What’s your view on psychiatrists?

What is your overall opinion on psychiatrists?
Do you find most of them to be capable and competent?
What do you think of your psychiatrist?
My overall view of most psychiatrists is not so positive.
Too many of them don’t know what they are doing and too many of them don’t seem to care about their patients welfare
This has been my experience over the many years traveling through the mental health system.
There are of course exceptions

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I’ve had a better experience with male psychiatrists whatever the reason for that is.

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Not all psychiatrists are good – some make very hasty conclusions. For example, when I was a 17 (during psychosis), I was referred to a “school for children with low IQ,” with predictions of a very bleak and uncertain future, almost as if I’d never be able to stand on my own two feet again.
Honestly, my current psychiatrist is the only one who has given me hope and reassured me that I can still build a fairly good life – and her belief in me truly helped me get back on my feet more easily.

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I think my psychiatrist is pretty good. He listens, provide me insight, and is helping me to get a lot less meds, but unfortunately I’m borderline treatment resistant. Luckily, he doesn’t want me to be on Clozapine. He also trust my dad and I a lot.

But as far as most psychiatrist, yeah, they’re wack jobs.

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Id say mine is very talented at what she does. I’ve had her for 10 years now.

Previously in the USA I didn’t have good experiences. Maybe the education isn’t up to par

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My last psychiatrist was a gem
Very knowledgeable and a decent human being to boot

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i been lucky. i have a great pdoc. the pdocs in the psych ward were less good experiences. in the psych ward i felt like a number, which i don’t have with my regular pdoc.

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Psychiatrists are professionally trained doctors who specialize in the field of psychiatry to make diagnosis, prescribe medication and provide recommendations about their patients under their care. Psychiatrists in North America need follow guidelines & rules such as the DSM-V (Diagnostic & Statistics Manual - Version 5) & the ICD-10 (International Classification of Diseases - Version 10) when making a diagnosis of a patient.

Every year in North America, there are medical graduates in psychiatry who will be stationed in mental hospitals to assist in the care of mentally ill patients. Not all psychiatrists are equal and not all will be capable & competent. There will be good psychiatrists and some bad ones but overall they should be making their best effort to accommodate their mentally ill patients.

I have a positive perspective of my current psychiatrist. She is my 3rd psychiatrist and 1st female psychiatrist. She has been appointed to me for the last 5-years but not as long as my 1st psychiatrist of whom I was with for at least 10-years. He, (my 1st psychiatrist) diagnosed me at 21-years old. He is transitioning into retirement at present.

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Well they serve a purpose. To get you the meds that are suppose to help improve your quality of life.
Some are pretty dogmatic and useless in that regard.
Others are more flexible in there approach.

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Some are “good” some are “bad”.

I don’t judge cuz I don’t know what’s going on in their personal lives.

I, personally, have never had a “bad” pdoc.

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I think all my psychiatrists were good except for this one woman when I was involuntarily committed and she seemed like a bxtch. She had me court ordered to take meds and it was torture for six months with akathisia.

Both of my psychiatrists now are women on my ACT team and they’re nice and always listen to me and try to help with my meds. One always asks me if I want to keep my meds the same or not.

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I have a positive view. I think they get paid too much and a lot of times there is a huge language barrier for me.

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Some psychiatrists have extra education so they can do talk therapy so the appointments can last longer.

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There seems to be a shortage of psychiatrists here in the USA. I currently see a NP and it’s cheaper and easier to deal with. I have video appointments and it’s really easy for me. He can prescribe medication for me.

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I don’t depend on them anymore, I talk to mine for 5 minutes every six weeks and it’s literally the same conversation. How are you doing? Me: Fine. How’s your medication working? Me: No problems. Well, you seem to be doing very good . Me: Yeah. See you in six weeks? Me: Sure. Occasionally, I bring up some problem I’m having and he kind of says “Ummm hmmm, ummm hmmm, but doesn’t really have any good advice. It’s understood by both of us that this is how every session is going to go. I don’t depend on him for anything except to give me refills on my medication.

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I see a mental health nurse not a psychiatrist but she is very awesome we work as a team and she replies to emails and cares about how Im doing.

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Yeah I think this is the way it’s going to go with her from now on
I think she prefers it this way

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a psychiatrist is there for to make your problems smaller and understood by you
and prescribe meds the rest is up 2 you in wellness

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I have heard the phrase trial and error too many times
Also being told what is a wise decision

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I love mine, she focuses on me first not my psychosis.

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