Question 1

The purposes of the psychiatric interview include all except

Accepted Answer

The primary purposes of a psychiatric interview are to understand the patient's illness, obtain information efficiently, and establish a therapeutic alliance. Providing education about psychiatric disorders, while important, is not a primary purpose of the initial psychiatric interview; it may be a component of ongoing treatment.

Question 2

During an initial assessment, the relevant features of communication are its ability to

Accepted Answer

The ability of communication to promote a therapeutic alliance and increase understanding is an essential factor in creating a positive therapeutic relationship. This includes active listening, empathizing, and demonstrating respect and acceptance towards the patient. Effective communication can help the patient feel heard and understood, and can provide a safe space to discuss concerns and fears.

Question 3

For a patient who is overinclusive or rambling, the clinician

Accepted Answer

Using direction and redirection can help guide the patient back to the relevant topic and keep the conversation focused. This technique can also prevent the patient from becoming overwhelmed or getting lost in their thoughts. Asking the patient to tell their story or increasing eye contact may not necessarily address the issue of overinclusiveness or rambling, while interviewing the person accompanying the patient may not be necessary for addressing the patient's behavior.

Question 4

In using the communication technique of reflection, the clinician

Accepted Answer

Reflection involves repeating back to the patient what they have said to encourage them to elaborate further, provide clarification, or explore their thoughts and feelings more deeply. This technique can help the clinician gain a better understanding of the patient's perspective and help the patient feel heard and validated. However, the other choices listed involve different communication techniques, such as interpretation, prompting, and seeking clarification, which may also be useful in certain situations.

Question 5

In a biopsychosocial assessment, which of the following questions might be used to assess the social domain?

Accepted Answer

The question "Have the symptoms affected the patient's social and work functioning?" is used to assess the social domain. A relates to the biological domain, B relates to the psychological domain, and C relates to both the psychological and biological domains.

Question 6

Validation is a communication strategy used to

Accepted Answer

Validation is used to acknowledge and accept a patient's feelings, letting them know their emotions are reasonable and understood.

Question 7

To encourage the patient to talk freely during the interview, the clinician

Accepted Answer

Providing empathetic responses can help the patient feel heard and understood, which can encourage them to open up and share more information during the interview. Direct questioning can feel invasive and may not prompt the patient to share as much, and explaining behavior/brain interaction theory may not be relevant or helpful to every patient. While taking notes conscientiously is important for documentation purposes, it may not necessarily encourage the patient to talk freely.

Question 8

Closed-ended questions

Accepted Answer

Closed-ended questions are designed to gather specific information and usually require a yes or no answer or a specific response. They can be helpful in obtaining important details quickly and efficiently.

Question 9

Open-ended questions

Accepted Answer

Open-ended questions are useful at the beginning of an interview as they encourage respondents to share more information and provide detailed responses.

Question 10

Patients' perceptual difficulties may have an adverse effect on the therapeutic alliance. Which of the following is likely to have the greatest negative effect?

Accepted Answer

If the patient perceives the clinician as being part of their delusional system, they may not trust the clinician and therefore not engage in therapy. This could have a significant negative effect on the therapeutic alliance. The other options may also have a negative effect, but not to the same degree as the patient perceiving the clinician as part of their delusions.

Question 11

During the initial assessment of a patient with schizophrenia, in response to the question "What brought you to the clinic today?" a patient's response of "the van" is an example of

Accepted Answer

The patient's response of "the van" indicates concrete thinking, which is a common symptom of schizophrenia. Concrete thinking involves interpreting language in a very literal way, without picking up on social cues or inferring meaning. This can make communication difficult and contribute to the disorganized speech often seen in schizophrenia.

Quiz 4: Communicating, Interviewing and Assessing