RCPsych Publications – serie

What can psychiatry learn from literature? For psychiatrists, literary texts can be valuable tools for furthering our understanding of patients and their conditions. This book explores the fruitful relationships between the written word and central aspects of psychiatric practice. It includes newly commissioned chapters plus articles originally published in the journal Advances in Psychiatric Treatment that have been reworked and updated. The contributors examine such topics as: why doctors should read fiction and the place of literature in medical education; the varied genres of autobiography, fiction, poetry and letters; and a range of topics, including addictions, ageing and dementia, intellectual disability and autism. The authors explore the description and representation of mental states, the lived experience of distress, the character of psychiatry as a system and the institutional practices of psychiatry. Although written by psychiatrists primarily for psychiatrists, this collection offers a fascinating and accessible insight into mental illness through the pages of novels, poetry and autobiographies to be found in any bookshop.

This book presents evidence-based guidance on the prevention and management of aggression and violence by patients with mental disorder. It provides a comprehensive overview of best practice and will be of practical use to a wide range of mental health professionals working in community, in-patient or prison settings. Such sensitive issues as violence in patients from minority ethnic backgrounds, ways to apply physical and pharmaceutical methods of restraint safely, and preserving patients' dignity in highly volatile situations, are addressed. The guidance also covers: relevant legislation; assessment and management of risk of violence in different settings; specific populations, including older adults and people with intellectual disabilities; both non-pharmacological management techniques and use of medication; and liaison with the police, Crown prosecution service and MAPPA (Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements). Health service managers, as well as clinicians dealing with potentially violent incidents day to day, will find the report informative and the guidelines contained within clear and easy to follow.

A sound practical guide to the complex world of management in psychiatric practice. It gives a theoretical overview of the management, structure, funding and politics of the NHS and focuses on both the various skills necessary for running services and personal development skills, with an emphasis on leadership and medical management skills.

Exploring how medicine and psychiatry are portrayed in gothic literature, this engaging book illustrates how Stoker's famous work was influenced by nineteenth-century attitudes to disease and medicine and reveals many previously unknown links. Extracts from many sensational stories of the time are presented, and the role of doctors and their appearance and contribution to gothic fiction is investigated. The book covers topics such as asylums, their purpose, practice and patients, deadly diseases echoing the symptoms of vampirism, and the otherworldly allure of the undead. Dracula for Doctors is an entertaining and informative examination of how Victorian medical knowledge and culture informed Stoker's gothic masterpiece. This book suggests that Stoker, who had many medical connections, was able to link lurid stories of operations and asylums with fictional horror and suspense. Fans of gothic literature, as well as those of medical history and the supernatural, will find this an enjoyable read.

The Camberwell Assessment of Need (CAN) has been the key measure for assessing the health and social needs of people with mental health problems for two decades. Aimed at mental health workers or researchers, it is suitable for clinical use in both community-based and hospital-based mental health services. Updated chapters bring guidance into line with modern social contexts, for example questions regarding 'Child Care' now focus on 'Dependents', reflecting changes relating to an ageing population. An extensive training programme and list of frequently asked questions are informed by the authors' decades of experience in using this essential resource. Containing four versions of the CAN (CANSAS, CANSAS-P, CAN-C, CAN-R) for use in different situations, systematic guidance for how to complete the assessments is also included in the book. Ready to use assessment forms are freely available to download from the CAN website (researchintorecovery.com/can) and on cambridge.org for use with service users.

The Camberwell Assessment of Need Forensic Version (CANFOR) is a tool for assessing the needs of people with mental health problems who are in contact with forensic services. It is based on the CAN, a widely used needs assessment for people with severe mental health problems. Individual needs are assessed in 25 areas of life, spanning health, social, clinical and functional domains. Comprehensive versions are available for research (CANFOR-R) and clinical use (CANFOR-C), as well as a short summary version (CANFOR-S) suitable for both research and clinical use. CANFOR was rigorously developed by a multidisciplinary team at the Institute of Psychiatry, London, and is suitable for use in all forensic mental health and prison settings. This second edition provides an update of the CANFOR tools and their application in clinical and research settings. The assessment forms are freely available to download from the CAN website (researchintorecovery.com/can) and cambridge.org.

Common mental illnesses have been diagnosed separately in recent years, but what is seldom understood is that they are all linked together, often much more closely than other disorders. In particular, combined anxiety and depression linked to personality disturbance, generally known as neuroticism, is very common. In the absence of awareness of its importance, this frequently leads to wrong clinical decisions and poor outcomes for patients. This book focuses on the concept of neurosis, tracing its history as a concept, its abolition from the DSM, the purpose and importance of the Nottingham Study of Neurotic Disorder, the re-definition of neurosis as the general neurotic syndrome, and its recently updated evidence base. Written for psychiatrists, psychologists and researchers, this book shows how recognising these combined common disorders is absolutely necessary for mental health practice, and urges that it is time that we re-examine our treatment priorities.

Consists of: a 22 minute film on DVD, 20 copies of an information booklet and a set of tutor notes. The film shows everyday examples of threatening incidents which doctors can readily identify with. The high-quality production techniques combined with atmospheric location work and use of real stories give the film an immediacy that ensures high observer involvement. Improving safety awareness is more about how people think about situations than about memorising information. Focused small-group discussion triggered by carefully selected and memorable case examples is therefore likely to be the most effective way of developing safety awareness, especially when this is reinforced by a systematic approach to safe practice as laid out in the accompanying booklet. Although best used in combination with tutor-led small-group discussion, the film and the accompanying booklet are self-contained, and can also be used as resource material in a library or self-learning room. It is suitable for anyone involved with training or tutoring trainee psychiatrists, plus those looking to refresh awareness of qualified professionals already undertaking clinical practice.