Choosing a Psychiatrist

Feel free to add yours, here are some of my reasons.

  • they need to be over 40. They care more and are not going as wild to fill those time slots as when they were in their 30s.

  • They are not your friend. People seem to forget this and form a friendly relationship with your psychiatrist. You pay them, end of story.

  • I prefer female Psychiatrist as I am a man and feel weak opening up to another man ( creepy )
    So i choose female only. I feel that woman belong in Psychiatry, not men.

Can some people add some more points? Ive forgotten them now !!!

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I’d like one with military experience.

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Choose a psychiatrist who allows you to call him any time, if you are in crisis

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Same here. I fear intimacy with another man, but female psychiatrists have their own dangers too. I’m not afraid of intimacy with a woman, and that could be a hazard.

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I go to the the VA for my treatment. I don’t know if he has military service but he works with veterans on daily basis. Like @anon39015889 it took me many years to be open to him. I didn’t want to a appear weak in front of him. Now I’m share things with him and now I’m getting better service.

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I prefer women too. More empathy.

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I never met a women psychiatrist. I’ve been in the hospital 10 times.

Part of the reason I’ve stuck my current pdoc for five years is because she’s dedicated to finding the lowest therapeutic dose of meds. Prior to her, I was seeing residents at a teaching hospital and I was on seven different meds. They kept adding things but not taking me off what I was already on. I was not doing well at all. Dr. M wants to reach the point of helping find the right dose of meds, not just constantly upping them.

Mine does! 1515

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Yes, I prefer female psychiatrists and therapists.
I’ve had a couple of male psychiatrists and it didn’t work out.

They should genuinely care about your mental health and well being. I have been to several and the one I’m with now seems to care. Before she looks at my folder, she remembers my issues and gives good suggestions. She seems to love her job.

Mine is probably in her 20s and she is better than the other’s I’ve had that were older. The older ones lectured me on a lot of stuff and asked very few questions.

I consider her to be my friend because she cares deeply. She listens intently and never interrupts. She asks very good questions.

I don’t think these generalizations are that helpful. It takes a while to find someone you click with. That’s it.

If she was your friend you wouldnt pay her to listen to your problems !!

Not always. I’ve had female nurses that were cold and didn’t care if the needle in the rear hurt or not. Most ER nurses I’ve ever had were female and to work in ER, you have to be tough and be willing to hurt people for their own good.

All my drs have been male. I don’t want a female dr. My visits are professional and I talk for an hour, they listen and comment.

I thank one hospital for putting me on lithium and another dr for geodon and invega. The rest are cast aways.

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The most important thing I look for is experience. There is no substitute for experience.

They have to be male. Just my preference.

They have to have a sense of humor.

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Its quite weird all of my psychiatrists ive seen have all had a sense of humor lol.

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If I had to look for a psychiatrist, I would want the person to fulfill the following criteria:

  • Someone who is qualified with the professional board for psychiatry in my country (sometimes there are surprises).
  • Someone I feel I can relate to. There is no hard and fast rule on what is the right attitude for a psychiatrist, horses for courses: some people prefer a psychiatrist who takes the initiative, while others prefer a psychiatrist who sits back and says only a few words. A good psychiatrist will understand you and adapt.
  • Someone who is thorough and does not only want to know about my symptoms, but also about my history.
  • Someone who is respectful and not arrogant, but is at the same time confident and knowledgeable.
  • Someone who takes the time to explain things to me and that offers alternative options for management.
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Avoid domineering people who try to tell you how to live your life and try to force you to do things. Avoid people that withhold information from you also known as liars. I speak from personal experience. I had jerks like this when I was very vunerable.
My current pdoc is leaving. I unfortunately need to find another one.

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I am surprised that there are psychiatrist that allow this.
I have never met one on call 24/7.
I think one has to wait for a appointment or visit a hospital.

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