ABSTRACT
A psychiatric evaluation should provide helpful information to the family. It can provide information about diagnosis and contributors to the diagnosis. Following the clinical interview, the psychiatrist begins to make an opinion. This medical opinion is called the psychiatric formulation or psychiatric assessment. A complete psychiatric evaluation includes information from as many sources as possible. The mental status examination is a clinical snapshot of the student at the time of presentation. Social and developmental history is also an important component of the assessment. Strengths should be identified throughout the assessment, but initiating the parent interview with this information often puts the family at ease. The written report of the psychiatric evaluation should provide relevant information regarding the student’s thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. The start of the evaluation should identify the reasons for the evaluation and specific questions or problems that will be addressed in the report.
