Mental health disorders and our awareness of them are significantly on the rise. Society and clinical medicine still struggle to be sensitive and understanding towards psychiatric issues and unfortunately there is still stigma attached. Being patient and empathetic towards individuals is key to taking a psychiatric history. Many thoughts and feelings can be difficult to articulate, and history is rife with psychiatric misdiagnoses of medical conditions and vice versa. A move away from the era of paternalistic and dismissive attitudes is essential to supporting patients the best that we can.