A mental disorder,also referred to as a mental illness,a mental health condition,or a psychiatric disorder,is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. A mental disorder is also characterized by a clinically significant disturbance in an individual's cognition,emotional regulation,or behavior,often in a social context. Such disturbances may occur as single episodes,may be persistent,or may be relapsing–remitting. There are many different types of mental disorders,with signs and symptoms that vary widely between specific disorders. A mental disorder is one aspect of mental health.
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterised by executive dysfunction occasioning symptoms of inattention,hyperactivity,impulsivity and emotional dysregulation that are excessive and pervasive,impairing in multiple contexts,and otherwise age-inappropriate.
Adjustment disorder is a maladaptive response to a psychosocial stressor. It is classified as a mental disorder. The maladaptive response usually involves otherwise normal emotional and behavioral reactions that manifest more intensely than usual,causing marked distress,preoccupation with the stressor and its consequences,and functional impairment.
Tic disorders are defined in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) based on type and duration of tics. Tic disorders are defined similarly by the World Health Organization.
Neurodevelopmental disorders are a group of conditions that begin to emerge during childhood. According to the American Psychiatric Association Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders,Fifth Edition,(DSM-5) published in 2013,these conditions generally appear in early childhood,usually before children start school,and can persist into adulthood. The key characteristic of all these disorders is that they negatively impact a person's functioning in one or more domains of life depending on the disorder and deficits it has caused. All of these disorders and their levels of impairment exist on a spectrum,and affected individuals can experience varying degrees of symptoms and deficits,despite having the same diagnosis.
Suicidal ideation,or suicidal thoughts,is the thought process of having ideas,or ruminations about the possibility of completing suicide. It is not a diagnosis but is a symptom of some mental disorders,use of certain psychoactive drugs,and can also occur in response to adverse life events without the presence of a mental disorder.
Éric Fombonne MD,FRCP,is a French psychiatrist and epidemiologist based in Montreal.
Psychiatric epidemiology is a field which studies the causes (etiology) of mental disorders in society,as well as conceptualization and prevalence of mental illness. It is a subfield of the more general epidemiology. It has roots in sociological studies of the early 20th century. However,while sociological exposures are still widely studied in psychiatric epidemiology,the field has since expanded to the study of a wide area of environmental risk factors,such as major life events,as well as genetic exposures. Increasingly neuroscientific techniques like MRI are used to explore the mechanisms behind how exposures to risk factors may impact psychological problems and explore the neuroanatomical substrate underlying psychiatric disorders.
Tourette syndrome is an inherited neurological disorder that begins in childhood or adolescence,characterized by the presence of multiple physical (motor) tics and at least one vocal (phonic) tic.
Child and adolescent psychiatry is a branch of psychiatry that focuses on the diagnosis,treatment,and prevention of mental disorders in children,adolescents,and their families. It investigates the biopsychosocial factors that influence the development and course of psychiatric disorders and treatment responses to various interventions. Child and adolescent psychiatrists primarily use psychotherapy and/or medication to treat mental disorders in the pediatric population.
In medicine,a prodrome is an early sign or symptom that often indicates the onset of a disease before more diagnostically specific signs and symptoms develop. It is derived from the Greek word prodromos,meaning "running before". Prodromes may be non-specific symptoms or,in a few instances,may clearly indicate a particular disease,such as the prodromal migraine aura.
The epidemiology of child psychiatric disorders is the study of the incidence,prevalence,and distribution of conditions in child and adolescent psychiatry. Subfields of pediatric psychiatric epidemiology include developmental epidemiology,which focuses on the genetic and environmental causes of child psychiatric disorders. The field of pediatric psychiatric epidemiology finds widely varying rates of childhood psychiatric disorders,depending on study population,diagnostic method,and cultural setting.
Childhood schizophrenia is similar in characteristics of schizophrenia that develops at a later age,but has an onset before the age of 13 years,and is more difficult to diagnose. Schizophrenia is characterized by positive symptoms that can include hallucinations,delusions,and disorganized speech;negative symptoms,such as blunted affect and avolition and apathy,and a number of cognitive impairments. Differential diagnosis is problematic since several other neurodevelopmental disorders,including autism spectrum disorder,language disorder,and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder,also have signs and symptoms similar to childhood-onset schizophrenia.
Pervasive refusal syndrome (PRS),also known as pervasive arousal withdrawal syndrome (PAWS) is a rare hypothesized pediatric mental disorder. PRS is not included in the standard psychiatric classification systems;that is,PRS is not a recognized mental disorder in the World Health Organization's current (ICD-10) and upcoming (ICD-11) International Classification of Diseases and the current Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5).
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to psychiatry:
Celso Arango is a psychiatrist who has worked as a clinician,researcher,and educator in psychiatry and mental health,notably in the field of child and adolescent psychiatry,psychosis,and mental health promotion.
The International Association for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Allied Professions (IACAPAP) is a non-governmental international association that advocates for the "promotion of the mental health and development of children and adolescents through policy,practice and research". Its membership is mainly Latin and North American,European,and Pacific Rim-based.
Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by difficulty focusing attention,hyperactivity,and impulsive behavior. Treatments generally involve behavioral therapy and/or medications. ADHD is estimated to affect about 6 to 7 percent of people aged 18 and under when diagnosed via the DSM-IV criteria. When diagnosed via the ICD-10 criteria,hyperkinetic disorder gives rates between 1 and 2 percent in this age group.
Ernesto Caffo is the founder and President of SOS Il Telefono Azzurro Onlus and Fondazione Child. He is a Chair Professor of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia,full-time Director of the Department of Paediatrics for the Hospital of University of Modena,and director of the 6th edition of the Master Assessment and Intervention in situations of child abuse and pedophilia at the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia.
Tamsin Jane FordCBE,FRCPsych,FMedSci is a British psychiatrist specialising in children's mental health. Since 2019 she has been based at the University of Cambridge where she is now Professor of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry,Head of the Department of Psychiatry and Fellow of Hughes Hall. She has been heavily involved with the Incredible Years Teacher Classroom Management (TCM) programme,created by Carolyn Webster-Stratton,which aims to raise and improve children's mental health in primary schools across Devon. Her work also ties in with the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ),created by UK psychiatrist,Robert Goodman.
