Textbook Recommendations

[908377]

I've been pillaging through various threads over the years with textbook recommendations. There are so many recommendations that I don't know where to begin. Can anybody recommend a concise, 'less is more' approach to what they consider to be essential for the new Psychiatry intern? Maybe it will be easier if we break it down into categories:

-General Text
-Psychopharmacology
-Neurology

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[MacDonaldTriad]

For a general text, Kaplan & Sadock or the APA textbook of psychiatry would be what most people would say. Ask your program if their curriculum is tied to one or the other much.
Neurology is Kaufman's Clinical neurology for psychiatrists.
Psychopharmacology is a little harder because there are so many. Stahl is probably the most popular, but people's tastes seem more varied on this one.

 

[NickNaylor]

Agree with both of these, though with the K&S text I would suggest getting the Synopsis version over the full version if you actually plan to read the whole thing. The former is somewhat digestible and readable, the latter is not and is better used as a true reference.

I’ve got the Stahl book - I think it’s fine enough for initial learning but don’t find it particularly great now because he offers a lot of theory which is not commonly incorporated into clinical practice, and frankly some of the theoretical combo therapies he recommends are just silly. The line in that text between theory and actual clinical practice can become quite blurred. I now prefer the Manual of Psychopharmacology from APA Publishing, which is much more clinically focused. There is a fair amount of anecdote, but the authors are typically clear about what is anecdote and what isn’t. It’s also an easily digestible text.

 

[romanticscience]

Psychopharmacology: Taylor, D., Paton, C., & Kapur, S. (2015). The Maudsley prescribing guidelines in psychiatry. John Wiley & Sons.

 

[Amygdarya]

Psychopharmacology: Taylor, D., Paton, C., & Kapur, S. (2015). The Maudsley prescribing guidelines in psychiatry. John Wiley & Sons.

This book is awesome and very practical. I thank @splik for the recommendation.

APA's Manual of psychopharm is not bad either.

 

[908377]

Is Maudsley > Stahl?

 

[Amygdarya]

Is Maudsley > Stahl?

If you're referring to the most commonly referred Stahl's Essentials, they are completely different. Stahl's Essentials is theory of drug-receptor interactions, Maudsley is very practical (as is APA's Manual, though I like Maudsley more).
If you're talking about Stahl's Prescriber's Guide, I don't like it at all because it contains a huge amount of unnecessary repetition and some theory-based handwaving, while missing a good amount of actually important information about drugs

 

[DisorderedDoc417]

For a general text, Kaplan & Sadock or the APA textbook of psychiatry would be what most people would say. Ask your program if their curriculum is tied to one or the other much.
Neurology is Kaufman's Clinical neurology for psychiatrists.
Psychopharmacology is a little harder because there are so many. Stahl is probably the most popular, but people's tastes seem more varied on this one.

I don’t understand the stahl recommendation. Don’t get me wrong... I have a copy of it, but I much prefer the college of psychiatric and neurologic pharmacists (Cpnp) Psychiatric Psychopharmacotherapy Review. Gives the most recent literature and indications to date, is easy to read, and is more evidence based. I would love to hear what an attending would say about it if they are familiar. Plus, I don’t have to stare at the 40 different receptors each molecule binds pretending that theoretical binding affinities matter as much as what works clinically and has been shown to work in the literature. He (Stahl) goes into explaining things with mechanistic detail, claiming some things as fully understood when they are at best just a working theory. No disrespect to stahl — I have the big book and the small companion.

 

[DisorderedDoc417]

If you're referring to the most commonly referred Stahl's Essentials, they are completely different. Stahl's Essentials is theory of drug-receptor interactions, Maudsley is very practical (as is APA's Manual, though I like Maudsley more).
If you're talking about Stahl's Prescriber's Guide, I don't like it at all because it contains a huge amount of unnecessary repetition and some theory-based handwaving, while missing a good amount of actually important information about drugs

You should check out the book I referenced above. A PHD pharmacist recommended it to me and it is amazing. I’ve never heard of it referenced by a psychiatrist sadly, it is readable and summarizes the literature behind each drug for each of the disorders in Dsm5, even gives reasoning behind off label use of things and order of preference. Honestly, amazing book I wish the psych community would latch onto instead of stahl.

