Diagnostic Interviewing

A cornerstone of the professional therapeutic relationship and a vital prerequisite to effective treatment, the diagnostic interview sets the tone for interventions that follow. This welcome update to the authoritative textbook includes coverage of foundational and advanced skills and strategies for effective clinical and diagnostic interviewing. Completely revised and updated to correspond to the DSM-5-TR and to reflect the latest innovations in theory and evidence-based practice, this instructive book offers a wealth of useful interviewing strategies and techniques. Specific interviewing approaches are discussed for diverse settings and diverse clients across a variety of presenting problems and mental disorders, as well as keys to ensuring that the interview process is effective and clinically sound. As with its predecessors, this volume emphasizes the value of the interview as the foundation for treatment planning, intervention, and the healing therapeutic relationship.

Among the topics covered:

• Ethical and professional issues.
• Interviewing strategies, rapport, and empathy.
• Presenting problem, history of presenting problem, and social history.
• The mental status examination.
• Consideration of neuropsychological factors in interviewing.
• Specific disorders including depressive disorders, bipolar disorders, anxiety disorders, obsessive-compulsive and related disorders, trauma and stressor-related disorders, dissociative disorders, somatic symptom disorders, eating disorders, sexual dysfunctions and gender dysphoria, substance use disorders, personality disorders, and schizophrenia spectrum disorders.
• Special populations, including children, older adults, interviewing in health, medical, and integrated care settings, and interviewing individuals at risk for suicide.

Previous editions of Diagnostic Interviewing have been used in the training and education of diverse mental health professionals including psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers, marriage and family therapists, and professional counsellors. This Sixth Edition will continue this tradition, aiding students, new practitioners, and seasoned clinicians.

Daniel L. Segal received his Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University of Miami in 1992 and completed a post-doctoral fellowship in clinical geropsychology at Nova Southeastern University. He is the Kraemer Family Professor of Aging Studies and Professor of Psychology in the Psychology Department at the University of Colorado Colorado Springs (UCCS), having joined the faculty in 1995. His research interests include diagnostic and assessment issues in clinical psychology and clinical geropsychology, the expression and measurement of anxiety in later life, suicide risk and resilience and aging, and the impact of personality disorders across the lifespan. He has published over 200 peer reviewed journal articles and book chapters on these topics. Additionally, he is lead author on two books (Aging and Mental Health, 3rd edition, with co-authors Sara Qualls and Michael Smyer, published in 2018; Personality Disorders and Older Adults: Diagnosis, Assessment, and Treatment, with co-authors Frederick L. Coolidge and Erlene Rosowsky, published in 2006). He has also edited two volumes in major reference works: One volume focused on personality assessment (in the Comprehensive Handbook of Psychological Assessment, 2004) and the other examined personality and everyday functioning (in the Comprehensive Handbook of Personality and Psychopathology, 2006). He is a Fellow of the Gerontological Society of America and of the American Psychological Association (Divisions 12 and 20). He has received numerous awards at his home institution, including the Outstanding Teacher Award from the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences in 2002 and from the UCCS Campus in 2006, the Outstanding Researcher Award from the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences in 2010, and the Chancellor’s Award for the UCCS campus in 2014. Finally, he was honored with the Distinguished Clinical Mentorship Award in 2017 from the Society of Clinical Geropsychology (Division 12, Section 2 of the American Psychological Association). Outside of his professional hours, he can be found playing golf (and losing many golf balls), listening to his favorite band from New Orleans, the Radiators, enjoying walks and hikes, rooting for the Denver Broncos, and enjoying the company of his wife, daughter, and cats.