The Psychiatric Interview in Clinical Practice

Much has changed in the critical interval since the last
edition of The Psychiatric Interview in Clinical Practice was
published. This new, third edition provides an up-to-date examination of the
psychiatric interview that reflects changes introduced in DSM-5, while
continuing to recognize that describing symptoms and establishing a
diagnosis should command only a portion of the clinician's attention, and
that a patient's personal history must be elicited and character structure
addressed in the clinical engagement. Significant advances have been made in
biological psychiatry, and research in genetics, cognitive neuroscience,
psychopharmacology, brain imaging, and the neurosciences in general
continues apace, informing the culture of psychiatry and providing growing
insight into the etiology of mental illnesses. However, the book reflects
the authors' belief that virtually all major psychiatric disorders are
complex amalgams of genetic disposition and environmental influences. In
this context, the psychiatric interview is a vitally important dialogue, and
effective strategies are modeled through the use of clinical vignettes taken
from the authors' experience.

Topics and features of this new edition include:


* An updating of diagnostic considerations to reflect the publication
of DSM-5.
* A chapter on interviewing the patient with dissociative
identity disorder (DID), which is now recognized as an entity distinct from
other psychopathological conditions and rooted in childhood trauma. The
frequency of DID in the ambulatory setting has been repeatedly demonstrated
and speaks to the need to accurately diagnose and treat this
often-debilitating disorder.
* An entirely updated chapter on
interviewing the traumatized patient.
* A section on interviewing the
patient of different background. The book emphasizes that the subjective
experience of being "different" is universal and that psychiatry is enriched
by recognizing and exploring that experience, validating its existence, and
attempting to understand how it influences the patient's life.
*
Continued emphasis on and inclusion of relevant case vignettes drawn from
the authors' clinical experiences.
* Structural consistency across
chapters, with sections on psychopathology and psychodynamics, differential
diagnosis, management of the interview, transference and
countertransference, and so forth, which reinforces skills acquisition and
makes the text easy to use.

By creating a text that is aligned with
DSM-5 while continuing to stress the importance of eliciting the patient's
subjective experience and achieving a therapeutic dialogue, the authors of
The Psychiatric Interview in Clinical Practice have done a great
service to the profession and provided much-needed guidance to mental health
clinicians and trainees.