 

[priormatt]

You should check out the book I referenced above. A PHD pharmacist recommended it to me and it is amazing. I’ve never heard of it referenced by a psychiatrist sadly, it is readable and summarizes the literature behind each drug for each of the disorders in Dsm5, even gives reasoning behind off label use of things and order of preference. Honestly, amazing book I wish the psych community would latch onto instead of stahl.

Thank you so much for your good advice. lol

 

[Amygdarya]

You should check out the book I referenced above. A PHD pharmacist recommended it to me and it is amazing. I’ve never heard of it referenced by a psychiatrist sadly, it is readable and summarizes the literature behind each drug for each of the disorders in Dsm5, even gives reasoning behind off label use of things and order of preference. Honestly, amazing book I wish the psych community would latch onto instead of stahl.

Thank you for the recommendation, I’ll check it out.

 

[hypnorpheus]

Agree with both of these, though with the K&S text I would suggest getting the Synopsis version over the full version if you actually plan to read the whole thing. The former is somewhat digestible and readable, the latter is not and is better used as a true reference.

What about the "Concise" version? Is it too inadequate?

 

[thepoopologist]

You should check out the book I referenced above. A PHD pharmacist recommended it to me and it is amazing. I’ve never heard of it referenced by a psychiatrist sadly, it is readable and summarizes the literature behind each drug for each of the disorders in Dsm5, even gives reasoning behind off label use of things and order of preference. Honestly, amazing book I wish the psych community would latch onto instead of stahl.

Thanks for this, I bought the book and course, will check it out.

 

[MacDonaldTriad]

I don’t understand the stahl recommendation. Don’t get me wrong... I have a copy of it, but I much prefer the college of psychiatric and neurologic pharmacists (Cpnp) Psychiatric Psychopharmacotherapy Review. Gives the most recent literature and indications to date, is easy to read, and is more evidence based. I would love to hear what an attending would say about it if they are familiar. Plus, I don’t have to stare at the 40 different receptors each molecule binds pretending that theoretical binding affinities matter as much as what works clinically and has been shown to work in the literature. He (Stahl) goes into explaining things with mechanistic detail, claiming some things as fully understood when they are at best just a working theory. No disrespect to stahl — I have the big book and the small companion.

 

[908377]

Is Maudsley useful for PGY1s or should we start with Stahl's essentials? If you can only read one book before residency starts 😀

 

[NickNaylor]

What about the "Concise" version? Is it too inadequate?

I haven’t looked at the concise version so I can’t make a recommendation one way or another. I will say that the transformation from the full text to the synopsis cuts out a fair bit of information. I suspect that the concise version may be more “high-yield,” though I would wonder if the depth of what is presented is actually sufficient with respect to what you’d be expected to know as a psychiatry resident.

 

[MacDonaldTriad]

much more balanced. Philip Janicak.

 

[romanticscience]

Is Maudsley useful for PGY1s or should we start with Stahl's essentials? If you can only read one book before residency starts 😀

Maudsley is clinically-focused and is very practical (everything is cited). Stahl is a bit more basic science-focused and leans theoretical.

 

[SourceOfDenial]

Not textbooks, but 'The Body Keeps The Score' and 'Trauma and Recovery' should be required reading for interns. I'd also throw in 'The New Jim Crow' since it provides some context for many of our patients.

 

[priormatt]

What about the "Concise" version? Is it too inadequate?

I haven't looked it out for this one yet. But willing to try for it. 🙂

 

[Amygdarya]

Although this is beyond the scope of your question, if I remember correctly, @OldPsychDoc recommended Shea's Suicide Assessment and - whataretheirnames - the developers of motivation interviewing main MI book to incoming psych interns or anyone really.

 

[OldPsychDoc]

Although this is beyond the scope of your question, if I remember correctly, @OldPsychDoc recommended Shea's Suicide Assessment and - whataretheirnames - the developers of motivation interviewing main MI book to incoming psych interns or anyone really.

Miller and Rollnick

 

[michaelrack]

which psychopharm book is best for giving details of drug monitoring of anti-manics ( how often to check lft's and cbc for depakote and tegretol, etc) and of dosing regimes for lithium (such as how to monitor drug levels with once a day dosing)?

