Clinical Judgment in Psychiatry

Psychiatrists and clinical psychologists usually rely on observation, description, classification, testing explanatory hypotheses, and formulating clinical decisions based on clinical judgment. Despite its importance, clinical judgment is often overlooked in psychiatric literature. Clinical Judgment in Psychiatry fills that gap by providing both the theory and practical aspects of clinical judgment in psychiatry.
The book is divided into three sections: 1) collecting clinical information using clinimetrics to distinguish patient differences; 2) organizing clinical data into operational hypotheses; and 3) formulating individualized treatment plans by matching evidence-based treatments with patient needs to achieve optimal outcomes. Drawing on extensive experience and literature, as well as case illustrations and clinical examples, this book provides practical suggestions to enhance therapeutic efforts. Experienced psychiatrists, psychologists, and mental health professionals will find valuable methods for applying their insights to clinical decisions, while early career and trainee clinicians will gain a deeper understanding of the nuances of clinical practice

Giovanni A Fava, Clinical Professor of Psychiatry, University at Buffalo, State University of New York

Giovanni A. Fava is a world-renowned psychiatrist, whose academic career has taken place in Italy and United States. He is currently Clinical Professor of Psychiatry, State University of New York at Buffalo. For 30 years (1992-2022) he has been Editor-in-Chief of Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, a journal that reached a top position during his tenure. He has performed groundbreaking research in psychiatry and clinical psychology, where he has introduced Well-Being Therapy, the sequential model, the concept of staging, a new method of psychosomatic classification, and the clinimetric approach. His latest book Discontinuing Antidepressant Medications was published by Oxford University Press in 2021.

IntroductionSection One: Collecting Clinical Information1. The role of clinical interviewing2. Refining and expanding symptom configuration3. The clinical use of staging4. The interaction of psychiatric and medical disorders5. Evaluating allostatic load6. Health attitudes and insight7. Psychological well-being8. The role of personality9. Treatment history and iatrogenic factorsSection Two: Organizing Clinical Data10. Case formulation: macro-analysis11. Case formulation: micro-analysis12. Strategies of clinical reasoningSection Three: Formulating an Individualized Treatment Plan13. Not jumping to treatment14. Choosing treatments15. Formulating a treatment plan16. Shared decision and self-therapy17. Evaluating treatment response