16 Questions to Answer If You Are Seeing a Psychiatrist for the First Time

Going to see a psychiatrist? Get prepared! Before you come in for your first psychiatrist appointment get prepared by answering the following 15 questions. If you are seeing a psychiatrist for the first time, make the most use of your time and answer these questions before your psychiatric appointment.

Going to see a psychiatrist? Make sure you are ready! Before you come in for your first psychiatrist appointment get prepared by answering the following questions. If you do this, we will spend less time recreating your history and more time talking about the reasons you have come in for the psychiatric appointment. If you are seeing a psychiatrist for the first time try to answer these 16 questions before your appointment. You may find it helpful to write down your answers and bring them to the appointment.

Download and print out a copy of the questions by entering your email here:

 

If you haven’t yet found a psychiatrist first read the post: 8 Questions You Need to Ask to Get the Best Psychiatrist! This post will also give you tips on how to assess the fit between you and the psychiatrist and make sure it will work for you.

Questions to answer before your psychiatrist appointment:

 

Going to see a psychiatrist? Get prepared! Before you come in for your first psychiatrist appointment get prepared by answering the following 15 questions. If you are seeing a psychiatrist for the first time, make the most use of your time and answer these questions before your psychiatric appointment.

 

  • Why are you are coming in for an appointment now?
  • What are the particular things that are bothering you?
  • What would you like help with?
  • How far are you from your baseline?
  • How would you describe your normal personality? Are you more a cup half-full person or cup half-empty?
  • When did you start feeling bad?
  • When was the last time you felt happy?

 

Seeing a psychiatrist for the first time: Know your family history

 

Going to see a psychiatrist? Get prepared! Before you come in for your first psychiatrist appointment get prepared by answering the following 15 questions. If you are seeing a psychiatrist for the first time, make the most use of your time and answer these questions before your psychiatric appointment.

 

Try to learn as much as you can about your family’s medical and psychiatric history. In some families, mental health is a taboo topic and not openly discussed. Try to think if there is one person who may be easier to talk to and ask them.

Knowing your family history before your psychiatric appointment can help us to come up with a more accurate diagnosis and plan.

  • Does anyone in your family have any psychiatric history?
  • Is anyone seeing a psychiatrist? Have they been hospitalized?
  • Has anyone been treated with medication? If so, which medicine and was it effective?

Psychiatric appointment: Your past history

 

Going to see a psychiatrist? Get prepared! Before you come in for your first psychiatrist appointment get prepared by answering the following 15 questions. If you are seeing a psychiatrist for the first time, make the most use of your time and answer these questions before your psychiatric appointment.

 

If you are going to see a psychiatrist, think about your own past mental health history. If you can’t remember details, ask your family if they remember. You can also contact your previous psychiatrist to see if they still have records.

  • Have you seen a psychiatrist before? If you have, find out their contact information (especially their fax number!).
  • Have you been in therapy? Was it helpful? What did you like or not like about it?
  • Have you been treated with medication before? Was it helpful?

If you are struggling to come up with your medication history see if you can get it from your pharmacy. I have had people be able to get a medication printout for the previous 10 years. Although it can be cumbersome to sort through, it can provide valuable history.

Going to see a psychiatrist? Write out a timeline!

 

Going to see a psychiatrist? Get prepared! Before you come in for your first psychiatrist appointment get prepared by answering the following 15 questions. If you are seeing a psychiatrist for the first time, make the most use of your time and answer these questions before your psychiatric appointment.

 

Write up a general timeline for your history and the medicine you have tried. Details to include on the timeline are:

  • Approximate dates you took medication and why you took it.
  • What were the doses of the medication?
  • Were there any side effects? Any benefits?

If we have a list of your past medications, we can come up with a more accurate picture of what works for you and what doesn’t.

What you need to do before seeing a psychiatrist:

 

Going to see a psychiatrist? Get prepared! Before you come in for your first psychiatrist appointment get prepared by answering the following 15 questions. If you are seeing a psychiatrist for the first time, make the most use of your time and answer these questions before your psychiatric appointment.

 

Don’t get me wrong. You don’t need to have everything figured out and conceptualized before your first psychiatric appointment. The more questions from this list that you are able to answer before you come in, the more time we get to talk about why you are seeing a psychiatrist. Its win-win!

Do your best to organize your thoughts but don’t stress out about it. It doesn’t need to be perfect. You may find it helpful to write down your answers and bring them to the appointment.

Going to see a psychiatrist? Get prepared! Before you come in for your first psychiatrist appointment get prepared by answering the following 15 questions. If you are seeing a psychiatrist for the first time, make the most use of your time and answer these questions before your psychiatric appointment.

Looking for additional mental health resources?

Check out the Mental Health Bookstore and Resources page to get helpful options.

Don't miss another post!

Subscribe to get our latest content by email.

We won't send you spam. Unsubscribe at any time. Powered by Kit

Discover More Articles

Treating Depression with Exercise

Exercise isn’t just about physical fitness. It also benefits your mental health! Research supports the link between depression and exercise. Even 1 hour of exercise per week can be effective in helping you overcome depression. Learn how to increase your chance of success by treating depression with exercise and set yourself up for brighter days […]

Read More about Treating Depression with Exercise

Neuroleptic Malignant Syndrome: Rare but Potentially Deadly Side Effects of Antipsychotic Medications

Neuroleptic Malignant Syndrome (NMS) is a potentially life-threatening condition that is one of the rare side effects of antipsychotic medications. It is fatal in 10% of patients. Neuroleptic Malignant Syndrome symptoms need to be recognized early to cut down on this risk of death. NMS is an unpredictable and rare condition but because of the […]

Read More about Neuroleptic Malignant Syndrome: Rare but Potentially Deadly Side Effects of Antipsychotic Medications

Is joy possible? Finding your purpose through active living

Do you believe joy is possible? Many people I work with feel they passively exist without joy. Depression, anxiety, trauma, etc. may initially cause this, but then it is perpetuated by a lack of engagement in life. People do better when they are actively living. In the last post, we talked about what is the […]

Read More about Is joy possible? Finding your purpose through active living

Join Our Newsletter!

Please enter your name.
Please enter a valid email address.
Something went wrong. Please check your entries and try again.

Office Location

99 Cherry Street
Unit D
Milford, CT 06460
Get Directions

Phone: 203-906-6294

Scroll to Top