Language and connectedness in the medical and psychiatric interview

Abstract Objective To present and develop “connectedness” as a linguistically based concept for research and teaching of the medical and psychiatric interview; and to illustrate how this concept may be operationalized for systematic study and use. Methods We describe the concept and its theoretical background, illustrate it with examples, and describe a basic rating scale for connectedness that can be used for research and teaching purposes. Results Connectedness is grounded in established concepts from the linguistic field of discourse analysis and is applicable to the study and teaching of medical and psychiatric interviews. Conclusions Connectedness is worthy of further study to enhance our understanding and our teaching of the interview. Practice implications Connectedness is a concept directly applicable to teaching and practice.