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Contemporary Psychiatry pp 479–496Cite as

Examination of the Psychiatric Patient

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Abstract

Psychiatric treatment, using any recognised intervention, is based upon information concerning the present state and past history of the individual patient, described as the psychiatric examination. This has two essential components which are described in this chapter: history-taking and examination of mental state. Any medical examination is potentially experienced by the patient as unpleasant, and psychiatric examination is no exception. It is also time-consuming, and each item should therefore be carried out for a specific purpose. It is also important to ask the patient’s permission and explain the procedure and its purpose beforehand. Repeated examinations of the same patient by different members of the clinical team should be discouraged, as this is unpleasant for the patient and will tend to undermine the value of the procedure.

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Authors
  1. A. Sims
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  2. S. Curran
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Zentralinstitut für Seelische Gesundheit, P.O. Box 12 21 20, 68072, Mannheim, Germany

    Fritz Henn

  2. Belle-Idée, Bâtiment Salève, Hôpitaux Universitaires de Genève, 2, chemin du Petit-Bel-Air, 1225, Chêne-Bourg/Genève, Switzerland

    Norman Sartorius

  3. Psychiatrische Klinik, Freie Universität Berlin, Eschenallee 3, 14050, Berlin, Germany

    Hanfried Helmchen

  4. Klinikum rechts der Isar, Technische Universität München, Ismaninger Straße 22, 81675, München, Germany

    Hans Lauter

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© 2001 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Sims, A., Curran, S. (2001). Examination of the Psychiatric Patient. In: Henn, F., Sartorius, N., Helmchen, H., Lauter, H. (eds) Contemporary Psychiatry. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-59519-6_28

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-59519-6_28

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-64007-0

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-59519-6

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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