Prepare

Decision to visit a psychiatrist for the first time can be difficult. You go to the doctor, but you do not know what to expect or hope for. When arranging the consultation think about some important issues:

• talk to a child and explain him/her according to his/hers developmental level where you are going and why; a psychiatrist is also a doctor (though she does not wear an apron) and beside talking she also assesses patient’s physical condition,

• talk to your loved ones, find out if other family members had similar problems in the past,

• if a child suffers from problems that are not seen all the time (eg strange episodes at night or movements/tics that appear from time to time), record a disturbing event with a telephone, it makes it easier to make a diagnosis,

• observe the child and record how often undesirable behaviors/events happen in order to help assessing severity of the problem,

• for the appointment take all child’s medical records - except current problem, doctor will gather an accurate interview about your child’s previous development and treatments.

On the first visit I collect a detailed interview about the child, the current problem, previous development and routine activities. I ask about peer and family relations. At the end I establish a preliminary diagnosis and make recommendations. Sometimes additional tests or consultations with other specialists may be necessary. I try to comprehensively explain the diagnosis and set a further action plan together with the patient and his/her parents.