Psychiatric Evaluation & Diagnosis

A psychiatric evaluation is our opportunity to create a map so that we can better understand the landscape of your mind. It begins with your current situation. Where do you suffer? Where are you finding psychological pain? Perhaps you feel disconnected and unseen. Maybe you are challenged by great change.

Whatever the issue is, moving through it is “the Work” that we aim to do.

An evaluation is not simply a checklist of symptoms or a test that you either pass or fail. It is a detailed conversation intended to understand what you are experiencing and the context in which those experiences developed.

I want to understand where you come from, so I will ask about your family and your experiences growing up. Did you feel safe? Did you feel seen? Were your accomplishments validated?

I like to get a sturdy framework of childhood because it provides insight into the waters in which you grew up. Oftentimes, we are like goldfish swimming in the water of our life and family. We do not see what affects us because we are in it.

I will ask about your family history, medical history, and relationship history, and I will listen without judgement. Understanding these experiences helps us identify unmet needs, recurring patterns, strengths, and opportunities for meaningful change.

We will talk about what you have tried in the past to address the issues you are facing. Many people come to me after some previous experience with medication or therapy, so those experiences can help us understand what has shown promise and what has not.

I will ask about your support system, your daily habits, your relationships, your physical health, and other aspects of your life that may affect psychological wellness.

We may also discuss your connection with a greater power, whether you understand that as God, Self, Enlightenment, spirituality, meaning, or something else entirely.

All these facets of you and your life matter. They help us develop clarity, and clarity provides a path forward.

I think it is important to be clear about what a psychiatric diagnosis is—and what it is not. Mental health involves thought and feeling electrically connected to the body. Mental health can affect physical health and vice versa, and there are biological and physical components to psychiatric concerns, including the brain and nervous system.

At the same time, mental-health diagnosis does not always function in exactly the same way as identifying a clearly defined physical ailment. Diagnostic systems such as the DSM give clinicians a common framework for describing patterns of symptoms, but a diagnostic label cannot capture the entirety of a person.

I am not diagnosing you as a person; I am diagnosing a situation you are experiencing.

You are not depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, ADHD, trauma, or another diagnosis. Those may describe situations, symptoms, or patterns you are facing, but they do not define who you are.

Identifying a diagnosis can still be useful when it gives us language, improves clarity, or helps guide treatment. The goal is understanding and growth—not reducing your identity to a code.

Diagnosis codes are used in my clinical documentation. Because I do not submit insurance claims directly, those codes are not automatically submitted to an insurance company through my practice.

If you request a superbill so that you can pursue reimbursement from your insurance company, the diagnosis information required for that documentation may then be shared with the insurer.

Some healthcare systems use large interconnected record platforms that make information such as diagnoses and medications available across participating providers. My practice does not use a large shared charting system, in part because I value thoughtful handling of sensitive psychiatric information.