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Revisiting the hypothesis-driven interview in a contemporary context
Alex Holmes1, Bruce Singh, Geoff McColl
1Department of Psychiatry, Royal Melbourne Hospital and University of Melbourne, VIC, Australia. acnh@unimelb.edu.au
Objective:
The "hypothesis-driven interview" was articulated by George Engel as a method of raising and testing hypotheses in the process of building a biopsychosocial formulation and determining the most likely diagnosis. This interview was a forerunner of the modern medical interview as well as the contemporary psychiatric assessment. The objective of this article is to describe the hypothesis-driven interview and to explore its relationship with the contemporary medical interview.
Method:
The literature on the medical and hypothesis-driven interview was reviewed. Key features of each were identified.
Results:
The hypothesis-driven interview shares much with the contemporary medical interview. In addition, it enhances the application of communication skills and allows the interviewer to develop a formulation during the course of the assessment.
Conclusion:
The hypothesis-driven interview is well suited to the aims of a contemporary psychiatric assessment.
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