Validity of Psychiatric Evaluation of Asylum Seekers through Telephone

The goal of the psychiatric assessment of asylum seekers is to evaluate the asylum seeker’s mental health and credibility. The shortage of mental health providers trained in this particular type of evaluation makes in-person evaluation not always feasible. Telephonic interview has been occasionally utilized to fill this void. The validity of such evaluations in assessing credibility has yet to be fully established. In the case of telephonic interviews, evaluators are limited with no access to facial or body language cues that can indicate deception or honesty. We will present a case of a client evaluated via telephone that was deemed credible and eventually released to pursue asylum in the US. Assessment of credibility relied solely on cues obtained from the client’s narrative, reported symptoms, and their style of interaction with the evaluator. We will highlight the findings from the client’s interview that supported credibility in the case and discuss the challenges of assessing asylum seeker’s credibility via telephonic interview. Telephonic evaluation of credibility can be considered a valid method despite major challenges, but psychiatric evaluators should be aware of the limitations of telephonic evaluations given the high possibility of secondary gains and deception.