Violence and Mental Disorders

Covering all aspects of the problem of violence in mental disorders, the book is divided into four parts: general aspects; risk factors, phenomenology and characteristics of violence in mental disorders; contexts of violence; and prevention and management of violence in mental health. It also discusses violence in the various settings of mental health system, an aspect that has not previously been fully addressed.

The volume is intended for all those who are interested in mental health, including scholars, professionals, and students.

Section I General aspects.- Violence as a social,  clinical and forensic problem.-Biological basis of violence in mental disorders.-Epidemiology and risk factors for violence in people with mental disorders.-Section II Risk Factors, phenomenology and characteristics of violence in mental disorders.-Violence in major mental disorders.- Psychopaty, personality disorders and violence.-Substance use disorders  and violence.-Violence and PTSD.- Major Neurocognitive disorders and violence.-Section III The contexts of violence.-Studying patients with severe mental disorders who act violently: Italian and European projects.-Prevalence and risk factors of violence by psychiatric acute inpatients: systematic review and meta-analysis. A 2019 Update.-Violence and mental disorders in Jails.-Violent behavior in Forensic Residential Facilities: the Italian experience after the closure of Forensic Psychiatric Hospitals.-Section IV Prevention and management of violence in mental health.-Violence Risk Assessment in mental health.-Psychoparmacology of violent behaviour among people with severe mental disorders.-Non Pharmacological approaches to violence among people with severe mental disorders

Prof. Bernardo Carpiniello is currently a Professor and Chair of Psychiatry, Department of Medical Science and Public Health at the University of Cagliari, Italy, and Director of the Postgraduate School of Psychiatry at the same University, where he has also been the Director of the Psychiatric Clinic since 2000. His main research interests are clinical psychiatry, clinical psychopharmacology, social psychiatry, psychiatric epidemiology and consultation-liaison psychiatry. He has authored or co-authored more than 350 scientific papers, most of which were published in national or international peer-reviewed journals. He is a member of the editorial board of the Journal of Psychopathology, Clinical Practice and Epidemiology in Mental Health, and the Journal of Mental Health Systems, and is co-editor of Case Reports in Medicine. He is a board member of the Italian Society of Psychopathology (SOPSI) and past President of the Italian Society of Psychiatry. He has also been President of the Italian Academic Board of Professors, the Italian Society of Social Psychiatry and the Italian Society of Psychiatric Rehabilitation.

Prof. Antonio Vita is currently a Full Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Brescia, Italy; Director of the Postgraduate School of Psychiatry at the same University; and Head of the Department of Mental Health, ASST Spedali Civili in Brescia. His research activities focus on clinical, biological, pharmacological and rehabilitative aspects of mental disorders, particularly the neuromorphological and neurofunctional correlates of psychotic disorders, and rehabilitation and cognitive remediation in schizophrenia. Prof. Vita is involved in several international research networks and is the author of over 250 papers published in major national and international scientific journals. He is currently President of the Italian Group for the Study of Cognition in Psychiatry and of the Italian Society of Neuroimaging in Psychiatry, and past President of the World Psychiatric Association’s section on neuroimaging. He is Vice-President of the Italian Psychiatric Association and is a member of the board of the Italian Association of Biological Psychiatry. He is also on the International Society of Schizophrenia Research’s advisory board. He is Co-Editor-in-Chief of the journal Frontiers in Psychiatry – Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Rehabilitation section, is or has been a member of the editorial board of numerous international journals and is a regular referee for various leading international psychiatric journals.

Claudio Mencacci is currently a Professor at the Postgraduate School of Psychiatry at the  State University of Milan, Italy, Head of the Department of Neuroscience and Mental health, Fatebenefratelli Hospital, ASST Fatebenefratelli-Sacco, Milan, Italy, and Director of the Research Centre on depression and anxiety of the same Hospital, and of the Women’s Depression Centre of the Macedonio Melloni Hospital, Milan, Italy. Since 2003 he has been a member of the Italian Ministry of Health’s National Observatory on Mental Health, and since 2004 he has been an expert consultant to the Italian Higher Council of Health and vice-President of the IDEA Foundation. From 2012 to 2014 and from 2015 to 2017 he was President of the Italian Psychiatric Association. Prof. Mencacci has authored more than 250 scientific publications in national and international Journals.