Psychiatry

Psychiatry

Mental disorders: how they show themselves, how they are assessed and classified, what causes them, and how they are treated.

18 chapters, 70 topics

The exam syllabus for Psychiatry, topics 1 to 34; the chapters are ours, in its order. The clinical cases are from Onchev et al., Tests in Psychiatry and Psychopathology.

  1. Part I

    The syllabus

    1. Chapter 1

      Foundations of psychiatry

      1. 1History of psychiatry. Classification of mental disorders according to the International Classification of Diseases – 10th edition (ICD-10)
      2. 2Psychiatric interview: objectives, structure, content, and process. Standardized assessment instruments in psychiatry
    2. Chapter 2

      Psychopathology

      1. 3Psychopathology: disturbances of consciousness, orientation, and psychomotor activity – characteristics and clinical conditions
      2. 4Psychopathology: disturbances of emotions, volition, and drives – characteristics and clinical conditions
      3. 5Psychopathology: disturbances of thought process – characteristics and clinical conditions
      4. 6Psychopathology: disturbances of perception, attention, and memory – characteristics and clinical conditions
      5. 7Neurobiology and genetics of mental disorders
    3. Chapter 3

      Organic mental disorders

      1. 8Acute organic brain syndrome: delirium – types, clinical features, etiology, and treatment
      2. 9Chronic organic brain syndrome: dementias. Alzheimer’s disease, vascular dementia, and dementia with Lewy bodies. Clinical features, etiology, and treatment
    4. Chapter 4

      Substance use disorders

      1. 10Mental and behavioural disorders due to alcohol use: acute intoxication, harmful use, dependence, withdrawal syndrome, delirium, psychotic disorders, amnestic syndrome. Treatment
      2. 11Mental and behavioural disorders due to the use of opioids, cannabinoids, sedatives and hypnotics, stimulants, and hallucinogens: acute intoxication, harmful use, dependence, withdrawal syndrome, and psychotic disorders. Treatment
    5. Chapter 5

      Schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders

      1. 12Schizophrenia: epidemiology, etiological theories, clinical subtypes, course, outcome, and treatment
      2. 13Other psychotic disorders: schizotypal disorder, persistent delusional disorders, acute and transient psychotic disorders, and schizoaffective disorder. Clinical features, course, and treatment
    6. Chapter 6

      Mood disorders

      1. 14Recurrent depressive disorder: epidemiology, etiological theories, clinical features, course, and treatment
      2. 15Bipolar affective disorder: epidemiology, etiology, clinical features, course, and treatment
    7. Chapter 7

      Anxiety, stress-related and somatoform disorders

      1. 16Anxiety disorders: agoraphobia, social phobia (social anxiety disorder), specific phobias, panic disorder, and generalized anxiety disorder. Epidemiology, etiology, clinical features, course, and treatment
      2. 17Obsessive-compulsive disorder: epidemiology, etiology, clinical features, course, and treatment
      3. 18Acute stress reaction, adjustment disorders, and post-traumatic stress disorder: epidemiology, etiology, clinical features, course, and treatment
      4. 19Somatoform and conversion/dissociative disorders: epidemiology, etiology, clinical features, course, and treatment. Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry
    8. Chapter 8

      Eating and personality disorders

      1. 20Eating disorders: anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, atypical and other eating disorders. Epidemiology, etiology, clinical features, course, and treatment
      2. 21Personality disorders: general diagnostic principles; paranoid and schizoid personality disorders; dissocial (antisocial), emotionally unstable (borderline), and histrionic personality disorders
      3. 22Personality disorders: general diagnostic principles; anankastic (obsessive-compulsive), anxious (avoidant), and dependent personality disorders. Other specific personality disorders, including narcissistic personality disorder
    9. Chapter 9

      Developmental and childhood disorders

      1. 23Intellectual disability: severity levels, epidemiology, etiology, clinical features, course, and principles of treatment and care
      2. 24Pervasive developmental disorders: childhood autism, Asperger syndrome, and Rett syndrome. Epidemiology, etiology, clinical features, course, and treatment
      3. 25Hyperkinetic disorders in childhood: epidemiology, etiology, clinical features, course, and treatment
    10. Chapter 10

