New Directions in Psychiatry

This book focuses on hot issues faced by clinicians in everyday clinical practice, and provides in-depth analyses of both met and unmet needs in the management of psychiatric disorders. It has been repeatedly shown that the needs of patients, relatives, the community at large and those of the governmental bodies only partially overlap. For instance, patients in their families are more concerned about quality of life, treatment, autonomy, and independent living; whereas governmental stakeholders are typically more concerned about relapse prevention and reduction of hospitalizations. As such, a volume bridging the gap between theoretical notions and practical understanding of patients’ untreated aspects of their psychiatric disorders is much needed. Instead of focusing on traditional descriptions of psychopathology and diagnostic criteria, the volume guides readers to core problems for each topic, taking into account new approaches in the classification of mental disorders as proposed by DSM-5. It elaborates on much-debated controversial problems such as the assessment and treatment of psychomotor agitation, and non-adherence to treatment that impacts on the psychiatric context. With its unique approach, this volume appeals to anyone with an interest in the field, including researchers, clinicians, and trainees.

Maurizio Pompili, M.D., Ph.D. is a Full Professor and Chair of Psychiatry at the Faculty of Medicine and Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, Italy, where he completed both his M.D. and Psychiatry training (both summa cum laude). He is currently the Director of the Residency Training Program in Psychiatry for his faculty, Director of the University Psychiatric Clinic, and Director of the Suicide Prevention Center at Sant’Andrea Hospital in Rome. He is also President of the Psychiatric Rehabilitation Technique degree program at Sapienza University of Rome.Prof. Pompili holds a doctoral degree in Experimental and Clinical Neurosciences and was part of the Community at McLean Hospital – Harvard Medical School, USA, where he received a fellowship in psychiatry. He is the recipient of the American Association of Suicidology’s 2008 Shneidman Award for “Outstanding contributions in research in suicidology.”

Apart from being the Italian Representative of the International Association for Suicide Prevention (IASP) for eight years, he later served as one of its Vice-Presidents. He is currently Co-Chair of the IASP Special Interest Group on Risk Resilience and Reasons for Living. He is also a member of the International Academy for Suicide Research and the American Association of Suicidology. He is President of the Suicidology Section of the Italian Psychiatric Society.

Prof. Pompili has published more than 400 papers on suicide, bipolar disorders and other psychiatric perspectives, including original research articles, book chapters, and editorials. Further, he has co-edited ten international books on suicide. He has been recognized by Expertscape as an expert in suicide, ranked 1^st worldwide.

Roger McIntyre is currently a Professor of Psychiatry and Pharmacology at the University of Toronto and Head of the Mood Disorders Psychopharmacology Unit at the University Health Network, Toronto, Canada. Prof. McIntyreis also Executive Director of the Brain and Cognition Discovery Foundation in Toronto, Canada, and Director of the Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance (DBSA) in Chicago, Illinois, USA. He completed his medical degree at Dalhousie University, and received his Psychiatry residency training and Fellowship in Psychiatric Pharmacology at the University of Toronto. Prof. McIntyre was named by Thomson Reuters in 2014 and 2015, as one of “The World’s Most Influential Scientific Minds”. He is involved in multiple research endeavours which primarily aim to characterize the association between mood disorders, notably cognitive function and medical comorbidity.  His works focuses on the underlying causes of cognitive impairment in individuals with mood disorders and their impact on workplace functioning. He is extensively involved in medical education, and is a highly sought-after speaker at both national and international meetings. He has received several teaching awards from the University of Toronto, Department of Psychiatry and has been a recipient of the joint Canadian Psychiatric Association (CPA) / Council of Psychiatric Continuing Education Award for the Most Outstanding Continuing Education Activity in Psychiatry in Canada. Prof. McIntyre is a contributor to the Florida Best Practice Psychotherapeutic Medication Guidelines for Adults with Major Depressive Disorder and Bipolar Disorder. He was the co-chair of the Canadian Network for Mood and Anxiety Treatments (CANMAT) Task Force on the Treatment of Comorbidity in Adults with Major Depressive Disorder or Bipolar Disorder as well a contributor to the CANMAT guidelines for the treatment of Depressive Disorders and Bipolar Disorders. He has published more than 400 articles/manuscripts and has edited and/or co-edited several textbooks on mood disorders.

Andrea Fiorillo, MD, PhD, is Full Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Campania Luigi Vanvitelli, Naples, Italy. He is currently Board member of the European Psychiatric Association (EPA), where he is the Secretary for Scientific Sections. He is also the Co-Chair of the Section on Education in Psychiatry of the World Psychiatric Association (WPA), member of the WPA Operational Committee on Education, Honorary Member of the WPA, and President of the Italian Society for Social Psychiatry. He is Editor-in-Chief of European Psychiatry. His main research interests include education in psychiatry, social psychiatry, psychiatric epidemiology, prevention of mental disorders and promotion of physical and mental wellbeing in people with severe mental illnesses. He has authored more than 200 scientific papers in international peer-reviewed journals and several chapters in various scientific books. He has edited ten books in the field of mental health.

Norman Sartorius was the Director of the Division of Mental Health at the World Health Organization (WHO) and subsequently President of the World Psychiatric Association (WPA) and then  President of the Association of European Psychiatrists). He is currently President of the Association for the Improvement of Mental Health Programmes and a member of the Geneva Prize Foundation, having previously been its President. Professor Sartorius was professor of psychiatry at the University of Geneva and now holds professorial appointments at the Universities of London and Zagreb and at several other universities in the USA and China. He has published more than 400 articles in scientific journals, authored or co-authored a number of books and edited many others. He is an honorary fellow of the Royal College of Psychiatrists of the United Kingdom, of the American College of Psychiatry, of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists and of numerous other professional associations. He is also a Distinguished Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association and honorary member of medical academies in Peru, Mexico and Croatia and holds honorary doctorates from universities in the Cheech Republic, Denmark, Romania, Sweden and the UK. He is also a chief editor of  Current Opinion in Psychiatry and a member of the editorial boards of a number of scientific journals.