b'Assessment When you rst see a mental health professional, you will undergo an assessment.You may be asked to ll out questionnaires, or the assessor may ask you the questionsdirectly. The assessment will likely cover these areas: Mental health history. This will include what your symptoms are, how long youvehad them, personal or family history of mental health issues, and any psychiatrictreatment youve had. Physical health history. They may enquire about whether you were born prematurelyor had any complications during birth, any childhood illnesses, and the state ofyour current health. Social history. These are questions about the relationships and events that shapeyour life. Who do you live with? Are you married? What sort of work do you do? What was your upbringing like? What kind of stress do you cope with? Have youexperienced trauma? Mental evaluation. This is an opportunity to discuss your symptoms in more detail,such as how they aect your day-to-day life, what makes them better or worse,how youve tried to manage them on your own, and what has or hasnt worked foryou.Developing a Treatment Plan After completing an assessment and determining a diagnosis, the providerwho assessed you will determine a treatment plan. Treatment can, but does notalways, involve medication. Often, a combination of medication and therapy isrecommended. Treatment MythsMyth: Psychiatric medicines dope you up or make you like a zombieTruth: The goal of psychiatric medicine is to help you feel normalnot highor euphoric, not sedated or confused. Its true that some medications can causefatigue or fuzzy thinking. If you do not feel well on a medication, then yourdoctor will adjust the dosage or change medications until you nd one thatworks for you.Myth: Psychiatric medicines are addictive. Truth: Most psychiatric medicines are not habit-forming. There are a fewmedications that can cause dependency. However, use of these medications iscarefully managed and your doctor will have a plan for safely stopping themedication if needed.14'