Paper B mapping
CPD eLearning is intended primarily to support consultant psychiatrists in their ongoing clinical education, however many of the modules are relevant to the clinical components of the Paper B syllabus.
These relevant modules have been identified and mapped to the Paper B syllabus, as below. Although these are not specifically designed for Paper B revision in the way that Paper A-related modules are, these may be helpful to candidates preparing for this paper.
To access these resources you will need a subscription to CPD eLearning; subscriptions are available at a discounted rate for members, please see our subscriptions page to begin learning.
Candidates interested in further reading, including clinical topics not covered by existing CPD modules, are directed to the Exams reading list.
We also have information on Paper A revision resources.
6. Organisation and delivery of psychiatric services
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6.1 The nature and process of managing psychiatric cases, including the application of multidisciplinary approaches, the special role of the psychiatrist in treatment and the co-ordination of the various treatment processes involved. Physical, psychological and social treatments and their relevance to the management and treatment of psychiatric disorders. |
Transferring care between age-specific services: young people’s transitions (rcpsych.ac.uk) |
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6.2 Preventative strategies in psychiatric disorder, where these exist. |
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6.3 The provision of specific treatments: |
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6.3.1 The indications, benefits, risks and outcomes of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT); 6.3.2 The practical aspects of ECT administration. |
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6.3.3 The indications, benefits, risks and outcomes of deep brain stimulation (DBS), repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) and psychosurgery. |
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6.4 The assessment of need for psychiatric services within a community and how to set up and administer such services, including some idea of the costs of major elements of such service provision. |
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6.5 The essential components of a rehabilitation service and the specific patient needs and disabilities that can be assisted by psychiatric rehabilitation. |
Assessing people with psychiatric rehabilitation needs (rcpsych.ac.uk) |
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6.6 The relationship between psychiatric disorder and civil rights including marriage, divorce, custody of children and management of property and affairs. Ethical issues including use of seclusion, confidentiality and the implications of ‘duty to warn’. |
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6.7 Medico legal issues in psychiatry including abuse of vulnerable adults, management of finance and property, driving and mental disorder, and the assessment of capacity to make health, social care and civil decisions. |
Competence, capacity and decision-making ability in mental disorder (rcpsych.ac.uk) Community Treatment Orders (rcpsych.ac.uk) Quickbite: Use of mental health legislation in eating disorders (rcpsych.ac.uk) |
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6.8 The presentation of psychiatric disorder in a range of cultural settings, especially those likely to be encountered in the UK or the Republic of Ireland. |
7. General adult psychiatry
7.3 General hospital psychiatry
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7.3.1 Psychiatric assessment of patients with physical illness. |
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7.3.2 Advice to special medical services. |
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7.3.3 The psychiatric consequences and aspects of brain disease, damage (including stroke) and dysfunction. |
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7.3.4 Clinical and theoretical psychiatric aspects of pain and its management. |
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7.3.5 Care of the dying and the bereaved. |
Psychiatric aspects of end-of-life care (rcpsych.ac.uk) Quickbite: Psychopharmacology in end-of life-care (rcpsych.ac.uk) |
7.4 Emergency psychiatry
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7.4.1 All aspects of suicide, attempted suicide, and self harm including risk assessment and risk management. |
Assessment of suicide ideation, risk of suicide and self-harm (rcpsych.ac.uk) Quickbite: Suicide in older adults (rcpsych.ac.uk) |
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7.4.2 Knowledge of the theory and practice of crisis intervention/home treatment. |
Service user involvement and Crisis teams (rcpsych.ac.uk) Discharging risky patients: England and Wales (rcpsych.ac.uk) |
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7.4.3 Differential diagnosis in emergency situations. |
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7.4.4 Treatment methods in emergency situations including the use of appropriate legislation. |
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7.5 The prevalence/incidence, aetiology, presentation, treatment and outcome of eating disorders: anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa
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7.5 The prevalence/incidence, aetiology, presentation, treatment and outcome of eating disorders: anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa. |
Quickbite: Use of mental health legislation in eating disorders (rcpsych.ac.uk) Eating disorders: risk factors and clinical management (rcpsych.ac.uk) Quickbite: Severe and enduring eating disorders (rcpsych.ac.uk) Assessment of adult bulimia nervosa (rcpsych.ac.uk) Recognition and management of emergencies in eating disorders (rcpsych.ac.uk) |
7.6 Psycho-sexual disorders
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7.6 Psycho-sexual disorders. |
Antidepressants and psychosexual dysfunction: Part 1 – diagnosis (rcpsych.ac.uk) Antidepressants and psychosexual dysfunction: Part 2 – treatment (rcpsych.ac.uk) |
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7.6.1 Non-organic sexual dysfunction, including lack or loss of sexual desire, lack of sexual enjoyment, and failure of genital response and self-image. Self-recognition and personal identity. |
Sexual dysfunction in first-episode psychosis (rcpsych.ac.uk) |
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7.6.2 Gender identity disorders, including transsexualism and transvestism. |
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8. Old age psychiatry
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8.1 Demographic population changes in the UK and worldwide.
