AI Article Synopsis
- How psychiatrists introduce themselves can significantly affect the therapeutic relationship with patients.
- An experiment tested patients' preferences for different styles of introductions by psychiatrists, including stating their name, profession, and outlining the consultation process.
- Results showed that patients preferred introductions that included details about what to expect during the consultation, while personal disclosures by psychiatrists were less well-received.
- The study suggests that psychiatrists should focus on providing clear consultation information rather than sharing personal issues.
Article Abstract
Background: How psychiatrists introduce themselves in the first consultation may influence the therapeutic relationship. There is no evidence about what type of introduction patients prefer.
Aims: To assess experimentally patients' preferences for how psychiatrists introduce themselves.
Method: Twelve psychiatrists were filmed, each with three different introductions: stating name, profession and reason for consultation; the same, plus information on what will happen during the consultation; and the same, plus disclosure of a personal difficulty. Six randomly selected videos, of different psychiatrists, two of each type of introduction, were rated by each of 120 psychiatric in- and out-patients on Likert-type scales.
Results: Patients gave the most positive ratings to psychiatrists who introduced themselves with information about what will happen in the consultation rather than ones with briefer introductions or with additional personal disclosure (P = 0.002). Preferences were similar in different subgroups.
Conclusions: Psychiatrists should introduce themselves with information about what they intend to do in the consultation, but without personal disclosure.
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Source |
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| http://dx.doi.org/10.1192/bjp.bp.112.123877 | DOI Listing |
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