The book provides an introduction to all the clinical topics required by the trainee psychiatrist, including all the sub-specialties and major psychiatric conditions. Throughout, the authors emphasize the basic clinical skills required for the full assessment and understanding of the patient. Discussion of treatment includes not only scientific evidence, but also practical problems in the management of individual patients. The text emphasizes an evidence-based approach to practice and gives full attention to ethical and legal issues. Introductory chapters focus on recognition of signs and symptoms, classification and diagnosis, psychiatric assessment, and aetiology. Further chapters cover both pharmacological and psychological treatments in detail. The book gives equal prominence given to ICD and DSM classification - often with direct comparisons - giving the book a universal appeal.

The sixth edition has been revised throughout, but in particular with respect to the fast moving fields of neuroscience and genetics. In addition, the book now includes greater coverage of the field of social psychiatry - looking at how more community based services are being developed, and the effects these are having on the field of psychiatry. The 'Shorter Oxford Textbook of Psychiatry' remains the most up-to-date secondary level textbook of psychiatry available, with the new edition boasting a new modern design and greater use of summary boxes, tables, and lists than ever before. The extensive bibliography has been brought up-to-date and there are targeted reading lists for each chapter. The 'Shorter Oxford Textbook of Psychiatry' fulfils all the study and revision needs of psychiatric trainees, but will also prove useful to medical students, GPs, qualified psychiatrists, and those in related fields who need to be kept informed with current psychiatric practice.