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Adult
Comprehensive Psychiatric Evaluation
A comprehensive psychiatric evaluation
is an interview with a patient that has
a main purpose to diagnose any number of
emotional, behavioral, or developmental
disorders. An evaluation of an adult is
made based on behaviors present and in
relation to physical, genetic,
environmental, social, cognitive
(thinking), emotional, and educational
components.
The purpose and conduct of a psychiatric
evaluation depends on who requests the
evaluation, why it is requested, and the
expected future role of the psychiatrist
in the patients care.
The outcome may or may not lead
to a specific psychiatric diagnosis.
At times the evaluation will have
administrative or legal purposes; at
others the main goal is to establish an
effective working relationship with the
patient, at other times the emphasis is
placed on obtaining information needed
for immediate clinical recommendations
and decisions.
The information may be obtained from
different resources including the
patient interview, collateral sources,
structured interviews, rating scales,
functional assessments, psychological
and neuropsychological tests, physical
examination, laboratory and radiology
results, etc.
On the basis of information obtained in
the evaluation, a differential diagnosis
is developed.
The differential diagnosis
comprises conditions (including
personality disorders or personality
traits) described in the DSM-IV-TR .
Diagnostic and
Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.
The initial treatment plan addresses any
specific diagnoses and psychiatric needs
of the patient that have been identified
during the evaluation.
The initial treatment plan begins
with the determination of the
appropriate treatment setting and
includes an explicit statement of the
diagnostic, therapeutic, and
rehabilitative goals for treatment that
includes short-term and longer-term
goals.
A comprehensive treatment plan addresses
biological, psychological, and
socio-cultural domains.
The psychiatrist can select from
a range of individual, group, and family
therapies to create an integrated
multimodal treatment that includes
biological and socio-cultural
interventions.
BIBLIOGRAPHIC
SOURCE: American Psychiatric
Association (APA). Practice guideline
for the psychiatric evaluation of
adults. 2nd ed. Washington (DC):
American Psychiatric Association (APA);
2006 Jun. 62 p. (302 references)
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