[Durgical](https://durgical.com/en/) › [DurgiPedia](https://durgical.com/en/durgipedia/) › Behavioral science # Medical psychology and behavioral science Behaviour, development and mental health for medical practice. 102 pages ## Start here - [Topic **Psychiatric symptoms caused by medical illness and drugs** Depression, anxiety, psychosis or personality change can be the first sign of a body or brain…](https://durgical.com/en/behavioral-science/psychiatric-symptoms-caused-by-medical-illness-and-drugs/) - [Life stage **Normal psychological ageing vs dementia** With age, thinking slows and recall takes longer, but knowledge and daily independence remain](https://durgical.com/en/behavioral-science/normal-psychological-ageing-vs-dementia/) - [Concept **Psychological factors in physical illness** Mind and body interact: stress, mood and behavior can bring on or worsen physical illness, and…](https://durgical.com/en/behavioral-science/psychological-factors-in-physical-illness/) - [Topic **Difficult encounters: anger, demands and boundaries** Some encounters are tense; noticing your own reaction, validating the emotion and setting clear…](https://durgical.com/en/behavioral-science/difficult-encounters-anger-demands-and-boundaries/) - [Concept **Psychopathology: perception and thought (hallucinations, delusions, thought disorder)** The exact words for false perceptions, false beliefs and disordered thinking, and what each one…](https://durgical.com/en/behavioral-science/psychopathology-perception-and-thought/) - [Topic **Psychiatric emergencies: agitation, violence risk and the suicidal patient** How to calm an agitated patient safely, judge the risk of violence, approach the suicidal…](https://durgical.com/en/behavioral-science/psychiatric-emergencies-agitation-violence-risk-and-the-suicidal-patient/) - [Concept **Adherence: what it is and why it fails** Adherence is how far what the patient does matches what was agreed with the care team; in…](https://durgical.com/en/behavioral-science/adherence-what-it-is-and-why-it-fails/) - [Topic **Psychotherapies: which one for what** Talking therapies are not all the same: each has its own idea of what keeps a problem going and…](https://durgical.com/en/behavioral-science/psychotherapies-which-one-for-what/) ## Areas - [**Human development across the life span** 14 pages Normal psychological ageing vs dementia · Language development and speech red flags · Primitive reflexes and when they disappear](https://durgical.com/en/behavioral-science/areas/development/) - [**Stress, coping and grief** 7 pages Psychological factors in physical illness · Normal grief, prolonged grief and depression · The reaction to illness: sick role, illness behavior and hospitalization](https://durgical.com/en/behavioral-science/areas/stress/) - [**Doctor–patient relationship and communication** 7 pages Difficult encounters: anger, demands and boundaries · Breaking bad news: the SPIKES protocol · Health literacy](https://durgical.com/en/behavioral-science/areas/communication/) - [**Psychiatric assessment and psychopathology** 7 pages Psychopathology: perception and thought (hallucinations, delusions, thought disorder) · The mental status examination · Psychopathology: affect, mood, consciousness and memory](https://durgical.com/en/behavioral-science/areas/assessment/) - [**S** **Somatic treatments and levels of care** 7 pages Psychiatric emergencies: agitation, violence risk and the suicidal patient · Consultation-liaison psychiatry · Neuromodulation: TMS, vagus nerve stimulation, deep brain stimulation and light therapy](https://durgical.com/en/behavioral-science/areas/care/) - [**Health behavior and adherence** 6 pages Adherence: what it is and why it fails · How to improve adherence · Motivational interviewing](https://durgical.com/en/behavioral-science/areas/health-behavior/) - [**Psychotherapies** 6 pages Psychotherapies: which one for what · Family, group and interpersonal therapy · Cognitive behavioral therapy and cognitive distortions](https://durgical.com/en/behavioral-science/areas/therapy/) - [**Learning and