This comprehensive reference provides a useful survey and synthesis of recent advances in providing care in psychiatric hospitals. The volume is divided into four broad sections on administrative, clinical, diagnostic, and educational innovations. The chapters within provide information on program planning, service delivery, and the management of different clinical departments. Due to the large amount of practical information presented, the book is a necessary tool for administrators and practitioners. Because it identifies and summarizes areas of psychiatric hospital research currently in a state of transition, it is of equal value to scholars and researchers.
The book begins with an introduction that discusses recent trends and developments in inpatient psychiatric care. A section on administrative innovations follows, with chapters on legal, managerial, and service issues that impact psychiatric care. The next section, on clinical innovations, contains chapters on treating particular disorders and populations. A section on diagnostic innovations then considers various means of assessing psychiatric problems. A final section, on educational innovations, looks at relationships between psychiatric hospitals and school systems. The reference concludes with a bibliography that lists additional sources of further information.