Integrated Treatment of Psychiatric Disorders. Review of Psychiatry, Volume 20. (Electronic book text)

More than any other professional activity, integrated treatment-the simultaneous use of psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy to treat patients with mental disorders-defines the field of psychiatry and distinguishes it from other mental health disciplines and medical specialties. This volume represents cutting-edge discussions-including frequent use of clinical vignettes by skilled and senior clinicians-of the clinical indications, challenges, and treatment approaches of this most common type of psychiatric intervention. Beginning with an overview of the scientific literature supporting integrated treatment, subsequent topics include how patients attribute meanings to medications, techniques for providing integrated treatment in general and for individual disorders (e.g., borderline personality disorder and substance abuse disorder), and methods for enhancing patient compliance and adherence. It also offers a concise guide to the use of split treatment, in which the psychiatrist manages patient medication and another mental health professional conducts psychotherapy-an increasingly common arrangement favored by managed care organizations, which perceive it as more cost-effective, despite scientific evidence to the contrary. Enhanced by extensive charts and illustrations, this up-to-date review will find a broad audience among psychiatric practitioners and residents, psychologists, social workers, nurse practitioners, substance abuse counselors, and case managers in community psychiatry.