for those of you who have a psychiatrist...

[genevieve]

do you really think it is useful?

I mean, I saw this year a psychiatrist 3-4 times and I am considering to fired him since I dont see the use.
I mean, I dont take drugs for the moment but even if I did I am not sure it would be really useful since once the evaluation is made (diagnosis and choice of drugs) what is the idea of seeing a psychiatrist? When I was on paxil I saw a psychiatrist one time and then for 5 years my GP writed the prescription for me.

I guess what I am asking here is "what is your relationship with your psychiatrist"? or even "what is the use of psychiatrists? do we really need them?"
I mean, psychiatrists are the second speciality in number after the pediatrics (here in quebec). Do we really need that much psychiatrists? If you forget the 1% of the population that has real serious mental illness (schizophrenia), couldn't psychologists, GP and psychopharmacologists take care of the rest?
well...

I went to see a psychiatrist to :
1) have a prescription
2) have services
3) get therapy
4) have a paper to have some money from the government for work support

well...
1) my gp could have written the same prescription. We know how it works : SSRI, if it does not work, another SSRI, if it does not work, add a mood stabiliser or benzos, etc... you dont need an MD to understand how it works!
2) the only service that he gave me was a support group that was at 15 km of my house (and my main problem is... agoraphobia!) Is he dumb or what?
3) I soon realized that he had no time or formation for this, he had no empathy either and I found a great psychologist (thank god my boyfriend has insurance)
4) this is too complicated and what you can get is not worth the work you have to do to get it.

ok, this is a long post.
just tell me if you ever had a useful relationship with a psychiatrist!

[Trying66]

The only thing our psychiatrist does is prescribe medication. In my case, the general practitioner will not diagnose or prescribe for psychiatric conditions. If one doesn't want psychiatric medication, there is no need to see a psychiatrist. Psychiatrists diagnose and medicate.

[rdjanis]

Some psychiatrists provide therapy without meds. I have a great one for my daughter, (not that my child likes going). She provides the necesarry medicals for school etc., and without her, I would have people up my butt trying to force medications because she is not in a normal school setting.

Once she was diagnosed, it is like I lost control of making decisions for her. Many children are home schooled, or in schools that do not follow the Ministry regulations and the only requirement is the parent sign a form withdrawing them from the regular system. If your child has a 'label'..... they try to take over, use drugs, find the parents unfit etc.... This doc has saved us from this constant struggle.

So yeah... there are good psychiatrists that will provide talk therapy and not push drugs, they are just few and far in between.

[stevenwm]

psychiatrists are just people with opinions and they are good for nothing but putting you on medications that ruin your life while they set back and make their fortunes.

When you see one that is usally when your life goes down the tube.

Steven.

[Suze]

Originally Posted by rdjanis

So yeah... there are good psychiatrists that will provide talk therapy and not push drugs, they are just few and far in between.

I agree with this, Rita.

[genevieve]

ok, we have the 2 extremes here : the good psychiatrists and the evil ones...

[rdjanis]

Psychiatrists are as in any other professional position, there are the good and the bad, the ones who chose their profession because it is a profession where they can help others and make a good living, others simply because of the $ and use quick fixes in order to squeeze in as many appts as they can.

[scotty]

Originally Posted by genevieve

ok, we have the 2 extremes here : the good psychiatrists and the evil ones...

That's about the size of it!! We were lucky enough to have enough paxil to wean, so psychiatrist wasn't needed... or wanted!!!

[genevieve]

Originally Posted by rdjanis

Psychiatrists are as in any other professional position, there are the good and the bad, the ones who chose their profession because it is a profession where they can help others and make a good living, others simply because of the $ and use quick fixes in order to squeeze in as many appts as they can.

well, I disagree with this... I really think that there is more bad psychiatrists than bad doctors in general and more bad doctors in general than bad accountants/nurses/ingeneers/etc.

[scotty]

Hmmm, there are no bad nurses!!! LOL, sorry couldn't resist!!

[Scott]

personally i don't think they can do anything for me... in my opinion it's such a secular science that leaves off the important aspect of dealing with the soul. I could never click with one again for that reason. There is a lot more going on there than just the chemical labelling psychiatry provides.

[rdjanis]

Originally Posted by genevieve

well, I disagree with this... I really think that there is more bad psychiatrists than bad doctors in general and more bad doctors in general than bad accountants/nurses/ingeneers/etc.

Well I disagree with part of this statement.... roflmao I think there are as many docs prescribing these meds as there are psychiatrists.... and they know NOTHING about what they are prescribing other than they get a free lunch for handing it out lol

I do however agree there are more bad professionals than good in this field.

[velveteengreen]

Originally Posted by Scott

in my opinion it's such a secular science that leaves off the important aspect of dealing with the soul. I could never click with one again for that reason. There is a lot more going on there than just the chemical labelling psychiatry provides.

