American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc. (APPI) is the publication arm of the American Psychiatric Association, one of the world's oldest and largest organizations devoted to the study, research and practice of modern psychiatry. Since 1981, APPI has supplied the profession with many of its foremost textbooks, reference resources, monographs, journals, and multimedia titles, including the essential Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM). Built on a powerful Silverchair Informaton Systems content and knowledge management platform, PsychiatryOnline provides subscribers with web‐based access to many of these works, along with numerous supplementary features and tools.
In addition to the most recent edition of the DSM, the site has a library of related titles that includes the DSM‐IV‐TR Handbook of Differential Diagnosis, a symptom index, and Cases from DSM‐IV‐TR and Its Treatment Companion. Full‐text PDF access to eight textbook titles, the contents of five APPI journals from 1998‐present, and a selected monograph of the month distinguish the site. Other resources available from the portal consist of care and medication management information for patients and families, American Psychiatric Association (APA) practice guidelines for assessment and treatment of psychiatric disorders, and a series of self‐assessment quizzes to accompany APA textbooks that are integrated into the site. Bonus features include recent news postings, along with the full‐text of current and pre‐print journal articles from the American Journal of Psychiatry and other respected APPI serial titles. Subscribers may register for RSS alerts of upcoming book titles, journal tables of contents, and guideline updates. Through a MyPsychiatryOnline account, users are able to download content to PDAs and other mobile devices.
Intended for mental health researchers and practitioners, the site is unquestionably rich with electronic resources that have high value for the discipline. The site is generally well organized and navigable. Site exploration can be initiated from a single search box for all content or images only, through the substantial A‐Z subject /topic index or by entering one of the site's main sections that are clearly displayed on the toolbar for all pages. There are, however, some challenges. Although several options for individual and institutional subscriptions are available, non‐subscribers soon discover they have notably limited access to full content. In terms of usability and design, the main page is somewhat cluttered yet incongruously sized to not take full advantage of screen real estate. Some of the bonus content, such as slide shows that accompany textbook chapters, is slow to download. Notwithstanding these concerns, for professionals working in the field of mental health, this is a resource worthy of consideration.
