Initial Assessment

Before the Assessment:

The first time you come into the clinic will be for your initial assessment. We ask young people to come along with a parent/guardian so we can get the most detailed account of any difficulties you are experiencing. When you arrive, you will be greeted by a clinician and the members of the team who will be conducting your assessment. They will begin by talking you through what will happen both during and after the appointment.

During the Assessment:

To get a detailed understanding of the difficulties people may be experiencing, we like to speak with parents and young people separately at the assessment, although alternative arrangements can be made if families prefer. Because we are keen to make sure we do a really good job, assessments usually last around 3 hours (please bear this in mind when booking your appointment). We are keen to collect all of the information necessary to help young people and their families make good decisions rather than just quick ones.

The main part of the assessment will involve the assessors asking you lots of questions to work out whether you are experiencing an anxiety disorder and/or depression, and whether there are any other related difficulties. We use a combination of two 'gold-standard' diagnostic interviews for anxiety and depression. They are the ADIS (Anxiety Disorders Interview Schedule) and the K-SADS (Kiddie - Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia). In combining these, we have created the AIDA (AnDY Integrated Diagnostic Assessment).

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