Emergencies
Acute agitation
Describe the behaviour and assess its cause; agitation is not a diagnosis.
Assessment · Treatment · Follow-up
Conditions
The psychiatrist’s clinical handbook.
Browse alphabetically or filter by family and population. Each chapter states its assessment and treatment context.
23 clinical chapters25 prescribing referencesPopulation coverage is specific to each chapter
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Psychosis
Acute and transient psychotic disorder
A rapidly changing psychotic episode needs timely assessment; its eventual duration and recovery cannot be guaranteed at first presentation.
Assessment · Treatment · Follow-up
Development
Adult ADHD
Document developmental onset, impairment and symptoms across settings; ASRS is a screen, not a diagnosis.
Assessment · Treatment · Follow-up
Substances
Alcohol withdrawal
Assess medical stability and previous complicated withdrawal before choosing a setting.
Assessment · Treatment · Follow-up
Substances
Alcohol-use disorder
Separate withdrawal management from continuing alcohol-use treatment.
Assessment · Treatment · Follow-up
Development
Autism in adults
Assess lifelong developmental differences and present support needs; a screening score cannot establish the diagnosis.
Assessment · Treatment · Follow-up
Mood
Bipolar disorders
Choose the treatment pathway by current phase: mania, bipolar depression, mixed presentation or maintenance.
Assessment · Treatment · Follow-up
Personality
Borderline personality disorder
Use a longitudinal formulation; a crisis encounter alone is insufficient to characterize an enduring personality pattern.
Assessment · Treatment · Follow-up
Cognition
Delirium
Acute change and fluctuation in attention are central; quiet withdrawal may be hypoactive delirium.
Assessment · Treatment · Follow-up
Psychosis
Delusional disorder
Explore the belief, its context and the actions arising from it; apparently preserved everyday functioning does not establish absence of harm.
Assessment · Treatment · Follow-up
Cognition
Dementia and cognitive decline
Establish decline from previous ability and its effect on independence; a low cognitive score alone does not establish dementia.
Assessment · Treatment · Follow-up
Mood
Depressive disorders
Establish a depressive episode and its functional impact; screen for lifetime mania or hypomania before selecting an antidepressant.
Assessment · Treatment · Follow-up
Eating
Eating disorders
Medical instability can occur at any body size; evaluate trajectory, intake and compensatory behaviour.
Assessment · Treatment · Follow-up
Anxiety
Generalised anxiety disorder
Establish difficult-to-control worry across several domains, its duration and functional impact.
Assessment · Treatment · Follow-up
Sleep
Insomnia
Assess sleep opportunity and daytime impairment; distinguish exhausted insomnia from reduced sleep need in mania.
Assessment · Treatment · Follow-up
OCD and related
Obsessive–compulsive disorder
Ask about covert rituals, reassurance, avoidance and family accommodation, not only observable washing or checking.
Assessment · Treatment · Follow-up
Anxiety
Panic disorder
A panic attack alone does not establish panic disorder: assess recurrent unexpected attacks and subsequent fear or behavior change.
Assessment · Treatment · Follow-up
Perinatal
Perinatal mental health
Screen for previous mania, psychosis and severe perinatal episodes before treating apparent unipolar depression.
Assessment · Treatment · Follow-up
Trauma
Post-traumatic stress disorder
Establish trauma exposure, symptom clusters, impairment and current danger without requiring unnecessary graphic detail.
Assessment · Treatment · Follow-up
Psychosis
Psychotic disorders
Psychosis is a syndrome: establish attention, consciousness, mood relationship and substance/medical causes before assigning a primary disorder.
Assessment · Treatment · Follow-up
Psychosis
Schizoaffective disorder
Psychosis and a substantial mood episode must be understood on the same timeline; the presence of low mood in someone with psychosis is insufficient.
Assessment · Treatment · Follow-up
Emergencies
Self-harm and suicide-related presentations
Treat medical consequences and begin psychosocial assessment in parallel when possible.
Assessment · Treatment · Follow-up
Anxiety
Social anxiety disorder
Define feared scrutiny, predicted judgment, self-focused attention and safety behaviors.
Assessment · Treatment · Follow-up
Focused clinical reference
Catatonia
Recognize the syndrome, investigate its cause and coordinate urgent psychiatric and medical care.
Assessment · Care · Related tools
Focused clinical reference
Medication-related emergencies
Recognition and escalation of important psychotropic adverse reactions; no automated triage or safety score.
Assessment · Care · Related tools
Focused clinical reference
Opioid-use disorder
Connect assessment, medication treatment, overdose prevention and continuing recovery support.
Assessment · Care · Related tools
Focused clinical reference
Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT)
A clinician overview of referral, consent, preparation, monitoring and continuation planning.
Assessment · Care · Related tools