What is your approach when the child refuses to separate from parents during psychiatric evaluation?

Children sometimes refuse to separate from parents during a psychiatric evaluation. The simple answer to how I respond when this occurs is that I complete the interview with the parent(s) in the room. For preschoolers and many school-age children, a refusal to separate is not necessarily something t...

Some of this depends on the age of the child and presenting concerns. In general, if a child refuses to separate at the initial visit, I don't push things too much, as this isn't all that unreasonable, especially with younger kids. For younger kids (preschool age and early elementary), sometimes a l...

It depends upon the age of the child. For younger children (and those whose presentations suggest more fragility), I always meet initially with caregivers to obtain a full history and let them know that the child is not to be present. This is to minimize the “triggering” of the child and to assure t...