Web home of the bookWe present, in this book, a glossary of terms used in psychiatry and related clinical disciplines, which hitherto could only be found by scouring several different sources. You can view some of the definitions on this website, see updates and corrections, and your comments, criticism and suggestions are welcome. Alastair Macdonald Introduction This brief glossary is designed to bring together a variety of terms used in psychiatry and related clinical disciplines, which hitherto could only be found by scouring several different publications, and to attempt succinct definitions for the initiate. There is little original material here- all these terms may be found in other texts or publications; these are listed, with profound gratitude, in the book. |
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The glossary will, we hope, be useful to those attempting the First Part of the examination for membership of the U.K. Royal College of Psychiatrists; it might help the novice understand otherwise incomprehensible discussions by senior colleagues; but it will not be a substitute for a critical appraisal of the symptoms, semions and signs of patients in everyday clinical practice, and consideration of their social, personal and historical context. In more than one sense, psychopathology is a study of shifting sand, and what might be useful today may not be useful tomorrow (except to those who dream up fatuous multiple-choice questions). And so this glossary should be tossed aside at the earliest possible opportunity, and a fresh gaze turned upon the patients.
April 2004