss of interest; physical and cognitive changes may also occur. Because of difficulties in diagnosis (and varied criteria) only estimates in the global number of cases of depression can be made. Some estimates put it in front of chronic heart disease as a health problem and cause of death. This...

Dementia is most frequently associated with aging and is, at present, under-diagnosed and under-represented all over the world. Discrepancies in the diagnostic procedures and therapeutic interventions implemented in the various clinical contexts are significant and consequently, the need for a review of the currently available research evidence and a discussion of different clinical practices is urgently needed. This book provides a much needed review of the diagnostic procedures and the...

Bipolar disorder is a serious mental disorder involving episodes of serious mania and depression and affects approximately one to three percent of the population. According to the National Institute of Mental Health nearly two million individuals in the United States alone are diagnosed with this disorder. * This title aims to provide an overview of recent research progress * It explores the impact of this evidence on the practice of expert clinicians of many different countries * It will be an...