Handbook of Psychiatric Diagnostic Procedures Vol. I

The Science of Psychiatry We live in exciting times. Psychiatrists practicing their specialty are beset as never before with news of developments in the field. The conduits of news to the practicing clinician are usually either stories written in the popular medical press such as news circulars and advertisements from commercial concerns, or from de­ tailed scientific articles written for the scientific community. In both forms, the news has been coming thick and fast. The problem encountered most often by practicing psychiatrists and clini­ cians responsible for hospital facilities is integrating this material into a coherent whole, with sufficient technical detail to permit the appropriate development or use of the new tests and procedures in the clinical setting. The two volumes comprising the Handbook of Psychiatric Diagnostic Pro­ cedures represent an attempt to provide a clinically useful review of the current accepted applicability of these tests and procedures, to enable the clinician to properly implement and evaluate the procedures as well as the results obtained.