The process of establishing accurate psychiatric diagnoses starts with a thorough interview that reviews and records the lifetime experience of all abnormal psychiatric symptoms. This interview is conducted using professionally established and recognized criteria for psychiatric illness as found in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Psychiatric Disorders, version IV, text-revised edition (DSM-IV, tr) published by the American Psychiatric Press and endorsed by the American Psychiatric Association. Any other diagnostic procedure is not currently endorsed by the American Psychiatric Association or the American Medical Association and represents eccentric and is not standard-of-practice. At Scott P Hoopes MD & Associates we use a standardized and accepted diagnostic instrument to establish reliable diagnoses. This instrument was developed for use in psycharmacological research by an international panel of experts and constructs a detailed description of the life course of our patients that in turn creates a window through which, as it were, clearly to see the diagnoses and the relationship between diagnoses that form the foundation and bedrock of all treatment planning.
There are several points to understand to appreciate the reasons why we conduct the diagnostic interview the way we do. Many patients come to us anxious to tell us every part of their emotional experience, which sometimes leads to misunderstandings when we do not place the same emphasis to parts of their experience that they do. This occurs because many aspects of our emotional experiences are not specific to particular psychiatric diagnoses and thus recording them does not assist in our diagnostic task. Think, for example, of an experienced computer technician who is trying to repair your computer. His experience enables him to construct an “if this, then probably this and not that” algorhythm that allows him rapidly and effectively to identify the problem. Similarly, we know the elements of your experience that will allow us to make the fine distinctions between this and that diagnosis, which is the key to effective treatment. Consequently we may at times during the interview lead you to describe aspects of your experience you have not thought important and lead you away from aspects of your experience that you have been convinced are fundamental. Please be patient with us at these times, for we are pursuing information essential to acurate diagnosis.
We conduct our initial interviews in two ways, depending on availability of appointment time and staff. Sometimes Dr. Hoopes or one of his associates conducts the entire interview themselves. Other times a member of our professional staff may conduct an initial data-gathering interview prior to seeing Dr. Hoopes or one of his prescribers. This latter allows for effecient use of time and also allows for constructive interaction between professionals of allied health disciplines. Our patients often comment that they enjoy this "preintake".
By pursuing this course we establish
the shortest list of diagnoses necessary to account for the entirety of a person's
experience. These diagnoses are the foundation on which we build the treatment
plan in order to allow a person to feel as well as possible, function as highly
as possible, with the least medication possible.
