Even though mental illnesses are common and cause great suffering in every part of the world, many health workers have a limited understanding about mental health and are less comfortable dealing with mental illness. This book is a practical manual for mental health care for the community health worker, the primary care nurse, the social worker and the primary care doctor, particularly in developing countries. After giving the reader a basic understanding of mental illness, the book goes on to describe more than 30 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 health care contexts are described, for example in a refugee camp, a school health programme or with people suffering from AIDS, as well as in mental health promotion. The final section combines quick reference information for common problems and it also includes chapters for the reader to personalise the manual 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 emotional symptoms.

A problem-solving approach to diagnosis and management.
Sections on clinical management of common problems associated with mental illnesses.
Relevant mental health issues in different contexts of work.
Over 150 illustrations and case studies.
A section for the reader to personalise it for his or her area of work.
A practical guide to the use of psychiatric medicines and simple psychological treatments.
Extensive cross-referencing in the book and a glossary of all technical words.
Simple expanations and descriptions, without jargon.
Flow-charts on common clinical problems for quick reference.

Books by Vikram Patel