The Psychiatric Interview: General Structures and Techniques

The psychiatric interview is the primary means of assessment in clinical psychiatry. The interview includes an important component, the mental status examination. Psychiatric interviews are performed in many different contexts and must be flexibly adapted to the patient and his/her situation at hand. There is a core set of information to obtain, structured by the biopsychosocial model of behavior, so that an adequate evaluation of the patient’s symptoms can take place and a diagnostic formulation and treatment recommendations can be made. Every evaluation must also assess safety issues such as suicide risk and violence. There are many factors that affect the interview, including those related to the patient, the interviewer, potential cultural differences between them, situational factors, and communication styles. Due to the nature of their illness, some patients will be able to provide only limited information, a situation in which different techniques and data from collateral sources information are particularly important. Examples of specific techniques for a variety of circumstances and situations are presented.