The Nature and Treatment of Mental Disorders

The Nature and Treatment of Mental Disorders describes the psychiatric understanding and a wide variety of treatment techniques of several mental and psychiatric problems. This text is organized into four parts encompassing 16 chapters that outline classic theories of psychopathology and to make use of these theories to delineate the nature of mental disorders. The first part deals with the psychopathologic aspects of mental disorder, including some fundamental principles of psychopathology. The second part explores the therapeutic advantages and potentials of psychological analysis, such as the free association and dream analysis, as well as the interpretation of the life history. The third part describes the so-called miscellaneous treatment options, including mental therapy by family reorganization, educational therapy, and bibliotherapy. The fourth part discusses the physiology of the emotions, with particular emphasis on the pharmacological treatment of organic emotional disorders. This book is intended primarily for psychiatrists, psychiatric clinicians, physicians, and medical students.