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8.2 District service provision; need for specialisation, principles of service provision, multidisciplinary working with reference to needs of an older population, relationships with and provision by social services and voluntary bodies. Liaison with geriatricians. Attention to the needs of carers. |
Advance statements and the law in Scotland (rcpsych.ac.uk) Working with patients and carers (rcpsych.ac.uk) |
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8.3 Specialist aspects of assessment of mental health in older people. |
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8.4 Psychological aspects of physical disease; particular emphasis on possible psychiatric sequelae of Parkinson’s disease, cerebrovascular disease, sensory impairment. Emotional reaction to illness and to chronic ill health. Secondary and reversible dementias.
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Neuropsychiatric problems in Parkinson's disease (rcpsych.ac.uk) |
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8.5 Prevalence/incidence, clinical features, differential diagnosis, aetiology, management and prognosis of the following disorders occurring in late life:
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Delirium in older people: assessment and management (rcpsych.ac.uk) Young onset dementias (rcpsych.ac.uk) Substance use disorders in older people (rcpsych.ac.uk) Dementia: breaking the 'bad news' – a guide for psychiatrists (rcpsych.ac.uk) |
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8.6 Suicide and attempted suicide in old age. |
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8.7 Psychiatric aspects of personality in old age. the indications, benefits, risks and outcomes of DBS, rTMS and psychosurgery. |
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8.8 Psychotherapy with older adults: adaptations and difference in therapy. Transference - counter-transference issues. Common themes. |
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8.9 Bereavement and adjustment disorders. |
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8.10 Sleep disorder in later life. |
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8.11 Psychosexual disorders in old age; including sexuality in physically ill/disabled people, sexuality in institutionalised elderly. |
9. Psychotherapy
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9.1.1 Dynamic psychotherapy development of psychodynamic concepts by:
An understanding of the following:
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Cognitive-behavioural group treatment for functional somatic syndromes (rcpsych.ac.uk) Quickbite: Asking for a psychodynamic psychotherapy opinion in general psychiatry (rcpsych.ac.uk)
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9.2 Family therapy influence of general systems theory. Different models of family therapy:
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9.3 Cognitive-behavioural therapies. |
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9.3.1 Behaviour therapy. Understanding of systematic desensitisation, operant conditioning, graded and cue exposure, habituation and social skills training. How to conduct a functional analysis, formulate a treatment plan and use measurement to assess change. |
Introduction to CBT in psychosis (rcpsych.ac.uk) Health anxiety: Part 2 – cognitive-behavioural therapy (rcpsych.ac.uk) |
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9.3.2 Cognitive therapy. The cognitive model for non-psychotic disorders. The importance of schema, negative automatic thoughts and maladaptive assumptions. These will need to be considered in appropriate cultural contexts. |
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9.4 Other therapeutic models awareness of interpersonal therapy, cognitive analytical therapy, dialectic behaviour therapy, gestalt therapy, client centred therapy, transactional analysis, and mentalisation. |
An introduction to trauma-informed care (TIC): Part 1 (rcpsych.ac.uk) An introduction to trauma-informed care (TIC): Part 2 (rcpsych.ac.uk) Introduction to cognitive-analytic therapy (rcpsych.ac.uk) |
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9.5 Effectiveness of psychotherapy, difficulties in defining outcome, understanding of effect size and meta analysis, specific and non-specific effects in psychotherapy and be aware of contemporary guidelines. Research on outcomes in psychotherapy. |
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9.6 Group therapy psychodynamic. Historical roots of group therapy; group process; different models of analytic/dynamic group therapy (e.g. Bion, Foulkes, Yalom). Therapeutic factors in groups. |
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9.6.1 Other therapeutic group models. Cognitive behavioural groups, expressive therapies, support groups, psychoeducational groups, and skills groups. |
Cognitive-behavioural group treatment for functional somatic syndromes (rcpsych.ac.uk) |
10. Child and adolescent psychiatry
