Where There Is No Psychiatrist: A Mental Health Care Manual

Where There Is No Psychiatrist: A Mental Health Care Manual

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Cambridge University Press

​2nd edition
Authors: Vikram Patel (Harvard University) and Charlotte Hanlon (Addis Ababa University)

Mental health problems are common and cause great suffering to individuals and communities around the world, but many health workers are more comfortable dealing with physical illness. This practical manual of mental health care is vital for community health workers, primary care nurses, social workers and primary care doctors, particularly in low-resource settings.

This guide gives the reader a basic understanding of mental health problems by describing more than thirty clinical problems and using a problem-solving approach to guide the reader through their assessment and management. Mental health problems as they arise in specific contexts are described - for example in refugee camps, in schools, and the care of people with HIV and chronic diseases. Actions for mental health promotion and the prevention of mental health problems, such as early child development and protecting human rights, are described. The final section helps the reader to personalise for a particular location, for example, by entering local information on voluntary agencies, the names and costs of medicines and words in the local language for symptoms.

  • Features 11 flow charts on common clinical problems for quick reference
  • Provides a problem-solving approach to diagnosis and management
  • Delivers a practical guide to the use of psychiatric

There is no health without mental health, and it is the job of all of us to ease the suffering caused by mental illness, which tops the list of causes of excess morbidity in most studies of the global burden of disease. It is the job of all of us to fight for the dignity of those afflicted, and against stigma, by altering the course and consequences of these common disorders. To close, allow me to note that it is hard to imagine the words, life-saving and book in the same sentence. But it is no hyperbole to argue that you will be reading one of these rare treasures upon turning the page.’

 

-Paul Farmer, MDPhD, Kolokotrones University Professor, Harvard University Chair, Department of Global Health and Social Medicine, Harvard Medical School

The second edition of this widely used manual has been made freely available as an eBook thanks to donations from The Centre For Applied Research and Evaluation International Foundation (Careif), the British Indian Psychiatric Association (BIPA) and supporters of the Royal College of Psychiatrists. 

Details

Type
Research summaries and systematic reviews
Disorder(s)
All mental health conditions