The First Interview: Revised for DSM-IV

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0898625696 ISBN 13: 9780898625691

Publisher: The Guilford Press, 1994

Designed for students in all mental health disciplines and for professionals who wish to hone their skills, this user-friendly, jargon-free text clearly shows how to conduct a successful diagnostic interview. The book covers a broad range of personalities and problems, offering fresh insight on how to elicit key information from even the most challenging patient. Focusing on both content and process, it details what should be asked and describes the best methods for posing clinical questions. Many illustrative clinical vignettes enliven the presentation throughout. Appendixes feature a sample interview and written report, abbreviated DSM-IV diagnoses for easy reference, and more.

About the Author:

bio revised for reprint, 9/02:
James Morrison, MD, was educated at Reed College and obtained his medical and psychiatric training at Washington University in St. Louis. He is currently Professor of Clinical Psychiatry at Oregon Health and Science University in Portland. He is the author or coauthor of such acclaimed professional resources as [i]DSM-IV Made Easy[/i], [i]When Psychological Problems Mask Medical Disorders[/i], and [i]Interviewing Children and Adolescents[/i], as well as [i]Straight Talk about Your Mental Health[/i], a guide for consumers considering mental health treatment.

James Morrison, MD, was educated at Reed College and obtained his medical and psychiatric training at Washington University in St. Louis. He is currently Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at Oregon Health Sciences University. He is the author of The First Interview, DSM-IV Made Easy, and When Psychological Problems Mask Medical Disorders, and coauthor (with Thomas F. Anders) of Interviewing Children and Adolescents.

Review:

"An important how-to book on the diagnostic interview. Its elucidation of the medical model is particularly noteworthy. Comprehensive and eminently readable, the first edition of The First Interview has been at the top of my list of recommended readings to beginning psychiatry residents; senior medical students; psychology, social work and counseling students; and other trainees needing to sharpen their diagnostic interviewing skills. Dr. Morrison's years of experience as a crack interviewer and diagnostician come through in vivid colors. Thank you, Dr. Morrison, for making my job as an educator that much easier." --Sidney Zisook, MD, Professor of Psychiatry, UCSD School of Medicine

"Complely updated for DSM-IV, The First Interview is an important how-to book on the diagnostic interview. I plan to put it at top of my list of recommended readings for senior medical students and any other trainees needing to acquire diagnostic interviewing skills." --Sidney Zisook, University of California, San Diego School of Medicine

"Dr. Morrison has successfully sharpened the focus of the earlier edition of his important book, further enhancing the value and utility his work brings to all of us who are interested in the efficacy of the first interview and its relevancy to the DSM-IV." --Jule D. Moravec, Ph.D., Director, Western Region, Department of Veteran's Affairs, San Francisco

"The first contact with a patient, more often than not, sets the stage for a useful relationship as well as a sensible therapeutic plan. This book systematically presents a methodology for doing this. The new edition incorporates the latest in diagnostic criteria (DSM-IV) which have become a necessity for people to use in ordering their ideas about patients as well as interacting with their colleagues. This is true whether the clinician is a psychologist, psychiatrist, social worker, minister, nurse or, for that matter, a non-psychiatric physician. Dr. Morrison writes extremely well. One doesn't need a dictionary to understand the concepts and the suggestions. A decent educational experience in the discipline of one's practice is quite adequate for total understanding of the text. Finally, I want to say something about Dr. Morrison's common sense and insightfulness. In discussing a variety of stressors that may occur in the life of a patient or client, he points out that these could be independent events, possibly causing some part of the disorder or that the disorder itself might cause these events. This indicates both an open mindedness as to the cause of behavioral and emotional problems. I believe that Dr. Morrison's practical viewpoint and intelligence shines through every page of this book. No reader could help but derive considerable benefit and knowledge." --George Winokur, M.D., The Paul W. Penningroth Professor of Psychiatry, University of Iowa College of Medicine