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4 - Disorders of Thought and Speech

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 January 2024

Patricia Casey  and
Brendan Kelly
Patricia Casey
Affiliation:
University College Dublin
Brendan Kelly
Affiliation:
Trinity College, Dublin
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Summary

Disorders of thought include disorders of intelligence, disorders of the stream of thought, disorders of thought possession and obsessions, and disorders of the content and form of thinking. This chapter outlines disorders of intelligence, disorders of thinking, disorders of thought tempo, disorders of the continuity of thinking and disorders of the content of thinking. It presents descriptions of obsessions and primary and secondary delusions, as well as detailed examinations of specific delusions of persecution, infidelity, love, grandiosity, ill-health, guilt, nihilism and poverty. Speech disorders are also explored, along with aphasias. The chapter concludes with suggested questions for eliciting specific symptoms in clinical practice, in addition to standard history-taking and mental state examination. Disorders of thought and speech are central to the manifestation and diagnosis of many psychiatric disorders, including schizophrenia, and this chapter provides both descriptions and explanations of key signs and symptoms in this field.

Keywords

psychopathologyintelligenceformal thought disorderobsessionsdelusionsspeech disordersaphasia
Type
Chapter
Information
Fish's Clinical Psychopathology
Signs and Symptoms in Psychiatry
 , pp. 42 - 62
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2024

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