What Is Psychological Anamnesis And How To Do It

As we said, the anamnesis is about doinge a general idea of ​​the problem the patient has and how it interferes with the environment. Therefore, we can deduce two basic types of anamnesis:

Focal history

It consists of asking the patient a set of questions about the problem. Among these you can find:

• What is the reason for the consultation?
• Since when has it happened? Is there something that could have triggered it?
• Has it happened to you on any other occasion?
• Have you been to other psychologists before?
• What have you tried to do to solve the problem?

Anamnesis for biographical impact

In this type of anamnesis, questions would be asked to obtain information about how the problem may be interfering with the person’s day, that is, it would try to find out if other areas of their life have been affected by the problem. In this way, we would obtain questions such as:

• Due to the problem, have you stopped doing any activities?
• Is there anything that you think is maintaining it or increasing it?
• How do you think therapy could help you with your problem? What do you expect from us?
• Do you have support from your environment?

Next, we will see how to take a psychological history with some example questions. The anamnesis must be made up of different points:

ID

It would be about collecting the patient’s basic data: name, age, address…

Reason for consultation

This is the reason that led you to start therapy: a love breakup, problems with parents, low self-esteem… This is the most important aspect in an anamnesis since, as a result, the interview can take place in one order or another. If there is a relationship problem, the first questions will be in relation to that partner, while if there is a family problem it would be asked about who you live with, among others, first.

History of the problem

This would consist of the person describing what the symptoms of the problem are, when the problem started, why they think it was, when it gets worse and when it disappears… That is, describing the problem, as well as the possible causes of its beginning and end. maintenance thereof.

Biographical impact

Once the problem is understood, the second type of anamnesis mentioned would be taken. That is, the person would be asked about the other areas of their life (work, studies, social life, hobbies…) and we would see how the problem may be harming these other areas.

Childhood

In some cases it may be interesting to ask the subject about his/her childhood: what his/her parents were like with him/her, punishments and rewards, bullying… In general, what his/her life has been like so that we can discover other possible causes of the problem or entrenched traumas.

Expectations

This point is important since, on some occasions, the patient may have expectations that are not in line with reality. It would try to tell the person to what extent their problem can be alleviated, always making it clear that it cannot be guaranteed and that it will depend on many factors.

It is important not to overwhelm the patient. That is to say, on many occasions, with the intention of obtaining as much information as possible, it takes too long, making the person feel that they are not getting any feedback about their problem. Thus, Sometimes it is better to expand the information little by little in the following therapy sessions and combine it with some type of possible therapy goals, explanations of the problem, among others.

On the other hand, the order does not always have to be the same. This will depend on the problem, the patient and how it develops. The idea is that the conversation flows naturally, favoring, above all, the patient’s comfort over obtaining information.

This leads us to the fact that it is important to let the patient know that he does not have to respond and talk about everything, but about what he is ready for, thus respecting their times.

This article is merely informative, at PsychologyFor we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.

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