{[['
']]}
']]}
There is little question that this is the most exciting time in history to be involved in the treatment of patients with psychiatric disorders. The explosive growth in our knowledge base in all areas of the field, particularly in neuroscience, has revolutionized both our understanding of the nature of psychiatric illnesses and our ability to provide effective treatments. As molecular genetics and pharmacology, neurochemistry,
and new drug discovery techniques continue to advance, physicians are faced with the need to assimilate an everchanging body of knowledge. In particular, the change in pharmacotherapy for psychiatric illnesses continues at a dizzying pace. We have been very gratified by the extremely positive international
response to our major textbook, Psychiatry, Second Edition (Tasman, A, Kay, J, Lieberman, JA, Wiley, 2003). We believe, however, that busy clinicians need a quick reference guide to the most up-to-date information on prescribing medications for psychiatric illnesses. This book, the Handbook of Psychiatric Drugs, is based on the outstanding chapters on pharmacotherapy in Psychiatry, Second Edition. The material has been condensed, updated to just months before publication, and organized by specific classes of medications. To enhance the daily utility of this handbook, we chose a format that emphasized ease of use, and ensured that each chapter follows a specific template of topics, including the pharmacology, mechanism of action and pharmacokinetics, indications and methods of prescribing, side effects and drug
interactions, and descriptions of each specific drug within the class. We have aimed to include prescription medications in common use anywhere in the world. Further, each chapter was then reviewed by highly respected psychiatrists with pharmacotherapy expertise in that particular class of medication.
