Optimism and Hope for Successful Treatment Outcomes

He repeatedly asked me to switch from the drug that worked to give me this life, to an atypical, because “everybody’s doing it.” I felt like a science experiment, and I feared experiencing breakthrough symptoms. So I nixed him at every opportunity, and finally left him for a psychiatrist who treats me like a human being. The poster session I attended left no doubt in my mind that patients are in the driver’s seat when it comes to individualized treatment plans focused on their own goals and hopes for living their lives.

That’s the ideal. It doesn’t often work like that in real life, though. Too many patients languish for years if not decades, at the hands of psychiatrists whose ex cathedra attitudes foster alienation and despair. A true professional is someone who knows that his patients deserve equal footing, and who is not afraid to be humble.

It’s time to take back our lives, and tell our treatment team that only the best will do. By writing this, I hope to give you insight to share with your doctor. Take this article with you to your next session, and question him about whether he’s willing to work with you to set goals and monitor your progress.

If, like mine, your sessions last only 20 minutes, you deserve more than a prescription. You deserve to speak your mind, not just medicate it.

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