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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 6 of 6. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Poet on November 7, 2003, at 13:13:43
I told my therapist that I felt she was abandoning me if she sent me to the eating disorders specialist. She said she won't abandon me, if I need her I can still see her. Her concern is that I am going to get way out of control and she won't be able to offer the help I need.
Okay makes sense, but therapy is hard enough with one therapist. Not to mention my health insurance only covers six sessions and the therapist has to be PhD or MD. So I'd have to politely say, is s/he a PhD?
It's not a problem now because I haven't binged in a week. I told her I'm controlling it by not eating much and that's worked before. It's okay if I lose weight. That was a mistake as I could read her thoughts: oh, no, she's going anorexic. But she just said, if it goes out of control again, call me.
Poet
Posted by justyourlaugh on November 7, 2003, at 13:22:14
In reply to No specialist for me- yet, posted by Poet on November 7, 2003, at 13:13:43
i think its a good sign of a therapist to admit that s/he is not going to be all you need..
i think she is saying she is worried she cant help.
you deserve the best poet...trust her...
j
Posted by Dinah on November 7, 2003, at 14:48:02
In reply to No specialist for me- yet, posted by Poet on November 7, 2003, at 13:13:43
Ah, I'm glad for you. I congratulate you for having the courage to talk to her about it. And it's great that she's not threatening to abandon you as a tool. And it's even good (tho it might not feel like it) that she's admitting her weaknesses. If she really doesn't feel like she can help you, even with supervision, then it's best that she helps you find someone who can. And even better that she'll still continue to see you so that you won't be abandoned.
The insurance thing *is* a problem, but at least you've got something to work with. It only covers six sessions? Are you close to running out with your current therapist? Sigh. I don't think I care much for insurance. (Still remembering that biofeedback assessment fee hit.)
Posted by Poet on November 8, 2003, at 11:18:11
In reply to Re: No specialist for me- yet » Poet, posted by Dinah on November 7, 2003, at 14:48:02
My current therapist isn't covered by my insurance because she's an MSW. I pay her a little over half of what she bills for insurance.
I know that my insurance won't cover her, but I may be wrong about only six sessions with a PhD or MD. If I need to be referred (no, I won't go!!!!) I'll investigate more sessions to be covered. Six is ridiculous, it took me six months to trust my current therapist, and it's still hard to talk to her.
Poet
Posted by Dinah on November 8, 2003, at 13:34:01
In reply to Re: No specialist for me- yet » Dinah, posted by Poet on November 8, 2003, at 11:18:11
I'm with you. I never can quite figure out short term therapy. I suppose it's ok for symptom relief or for those who trust really easily. But it took me five years to trust my therapist before the meat of therapy could start.
Unfortunately, with inurance that seems to be the main thing covered.
Posted by fallsfall on November 9, 2003, at 9:32:52
In reply to Re: No specialist for me- yet » Dinah, posted by Poet on November 8, 2003, at 11:18:11
Therapists are used to talking about the ugliness of insurance issues. You can certainly say to her "If I see an eating disorders therapist it will need to be covered by my insurance or I can't afford it [particularly since she knows that you am paying out of pocket for her]. My insurance requires that therapists be either MDs or PhDs. Can you refer me to a PhD for this?". This is simply business. You shouldn't feel badly about talking about this. If you don't talk about it, then she may make an MSW referral that you can't use.
It may be possible that you could see an eating disorders person for a couple of sessions, and that they could make an assessment and recommend a strategy that your current therapist can then carry out. You could see this as more of a consultation - someone for your therapist to learn from and get ideas from. Perhaps your therapist could brief the specialist on your history so that you don't have to go through it all again with another therapist.
I think that if a therapist says that they think you should see a specialist that they are saying that they see that you need help that they don't know how to give you. Just like if your GP said that your heart sounds funny and that you should go to a cardiologist (who can listen to your heart with the same kind of stethoscope, but knows exactly what is going on by the way your heart sounds). The specialist just brings more in-depth knowledge of the particular area where your problem is to the table. Then the specialist turns you back over to your regular doctor.
See if you can work out with your therapist a way that makes seeing a specialist the least painful for you (not having to do your whole history?) and the most beneficial for her (have the specialist talk directly to her and not rely on you to carry the information back to your therapist?).
A friend seems to be going through a similar problem. She is afraid to dive into an issue because she is concerned about what she will find. So she is determined to FORCE the issue to be "all better" so that it doesn't have to be examined. I am worried that "forcing" just forces the issue underground (and that it will come up again later), while looking at the issue might actually solve the problem.
Good luck
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