Fourth Edition, September 2011

Prodrome
An early or premonitory sign or symptom of a disorder.
Prognosis
The predicted course of a person’s mental illness or 
their interpersonal, emotional or social functioning, 
based on specialised psychiatric knowledge, assess-
ment of the client’s current mental state, and an 
understanding of his her personal circumstances and 
environment.
Psychiatric Assessment 
A thorough assessment of a client by a mental health 
professional which includes identifying a person’s cur-
rent mental state, personal and social history, social 
situation, and any relevant past psychiatric history. The 
psychiatric assessment enables selection of the most 
appropriate form of treatment for the client. See also, 
intake assessment.
Psychiatric Crisis
Psychiatric crisis describes the situation in which a 
person with a mental illness or severe mental disorder 
experiences thoughts, feelings or behaviours which 
cause severe distress to him/her and those around 
him/her requiring immediate psychiatric treatment 
to assess and manage risk and alleviate distress. The 
acute stage of a mental illness is characterised by infre-
quent yet severely distressing symptoms that require 
immediate treatment. This may be the person’s fi rst 
experience of mental illness, a repeat episode or the 
worsening of symptoms of an often continuing mental 
illness.
Psychiatric Disability
The eff ects of mental illness that severely impair func-
tioning in diff erent aspects of a person’s life, such as 
the ability to live independently, maintain friendships 
or maintain employment.
Psychiatric Inpatient Admission
A voluntary or involuntary hospital admission for the 
treatment and management of a person who has a se-
vere mental illness. 
Psychiatric Inpatient Service 
Publicly funded psychiatric hospitals and psychiatric 
units of general hospitals able to admit involuntary 
and security patient, as well as voluntary patients.