Psychopathology is the science and study of psychological and psychiatric symptoms. Clinical psychopathology locates this study in the clinical context in which psychiatrists make diagnostic assessments and deliver mental health services. A clear understanding of clinical psychopathology lies at the heart of effective and appropriate delivery of such services.

In 1967, Frank Fish produced a 128-page volume on psychopathology, entitled Clinical Psychopathology: Signs and Symptoms in Psychiatry (Fish, 1967). Despite its brevity or more likely, because of its brevity, Fish's Clinical Psychopathology soon became an essential text for medical students, psychiatric trainees and all healthcare workers involved in the delivery of mental health services. A revised edition, edited by Max Hamilton, appeared in 1974 (Hamilton, 1974) and was reprinted as a second edition in 1985 (Hamilton, 1985).

In recent years, Fish's Clinical Psychopathology has been out of print and essentially impossible to locate. The purpose of this third edition is to introduce this classic text to a new generation of psychiatrists and trainees, and to reacquaint existing aficionados with the elegant insights and enduring values of Fish's original work.

Revising Fish's Clinical Psychopathology has been both a humbling and exciting experience. While striving at all times to retain the spirit of Fish's original work, we have revised the language in various areas so as to take account of changes in linguistic conventions. We have also updated references and included new material relating to personality disorder, cognitive distortion, defence mechanisms, memory and unusual psychiatric syndromes.

Notwithstanding these revisions, we trust that this text remains true to the spirit of fish's original clinical psychopathology, the volume that shaped the clinical education and practice of a generation of psychiatrists. we hope that this edition proves similarly useful to contemporary readers. if it succeeds, all credit lies with the original insights of frank fish; if it does not, the fault lies with us.