Customer Reviews

Gabbard's Treatments of Psychiatric Disorders, Fourth Edition

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I am writing this review as a clinical psychiatrist who has been practicing for the past 20 years and who owns all three previous editions of this text. To me, the current edition appears to have changed significantly. The information content seems less. I would refer any interested reader to the coverage on delirium in the text and how it differs from the coverage in a previous edition. As an example, the Third Edition included an accompanying chapter entitled "Substance Induced Delirium and Related Encephalopathies" by Brown. That was an outstanding chapter with regard to current theories of delirium and how it related to clinical psychiatry. I can find no equivalent chapter in the newer edition.

The aesthetics of the current volume are not as good as the previous volume. The text is written in two columns per page in what appears to be a larger font. The numbers of references at the end of chapters are variable. The text is limited to one volume rather than two. This was apparently a conscious decision by the editors as discussed in their introduction to the Fourth Edition.

That is a decision that I disagree with. I preferred the more information intense approach in the previous editions and therefore am less enthusistic about this one. If you purchased the previous edition and found it to contain too much the current text may be the right one for you.

up-to-date in all the fields of reserach and practice it is all in one approach on mainstream psychiatric disorders and treatments. perfect for student, practitioner or your educated local with an interest. buying books without first seeing them can be a bit of a stab in the dark this is a wholesome approach to psychiatric conditions and treatments with easy to read and follow layout with very little jargon, thouroughly worth the $ paid.