Chapter 9 - Patient expectations from psychiatrists

Summary

Two significant people at the core of therapeutic encounter are the patient and the psychiatrist. The therapeutic encounter can establish a diagnosis and devise a management plan. The encounter lies at the core of clinical judgement. This chapter highlights the issues related to patient expectations of psychiatrists. A major task of the psychiatrist as a clinician is to come up to and understand what the patients and their carers expect from them. Patient expectations of the therapeutic encounter and what they want from their psychiatrist has to be seen in the context within which it is being carried out. Keeping up-to-date with knowledge, developing and setting standards and ensuring that these standards are met and kept, being ethical and possessing excellent communication skills are the key characteristics which patients and carers expect of their psychiatrists.