What is the psychological anamnesis and how to do it

When starting a psychological treatment, it is quite common for the psychologist or psychologist to perform in the first (or first) consultations an interview asking about the reason for consultation and, in general, about the life of the patient. This serves so that the professional can get a general idea about what is happening, as well as discover if there are other problem areas that could be affecting him.

In some cases, it is useful and necessary to carry out this type of interview with family members, the couple or, in general, someone close to them, especially when it comes to children.

This type of scan of the situation is known by the name of anamnesis and there are certain aspects that you must comply with. Also, there are different types. Therefore, if you want to continue discovering what what is the psychological anamnesis, how to do it and the different types there is, keep reading Psychology-Online.

Index

1. Types of anamnesis
2. How an anamnesis should be with examples
3. Importance of the psychological anamnesis

As we said, the anamnesis is about making youe a general idea of ​​the problem the patient has and how it interferes with the environment. Therefore, we can deduce two basic types of anamnesis:

Focal history

It consists of making a set of questions to the patient about the problem. Among these can be found:

• What is the reason for the consultation?
• Since when has it happened? Is there something that could have triggered it?
• Has it happened to you on any other occasion?
• Have you been to other psychologists before?
• What have you tried to do to solve the problem?

Anamnesis for biographical impact

In this type of anamnesis, questions would be asked to obtain information about how the problem may be interfering in the person's day, that is, it would try to find out if other areas of their life have been affected by the problem. In this way, we would get questions such as:

• Due to the problem, have you stopped doing any activities?
• Is there something that you think is maintaining or increasing it?
• How do you think therapy could help you with your problem? What do you expect from us?
• Do you have support from your environment?

Next, we will see how to take a psychological history with some sample questions. The anamnesis should consist of different points:

ID

It would be about taking the basic data of the patient: name, age, address ...

Reason for consultation

This is the reason that led you to start therapy: a breakup, problems with parents, low self-esteem... This is the most important aspect in an anamnesis since as a result, the interview can be developed in one order or another. If there is a relationship problem, the first questions will be in relation to that partner, while if there is a family problem, one would ask about who he lives with, among others, in the first place.

History of the problem

This would consist of the person describing what the symptoms of the problem are, when the problem started, why he thinks it was, when it is accentuated and when it disappears... In other words, describe the problem, as well as the possible causes of starting and maintaining it.

Biographical impact

Once the problem was understood, the second type of anamnesis mentioned would be carried out. That is, the person would be asked about the other areas of her life (work, studies, social level, hobbies ...) and it would be seen how the problem could be harming these other areas.

Childhood

In some cases, it may be interesting to ask the subject about her childhood: how her parents were with him / her, punishments and rewards, bullying... In general, how his life has been so that we can discover other possible causes of the problem or ingrained traumas.

Expectations

This point is important since, on some occasions, the patient may have expectations that are not in keeping with reality. It would be about telling the person to what extent their problem can be alleviated, always making it clear that it cannot be assured and that it will depend on many factors.

It is important not to saturate the patient. That is, on many occasions, with the intention of obtaining as much information as possible, the too much in time, making the person feel like he is not getting any feedback on his trouble. Thus, Sometimes it is better to expand the information little by little in the following therapy sessions, and combine it with some type of possible therapy goals, explanations of the problem, among others.

On the other hand, the order does not have to be always the same. This will depend on the problem, the patient and how it develops. The idea is that the conversation flows naturally, favoring, above all, the comfort of the patient over obtaining information.

This leads us to the fact that it is important to let the patient know that he does not have to answer and talk about everything, but about what he is ready for, respecting, in this way, their times.

This article is merely informative, in Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.

If you want to read more articles similar to What is the psychological anamnesis and how to do it, we recommend that you enter our category of Clinical psychology.

• Bleger, J. (1964). The psychological interview. Psychology topics (interview and groups).
• Pujol, T. (1982). The clinical history in the child psychodiagnostic process. Anamnesis versus psychological interview. Education and culture: Mallorcan Pedagogy magazine, 179-184.
• Rodríguez, P.L. and Rodríguez, L.R. (1999). Technical principles for taking the anamnesis in the adult patient. Rev. Cuban. Med. Gen. Integr.; 15(4); 409-14