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10.1 The effects of adult mental illness on children including the effects of maternal mental health on children and young people at different developmental stages. As an exemplar the effect of depression on parental functioning and interactions, and the impact of this on child development and functioning. An understanding of cultural variations in aetiology and management. |
Safeguarding children: ensuring safe practice in general adult psychiatry settings (rcpsych.ac.uk) Quickbite: Psychotropic medication in breastfeeding (rcpsych.ac.uk) |
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10.2 Short and long-term effects of negative life events on development and functioning e.g. maternal loss, child abuse, chronic or life-threatening illness. |
Quickbite: Complex PTSD in children and adolescents (rcpsych.ac.uk) |
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10.3 Description of a typical child mental health service, the role within this service of the psychiatrist and multidisciplinary team members. Basic information on different agencies involved in the care of children and their function. |
Adolescent forensic psychiatry: Part 1 – introduction and structure (rcpsych.ac.uk) |
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10.4 Child protection. The needs of developing children and how these change with time. Types of child abuse and their aetiology and recognition. An understanding of what to do if child protection concerns are raised. |
Practical child protection (rcpsych.ac.uk) Safeguarding children: ensuring safe practice in general adult psychiatry settings (rcpsych.ac.uk) |
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10.5 Interaction between psychiatric disorder and physical illness in children and adolescents. Physical presentation of psychiatric disorder and psychiatric presentation of physical disorder. |
Working with deaf and hearing-impaired people (rcpsych.ac.uk) |
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10.6 Aetiological influences in child and adolescent psychiatry, including individual, familial and social and environmental influences and their interactions. |
Behavioural problems in the under fives: Part 1 (rcpsych.ac.uk) Behavioural problems in the under fives: Part 2 (rcpsych.ac.uk) Behavioural problems in the under fives: Part 3 (rcpsych.ac.uk) |
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10.7 Evidence based interventions child mental health and developmental conditions (as defined in ICD and DSM) and the care pathways that enable access to those interventions. |
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10.8 Knowledge of the prevalence/incidence, aetiology, presentation, treatments and outcome of the following conditions including an understanding of how conditions relate to behaviours (e.g. self-harm, refusal to attend school etc.) and contexts (e.g. pre-school behaviours):
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Recognising autism spectrum disorders in children with normal-range intelligence (rcpsych.ac.uk) Depression in children and adolescents: Part 1 (rcpsych.ac.uk) Depression in children and adolescents: Part 2 (rcpsych.ac.uk) First-episode psychosis: Part 1 – assessment, diagnosis and rationale (rcpsych.ac.uk) First-episode psychosis: Part 2 – treatment approaches and service delivery (rcpsych.ac.uk) Psychosocial management of self-harm: Part 1 (rcpsych.ac.uk) Psychosocial management of self-harm: Part 2 (rcpsych.ac.uk) Quickbite: Complex PTSD in children and adolescents (rcpsych.ac.uk) School refusal (rcpsych.ac.uk) ADHD in under-18s: background and assessment (rcpsych.ac.uk) Psychological treatments for children and adolescents with eating disorders (rcpsych.ac.uk) Recognition and management of emergencies in eating disorders (rcpsych.ac.uk) Behavioural activation in young people with low mood (rcpsych.ac.uk) -free to access Adolescent forensic psychiatry: Part 2 – assessment and treatment (rcpsych.ac.uk) |
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10.9 Continuities and transitions of child mental health conditions into adult life. |
Transferring care between age-specific services: young people’s transitions (rcpsych.ac.uk) |
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10.10 Indications and contra-indications for different treatment interventions. Indications for in-patient care. |
11. Substance misuse/addictions
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11.1 Basic pharmacology and epidemiology of: alcohol; cannabis: the stimulants (amphetamine, cocaine, phentermine, diethylpropion, pemoline etc.); hallucinogens; solvents and nitrites; ecstasy and related substances, benzodiazepines and barbiturates; opiates. |
Alcohol and the brain (rcpsych.ac.uk) Alcohol-related brain damage (rcpsych.ac.uk) Substance use disorders in older people (rcpsych.ac.uk) Crystalline methamphetamine: risks, harms and interventions (rcpsych.ac.uk) Stimulants: epidemiology and impact on mental health (rcpsych.ac.uk) NEPTUNE module 3: Acute harms and management of stimulants (rcpsych.ac.uk) - free to access NEPTUNE module 6: Chronic harms and management of stimulants (rcpsych.ac.uk) - free to access |