I agree so much with this Scott... its basically my number 1 complaint with psychiatry. I don't feel like its necessarily the "secular" nature of psychiatry because you don't have to be religious to believe in a soul, I do. Its the complete and total lack of a holistic perspective on healing a person. They're about diagnosing and medicating "supposed" mental diseases that are completely unproven-except for schizophrenia, I learned recently in class that schizophrenics have disorganized pyramidal neurons in the hippocampus and less dendritic spines which means their brains interpret reality in a completely different way. Still, dopamine antagonists (antipsychotics) don't cure that, they just supress brain function to "controll" symptoms. Psychiatry doesn't cure anything, they just use drugs to make people's personalities fit into certain boxes. The whole philosophy of psychiatry violates the "first do no harm" ethics of medicine. They're quacks, plain and simple. Rita, you're lucky to have found one that isn't all about pushing meds, I have yet to meet one.

[paxilgirl]

Phychiatrists/phsychologists did nothing for me except add to my problems. No thanks!

[Scott]

mine literally did nothing for me for years.... sadly i was too numb to realize it. And my one experience with a psychologist was a course in humiliation when he asked what i thought i had, when i said agoraphobia (the term is more general now and doesnt just refer to those unable to leave the house), he stormed up out of his chair, got a big book off his bookshelf and read me the definition of agoraphobia.. all the while i'm thinking, yeah man that does sound like me! He shut the book and rudely said "where's your phd". As if to mean, you peon, how dare you presume to tell me what you have, can't you see that piece of paper on the wall in the pretty frame?

Sadly pride seems to be a side effect of the educated mind in some cases.. at least with most doctors i've met.

[mkmullan]

My shrink switched me to an SSRI when I came in to tell him it was time to quit the tri-cylic(prescribed by another shrink who didn't prescribe SSRIs - too new,too dangerous) I had been taking as I felt much better. Just needed help in getting off it as I had no idea what to expect. In hindsight I think all I originally needed was several weeks away from a very toxic work environmrent. Like a fool, I bought the once your depressed you never get better speil for the Zoloft(WD sure makes it look that way) and it was supposed to have far fewer side effects! The next couple of years on ever escalating dosages of Zoloft were the biggest disaster of my life. Then he sends me a letter saying he's retiring and I need to find someone else. By that time, I was a walking case of serotonin syndrome and mania from a maxed out dose of Zoloft. Broke up my marriage and I didn't even notice. I've often wondered if he pointed me to the Zoloft to keep me coming for scripts as he needed a full appoinment calendar to fund his upcoming retirement. Whether it was intentional or the result of ignorance I'd love to file a mal-practice suit but I haven't been in any shape to even think about it much.

[dar7726]

Originally Posted by Scott

personally i don't think they can do anything for me... in my opinion it's such a secular science that leaves off the important aspect of dealing with the soul. I could never click with one again for that reason. There is a lot more going on there than just the chemical labelling psychiatry provides.

I agree with this Scott. I have a friend who's life has also been extremely adversely affected by ad's and he says that we sat at the councel of the ungodly when we believed that these quacks were there to help us and instead of helping they convinced us we needed to take drugs.

Darlene

[dar7726]

Originally Posted by paxilgirl

Phychiatrists/phsychologists did nothing for me except add to my problems. No thanks!

In hindsight that is how I feel also. If they'd just have let me talk like they were suppose to do and heal...it may have been different.

[dar7726]

Sadly pride seems to be a side effect of the educated mind in some cases.. at least with most doctors i've met.

Agree again.

[freepax99]

I was planning on seeing a psychologist (Not psychiatrist) because they can’t prescribe drugs. I thought this would be a safe way for me to seek out help, but it sounds like they are all the same?

Has anyone had luck with a psychologist?

Sad that I feel I have to try and defend myself from the very people who are suppose to help us.

[Scott]

no, i'm sure there are a lot of good doctors out there determined to help people.. you have to ask around though.

[Scott]

another reason is that in this i've learned how little others truly understand me and what i'm going through... that and my total inability to put this properly into words.. i'm at the mercy of another human being who can only judge me by my poor description of what is wrong. I remember all the times sitting in front of my doctor feeling like death... this was when i first quit prozac in 97 basically cold turkey because i didn't know better. He really didn't understand how i felt because there are no words to describe it.

[stevenwm]

A Must see Link on health and mental drugs.

http://jesus-is-savior.com/Health_Co...h_concerns.htm

Steven.

[dar7726]

Wow that is one impressive site. Bookmarked. Thanks for sharing Steven.

[genevieve]

Originally Posted by velveteengreen

hey're about diagnosing and medicating "supposed" mental diseases that are completely unproven-except for schizophrenia, I learned recently in class that schizophrenics have disorganized pyramidal neurons in the hippocampus and less dendritic spines which means their brains interpret reality in a completely different way.

ok, I dont want to be off subject but even schizophrenia which seems to be the most "biological" and genetic of all mental problems can be treated without drugs. The problem we have now is those studies on the schizophrenics' brains are ALL on people who have taken drugs.
Why? because once you get a schizophrenia dianogsis you have a 100% chance of taking drugs and they are not making studies on people who are not diagnosed so... those studies are worth... little! Maybe the brain of schizophrenics is not normal but I am not sure it is proven.

About psychologists, well, I have to say that I have a better experience with them. I dont think they are all good becauses it is hard to be a good psychologist (knowledge +empathy + experience + wisdom +etc.) but psychologists usually dont have the big ego (well, at least here in quebec were they dont need the phD to practice )
They dont prescribe drugs which means that they can only harm you with words not chemicals.
And usually people study psychology because they like it not because they want a mercedes like many doctors...