I think another must for a psychiatrist, is that if you tell him or her that you are more depressed and suicidal, they pay attention instead of telling you "oh, that's between you and your therapist." Isn't keeping you from harming yourself when you are suicidal ultimately HIS or HER main concern? At least that's what I always thought.
I had this happen to me and I filed a complaint later after being discharged following an overdose. Unfortunately, nothing came of it, except that I was able to change doctors... which in itself was a vast improvement.
Remember, not all doctors are created equal. There are good ones and there are bad ones.
This is a very important message to anyone who sees a psychiatrist. Sometimes we patients revere doctors because of their credentials but despite all the degrees and diplomas...there are bad psychiatrists out there.
I wrote a post some time ago about how to know when you have a bad therapist. My motivation for that piece was due to some of my negative experiences. We tell members..go see a doctor or a therapist and...sometimes it just doesn't work out. As consumers we need to be extra vigilant about the services we receive. Our time, money, and most importantly...our mental health is on the line. So having standards for who treats us is essential.
You make such a good point too...at the end of how clinics can help us too...but we can still demand good care. We are sometimes at the mercy of our insurance or lack of insurance...and we have to make the best of the care that we can receive.
Thanks for writing this...I am sure it will be helpful to so many of our members.
Thanks for a great article. Very apt since, over 2 weeks ago approx, I was in hospital [on a Trolly] with a TIA. my GP had felt that my Antidepressant dose for Lexapro at 35mg and going up to 40mg was crazy in the light of my high BP and it was extremely high when he took it, a few days before my Ambulance to A and E. When I visited my Psychiatrist, a young guy [its the public clinic here so you have to take what you get, and thats somebody for 5 or 6months and to be honest, you get what you pay for. Anyway, I told him I had gone down slowly to 20mg Lexapro, well ! he entered into a sort of bitchy game with me. Was I sure it wasnt a 'Panic attack' [I had lost speech, was talking gobbildy gook, couldnt tell the ambulance where i lived, was dribbling and lost my sight !
He refused to agree that the heightened dose of Lexapro had anything to do with the corresponding rise in BP. Too long to go into here but he ticks all the boxes youve written about.
When I mention that Id love to start dating but have zilch libido and that cant be healthy, he just ignores me. Exaustion during the day - Oh thats the Depression, its not ! its a totally different sort of zonked out Exaustion.
Ive found that when you pay and get a good doctor you get seen for longer ditto a therapist.
I have been dealing with this over fourteen years I told them I didn't need to come to sessions all the time because I have a good handle on it and I take my meds like I should. can they continue to make you come just because the nurse at mental health has to give me the meds? I feel stable and yes still have days when not up to par but I am a diabetic, have copd, arthersis ra and osto, kidney diease plus I'm bipolar and there are days when I just don't feel like going anywhere and seeing anyone. I'm a caregive or a special needs child which is my daughter who is 22 and it can be stressful when you can't get a break because family and friends don't want to be around her and don't understand the situation. who wouldn't get depressed? My husband totally depends on me to take care of everything because he doesn't want to face facts that I am sick and none of it is cureable. so tell me what you would do. thanks Rebecca
Sounds like you need a common friend in your battles rather than a office to check in on you. Try looking for a support group for parents of children with special needs or even for bipolar disorder (for both or whichever one was bothering you the most, I wasn't sure which one was). There should be something like that offered at the local hospital or the community center or possibly at a religious center if you're willing. It sounds like you're not the only one that needs to talk with someone who's going through the same things or even with a therapist. Also, just by reading what you posted, it sounds like it wouldn't hurt your hubby to find someone to talk with from a support group either.
The problem I see is that with general illness is easy to find out if the doctor is good or not, the cold is gone or the fiver is better or the pain is not more... but with depression are so many different treatment, different ideas and opinions that I don't know the right one.
Then after visit after visit and no improvement come the change in medication or the approach to the root problem and we get more depress than before.
I am a 19 year old male who has battled mental illness for my entire life. I have been diagnosed with Bipolar I disorder (however I do have some doubt on this diagnosis). I have been to a numerous amount of psychologists and psychiatrists and have been hospitalized 5 times. As in everything, I have found bad and good doctors, and, admittedly, had a difficult time finding a good psychiatrist. Meditation, religion and psychology I believe are key to mental health because it makes people help themselves in a socioculture where taking a pill is supposed to take care of problems. Unlike other branches of medicine, psychiatry is comparitively guesswork, however good psychiatrists are out there. One must just search. I found a psychiatrist that I would say saved my life after a meltdown. I recovered, with both psychiatry and psychology, and have worked my way from most meds with other means and have been doing great for the longest period of time of my life. Relience on psychiatry will not cure, but, when you find the right psychiatrist, can be a great deal of help in any case.
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In my history of treatment, I fired two psychiatrists. I'm pleased to see that my current psychiatrist, who I've been with for many years, passed your test. I had to come to the conclusion that I deserved the best, and lived in a place where the best was available, and did the research that let me find the right person.
Another benefit to having the right psychiatrist is that she is networked with the best other doctors you need on your team, like your primary care physician or rheumatologist. I might add that point 6 might be that your psychiatrist hasn't referred you to an endocrinologist, neurologist, or other specialist who can identify or rule out conditions that might be causing your depression.