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11.2 Awareness of the arguments for and against the various types of prescribing and treatment modalities. Legal restrictions on prescribing. |
Safe and effective opioid replacement therapy (rcpsych.ac.uk) |
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11.3 Cause, consequences and recognition of heavy drinking: the concept of ‘problem drinking’; the components of the alcohol dependence syndrome; the nature of alcohol-related disabilities; detoxification procedures for in-patients and outpatients. |
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11.4 Who uses which drugs and why; reasons for initiating and continuing drug use; how to recognise drug use; the concept of problem drug use; patterns of dependence on different drugs; detoxification procedures for inpatients and outpatients. An understanding of cultural factors in the use and abuse of drugs. Basics of the biological, psychological and socio-cultural explanations of drug and alcohol dependence. |
Buprenorphine in opioid dependence (rcpsych.ac.uk) Amphetamine-type stimulant drugs – a dangerous trend (rcpsych.ac.uk) |
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11.5 The interaction of drug and alcohol use with psychiatric illness. Dual diagnosis and co-morbidity (classificatory systems). Recognition of substance misuse related medical, psychiatric and social complications and their impact on public health. |
Substance use disorders in older people (rcpsych.ac.uk) Stimulants: epidemiology and impact on mental health (rcpsych.ac.uk) |
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11.6 The assessment and management of drug and misusers, including symptoms and signs of substance use, and withdrawal phenomena. |
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11.7 The assessment and management of alcohol misusers, including symptoms and signs of substance use, and withdrawal phenomena. |
Managing alcohol withdrawal in acute in-patient psychiatry (rcpsych.ac.uk) - free to access |
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11.8 Culturally appropriate strategies for the prevention of drug and alcohol abuse. |
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11.9 The assessment and management of non-substance addictive behaviours and related syndromes. |
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11.10 Motivational interviewing. Fundamental concepts and approaches; general approaches; adaptations of motivational interviewing. |
12. Forensic psychiatry
12.1 Relationship between crime and mental disorder
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12.1.1 Knowledge of the range of offences committed by mentally disordered offenders. Specific crimes and their psychiatric relevance particularly: homicide; other crimes of violence (including infanticide); sex offences; arson; and criminal damage. |
Psychiatric aspects of homicide (rcpsych.ac.uk) Domestic abuse: identifying and responding to victims and perpetrators (rcpsych.ac.uk) |
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12.1.2 The relationship between specific mental disorders and crime: substance misuse; epilepsy; schizophrenia; bipolar affective disorder; neuro-developmental disorders; personality disorders. |
Risk assessment and management of violence in general adult psychiatry (rcpsych.ac.uk) |
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12.1.3 Special syndromes: morbid jealousy, erotomania, Munchausen and Munchausen by proxy. |
Morbid jealousy (rcpsych.ac.uk) Assessment and treatment of sexually abnormal behaviour (rcpsych.ac.uk) |
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12.1.4 Mental disorders and offending in special groups: young offenders; female offenders; offenders from ethnic minorities; offenders who are deaf or have other physical disabilities. |
Adolescent forensic psychiatry: Part 1 – introduction and structure (rcpsych.ac.uk) Adolescent forensic psychiatry: Part 2 – assessment and treatment (rcpsych.ac.uk) People with intellectual disabilities in criminal justice settings (rcpsych.ac.uk) |
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12.1.5 Effect of victimisation and vulnerability: anxiety states including post traumatic stress disorder; suggestibility; anger and aggressive behaviour. Effect of compensation on presentation. |
12.2 Psychiatry and the criminal justice system
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12.2 Psychiatry and the criminal justice system. |
Mental Health Act 1983: Criteria for detention (rcpsych.ac.uk) Human rights and the Human Rights Act 1998: implications for psychiatrists (rcpsych.ac.uk) |
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12.2.1 The role of the psychiatrist is the assessment of mentally disordered offenders: during arrest; prior to conviction; prior to sentencing. |
Assessment and reporting of suspected malingering in mental disorders (rcpsych.ac.uk)
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12.2.2 Psychiatric defences: Fitness to plead; mutism and deafness; criminal responsibility; diminished responsibility; amnesia and automatism. |
