Designed for students in all mental health disciplines and for professionals who wish to hone their skills, this user-friendly, jargon-free text clearly shows how to conduct a successful diagnostic interview. The book covers a broad range of personalities and problems, offering fresh insight on how to elicit key information from even the most challenging patient. Focusing on both content and process, it details what should be asked and describes the best methods for posing clinical questions. Many illustrative clinical vignettes enliven the presentation throughout. Appendixes feature a sample interview and written report, abbreviated DSM-IV diagnoses for easy reference, and more.