After several sessions with a new psychiatrist, the two of you should have been able to cover quite a bit of information including:
-What concerns brought you to the office
-Your past mental health needs and any past treatment
-A chance to review the main factors in your day to day life -A review of your general health and current health care
-A chance to complete a targeted physical exam
-A chance to review the results of any clarifying studies
After collecting all of this information, many psychiatrists will present you with an "assessment", which is a summary of their thoughts on what might be going on. For example, it is common to use this time to also introduce their thoughts on what your diagnosis may be and how this diagnosis may affect you both now and in the future.
A psychiatrist may also use this time to introduce a few thoughts on how to proceed with treatment.
This portion of the evaluation usually also involves your psychiatrist explaining any unfamiliar concepts about mental health care and answering any questions that you have. If something the psychiatrist says doesn't quite make sense, it is perfectly fine to ask for more clarification. Understanding your psychiatrist's assessment is key to making sure the both of you are on the same page before moving on toward treatment planning.
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