This year, I walked out of a psychiatrist's office without a prescription or recommendation for one. I went into the office:
1. With the specific goal of treating my condition with medication,
2. An ongoing condition which was diagnosed years ago,
3. I am already treating the condition with therapy, and have decided that therapy is not enough, a conclusion which others agree with,
4. The condition responds well to a variety of different medications, and is considered "very treatable",
5. The medications do not have much risk for abuse. We're not talking dexedrine or xanax, here. I couldn't sell these medications on the black market if I wanted to.
For sure there are plenty of psychiatrists and psychologists out there which aren't very good at their jobs, and I've heard plenty of horror stories. Fortunately, the people I know who have had bad experiences have switched doctors or switched therapists.
There is plenty of selection bias. For me, and the people I know, the purpose of visiting a psychiatrist in the first place is in order to evaluate medication. If you don't want to take medication, then you don't schedule an appointment with a psychiatrist, which is hard anyway (due to the psychiatrist shortage--it's difficult in at least the US and UK, to my knowledge). If you want therapy, you see a psychologist, LCSW, or someone else. And if you think that you need therapy, I don't find it unreasonable when the therapist agrees with you!
I don't mean to diminish the problems in the field of psychiatry, but by no means is the field on the level of alchemy or astrology.
And if you or anyone is trying to navigate the mental health system, I am more than willing to provide what little advice I have.
1. With the specific goal of treating my condition with medication,
2. An ongoing condition which was diagnosed years ago,
3. I am already treating the condition with therapy, and have decided that therapy is not enough, a conclusion which others agree with,
4. The condition responds well to a variety of different medications, and is considered "very treatable",
5. The medications do not have much risk for abuse. We're not talking dexedrine or xanax, here. I couldn't sell these medications on the black market if I wanted to.
For sure there are plenty of psychiatrists and psychologists out there which aren't very good at their jobs, and I've heard plenty of horror stories. Fortunately, the people I know who have had bad experiences have switched doctors or switched therapists.
There is plenty of selection bias. For me, and the people I know, the purpose of visiting a psychiatrist in the first place is in order to evaluate medication. If you don't want to take medication, then you don't schedule an appointment with a psychiatrist, which is hard anyway (due to the psychiatrist shortage--it's difficult in at least the US and UK, to my knowledge). If you want therapy, you see a psychologist, LCSW, or someone else. And if you think that you need therapy, I don't find it unreasonable when the therapist agrees with you!
I don't mean to diminish the problems in the field of psychiatry, but by no means is the field on the level of alchemy or astrology.
And if you or anyone is trying to navigate the mental health system, I am more than willing to provide what little advice I have.