This handbook covers the scientific, clinical and service background for practitioners involved in the care of older people with psychiatric disorders. Expandin... » 

This handbook covers the scientific, clinical and service background for practitioners involved in the care of older people with psychiatric disorders. Expanding older populations and increasing attention on mental disorder in old age have focused attention on the need for responsive, humane, efficient and effective services. The greatest interest has been in the identification and treatment of dementia; it has also become clear how very common the other psychiatric disorders including depression, schizophrenia, anxiety disorders and substance abuse are in older age. While specialist services proliferate, more general services, for example in general hospital medical teams, or adult community psychiatric services, continue to manage many older people with psychiatric illness. «