After gaining a good understanding of why you are presenting for care and also your past psychiatric history, time will be spent on learning more about you in general.
It's incredibly important that your psychiatrist know more about you as a person, instead of focusing solely on medical questions or workups.
Common areas to be explored include:
Where do you live?
Who do you live with?
Who are the important people in your life?
Who do you go to for help and support?
How do you support yourself?
Do you work? Alternatively, are you in school?
Do you enjoy your work?
What do you do for fun?
All too often, when a person has a psychiatric illness, or their illness is worsening, it's the day to day things that tell us that something is wrong.
Additionally, life events can cause stressors that lead to changes in mood and thought patterns.
Knowing someone's social story can play a large role in understanding how their illness is affecting their day to day life.
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