Lesson 1Medical and neurological mimics of psychiatric presentations: thyroid, B12, infection, head injury, and medication-induced symptomsReviews common medical and neurological conditions that mimic psychiatric syndromes, including thyroid disease, B12 deficiency, infections, head injury, and medication effects, emphasising red flags, screening tests, and collaboration with primary care.
Endocrine causes: thyroid, adrenal, and metabolic issuesNutritional and haematologic factors, including B12Infections, inflammation, and systemic illness effectsHead injury, seizures, and neurodegenerative diseaseMedication- and substance-induced psychiatric symptomsIndications for labs, imaging, and specialist referralLesson 2Principles of psychiatric diagnosis and differential formulationOutlines foundational principles of psychiatric diagnosis, emphasising phenomenology, longitudinal course, comorbidity, and cultural context, and teaches structured differential formulation that prioritises safety, treatability, and diagnostic uncertainty.
Phenomenological description of symptoms and signsLongitudinal course and life-stage considerationsComorbidity and overlapping symptom clustersCultural formulation and explanatory modelsPrioritising safety and treatable conditions firstCommunicating diagnostic uncertainty to patientsLesson 3Bipolar spectrum and bipolar depression: signs suggesting hypomania/mania, sleep and activity changes, and differential featuresDetails recognition of bipolar spectrum conditions, including subtle hypomania, mixed states, and atypical depression, emphasising sleep, energy, and activity changes, course patterns, and key distinctions from unipolar depression and personality disorders.
Clinical features of hypomania and maniaSleep, circadian rhythm, and activity pattern changesCourse patterns: episodicity, polarity, and seasonalityDifferentiating bipolar from unipolar depressionMixed features and rapid cycling presentationsScreening tools and collateral history for bipolarityLesson 4Primary psychotic disorders vs substance/withdrawal-induced psychosis and acute confusional statesExamines how to differentiate primary psychotic disorders from substance-induced psychosis, delirium, and other acute confusional states, using onset, time course, sensorium, cognition, and associated medical findings to guide urgent management decisions.
Core features of schizophrenia spectrum disordersTemporal relationship between substance use and psychosisRecognising delirium and fluctuating consciousnessCognitive testing and attention in acute confusionMedical workup for first-episode psychosisRisk assessment and need for urgent hospitalisationLesson 5Structured diagnostic tools and rating scales useful in outpatient assessment (PHQ-9, GAD-7, CAGE/AUDIT, C-SSRS, YMRS)Introduces key structured tools and rating scales for outpatient assessment, including PHQ-9, GAD-7, CAGE, AUDIT, C-SSRS, and YMRS, with guidance on administration, interpretation, limitations, and integration into clinical decision-making.
Selecting appropriate screening and rating instrumentsUsing PHQ-9 and GAD-7 in routine assessmentCAGE and AUDIT for alcohol use identificationC-SSRS for suicide risk screening and monitoringYMRS and other mania rating scalesDocumenting and tracking scores over timeLesson 6Formulating multi-factorial etiologies: biopsychosocial integration and weighing primary versus secondary diagnosesTeaches how to construct biopsychosocial formulations that integrate predisposing, precipitating, perpetuating, and protective factors, and how to weigh primary versus secondary diagnoses to guide treatment sequencing and collaborative care planning.
Predisposing, precipitating, perpetuating, protective modelBiological factors: genetics, neurobiology, medical illnessPsychological factors: traits, coping, trauma, beliefsSocial factors: relationships, work, culture, resourcesWeighing primary versus secondary diagnosesLinking formulation to treatment and prognosisLesson 7Substance use disorders and pattern recognition: alcohol, benzodiazepines, and opioids effects on mood and cognitionCovers recognition of alcohol, benzodiazepine, and opioid use disorders, focusing on intoxication, withdrawal, and chronic effects on mood, anxiety, cognition, and psychosis, and how patterns of use complicate diagnosis and mask primary disorders.
Screening for alcohol, benzodiazepine, and opioid useIntoxication syndromes and acute behavioural changesWithdrawal states and rebound anxiety or agitationSubstance-induced mood and cognitive symptomsDistinguishing primary from substance-induced disordersAssessing severity, tolerance, and functional impactLesson 8Diagnostic criteria for Major Depressive Disorder (DSM-5 / ICD-11): core symptoms, specifiers, duration, and severityClarifies DSM-5 and ICD-11 criteria for Major Depressive Disorder, including required symptoms, duration, specifiers, and severity ratings, and discusses differential diagnosis with grief, adjustment disorder, bipolar depression, and medical causes.
Core mood, cognitive, and somatic symptomsDuration, impairment, and exclusion criteriaSpecifiers: melancholic, atypical, psychotic, anxiousSeverity assessment: mild, moderate, severeDifferentiating MDD from grief and adjustment disorderDistinguishing MDD from bipolar and medical causesLesson 9How family history, occupational stressors, relationship loss, and social determinants modify diagnostic probability and prognosisExplores how family loading, work stress, bereavement, trauma, poverty, and cultural context shape symptom onset, course, and treatment response, helping clinicians refine diagnostic probabilities, risk estimates, and long-term prognosis.
Eliciting detailed family psychiatric and substance historyAssessing occupational stress, burnout, and job insecurityImpact of bereavement, separation, and attachment lossSocial determinants: housing, income, discrimination, migrationCultural and religious factors in symptom expressionIntegrating contextual risks into prognosis and planning
