Psychiatric interview

• Build rapport.
• Collect data about the patient's current difficulties, past psychiatric history and medical history, as well as relevant developmental, interpersonal and social history.
• Diagnose the mental health issue.
• Understand the patient's personality structure, use of defense mechanisms and coping strategies.
• Improve the patient's insight.
• Create a foundation for a therapeutic alliance.
• Foster healing.

• Shame: the patient might feel ashamed to discuss some of his difficulties.
• Fear of being judged: while not ashamed the patient might be reluctant to discuss some of the issues that she thinks that she can be judged for.
• Lack of awareness: patient might have distorted recollection of past events with significant emotional valence.
• Cognitive deficits: the patient might have a memory deficit that might impair his ability to correctly recall past events.
• Secondary gain: the patient decided to misrepresent fact in order to gain a certain benefit or avoid a certain penalty.

• Powerful feelings of like or dislike that might affect the interviewer objectivity.
• Lack of experience: the interviewer lack the skills and knowledge necessary to explore a specific area of pathology.
• Diagnostic bias: the interviewer is invested in a specific psychiatric diagnosis.