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General Adult Psychiatry guides
28 plain-English, evidence-linked guides in General Adult Psychiatry, with clinical review status shown on each page.
Adult ADHD assessment (Adult attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) diagnostic assessment)A specialist appointment to work out whether your difficulties with attention, restlessness or impulsiveness fit a diagnosis of ADHD, and what might help.Anger management (Anger management — assessment and psychological treatment for problem anger)Support and structured help — usually a talking therapy or course — to understand anger, recognise its triggers, and learn ways to express and manage it without harm.Autism assessment (adult) (Adult autism spectrum disorder (ASD) diagnostic assessment)A specialist appointment to understand whether you are autistic, by looking at how you communicate, relate to others and experience the world, across your whole life.Bereavement and grief support (Bereavement support and assessment of grief, including prolonged (complicated) grief)Support and, where needed, specialist help for people struggling after the death of someone close, including when grief stays severe or 'stuck' for a long time.Bipolar disorder / mood disorder management (Bipolar disorder (bipolar affective disorder) management)Specialist-led, long-term care for bipolar disorder — episodes of high (manic or hypomanic) and low (depressed) mood — using medication, talking therapy and monitoring to keep mood stable and reduce relapses.Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) (Body dysmorphic disorder (body dysmorphia))How body dysmorphic disorder, an obsessive preoccupation with perceived flaws in appearance, is recognised and treated with talking therapy (CBT) and, where needed, medicine, and why cosmetic or surgical procedures usually do not help.Capacity and medico-legal psychiatric reports (Mental capacity assessment and medico-legal psychiatric reports)An independent psychiatric assessment producing a written report on a specific question — most often whether someone can make a particular decision, or for a court or legal matter.Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) referral (Referral for cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT))Being referred for cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT): a structured, evidence-based talking therapy that helps you change unhelpful patterns of thinking and behaviour to ease problems like anxiety and depression.Depression assessment and treatment (Assessment and treatment of depression in adults)How depression in adults is assessed and treated, including talking therapies, medication where it is needed, and how to get help — with urgent support if you are in crisis.Eating disorder assessment (Specialist assessment for a suspected eating disorder)A specialist assessment to understand a suspected eating disorder, including the mental-health picture and the physical (medical) risk, so the right treatment and level of care can be arranged quickly.Generalised anxiety disorder (GAD) (Generalised anxiety disorder)Help for ongoing, hard-to-control worry that affects your daily life, using talking therapy, medication where needed, and self-help — with support to find what works for you.Health anxiety treatment (Treatment for health anxiety (illness anxiety / hypochondriasis))Support and talking therapy that help you worry less about your health, break the cycle of checking and seeking reassurance, and get back to living — without needing endless tests.Medication review and prescribing (Psychiatric medication review, prescribing and deprescribing)A specialist appointment to review your mental-health medicines — whether they are helping, whether to adjust, continue, switch or carefully stop them — through a shared decision with you.Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) (Obsessive-compulsive disorder)Help for unwanted, distressing thoughts (obsessions) and the urges to do repeated rituals (compulsions) to ease them, mainly using a specific kind of CBT and, where needed, medication.Panic disorder and panic attacks (Panic disorder)Help for sudden, intense waves of fear (panic attacks) and the worry about having more of them, using talking therapy, medication where needed, and self-help.Personality disorder treatment (Assessment and treatment of personality disorder, including emotionally unstable (borderline) personality disorder)How personality disorder, including emotionally unstable (borderline) personality disorder, is understood and treated, mainly through specialist talking therapies, with a compassionate, recovery-focused approach.Phobias treatment (Treatment of phobic anxiety disorders)Help for intense, out-of-proportion fear of a particular thing or situation, mainly using talking therapy that gradually helps you face the fear so it loses its grip.Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) (Post-traumatic stress disorder)Help for the lasting effects of frightening or traumatic experiences — flashbacks, nightmares, feeling on edge and avoidance — mainly using trauma-focused talking therapies, with medication where needed.Postnatal depression and perinatal mental health (Assessment and treatment of perinatal mental illness, including postnatal (postpartum) depression)How specialist teams assess and treat mental illness during pregnancy and in the first year after birth, including postnatal depression, anxiety and the psychiatric emergency of postpartum psychosis.Psychosexual difficulties (Assessment and treatment of psychosexual (sexual) difficulties)Assessment and treatment — usually a talking therapy, sometimes with medical input — for sexual difficulties such as low desire, pain, erectile problems or difficulties with arousal or orgasm.Psychosis and schizophrenia management (Assessment and treatment of psychosis and schizophrenia)How psychosis and schizophrenia are assessed and treated, combining antipsychotic medicine, talking therapies, family support and help with daily life, with early treatment improving the chances of recovery.Psychotherapy / talking therapy (Psychotherapy (talking therapy / counselling))Talking therapies in which a trained therapist helps you understand and work through difficult feelings, relationships or experiences, to feel better and cope more healthily.Second-opinion psychiatric assessment (Independent second-opinion psychiatric assessment)A fresh assessment by a different psychiatrist to review your diagnosis or treatment, give an independent view, and help you and your team decide the best way forward.Self-harm and suicidal thoughts assessment (Psychosocial assessment for self-harm and suicidal thoughts)A careful, kind conversation with a mental health professional to understand your thoughts of suicide or self-harm, keep you safe, and plan the support that will help.Sleep problems and insomnia management (Assessment and management of insomnia and other sleep problems)Assessment and treatment for ongoing difficulty falling or staying asleep, focusing first on practical changes and a talking therapy (CBT for insomnia) rather than sleeping pills.Stress and burnout management (Assessment and management of chronic stress and burnout)How a doctor or therapist helps you understand and recover from long-term stress and burnout, using practical change, talking therapies and, where needed, treatment for any depression or anxiety underneath.Treatment for anxiety disorders (Treatment of anxiety disorders in adults)How anxiety disorders in adults are treated, including self-help, talking therapies such as CBT, and medication where it is needed — with urgent support if you are in crisis.Workplace mental health assessment (Occupational mental health assessment (fitness for work))An assessment, usually by an occupational health professional, of how your mental health affects your work — to advise on fitness for work, adjustments and support, with your consent over any report.
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