INGLESE

English

The course aims at training medical students to correctly identify main Psychiatric syndromes, to correctly prescribe a treatment and/or refer to a specialist difficult cases requiring a team work and integrated interventions.

Kaplan and Sadock's “Synopsis of Psychiatry: Behavioral Sciences/Clinical Psychiatry”, LWW, Eleventh Edition, 2014

Course objectives include: to acquire good theoretical and practical knowledge on main psychiatric syndromes in adulthood. In particular, learning outcomes include: 1) recognition of Psychiatric symptoms and signs as well as classification within relevant disorders; 2) diagnosis of main Psychiatric disorders, with particular attention to differential diagnosis between different psychiatric disorders as well as between them and general medical conditions; 3) knowledge on international classification systems of Psychiatric diseases; 4) knowledge on different classes of psychotropic medications; 5) basic knowledge on psychotherapies and rehabilitation interventions; 6) design of an integrated therapeutic project; knowledge on main laws concerning psychiatric care; 7) knowledge on the organization of Mental Health Departments.

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Classroom lessons and Practical activities

Oral Examination to verify acquisition of: 1) basic knowledge on common mental disorders (anxiety disorders, depressive disorders), psychotic disorders, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder; 2) knowledge of main psychotropic drug classes; 3) basic knowledge concerning autism, epilepsy in developmental age and intellectual disability; 4) principles of pharmacological and psychotherapic treatment of the above disorders.

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-Basics of psychopathology. Psychopathology of Perception, Mood, Emotions and Cognition.
-Clinical interview in psychiatry. The approach to the psychiatric patient. The first interview. The history: sources of information and relevant data. The psychological examination.
-Primary psychosis. Nosographic aspects. Schizophrenia: Diagnosis, clinical characteristics and course, biological correlates and etiopathogenesis. Chronic delusional syndromes. Schizoaffective Disorder.
-Anxiety syndromes. Classification. Panic disorder. Phobias. The generalized anxiety syndrome. Biological correlates and etiology of anxiety syndromes.
-Obsessive-compulsive disorder. Psychopathology of obsessions and compulsions. The "spectrum" of obsessive-compulsive phenomena. Clinical picture, course and prognosis. Biological correlates and etiopathogenesis.
-Mood disorders. Diagnostic and nosographic aspects. Major depressive episode. Depressive disorders. Manic episode. Bipolar syndromes. Dysthymia and cyclothymia. Biological correlates and etiopathogenesis of mood syndromes.
-The Dementias. Aging and dementia. Epidemiological data. The classification of dementias. Clinical and instrumental semiotics. Clinical pictures and course of main dementia syndromes. The biology of dementia.
-Delirium. Pathogenetic factors. Clinical picture. Differential diagnosis. Prognosis.
-Concept of stress. Post-traumatic stress disorder.
-Eating behavior and its disorders. The biological basis of eating behavior. Clinical pictures of eating disorders. Anorexia nervosa. Bulimia nervosa. Treatment of eating disorders.
-Antipsychotic drugs and their use in clinical practice. Classification of antipsychotic drugs. Mechanisms of action. Pharmacokinetics. Side effects. Anticholinergics. Atypical antipsychotics. The long-acting antipsychotics.
-Anxiolytic drugs and their use in clinical practice. Biochemistry, pharmacokinetics, metabolism of benzodiazepines. Classification of benzodiazepines. Side effects. Addiction and dependence. Non-benzodiazepine anxiolytics.
-I Antidepressant drugs and their use in clinical practice. Classification of antidepressant drugs. Mechanisms of action. Pharmacokinetics. Side effects.
-Lithium: indications, mechanism of action, side effects, contraindications. The predictors of response to treatment with lithium. The management of long-term treatment with lithium. Anticonvulsants.
-Basics of psychotherapy. Specific and non-specific factors in psychotherapy. Risks and side effects of psychotherapy. The evaluation of the results. Cognitive and behavioral psychotherapy. Clinical indications of psychotherapies.
-Family psychoeducational interventions.
-Psychiatric care in Italy. The "places" of psychiatric care. Prevention and rehabilitation. The psychiatric legislation.