What to Expect During a Psychiatric Evaluation
Medically Reviewed By Dr. Ryan Byrne, MD
In This Article…
1. The Complete Guide To Psychiatric Evaluations
2. Psychiatric VS Psychological Evaluations
3. What to Expect During a Psychiatric Evaluation
The Complete Guide To Psychiatric Evaluations
Whether it be psychiatrists, psychologists, therapists, psychometrists, counselors, or psychiatric nurse practitioners, seeking out mental health treatment often feels like wading through a stream of terminology. Many patients are left unsure where to start. While all mental health specialists have niches in treatment, psychiatrists have thorough training in medicine, mental health diagnosis, and psychotherapy. This article addresses the unique role of a psychiatrist along with what to expect during, how to prepare for, and the benefits of a psychiatric evaluation.
Psychiatric VS Psychological Evaluations
In contrast to other other mental health providers, psychiatrists are medical doctors (MDs) who have completed college, four years of medical school, and at least four years of specialized medical and mental health training in residency. Many psychiatrists will then complete additional training years in fellowship specializing in topics such as child and adolescent psychiatry, addiction psychiatry, or geriatric psychiatry. During medical school, psychiatrists receive broad education in all topics in medicine. During residency, they receive additional training in psychiatric evaluation, medication management, and psychotherapy. Due to this, psychiatrists are uniquely qualified to complete evaluations and consider medical along with psychological causes of mental health conditions.
From their background and training, psychiatrists utilize the medical model to evaluate mental health conditions with a psychiatric evaluation before treatment. The core of a psychiatric evaluation is the comprehensive patient-centered interview. This interview is focused on the symptoms that patients most want to address. It will also include discussion of the following:
- Patient’s past history
- Medical history
- Family history
- Social history
All of which includes topics such as education, employment, living situation, and substance use. Psychiatrists will often use objective measures to supplement their interview.
From a psychological perspective, these include clinical rating scales that assign a score for specific diagnoses. Likewise, from a medical perspective, objective measures can include vital signs, laboratory tests, and physical exam findings. Psychiatric evaluations generally do not include psychological tests, which may be completed by a psychologist or neuropsychologist.
What to Expect During a Psychiatric Evaluation
Because psychiatric evaluations are based on a clinical, patient-centered interview, there are several things patients can do to best prepare. First, identify your goal for seeking out treatment focusing on your most concerning symptoms. What is most distressing to you? What would you like the doctor to address and treat? Second, complete any information or surveys your physician requests. This may include medical history forms or psychological rating scales. Third, prepare a summary of past treatment and diagnosis including any past therapy or medications. Finally, it is important to be aware that mental health diagnosis and treatment is often a journey. Your psychiatric evaluation is the first step on this journey, and an initial diagnosis may not be your final diagnosis.
Conclusion
In summary, a psychiatrist’s unique training background and the psychiatric evaluation process has several benefits. Medical training allows psychiatrists to identify medical conditions that may seem to present as mental health conditions. Examples of this include low thyroid that seems like depression to a patient or asthma attacks that seem like panic attacks. In addition, psychiatrists have training in prescribing medications for mental health conditions and are aware of the potential interactions between and side-effects from medications. In addition, a psychiatrist’s training in specific types of psychotherapy can allow the psychiatrist to perform psychotherapy or make referrals for specific types of psychotherapy.
Overall, a psychiatric evaluation is an excellent starting point for mental health diagnosis and treatment. For help getting a psychiatric evaluation near you in Charleston please sign up for a new patient appointment online.
