Your first appointment

Sharmin has rehearsed it for a week. She will say she is stressed, which is true, and leave out the rest, which is also true. In the car on the way to Gulshan she changes her mind twice. Then she is in the room, and the first question is simply how she has been, and she finds herself telling the whole thing.

An illustration drawn from common experience. The person is invented; the pattern is not.

What happens at a first consultation

A first appointment is a conversation, not a test. Dr. Tajreen will ask what has been happening and for how long, how it is affecting sleep, appetite, work and relationships, your physical health and any medicines, your history and your family, and what matters to you. You do not need to prepare, to have a diagnosis in mind, or to have the right words. You can bring someone with you, and you can say if there is anything you are not ready to talk about.

What you leave with

By the end, you should have a clearer understanding of what may be going on, whether any tests are needed, and the options: psychotherapy, medication, both, or simply a plan to review. Nothing is decided without you. The plan is built around you.

Useful to bring

• A list of any medicines you take, including ones bought without prescription
• Any previous reports or prescriptions
• A few notes, if that helps you remember what you want to say

Common questions about your first appointment

What does a psychiatrist ask at the first visit?

A first appointment is a conversation, not a test. Expect questions about what has been happening and for how long, how it affects sleep, appetite, work and relationships, your physical health and medicines, and your history and family. You do not need the right words, and you can say if there is something you are not ready to talk about.

Will I be given medicine at my first psychiatry appointment?

Not necessarily. At the end of a first consultation, the options may be psychotherapy, medication, both, tests, or simply a plan to review. Nothing is decided without you.

When to see a psychiatrist

If you have been thinking about it for a while, that is usually the sign. You do not need to be in crisis to book a first appointment.

Care here is personal: built around your history, your health and what you want to change, and reviewed with you as it goes.

If you or someone else is in immediate danger, call 999 or go to the nearest hospital emergency department.