The Future of Psychiatric and Psychological Training: Approaches to Treatment of Mental and Emotional Distress in the New Era by Tracy Latz, M.D., M.S., Mh.D. & Marion Ross, Ph.D., Mh.D.
Many psycho
therapists have watched patients struggling with their symptoms for months to years and felt the frustration of being unable to change the outcomes through traditional psychotherapy. Historically, psychiatrists, psychologists, therapists and counselors have been taught to evaluate patients in the following manner. First, the patient is interviewed to obtain a thorough history of presenting symptoms of distress (anxiety, depression, psychosis, trauma, etc), medical history, past psychiatric history, family history, and early childhood/social history to include evaluation for abuse, family of origin dynamics, substance abuse, education, work history, and current relationship dynamics. It is of note that very few psychotherapists take a spiritual history. Then a mental status exam is performed to evaluate for attention, concentration, speech, psychomotor activity, memory, mood, affect, thought processes, logic, insight, judgment, thoughts of self-harm or harm to others, and auditory or visual hallucinations. Then the mental health professional [Read more…] about The Future of Psychiatric and Psychological Training: Approaches to Treatment of Mental and Emotional Distress in the New Era
