Where There Is No Psychiatrist
A Mental Health Care Manual

A practical manual to mental illness for healthcare workers without specialist training in low-resource settings. This product is also available as Open Access.

Vikram Patel (Author), Charlotte Hanlon (Author)

9781909726833, Royal College of Psychiatrists

Paperback / softback, published 25 January 2018

372 pages
24.6 x 19 x 2 cm, 0.83 kg

'The first edition of this book has been a tremendously helpful resource in the humanitarian settings where I have worked over the last fifteen years. The new edition is now firmly aligned with the tools of the mhGAP programme which will make it an invaluable resource for health workers and others who wish to learn what they can do to help people with mental health conditions.' Peter Ventevogel, Senior Mental Health Officer, Public Health Section, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Geneva

Mental illnesses are common and cause great suffering to individuals and communities everywhere in 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 illness by describing more than thirty clinical problems associated with mental illness and uses a problem-solving approach to guide the reader through their assessment and management. Mental health issues as they arise in specific contexts are described - in refugee camps, in school health programmes, as well as in mental health promotion. 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. This product is also available as Open Access.

Preface
Foreword
Part I. An Overview of Mental Health Problems: 1. An introduction to mental health problems
2. Core skills for mental health care
3. Assessing someone with a mental health problem
4. General approach to treatment of mental health problems
Part II. Treatments: 5. Specific treatments for mental health problems
Part III. Clinical Problems: 6. Emergency management
7. Behaviours causing concern
8. Symptoms that are medically unexplained
9. The person with problems due to habits
10. Problems arising from loss and violence
11. Problems in childhood and adolescence
Part IV. Integrating Mental Health: 12. Integrating mental health into health care platforms
13. Integrating mental health into community platforms
Part V. Localising This Manual For Your Area: 14. Medications for mental health problems
15. Resources in your area
16. Psychiatric terms for mental health problems
17. Glossary
18. Resources used in the manual.

Subject Areas: Clinical psychology [MMJ], Psychiatry [MMH]