Approach to the Psychiatric Patient consists of more than 100 essays that address one of 10 carefully selected psychiatric cases. The essays reflect the breadth of modern psychiatry, the cases span the diagnostic spectrum, and the situations range from emergency rooms and inpatient services to outpatient psychotherapy offices. Basic scientists, social scientists, clinicians, clinical researchers, psychopharmacologists, and psychoanalysts have contributed 1500-word essays. Each author was asked to discuss a specific aspect of a case, as if providing a & ldquo;curbside consult& rdquo; to a colleague or student. In addition to presenting a sharp perspective on our knowledge base, each author highlights pertinent dilemmas and ambiguities. In so doing, the authors help create a sophisticated biopsychosocial approach to patients. Approach to the Psychiatric Patient& rsquo;s unique structure and multiplicity of perspectives place it as a valuable accompaniment to traditional psychiatric reviews, pocket guides, and specialty texts. The brief, accessible essays demonstrate the sophisticated complexity of modern psychiatry while also underlining the field& rsquo;s limitations and opportunities.

In order to create the book& rsquo;s richly complex mosaic, the editor has attracted some of the country& rsquo;s most eminent psychiatrists, psychologists, basic scientists, and social scientists. There are several ways to attract such a multidisciplinary group and to then encourage their best efforts. In this case, the editor chose to recruit faculty members from one set of interconnected institutions: Weill Cornell Medical College, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, and Rockefeller University. This limitation inevitably led to the exclusion of some distinguished authors, but it did lead to the vigorous participation of some experts who might not have otherwise agreed to contribute.

Practical and thoughtful, Approach to the Psychiatric Patient intends to function as an expert on the shoulder to clinicians who approach psychiatric patients as well as to anyone who is curious about the state of the art of modern psychiatry.

Some of the country& rsquo;s most eminent psychiatrists and psychologists& mdash;basic scientists, social scientists, clinicians, clinical researchers, psychopharmacologists, and psychoanalysts& mdash;have contributed essays, and all of the authors are affiliated with one of the following interconnected institutions: Weill Cornell Medical College, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York Presbyterian Hospital, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, and Rockefeller University. Each author was asked to discuss a specific aspect of a case, as if providing a & ldquo;curbside consult& rdquo; to a colleague or student. In addition to presenting a perspective on our knowledge base, each author highlights pertinent dilemmas, ambiguities, and limitations. In so doing, the authors help create a richly complex mosaic that reflects a sophisticated biopsychosocial approach to patients.

The 10 cases span a broad diagnostic spectrum, from mood instability and schizophrenia to hypomania and geriatric depression. They also highlight a broad span of human experience. For example, in the first case, a middle-aged man has been admitted to a psychiatric unit after having tried to kill himself. Experts comment on depression, suicidality, psychodynamics, the interview, the neurobiology of stress, inpatient psychiatry, brain stimulation, pharmacology, supportive psychotherapy, and couples therapy, and they also describe relevant aspects of the African American experience and the historical development of the field of psychiatry. As another example, in the final case, a medical student presents for a psychiatric assessment after having failed a gross anatomy test. This caseprompts discussions of her evaluation (e.g., essays on medical school, somatoform disorders, the neurobiology of obsessions, narcissism, and the first-generation Asian American), and on her treatment (e.g. essays on complementary medicine, mindfulness meditation, self psychology, therapeutic zeal, empathy, self-defeating behavior, and evidence-based psychotherapy). An expert provides an overview for each of the 10 chapters. For example, in the first case, Dr. James Kocsis discusses the patient& rsquo;s chronic depression, while in the final case, Dr. Robert Michels writes about the medical student& rsquo;s prospects for psychotherapy. After the overview, each chapter concludes with a set of thought-provoking, summarizing assertions that stem from the earlier essays.

Multidisciplinary and collaborative, "Approach to the Psychiatric Patient" fills a gap that exists between standard psychiatric texts, specialty texts, and pocket guides. It is a practical, thoughtful book that can serve as an expert on the shoulder to clinicians who approach psychiatric patients as well as to anyone who is curious about the state of the art of modern psychiatry.