,THE PSYCHIATRIC
INTERVIEW
,THE PSYCHIATRIC
INTERVIEW
Fourth Edition
Daniel J. Carlat, M.D.
Publisher
The Carlat Psychiatry Report
The Carlat Child Psychiatry Report
The Carlat Addiction Treatment Report
Associate Clinical Professor of Psychiatry
Tufts University School of Medicine
Boston, Massachusetts
Practical Guides in Psychiatry
Daniel J. Carlat, M.D.
Founding Editor
, Foreword
The Psychiatric Interview is straightforward, practical, and wise, yet often lighthearted and
funny, a breath of fresh air where comparable references have often been boring and
ponderous. It brims with extraordinary gifts for its readers. It is a scholarly review of the
research literature, yet it moves swiftly and has a light, even jaunty, tone. It is very much
up-to-date and serves as a useful introduction to many ideas, such as those from
psychodynamics, that are not widely available to contemporary students.
Best of all, the book is alive, an extraordinary achievement in view of the amount of
detailed material presented. It emphasizes the person within the patient and the need to form
an alliance with that person to secure reliable information and cooperation in treatment.
We feel the patients presented by Dr. Carlat; they are not simply diagnoses. Dr. Carlat
offsets the profession’s reputation for being cheerless and pathology minded; he illustrates
many ways by which effective relationships can be formed and shows how relationships that
are endangered can be repaired, perhaps especially at the close of an interview.
The Psychiatric Interview is designed in an easily accessible format, with aids for
memory, appendices for organizing information, and sensible guides for recordkeeping.
This is teaching by example at its best, with the examples both vivid and pointed, so that
they stick in the reader’s mind.
Truly understanding another human being is a daunting challenge, yet nothing is more
important if we are to soothe the suffering of a ravaged soul. Use this book as a guide to
reach for that understanding.
Leston Havens, M.D.
Professor of Psychiatry, Emeritus
Harvard Medical School
The Cambridge Health Alliance
Cambridge, Massachusetts
INTERVIEW
,THE PSYCHIATRIC
INTERVIEW
Fourth Edition
Daniel J. Carlat, M.D.
Publisher
The Carlat Psychiatry Report
The Carlat Child Psychiatry Report
The Carlat Addiction Treatment Report
Associate Clinical Professor of Psychiatry
Tufts University School of Medicine
Boston, Massachusetts
Practical Guides in Psychiatry
Daniel J. Carlat, M.D.
Founding Editor
, Foreword
The Psychiatric Interview is straightforward, practical, and wise, yet often lighthearted and
funny, a breath of fresh air where comparable references have often been boring and
ponderous. It brims with extraordinary gifts for its readers. It is a scholarly review of the
research literature, yet it moves swiftly and has a light, even jaunty, tone. It is very much
up-to-date and serves as a useful introduction to many ideas, such as those from
psychodynamics, that are not widely available to contemporary students.
Best of all, the book is alive, an extraordinary achievement in view of the amount of
detailed material presented. It emphasizes the person within the patient and the need to form
an alliance with that person to secure reliable information and cooperation in treatment.
We feel the patients presented by Dr. Carlat; they are not simply diagnoses. Dr. Carlat
offsets the profession’s reputation for being cheerless and pathology minded; he illustrates
many ways by which effective relationships can be formed and shows how relationships that
are endangered can be repaired, perhaps especially at the close of an interview.
The Psychiatric Interview is designed in an easily accessible format, with aids for
memory, appendices for organizing information, and sensible guides for recordkeeping.
This is teaching by example at its best, with the examples both vivid and pointed, so that
they stick in the reader’s mind.
Truly understanding another human being is a daunting challenge, yet nothing is more
important if we are to soothe the suffering of a ravaged soul. Use this book as a guide to
reach for that understanding.
Leston Havens, M.D.
Professor of Psychiatry, Emeritus
Harvard Medical School
The Cambridge Health Alliance
Cambridge, Massachusetts
