Troublesome Disguises

Book excerpt: Several psychiatric disorders remain underdiagnosed in routine clinical practice. This is either because their presentations are fairly atypical and difficult to diagnose and classify, or simply because their rarity makes diagnosis and management problematic. Troublesome Disguises is unique in that it is the only current academic text focussing on this topic. Up-to-date, with detailed management and discussion, the text is international in its scope and readership. With its clinical focus, the book offers comprehensive coverage of such things as disorders of passion, culture-bound syndromes, factitious disorders, paraphilias, reactive psychoses, recurrent brief depression, and neurologic disorders. Containing contributions from a distinguished team of experts assembled from Europe, America and Australia, Troublesome Disguises covers the descriptive aspects, diagnosis and management of these puzzling disorders. This book will prove to be essential reading for a variety of mental-health professionals including psychiatrists, psychiatric trainees, social workers, nurses, psychologists and counsellors, as well as students in the field.