Posted by Dinah on October 29, 2003, at 22:21:45
In reply to How to find a good p-doc?, posted by jasonr on October 29, 2003, at 13:23:01
Are you looking for a therapist or psychiatrist (for meds)? If you're looking for a psychopharmacologist for meds, the gender shouldn't really matter. I spend about five minutes every three months with my pdoc. But I have found that the best ones in my area are affiliated with the teaching hospitals or university. And since I just came from an absolutely brilliant headache specialist and neurologist, who appears to already have my lifelong problem well in hand, and who is also affiliated with a teaching hospital, that conclusion has been reinforced. They're forced to keep up with the latest, and have a lot more data on hand about side effects, etc.
A therapist is a heck of a lot more difficult, since the goodness of fit is the most important element, and that's so highly individual. But perhaps once you have a really good psychiatrist, they can make a referral to a really good therapist. That's how I got my pediatrician (who's fabulous). I got a referral from my equally fabulous ob/gyn.
I agree with you about the receptivity of mental health professionals. I had a really hard time to get any of them to seem happy about seeing me for an initial appointment, when I self referred. In fact, the main reason I have my therapist is that he was the only one who seemed to want to meet with me. I've had better luck when I had a referral.
poster:Dinah
thread:274664
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/psycho/20031011/msgs/274844.html