A psychiatric assessment, or psychological screening, is a process of gathering information about a person within a psychiatric (or mental health) service, with the purpose of making a diagnosis. The assessment is usually the first stage of a treatment process, but psychiatric assessments may also be used for various legal purposes. The assessment includes social and biographical information, direct observations, and data from specific psychological tests. It is typically carried out by a psychiatrist, but it could be a multi-disciplinary process involving nurses, psychologists, occupational therapists and social workers.
Read more about Psychiatric Assessment: History, Mental Status Examination, Physical Examination, Physical Investigations, Assessment Tools, Multidisciplinary Assessment, Other Perspectives, See Also
Famous quotes containing the words psychiatric and/or assessment:
“Indeed the involuntary character of psychiatric treatment is at odds with the spirit and ethics of medicine itself.”
—Kate Millett (b. 1934)
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—Anonymous Mother. From the Boston Women’s Health Book Collection. Quoted in The Joys of Having a Child, by Bill and Gloria Adler (1993)