Arab Board Psychiatry Part 1 study guide
Arab Board Psychiatry Part 1 · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
The Arab Board of Psychiatry Part 1 is the first written component of the Arab Board specialty training pathway in psychiatry, administered under the Council of Arab Health Specialties (Arab Board of Health Specializations). It is aimed at psychiatry residents who have completed the foundational years of accredited training and are ready to demonstrate command of the scientific basis of the discipline before progressing to the clinical and final stages of the programme. The Arab Board Psychiatry Part 1 study guide has 12 sections and about 2,680 words.
01Basic Sciences Relevant to Psychiatry
Know the dopamine pathways and their clinical correlates: mesolimbic (positive symptoms), mesocortical (negative/cognitive symptoms), nigrostriatal (extrapyramidal effects), tuberoinfundibular (prolactin regulation). Map receptors to side effects: H1 (sedation, weight gain), muscarinic M1 (anticholinergic effects, cognitive blunting), alpha-1 (orthostasis, reflex tachycardia), D2 (EPS, hyperprolactinemia).
254 words, about 1 min02Psychopathology and Psychiatric Assessment
Master the mental state examination structure: appearance/behaviour, speech, mood and affect, thought form and content, perception, cognition, insight, and risk. Define psychopathological terms precisely - delusion (fixed false belief, held with conviction, not shared by culture), hallucination (perception without external stimulus), illusion (misperception of real stimulus), and the subtypes (grandiose, persecutory, nihilistic, Capgras, Fregoli).
241 words, about 1 min03Organic and Neuropsychiatric Disorders
Delirium is acute, fluctuating, with impaired attention and altered awareness; identify causes (infection, drugs, metabolic, hypoxia, withdrawal) using a systematic approach. Dementia subtypes: Alzheimer's (amyloid/tau, medial temporal atrophy), vascular (stepwise, focal signs), Lewy body (fluctuating cognition, visual hallucinations, parkinsonism, neuroleptic sensitivity), frontotemporal (behavioural/personality change, language variants).
212 words, about 1 min04Psychotic Disorders
Schizophrenia requires ≥2 core symptoms (delusions, hallucinations, disorganized speech, grossly disorganized/catatonic behaviour, negative symptoms) with at least one from the first three, plus functional decline and duration ≥6 months (DSM-5). Know positive vs negative vs cognitive symptom domains and their treatment implications.
226 words, about 1 min05Mood and Anxiety Disorders
Major depressive disorder: ≥5 of 9 symptoms for ≥2 weeks, including depressed mood or anhedonia, with functional impairment. Understand specifiers (melancholic, atypical, psychotic, peripartum, seasonal).
234 words, about 1 min06Substance Use and Addictive Disorders
Distinguish the DSM-5 substance use disorder criteria (impaired control, social impairment, risky use, pharmacological criteria like tolerance and withdrawal) - 11 criteria, severity by count (mild 2-3, moderate 4-5, severe ≥6). Understand dependence neurobiology: mesolimbic dopamine reward, kindling, and the role of GABA/glutamate in withdrawal.
198 words, under 1 min07Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
Know developmental milestones and their red flags. Autism spectrum disorder: persistent deficits in social communication + restricted/repetitive behaviours, early onset.
217 words, about 1 min08Psychotherapy and Psychological Treatments
Know the major modalities: psychodynamic (unconscious conflict, transference, defence mechanisms), CBT (cognitive triad, automatic thoughts, behavioural experiments), behavioural therapy (classical/operant conditioning, exposure, systematic desensitization), DBT (emotion regulation, distress tolerance, interpersonal effectiveness, mindfulness - for borderline personality disorder), interpersonal therapy (IPT - for depression), family and group therapy, and supportive therapy. Understand common factors (therapeutic alliance, empathy, expectancy) and the evidence base - CBT has strong evidence for anxiety, depression, OCD, PTSD, and insomnia.
216 words, about 1 min09Psychiatric Emergencies and Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry
Risk assessment: suicide (ideation, plan, intent, means, protective factors), violence, self-harm, and vulnerability. Manage the acutely agitated patient with verbal de-escalation first, then pharmacological (benzodiazepines or antipsychotics) and physical restraint only when necessary, with monitoring.
224 words, about 1 min10Forensic Psychiatry and Ethics
Understand the four ethical principles: autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence, justice. Know confidentiality and its limits (risk to others, child protection, court order, public interest).
236 words, about 1 min11Community and Social Psychiatry (including Cultural and Regional Perspectives)
Understand the shift from institutional to community care, deinstitutionalization, and the components of community mental health services (assertive community treatment, case management, supported employment, early intervention). Know social determinants: poverty, unemployment, housing, migration, stigma, and social isolation.
205 words, about 1 min12Research Methodology, Statistics and Evidence-Based Practice
Study designs: RCTs (randomization, blinding, intention-to-treat), cohort, case-control, cross-sectional, and ecological. Understand bias types (selection, information, recall, confounding, publication bias) and how to control them.
217 words, about 1 min