Nine years ago, "Basic Elements of Clinical Psychiatry" was published, aiming to communicate the fundamental clinical data of Psychiatry at that time in a clear, inclusive, understandable, and primarily practical manner. Over the years, the book has been utilized by a broad range of interested individuals, trainees, and professionals, for whom it was originally written. However, psychiatric knowledge has changed significantly, making it necessary to revise the book. It quickly became apparent that the changes and additions needed were numerous, so the book had to be rewritten. Thus, in addition to revising a small part of the book, "Basic Elements of Clinical Psychiatry" has been largely rewritten and new chapters have been added, such as laboratory tests in psychiatry, the psychiatric examination of children, the psychosocial dimensions of cancer, and mental disorders related to AIDS. The emphasis once again is on clinical elements, particularly diagnosis, differential diagnosis, and treatment, which now also includes specific practical guidelines. The classification of mental disorders followed is again that of the American Psychiatric Association (4th edition, 1994). Therefore, in each diagnostic section, the diagnostic criteria according to DSM-IV are additionally presented verbatim (in different style of text to distinguish them). Overall, the book consists of eight parts (I-VIII) comprising 26 chapters.