Tag: diagnosis
Fundamentals of psychiatric diagnosis
Back in the 1990s, diagnostic criteria existed for sure. We had ICD-9 as our main diagnostic manual. My recollections from around that time was that the criteria were hardly ever referenced. How it worked was, the consultant psychiatrist would declare diagnosis or differential diagnoses without actually stating which criteria were met from available evidence. As a junior trainee, I had no say in the matter. In one adolescent psychiatry service around 1993, the consultant psychiatrist and a consultant psychologist stated,Read More …
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder that is commonly diagnosed in childhood and often lasts into adulthood. ADHD affects both children and adults, and it can interfere with or reduce the quality of social interactions, school performance, and work performance. Introduction ADHD is the third most common mental health disorder worldwide, following depression and anxiety. The prevalence of ADHD in the worldwide paediatric population has been stable over the past 30 years except in the United States, where casesRead More …
What is antipsychiatry?
It is important in the medical practice of psychiatry to understand forces opposed to psychiatry. From my experience, I have witnessed antipsychiatry views even among trained mental health professionals. I declare a professional bias that I have not found those views helpful to patients’ progress. Introduction Antipsychiatry is a movement and perspective that fundamentally challenges the assumptions, concepts, and practices of mainstream psychiatry. It arose in the 1960s and has evolved over the years, with variations in its scope andRead More …
What do you know about psychiatry?
What is psychiatry? Psychiatry is a branch of medicine that focuses on the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of mental, emotional, and behavioural disorders. A psychiatrist is a medical doctor who specializes in mental health, including substance use disorders. Psychiatrists are qualified to assess both the mental and physical aspects of psychological problems. People seek psychiatric help for many reasons. The problems can be sudden, such as a panic attack, frightening hallucinations, thoughts of suicide, or hearing “voices.” Or they mayRead More …
Fathoming personality disorder
Personality disorder often appears as a vague and nebulous construct to many people. But first the author thanks two bright student nurses ‘L’ and ‘T’ for stimulating this post which was already on the way. I consider an entire range of things related to personality disorder. As I am not limited by a word count, this post will be very long. Fat Disclaimer: Opinions posted in this article or on this site do not constitute ‘advice’ or influence. The contentRead More …
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