We all have times when we're feeling down, anxious, over the top, or on edge. Or times when we can't sleep, feel spaced out or disconnected from things, can't remember names or faces, can't get over past traumas.
Problems like these are often a common and normal part of the aches and pains of everyday life. However, if these problems last long enough, are severe enough, or interfere with work or relationships, it may mean that you or someone you care about has a diagnosable and treatable disorder.
Written by the same doctors who led the effort to produce the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV) -- the reference text used by the majority of mental health professionals -- Am I Okay? is a thorough, completely authoritative guide designed to help people identify whether or not they have a psychiatric condition as early as possible.
Am I Okay? also includes the following features:
* "Twenty Questions to Get You Started": a diagnostic screening questionnaire that covers most known psychiatric problems
* Detailed chapters on a range of mental health issues, from Depression, Personality Disorders, and Alcohol and Substance Abuse to Anxiety, Dissociative Experiences, and more
* Information about national organizations, support groups, and other sources of help, as well as suggested readings for more information
Allen Frances, M.D., is Professor of Psychiatry and former chairman of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science at Duke University. Dr. Frances was chairman of the DSM-IV Task Force and is currently leading an effort to develop expert consensus practice guidelines for the different psychiatric disorders.
Michael B. First M.D., is a Professor of Clinical Psychiatry at Columbia University, was a Research Psychiatrist in the Division of Behavioral Health and Policy Research at the New York State Psychiatric Institute (retired), and maintains a psychopharmacology practice in Manhattan. Dr. First is a nationally and internationally recognized expert on psychiatric diagnostic and assessment issues and conducts expert forensic psychiatric evaluations in both criminal and civil matters. Dr. First is the Editor and Co-chair on the DSM-5-TR (Text Revision), the chief technical and editorial consultant on the World Health Organization’s ICD-11 Mental and Behavioral Disorders revision project, and was the Editorial and Coding Consultant for the DSM-5 and am external consultant to the National Institute of Mental Health's Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) project.
Dr. First got his undergraduate degree in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from Princeton University, received a Masters in Computer Science and a Medical Degree from the University of Pittsburgh, did his psychiatry residency at Columbia University, and did a fellowship in Biometrics Research at the New York State Psychiatric Institute under the direction of his mentor, Dr. Robert Spitzer.
Dr. First has authored or co-authored a number of books including the DSM-5-TR Handbook for Differential Diagnosis, Learning DSM-5-TR By Case Example, A Research Agenda for DSM-V, and Am I Okay?: A Layman's Guide to the Psychiatrist's Bible. He has also co-authored a number of psychiatric diagnostic assessment tools, including various versions of the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-5 (SCID-5-RV [Research Version], SCID-5-CV (Clinician Version], SCID-5-CT [Clinical Trials Version], SCID-5-PD [for Personality Disorders], and SCID-5-AMPD [for the Alternative Model of Personality
