Hello mtbarnes: I see this is your first post here on PC. So... welcome to PsychCentral... from the Skeezyks! I hope you find the time you spend here to be of benefit.

I'm not sure what to tell you with regard to what to expect from your upcoming appointment. How psychiatrists operate seems to vary quite a bit. My pdoc is only interested in prescribing & monitoring psych med's. At my first appointment, he took some extra time to listen to me tell him about my concerns. I may have seen him for around a half hour that time. But, since then, I'm pretty-much in-&-out in ten minutes or so. I've had no diagnostic testing nor have I ever been offered anything in the way of a diagnosis. And since I'm no longer on psych med's, I just see my pdoc a couple of times a year... just to keep my foot in the door so to speak in case I need him in the future.

From other members' posts I've read here on PC, however, I have the impression that not all psychiatrists operate the way mine does. Perhaps other members will yet share some of their experiences. Here's a link to an article from the PsychCentral archives describing another person's first psychiatrist appointment:

https://psychcentral.com/lib/my-firs...-psychiatrist/

And then here's a link to a thread posted by another member, here on PC, with regard to the same topic, along with the replies that member received:

https://forums.psychcentral.com/psyc...t-nervous.html

Good luck with your appointment!