Lived Experience Forum

[greenpea]

Hi everyone I do not know what to do .... I am as the title of this post says losing trust in my pdoc. She is very self righteous and thinks she is always right. I dont want to see her anymore. What on earth do I do?

[Eden1919]

@greenpea  Do you see her privately? If so you can always go to your GP and ask for a referral to a different psychiatrist and tell them you want a second opinion. If they are public it is a little more difficult but you have every right to change doctors if it isn’t working out for you. 

[greenpea]

@Eden1919  Hey Eden1919 yes I see her privately .... it is so hard though as where I live there are not many psychiatrists available .... most have huge waiting lists.....  you are right though with what you have said. Hope you are doing better. Take care. peax

[TideisTurning]

Hey @greenpea , it can be really hard when a support professional doesn't turn out to be a good match to be able to support you. It's great that you've been able to identify that things don't feel quite right, and I feel like admitting that and thinking about what you can do takes a lot of courage.

For me, a really important part of having a support team is feeling like they're supporting me. I've had similar issues needing to find new professionals, and it's always hard, both the akwardness that can come with finishing up/ ending things with the existing support and the challenge of finding someone new who'll be a good fit and in some ways, starting over again. For me, it's always been a nerve-wracking, even a bit of a scary experience. It certainly takes a lot of courage. I hope you'll be able to call on that courage within yourself to do whatever will be right for you. 

TideisTurning 😊 

[Eden1919]

@greenpea  Honestly if it was me I would get on the waitlist for one of the other psychs and then keep seeing the current psych until you have met the new one and know if they are a good fit or not then if you do want to swap you can tell the current psych at that point that you have found someone else. But that is just what I would do, do whatever works for you. 

[WIP]

Hi @greenpea  I hear you, I'm in the same situation - I'm not happy with my current psychiatrist, and honestly feel trapped in seeing him.  One good thing is he bulk bills me, which I need atm. I've got no money.

I see him at a private hospital and went on the wait list to see another psychiatrist at the hospital - it took 3 months to wait for the appointment.  When I saw the new psych, she was just great and very understanding/compassionate. 
However, because I was going through Med changes with the existing pdoc by the time the appt with the new pdoc came around, she pushed me back to my original one & I'm stuck with him!!  For the being anyway.....she did leave the door open ajar, by saying I could come and see her in the future if I really want to after going through the med change plan I have in place with the existing fellow. Her initial appt was over $300 & follow up appts are expensive too, so I can't really afford to see her atm anyway.

If I were you, I'd go on the waiting list for other psychs and then keep seeing the current psych until you have met the new one and know if they are a good fit or not and then just simply swap

over. 
You have to do what's right for you - it's your health and the r'ship you have with your psychiatrist must be a good one - respect both ways.

Im really struggling being stuck with someone I'm not happy with atm, and it's having a real negative impact on me. For example, I cancelled my last scheduled appointment with him, because I just didn't want to see him and be upset from the visit - which happens every time I see him. I will change as soon as I can for sure!

[greenpea]

@WIP @Eden1919 @TideisTurning  and show of support @Former-Member @Emelia8 Thank you so much for your words of wisdom :). I will start to do my homework regarding pdocs around my area. Wish me luck. peaxx

[Former-Member]

All the very best @greenpea- I hope you can find someone who will work well with you 😊

[Former-Member]

Hey @greenpea , I'm sorry to hear this.

Sadly some professionals have that attitude, I've dealt with Psychologists that have left me with bad experiences, which has been traumatic, so I understand.

Maybe you could try asking them if they have someone else they can refer you to, or maybe try and tell her you don't appreciate her attitude, and you just want some help, not her "I'm always right" approach.

I know these suggestions aren't very helpful, I'm sorry, it is very hard to find the right treatment & professionals.

I had a time recently when my Psychiatrist (I see him on Telehealth) cut me off after 5 mins, and our session was for 20-30 mins (his reviews are only that long but if you're a new patient it's 60 mins). All he asked was how I'm going, if the meds are OK, and I said I'm  not sure at the moment as it was kind of early stages, then he just ended the chat before I could say we have more time.

I told him this over email (well the Telehealth company since I have no way of contacting him personally) and said I was upset, and even my Parents said that was very quick and a bit rude. He apologised and said it was uninentional, but I should bring things up like questions or stuff to say. I try my best to do so but I forget and don't feel comfortabale talking about certain things, plus we get sidetracked anyway.

Anyway the reaosn why I wrote this is because after I told him, yes it was awkward, but he seemed to take it from my POV, and now he tells me if our session won't be as long, I would appreciate them telling me than just cutting the video call short. He may be mad at me, and I hope not, and I still feel bad and anxious about it, but it seemed to resolve the issue.

I have no problem with my Psychiatrist. So what I'm trying to say is you, as the patient, with any professional, have the right to give them feedback, whether good or bad, and you have the right to change, speak up, etc. They should take your feedback and work on it, and try to be empathetic on how you're feeling and have a "how can we resolve this?" approach.

Sorry for rambling on, I just wanted to tell you, sadly this happens a lot when trying to seek professionals and therapy. I hope you can come to a good outcome, I'm sorry if my suggestions don't help. I just shared a bit of my story to say you're not alone, although it was sort of off track, apologies.

Take care and I hope you get a good outcome. All the best.

[greenpea]

@Former-Member  Hey musicfanatic_x and thank you :Dx