Disorders Of Volition

Philosophers, psychologists, neuroscientists, and psychiatrists examine the will and its pathologies from theoretical and empirical perspectives, offering a conceptual overview and discussing schizophrenia, depression, prefrontal lobe damage, and substance abuse as disorders of volition.

This second edition of Seminars in General Adult Psychiatry provides a highly readable and comprehensive account of modern adult psychiatry. Key features of the first edition that have been retained are the detailed clinical descriptions of psychiatric disorders, and historical sections to give the reader access to the classic studies of psychiatry as well as the current evidence. Additional topics covered here for the first time include liaison psychiatry, psychosexual medicine, clinical epidemiology, and international and cultural psychiatry. Clinical management is given due prominence, with extensive accounts of modern drug management, cognitive therapy, the main psychosocial approaches, and current guidelines such as those published by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. An essential text for trainees studying for their MRCPsych, this book is also a one-stop reference work for established practitioners, providing comprehensive coverage of the whole of adult psychiatry.

An important and unique survey of the historical background to the descriptive categories of psychopathology.

Philosophers discuss Jerome Wakefield's influential view of mental disorder as "harmful dysfunction," with detailed responses from Wakefield himself. One of the most pressing theoretical problems of psychiatry is the definition of mental disorder. Jerome Wakefield's proposal that mental disorder is "harmful dysfunction" has been both influential and widely debated; philosophers have been notably skeptical about it. This volume provides the first book-length collection of responses by philosophers to Wakefield's harmful dysfunction analysis (HDA), offering a survey of philosophical critiques as well as extensive and detailed replies by Wakefield himself.

The current issues and controversies about beverage alcohol and its potential disorders have been selected for consideration in this volume. Not all of the short essays are problem oriented. Some where written because new and pertinent knowledge has recently come forth.

Mental Illness in Ancient Medicine: From Celsus to Paul of Aegina traces the history of conceptions of mental disorder in Graeco-Roman medical writings, from the 1st century BCE to the 7th CE, with detailed studies of all significant authors.

Brain disordersâ€"neurological, psychiatric, and developmentalâ€"now affect at least 250 million people in the developing world, and this number is expected to rise as life expectancy increases. Yet public and private health systems in developing countries have paid relatively little attention to brain disorders. The negative attitudes, prejudice, and stigma that often surround many of these disorders have contributed to this neglect. Lacking proper diagnosis and treatment, millions of individual lives are lost to disability and death. Such conditions exact both personal and economic costs on families, communities, and nations. The report describes the causes and risk factors associated with brain disorders. It focuses on six representative brain disorders that are prevalent in developing countries: developmental disabilities, epilepsy, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, depression, and stroke. The report makes detailed recommendations of ways to reduce the toll exacted by these six disorders. In broader strokes, the report also proposes six major strategies toward reducing the overall burden of brain disorders in the developing world.