 

[deleted736562]

Is Maudsley > Stahl?

IMO it's not even close. Not a fan of Stahl's "pharmacology for dummies" style and so much of what is in the main book is speculation and not very helpful. The prescriber's book is just terrible. Maudsley's on the other hand is the closest thing to a psychopharm bible. I'd definitely recommend it even for PGY-Is. The sections on antipsychotics and mood stabilizers can be very useful for inpatient.

 

[michaelrack]

I just bought Maudsley; and I also bought Schatzberg (Manual of Clinical Psychopharmacology) on Amazon. should be arriving next week.
will provide reviews soon.

 

[ohiopsych]

I don’t understand the stahl recommendation. Don’t get me wrong... I have a copy of it, but I much prefer the college of psychiatric and neurologic pharmacists (Cpnp) Psychiatric Psychopharmacotherapy Review. Gives the most recent literature and indications to date, is easy to read, and is more evidence based. I would love to hear what an attending would say about it if they are familiar. Plus, I don’t have to stare at the 40 different receptors each molecule binds pretending that theoretical binding affinities matter as much as what works clinically and has been shown to work in the literature. He (Stahl) goes into explaining things with mechanistic detail, claiming some things as fully understood when they are at best just a working theory. No disrespect to stahl — I have the big book and the small companion.

This is the one for $200 online? You're making a strong case for it but I can't find any reviews or even sample pages online. Kinda hesitant on dropping that much money without knowing for sure what I'm getting.....

 

[DisorderedDoc417]

This is the one for $200 online? You're making a strong case for it but I can't find any reviews or even sample pages online. Kinda hesitant on dropping that much money without knowing for sure what I'm getting.....

It’s $175 with a members discount. Signing up to be a member is free. Idk, I have the other texts noted above and this one lays out the entire DSM5 as it is written. Lays out the Pharma treatments for it... both on label and common off label, prioritizes each med by the amount of literature supporting it. Summarizes that literature article by article. And then it gives directions on how to start, dosing, contraindications and all the things pharmacists like to know about the meds. Honestly it blows stalhls out of the water. So I bit the bullet and went for it. I am glad I did!

 

[DisorderedDoc417]

It’s $175 with a members discount. Signing up to be a member is free. Idk, I have the other texts noted above and this one lays out the entire DSM5 as it is written. Lays out the Phamrma treatments for it... both on label and common off label, prioritizes each med by the amount of literature supporting it. Summarizes that literature article by article. And then it gives directions on how to start, dosing, contraindications and all the things pharmacists like to know about the meds. Honestly it blows stalhls out of the water. So I bit the bullet and went for it. I am glad I did!

As I said above, if these guys could advertise/market better, they would own the field I think.

 

[zolof]

It’s $175 with a members discount. Signing up to be a member is free. Idk, I have the other texts noted above and this one lays out the entire DSM5 as it is written. Lays out the Pharma treatments for it... both on label and common off label, prioritizes each med by the amount of literature supporting it. Summarizes that literature article by article. And then it gives directions on how to start, dosing, contraindications and all the things pharmacists like to know about the meds. Honestly it blows stalhls out of the water. So I bit the bullet and went for it. I am glad I did!

How does it compare to up-to-date subscription in your opinion

 

[Amygdarya]

How does it compare to up-to-date subscription in your opinion

Apples and oranges?

 

[DisorderedDoc417]

How does it compare to up-to-date subscription in your opinion

Not the same thing. This is a summary of all of the psychopharmacology literature. There’s room for a little opinion and bias in UTD. Depending on the author they might recommend different things. The book I’ve been talking about is an objective summary of all of the recent psychopharm literature and is not based off of author preference. In fact, it is written by pharmacists, not providers.

 

[FrasierMD]

Second everyone on the Maudsley. I recommend this as a must read to all the junior residents on our unit. I would add the Handbook of Psychiatric Drug Therapy by Jerrold Rosenbaum, et al.

One of my favorites for clinical neuroscience is the Textbook of Clinical Neuropsychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience by David Moore.

 

[nonick123]

Shall I read Kaplan and Saddock for introduction to psychiatry and if ICD-10 is used ? (I am a medical student in Europe)