The starting point of effective psychiatric treatment is an extensive clinical interview, physical examination, and further diagnostic measures. Such methodological and profound investigation reflects the highest German standard, allowing us to identify not only the main psychiatric diagnosis but also any co-occurring mental health and physical conditions.
Our expert psychiatrist, Dr. Gregor Kowal, offers assessment and customized therapy for a wide range of mental health conditions.
Making Psychiatric Diagnosis
Dr. Kowal usually sees his patients for 30 minutes for the initial consultation. Such a pre-assessment allows us to make a provisional diagnosis and explain to the patient the best therapy options, the frequency of visits, and the treatment costs.
In emergency cases, he will move immediately to full evaluation, which takes 90 minutes. The follow-up visits can take place in person or online. However, we suggest “face-to-face” therapy, which is more natural.
Step-by-Step Diagnostic Procedure
At CHMC, the therapy with psychiatric medication follows the international guidelines for treatment of mental health disorders. The proper in-depth psychiatric assessment lasts around 90 minutes. The investigation starts with the clinical interview, physical examination, laboratory test, and ECG. In some cases, more elaborate diagnostics (CT-Scan, EEG) may be necessary.
The reason for such a profound assessment is securing the diagnosis as well as excluding pre-existing physical and/or psychiatric illnesses. The psychiatric medication today is very well tolerated and used in the proper way, unlikely to create side effects. Nevertheless, five to six weeks after starting the treatment with medication, laboratory and ECG control are necessary to exclude any adverse effects.
Psychiatric Diagnostic Systems
Psychiatric diagnoses today are made based on international guidelines described in so-called diagnostic statistic manuals.
The International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD) is the most widely recognized system for diagnostic classification and coding worldwide used by the World Health Organization (WHO).
The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), developed by the American Psychiatric Association (APA), is another classification system. The current versions of those manuals are ICD-10 and DSM-5. The diagnostic criteria of psychiatric diagnoses largely overlap in both systems.
Due to the multifactorial genesis of mental health disorders, the current diagnostic systems abandoned the classification based on the root causes of the psychiatric illnesses. They classify mental illnesses according to their symptom quality and severity.
These systems are expert-approved manuals serving as “psychiatric common language” to exchange information between mental health specialists but also for statistical purposes. They ensure consistent diagnoses and facilitate treatment of psychiatric disorders.