This paper explains why and how we should introduce birth into the canon of subjects explored by philosophy. It focuses on the epistemology of birth, namely, on the nature, origin, and limits of the knowledge produced by and/or related to giving birth. The paper provides a view on the philosophy of birth, i.e., an approach to construct a new logos for genos.

After many years of mental healthcare reform there is still a lot of unease among patients about healthcare workers’ lack of attention to their daily needs and to the tensions and ambiguities that accompany their attempts to integrate their condition into their lives. Person-centred care is often presented as a solution, but the term refers to many differing approaches and needs further specification depending on the problem it aims to resolve. This article presents and discusses a clinical and philosophically informed approach that flexibly focuses on the person- and context-bound aspects of the patient's condition and on the co-regulatory role of the clinician in the patient's attempt to regulate their condition. This approach is a way of thinking, rather than yet another model. It will be shown how this approach can be integrated in the core curriculum of specialty (residency) training in psychiatry.

Values-based practice (VBP) is a framework of clinical theory and skills to facilitate a good process whereby the (often conflicting) values involved in clinical decision-making can be recognised and balanced productively. Many of these values come from the personal histories of the patient and of the clinician, and the traditions and history of psychiatry. New developments in science lead to increasing choice and increasing complexity of values. Therefore, psychiatrists will need more skills in this area, as reflected by the inclusion of VBP in the Royal College of Psychiatrists’ training curricula. This article describes some tools for understanding and navigating this value diversity in applying science to clinical practice during history taking.

Background: Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is proposed to describe the transitional stage between normal cognitive aging and dementia. It has had significant impact in the field of dementia research, but it remains controversial whether or not it should be used as a diagnostic category in clinical practice.

Methods: Semi-structured interviews were carried out with international experts (N = 37) in the field of dementia research and practice. These interviews explored the advantages and difficulties of using MCI as a clinical diagnosis.

Results: There is wide variation in the clinical use of MCI. This variation depends on institutional factors and two types of cultural factors: (a) clinical culture, and (b) the “evidential culture” – how research and guidelines figure in clinical practice.

Conclusion: The study shows the importance of combining values-based practice with evidence-based practice in the early diagnosis of dementia.