Current Diagnosis &Treatment: Psychiatry, 3e >Diagnostic Encounter for Children and Adolescents

Michael H. Ebert, James F. Leckman, Ismene L. Petrakis+

Table 5–4Issues Covered During the Family Interview

Content Category Issues Covered

What are the chief complaints of the family and the patient? ("Patient" denotes the identified patient;
however, the symptomatic child often turns out to be quite adaptable and is the symptom bearer for an
even more disturbed family system.)

How do family members understand the present problem? How does the patient see it?

Have organic factors been considered (hereafter, it will be assumed that these have been ruled out)?

Explicit information Why does the family come in at this time?

What is the background of the problem?

How has the family attempted to solve this problem in the past?

What are the family's expectations of the interview?

What are their motivations and resistances?

Perinatal and childhood development

Current medical problems and medications

Past medical and psychiatric illnesses and hospitalizations

Background information Family medical and psychiatric history

Family demographics

Family's employment, educational, housing, and financial status

Legal problems of family and patient, past and present

With peers (Is the patient gregarious? Popular? Friendly? A loner? Combative?)

With teachers and school personnel (Is the patient an academic success or failure? Compliant?
Oppositional?)

The patient's relationships With siblings (Is the patient cooperative? Antagonistic?)

With parents and extended family (Are family relationships close? Harmonious? Frictional? Distant?
Hostile?)

Are supportive aunts, uncles, or grandparents available?

With the community, such as church and school (Is the family connected? Participative? Isolated?
Aloof?)

Family's relationships
With extended family (Is the family cordial? Warm? Welcoming? Distant? Cold? Rejecting?)

With friendship networks (Is the family rewarding? Congenial? Conflictual? Isolated?)

Date of download: 12/26/22 from AccessMedicine: accessmedicine.mhmedical.com, Copyright © McGraw Hill. All rights reserved.