      Risk and the therapeutic relationship

      1. 26Suicidal and aggressive behaviour in mental disorders: risk assessment and therapeutic management
      2. 27Therapeutic alliance in psychiatry: key components, establishment and maintenance, and impact on treatment outcomes
    11. Chapter 11

      Psychopharmacology

      1. 28Antipsychotics: types, mechanism of action, clinical effects, adverse effects, long-acting injectable (depot) antipsychotics, indications, and monitoring
      2. 29Antidepressants: types, mechanism of action, clinical effects, adverse effects, indications, and monitoring
      3. 30Mood stabilizers: types, mechanism of action, clinical effects, adverse effects, indications, and monitoring
      4. 31Anxiolytics: types, mechanism of action, clinical effects, adverse effects, indications, and monitoring
    12. Chapter 12

      Physical, psychological and social treatments

      1. 32Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) and other biological non-pharmacological treatments: mechanism of action, indications, contraindications, and procedures
      2. 33Psychotherapy: major psychotherapeutic approaches
      3. 34Psychosocial rehabilitation. The recovery model in mental disorders. Psychoeducation
  2. Part II

    Clinical cases

    1. Chapter 13

      Cases: psychotic disorders

      1. Case 1: A woman who will not leave home for fear the neighbours will kill her
      2. Case 6: A student who left university, laughing and murmuring to herself
      3. Case 10: A man with a twenty-year diagnosis who no longer leaves his room
      4. Case 11: A young woman who says her phone is tapped, after a break-up
      5. Case 12: A young man who has stopped talking and eating and stands motionless
      6. Case 15: A teenager who hears messages from the traffic lights
      7. Case 18: A man who has accused his neighbours for years
      8. Case 20: A man in contact with aliens who prevents earthquakes
      9. Case 25: A man followed by the mafia after his partner’s sudden death
      10. Case 31: A woman who brings the “parasites” from her scalp
    2. Chapter 14

      Cases: mood disorders

      1. Case 4: A widower who would rather join his wife
      2. Case 5: A woman sure she has stomach cancer despite a normal gastroscopy
      3. Case 8: A teenager who says she can heal everyone
      4. Case 17: A young man with a plan to stop global warming
      5. Case 24: An accountant who expects to be put on trial for her mistakes
    3. Chapter 15

      Cases: anxiety, stress-related and somatoform disorders

      1. Case 3: A woman with attacks of palpitations and a fear of dying
      2. Case 7: A mother who cleans twice a day for fear of infection
      3. Case 9: A woman who travels only with a companion or by taxi
      4. Case 14: A woman with a folder of normal tests and pains everywhere
      5. Case 16: A woman with sudden crises who fears a heart attack
      6. Case 19: A veteran who asks only for sleeping pills
      7. Case 23: A man who is late for work because of how he dresses
      8. Case 32: A woman who cannot move her right arm and leg after a quarrel
      9. Case 33: A woman who has been tense and worried for nine months
    4. Chapter 16

      Cases: organic and substance-related disorders

      1. Case 2: An older woman found confused in the park
      2. Case 13: An older man who pulls out his drip after surgery
      3. Case 26: A man after surgery who sees cockroaches on the walls
      4. Case 27: A woman who mistakes her reflection for her mother
      5. Case 30: A man who sees squirrels in his room on his third day in hospital
    5. Chapter 17

      Cases: eating, personality and childhood disorders

      1. Case 21: A boy who cannot sit still in class
      2. Case 22: A three-year-old who does not talk yet
      3. Case 28: A teenager who wants to be as slim as a model
      4. Case 29: A manager who secretly eats large amounts of sweets
      5. Case 34: A teenager in “constant crisis”
    6. Chapter 18

      Cases: the therapeutic interview

      1. Case 35: A woman who asks “could I ever recover?”
      2. Case 36: A retired teacher who asks “why should I live?”