Cross-cultural study of initial visits to psychiatric outpatient clinics

This descriptive and comparative study explored issues involving initial visits to psychiatric outpatient clinics. Seventy patients in an Irish clinic and 51 patients in a United States clinic were interviewed and 100 medical records in each clinic were reviewed to examine data on five variables: presenting complaints, critical incidents, referral processes, patient expectations, and reactions to treatment plans. Commonalities and differences between clinics were cited.