The book provides all the relevant information to understand the mental illness through psychopathology, global clinical manifestations and clinical patterns. It equips the reader with the basic knowledge to identify psychiatric conditions occurring alone or in the context of other medical illnesses, to distinguish health psychology and psychiatry, and to know what to do, how to do it, and how to communicate with the patient and to cooperate with the psychiatrist.

The core chapters are dedicated to mental disorders diagnosed according to the DSM V, and are organized in sub-chapters with key feature boxes and schemes that will allow the global comprehension of the mental disorder and its clinical management. The work includes also a general chapter on psychopathology and one on psychopharmacology presenting the practical information about suggested doses, side effects, drug interactions and warnings for the main psychotropics. The final chapter deals with forensic and legal aspects.

Fundamentals of Psychiatry for Health Care Professionals will appeal to a wide readership, from post graduate professionals who want to broaden their clinical knowledge of psychiatry to medical students and students of the health degree courses like Physiotherapy, Psychology, Nursing, or Dentistry.

Roberto Cavallaro is full Professor of Psychiatry at the Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, and Head of the General Psychiatry and of the Psychotic Disorders Units at San Raffaele Universitary Scientific Hospital in Milan, Italy. He is also the Dean of Studies of the Master Degree In Medicine and Surgery at the Vita-Salute San Raffaele University in Milan, Italy. His main clinical interests include clinical psychiatry, neurobiology, psychopharmacology and cognition, specifically oriented to development of clinical assessment and strategies for pharmacological treatment and rehabilitation of neurocognition, social cognition and functional deficits in schizophrenia.

Cristina Colombo is Full Professor of Psychiatry at the Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, and Head of the Mood Disorders Unit at San Raffaele Universitary Scientific Hospital in Milan, Italy. She is also Director of the Residency School in Psychiatry and Director of the Master in Psychopathology and Criminology at the Vita-Salute San Raffaele University in Milan, Italy. She focuses her clinical research on increasing scientific knowledge and developing effective diagnosis and treatment options in mood disorders, specifically oriented to the chronobiological treatments of depressive and bipolar patients..