American Psychological Association Guidelines

This new edition of the Practice Guidelines for the Psychiatric Evaluation of Adults is the first set of the APA’s guidelines developed under the new guideline development process. These guidelines address the following nine topics, in the context of an initial psychiatric evaluation: review of psychiatric symptoms, trauma history, and treatment history, substance use assessment, assessment of suicide risk, assessment for risk of aggressive behaviors, assessment of cultural factors, assessment of medical health, quantitative assessment, involvement of the patient in treatment decision making, and documentation of the psychiatric evaluation.

Each guideline recommends or suggests topics to include during an initial psychiatric evaluation. Findings from an expert opinion survey have also been taken into consideration in making recommendations or suggestions. In addition to reviewing the available evidence on psychiatry evaluation, each guideline also provides guidance to clinicians on implementing these recommendations to enhance patient care.