Kenneth S. Kendler

Josef Parnas

Psychiatric and psychological practice and research is critically dependent on diagnosis. Yet the nature of psychiatric diagnosis and the rules by which disorders should be created and organized have been highly controversial for over 100 years. Unlike simple medical disorders (like infectious diseases), psychiatric disorders cannot be traced to one simple etiologic agent. The last two generations have seen major conceptual shifts in the approach to diagnosis with the rise of operationalized criteria and an emphasis on a descriptive rather than etiological approach to diagnosis. The interest in psychiatric diagnoses is particularly heightened now because both of the major psychiatric classifications in the world - DSM and ICD - are now undergoing major revisions. What makes psychiatric nosology so interesting is that it sits at the intersection of philosophy, empirical psychiatric/psychological research, measurement theory, historical tradition and policy. This makes the field fertile for a conceptual analysis. This book brings together established experts in the wide range of disciplines that have an interest in psychiatric nosology. The contributors include philosophers, psychologists, psychiatrists, historians and representatives of the efforts of DSM-III, DSM-IV and DSM-V. Some of the questions addressed include i) what is the nature of psychiatric illness? Can it be clearly defined and if so how? ii) What is the impact of facts versus values in psychiatric classification? iii) How have concepts of psychiatric diagnosis changed over time? iv) How can we best conceptualize the central idea of diagnostic validity? And v) Can psychiatric classification be a cumulative enterprise seeking improvements at each iteration of the diagnostic manual? Each individual chapter is introduced by the editors and is followed by a commentary, resulting in a dynamic discussion about the nature of psychiatric disorders. This book will be valuable for psychiatrists, psychologists and other mental health trainees and professionals with an interest in the questions and problems of psychiatric diagnosis, as well as philosophers and philosophy students interested in the problems posed by psychiatry, particularly those working in the philosophy of science.

Nosology

Philosophical Issues in Psychiatry II

This multidisciplinary collection explores three key concepts underpinning psychiatry—explanation, phenomenology, and nosology—and their continuing relevance in an age of neuroimaging and genetic analysis. This book opens with Dr. Kenneth S. Kendler’s introduction to the philosophical grounding of psychiatric practice. Chapters in the first section of the book then address the concept of explanation, from the difficulties in describing complex behavior to the categorization of psychological and biological causality. In the second section, contributors discuss experience, including the complex and vexing issue of how self-agency and free will affect mental health. The third and final section examines the organizational difficulties in psychiatric nosology and the instability of the existing diagnostic system. Each chapter includes both an introduction by the editors and a concluding comment by another of the book’s contributors. Contributors: John Campbell, PhD; Thomas Fuchs, MD, PhD; Shaun Gallagher, PhD; Kenneth S. Kendler, MD; Sandra D. Mitchell, PhD; Dominic P. Murphy, PhD; Josef Parnas, MD, DrMedSci; Louis A. Sass, PhD; Kenneth F. Schaffner, MD, PhD; James F. Woodward, PhD; Peter Zachar, PhD "This is a serious and important book . . . it is certainly one that researchers, scholars and anyone involved in trying to explain the nature of psychiatric disorders to a skeptical audience ought to read."—British Journal of Psychiatry Kenneth S. Kendler, MD, is the Rachel Brown Banks Distinguished Professor of Psychiatry at the Medical College of Virginia, where he is also a professor of human genetics and the director of the Virginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetics. He is the author of Genes, Environment, and Psychopathology. Josef Parnas, MD, DrMedSci, is a professor of psychiatry and the consultant medical director for the Department of Psychiatry at Copenhagen University. He is the codirector of the National Danish Research Foundation's Center for Subjectivity Research.

Explanation, Phenomenology, and Nosology

Philosophical Issues in Psychiatry

Psychiatry has long struggled with the nature of its diagnoses. This book brings together established experts in the wide range of disciplines that have an interest in psychiatric nosology. The contributors include philosophers, psychologists, psychiatrists, historians and representatives of the efforts of DSM-III, DSM-IV and DSM-V.

Peter Zachar

Leading experts in psychiatry, philosophy, and psychology integrate the scientific lenses relevant to understanding psychiatric disorders.

Cross-Disciplinary Perspectives

Levels of Analysis in Psychopathology

Robin M. Murray

Peter McGuffin

Simon Wessely

David J. Castle

This is a major international textbook for psychiatrists and other professionals working in the field of mental healthcare. With contributions from opinion-leaders from around the globe, this book will appeal to those in training as well as to those further along the career path seeking a comprehensive and up-to-date overview of effective clinical practice backed by research evidence. The book is divided into cohesive sections moving from coverage of the tools and skills of the trade, through descriptions of the major psychiatric disorders and on to consider special topics and issues surrounding service organization. The final important section provides a comprehensive review of treatments covering all of the major modalities. Previously established as the Essentials of Postgraduate Psychiatry, this new and completely revised edition is the only book to provide this depth and breadth of coverage in an accessible, yet authoritative manner.

Essential Psychiatry

Jonathan Flint

Ralph J. Greenspan

How Genes Influence Behavior takes a personal and lively approach to the study of behavioral genetics, providing an up-to-date and accessible introduction to a variety of approaches and their application to a wide range of disorders, and modeling a critical approach to both methods andresults.This second edition includes additional biology content to help students understand the biological foundations of the field, while maintaining an appropriate focus on the main issues of relevance to psychology students; updates coverage of genomic technologies and their applications; and covers awider range of disorders, including autism spectrum disorder, eating disorders, and intellectual disability. A new final chapter guides students through a range of quantitative approaches using worked examples that relate directly to cases and examples used earlier in the text, and addresses currentissues arising from debates around reproducibility.The online resources that accompany this book include:For students* Multiple choice questions for students to check their threshold knowledge* Data sets for students to manipulate, so that they can apply what they have learnedFor lecturers* Figures and tables from the book, ready to download

Kenneth S. Kendler

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