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12.2.3 Psychiatric disposals following conviction. |
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12.2.4 Skills to write a court report in relation to a criminal case. |
Report writing in court cases involving young people in England and Wales (rcpsych.ac.uk)
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12.2.5 Skills to provide oral evidence in court as an expert witness and as a professional witness. |
12.3 Practicsng psychiatry in a secure setting
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12.3.1 The role of security in a therapeutic environment. |
Risk assessment and management of violence in general adult psychiatry (rcpsych.ac.uk) |
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12.3.2 The essential components of a forensic service and the specific patient needs and disabilities that can be assisted by such a service provision. |
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12.3.3 Knowledge of the prevalence of psychiatric disorder in prison populations, suicide in prisoners, psychiatric treatment in prison settings. |
Prison psychiatry: Part 1 – mental health in prisons (rcpsych.ac.uk) Prison psychiatry: Part 2 – clinical and legal issues (rcpsych.ac.uk) |
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12.3.4 Risk management planning in forensic psychiatric practice. |
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12.3.5 Managing mentally disordered offenders discharged into the community practice. |
Discharging risky patients: England and Wales (rcpsych.ac.uk) |
13. Learning disability
13.1 Services
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13.1.1 Normalisation and related social theories and their influence on service development for people with an intellectual disability. The change from an institutional to an individualised, needs led approach. |
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13.1.2 The provision of specialist psychiatric services for people with intellectual disability. |
Avoiding avoidable deaths of people with a learning disability and autistic people (rcpsych.ac.uk) |
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13.2.1 Epidemiology - the prevalence/incidence of intellectual disability in the general population. The prevalence/incidence of superadded behavioural, psychiatric and other impairments within this group. The factors which might account to the observed high rates of psychiatric behavioural disorders in this group. |
Improving mental health outcomes for autistic women (RCPsych Congress 2024) |
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13.2.2 Aetiology - biological causes of intellectual disability, including genetic and environmental effects, and the clinical characteristics of reasonably common biological conditions associated with intellectual disability such as Down syndrome, fragile-X syndrome and foetal alcohol syndrome. The influence of psychological and social factors on intellectual and emotional development in people with intellectual disability, including the concept of secondary handicap. |
13.3 Clinical
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13.3.1 Assessment and communication with people with intellectual disability. |
Sensory impairment and intellectual disability (rcpsych.ac.uk) |
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13.3.2 The presentation and diagnosis of psychiatric illness and behavioural disorder in people with intellectual disability, including the concept of diagnostic overshadowing. |
Autism spectrum disorders in adults: a brief introduction (rcpsych.ac.uk) |
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13.3.3 Psychological methods of assessment and an understanding of psychological theories as to the cause of problem behaviours. An understanding of relevant behavioural modification techniques. |
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13.3.4 The application of psychiatric methods of treatment in intellectual disability including psychotherapy, drug treatments, behaviour therapy and cognitive therapy. The application of a multidisciplinary approach to the management of mental health problems in people with intellectual disability. |
Quickbite: Autism spectrum disorder: the place of pharmacological approaches (rcpsych.ac.uk) Prescribing antiepileptic drugs for people with epilepsy and intellectual disability (rcpsych.ac.uk) |
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13.3.5 Specific syndromes and their association with particular psychiatric or behavioural disorders (behavioural phenotypes). |
Autism spectrum disorders in adults: a brief introduction (rcpsych.ac.uk) |
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13.3.6 The impact of disability on the family and the psychological consequences of having a child with a disability. |
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13.3.7 The assessment, management and treatment of offenders with intellectual disability. |
People with intellectual disabilities in criminal justice settings (rcpsych.ac.uk) |