behavior** 5 pages Behavior therapy: exposure, desensitization, token economy and more · Classical conditioning · Operant conditioning: reinforcement and punishment](https://durgical.com/en/behavioral-science/areas/learning/) - [**Biological, cultural and historical foundations** 5 pages Genetics and neuroimaging of mental disorders · The neurobiology of mental disorders: neurotransmitters and circuits · Culture and mental illness: cultural concepts of distress](https://durgical.com/en/behavioral-science/areas/foundations/) - [**Personality and defense mechanisms** 4 pages Neurotic and mature defense mechanisms · Immature defense mechanisms · Personality: traits, the Big Five and Freud's models](https://durgical.com/en/behavioral-science/areas/personality/) - [**Normal sleep** 4 pages Normal sleep across the life span · Sleep stages and their EEG · How sleep is regulated: sleep pressure, the circadian clock and melatonin](https://durgical.com/en/behavioral-science/areas/sleep/) - [**Psychological testing** 4 pages Screening questionnaires in primary care · Personality tests: objective and projective · Intelligence testing and IQ](https://durgical.com/en/behavioral-science/areas/testing/) - [**Psychology of pain** 3 pages Chronic pain: fear-avoidance, catastrophizing and psychological treatment · The psychology of pain: gate control and the biopsychosocial model · Placebo and nocebo effects](https://durgical.com/en/behavioral-science/areas/pain/) - [**Addictive behavior** 3 pages Addiction concepts: reward, tolerance, dependence and withdrawal · Cues, craving and relapse · Screening and brief intervention (SBIRT) and harm reduction](https://durgical.com/en/behavioral-science/areas/substance/) - [**Health-worker wellbeing** 2 pages Compassion fatigue, moral injury and the second victim · Burnout in health workers](https://durgical.com/en/behavioral-science/areas/clinician/) - [**Other mental disorders** 18 pages Psychiatric symptoms caused by medical illness and drugs · Intellectual disability · The human sexual response and the sexual dysfunctions](https://durgical.com/en/behavioral-science/areas/disorders/) - ## A to Z - [A](https://durgical.com/en/behavioral-science/a-z/a/) - [B](https://durgical.com/en/behavioral-science/a-z/b/) - [C](https://durgical.com/en/behavioral-science/a-z/c/) - [D](https://durgical.com/en/behavioral-science/a-z/d/) - [E](https://durgical.com/en/behavioral-science/a-z/e/) - [F](https://durgical.com/en/behavioral-science/a-z/f/) - [G](https://durgical.com/en/behavioral-science/a-z/g/) - [H](https://durgical.com/en/behavioral-science/a-z/h/) - [I](https://durgical.com/en/behavioral-science/a-z/i/) - [K](https://durgical.com/en/behavioral-science/a-z/k/) - [L](https://durgical.com/en/behavioral-science/a-z/l/) - [M](https://durgical.com/en/behavioral-science/a-z/m/) - [N](https://durgical.com/en/behavioral-science/a-z/n/) - [O](https://durgical.com/en/behavioral-science/a-z/o/) - [P](https://durgical.com/en/behavioral-science/a-z/p/) - [R](https://durgical.com/en/behavioral-science/a-z/r/) - [S](https://durgical.com/en/behavioral-science/a-z/s/) - [T](https://durgical.com/en/behavioral-science/a-z/t/) ## About this section The human behavior every doctor needs: how a person develops from birth to old age, how behavior is learned, how people cope with stress, illness and grief, how to break bad news and help people change habits, and what each psychotherapy does. Also psychiatric assessment, psychopathology and somatic treatments; disorders with their own page are in Conditions, and every page links them. Educational content on behavior and the clinical relationship; not a diagnostic or treatment guide and no substitute for assessment by a health professional. If you or someone near you is at risk, seek help now from an emergency service or a mental-health helpline. Representative model, for educational purposes only. --- Source: https://durgical.com/en/behavioral-science/ License: CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Cite as: DurgiPedia (durgical.com), https://durgical.com/en/behavioral-science/