Psychiatric Emergencies

Written and edited by leading emergency psychiatrists, this is the first comprehensive text devoted to emergency psychiatry. The book blends the authors' clinical experience with evidence-based information, expert opinions, and American Psychiatric Association guidelines for emergency psychiatry. Case studies are used throughout to reinforce key clinical points. This text brings together relevant principles from many psychiatric subspecialties—community, consultation/liaison, psychotherapy, substance abuse, psychopharmacology, disaster, child, geriatric, administrative, forensic—as well as from emergency medicine, psychology, law, medical ethics, and public health policy. The emerging field of disaster psychiatry is also addressed. A companion Website offers instant access to the fully searchable text. (www.glickemergencypsychiatry.com)

An easy-to-read, contemporary and evidence-based approach to managing psychiatric emergencies. Recognize and assess psychiatric problems promptly and accurately, intervene safely, and provide treatment and case disposition.

The second edition of Clinical Manual of Emergency Psychiatry is designed to help medical students, residents, and clinical faculty chart an appropriate course of treatment in a setting where an incorrect assessment can have life-or-death implications. Arranged by chief complaint rather than by psychiatric diagnosis, each chapter combines the fresh insights of an accomplished psychiatry trainee with the more seasoned viewpoint of a senior practitioner in the field, providing a richly integrated perspective on the challenges and rewards of caring for patients in the psychiatric emergency department. This newly revised edition presents current approaches to evaluation, treatment, and management of patients in crisis, including up-to-date guidelines on use of pharmacotherapy in the emergency setting; suicide risk assessment; evaluation of patients with abnormal mood, psychosis, acute anxiety, agitation, cognitive impairment, and/or substance-related emergencies; and care of children and adolescents. The editors have created an accessible text with many useful features: * A chapter devoted to effective strategies for teaching, mentoring, and supervision of trainees in the psychiatry emergency service.* Chapters focused on assessment of risk for violence in patients, determination of the need for seclusion or restraint, and navigation of the legal and ethical issues that arise in the emergency setting.* Clinical vignettes that contextualize the information provided, allowing readers to envision applicable clinical scenarios and thereby internalize important concepts more quickly* Constructive "take-home" points at the end of each chapter that summarize key information and caution against common clinical errors.* References and suggested readings to help readers pursue a deeper understanding of concepts and repair any gaps in knowledge. Emergency psychiatry is one of the most stressful and challenging areas of practice for the psychiatric clinician. The guidelines and strategies outlined in Clinical Manual of Emergency Psychiatry, Second Edition, will help psychiatric trainees and educators alike to make sense of the complex clinical situations they encounter and guide them to advance their skills as clinicians and educators.

This essential handbook provides a practical, accessible guide to all emergency situations encountered in psychiatry. It enables readers to understand how to assess and manage such cases and how to manoeuvre successfully through the practical difficulties that may arise whilst avoiding medical, psychiatric and legal pitfalls.

There is a need to not only understand psychiatric emergencies in low- and middle-income countries but also to formulate logical and acceptable forms of intervention. This book gives the reader an overview of the kinds of psychiatric emergencies that can occur and the strategies employed to manage these in developing countries. The book covers anxiety disorders, psychotic disorders, personality disorders, substance abuse disorders, grief, suicidal behaviour and psychiatric emergencies following disasters. It also deals with special population groups, such as women, children and the elderly, who require different modes of intervention.

Acute Psychiatric Emergencies is designed for all medical and healthcare professionals working with patients in mental health crisis. This manual is a key component of the Acute Psychiatric Emergencies (APEx) course, which uses a structured approach developed by leading psychiatry and emergency medicine specialists with years of practical experience. This valuable resource provides a practical approach for dealing with mental health emergencies, helping healthcare professionals from different specialties speak a common language and develop a shared understanding that expedites excellent care. The manual outlines the assessment and management of patients who have self-harmed, those that are apparently drunk, the patient behaving strangely, the patient with acute confusion, and those that are aggressive. Presents a structured, practical approach for the emergency care of patients presenting in acute psychiatric crisis Covers common presentations of psychiatric emergencies Emphasises close co-operation of emergency and mental health teams Offers content designed jointly by practicing psychiatrists and emergency physicians from the Advanced Life Support Group (ALSG) Acute Psychiatric Emergencies will be useful for practitioners of emergency medicine, psychiatry, emergency and mental health nursing as well as other mental health and crisis care professionals.

Focusing on acute clinical situations in which there is an imminent risk of serious harm or death to self or others, this practical resource helps clinicians evaluate and manage a wide range of mental health emergencies. Authors examine how to distinguish crises that are emergencies from those that are not, and provide basic instruction in crisis theory and emergency interviewing. The volume then provides guidelines for intervening with suicidal patients, potentially violent patients, and vulnerable victims of violence, as well as patients facing life-and-death medical decisions, with careful attention to risk management and forensic issues. Also addressed are emergency-related conditions including self-mutilation, alcohol and drug-related crises, adverse reactions to psychotropic medication, and psychological symptoms of medical conditions. Finally, chapters consider the effects of emergency intervention on clinicians and offer suggestions for managing stress.

This book describes a spectrum of possible solutions to providing comprehensive emergency psychiatric care. It discusses in detail all components of emergency psychiatric care, such as triage, security, management of suicide risk, violent patients, interdisciplinary treatment teams, administration, and telepsychiatry. It has been written by and is of interest to psychiatrists, emergency medicine physicians, nurses, social workers, administrators, the police and security staff.