Psychiatrist without therapy?

[lqpbxeuh]

I'm losing hope. I've been reaching out to dozens of therapists the past two weeks and they either don't accept my insurance or offer ridiculous prices. I went to the doctor and I semi hinted that I have suicidal ideations for years and they gave me a recommendation to a psychiatrists. At this point just give me drugs, I'm so tired of feeling this way. All therapies seem like a bunch of bullshit. And now people think free therapy is something to consider, I can't take it seriously. I'm sick of looking for therapists and sick of the idea that I'll have to "shop" for one, I want to fucking give up.

Should I just go to the psychiatrist when I have no therapist? It's been a slog trying to find one and I'd really love some kind of drug to make me stop feeling so suicidal and hopeless 24/7.

 

[halleyscomet]

Usually at least here in the UK, you see a psychiatrist before seeing a therapist. Psychiatrists don't just prescribe meds, they identify and diagnose mental illnesses and decide whether you need medication or would benefit from a certain type of therapy. Even if you do not want to go on meds, I would recommend seeing a psychiatrist anyways, as they may be able to diagnose something, if you think a diagnosis would be beneficial, but also maybe a written letter from you psychiatrist stating you need therapy can maybe help you find coverage under your insurance? (granted I have no clue how insurance works over there so forgive me if that sounds foolish).

Meds can help depending on what it is you're dealing with. Personally I am on sertraline (50mg a day, an SSRI) for clinical depression, and it has helped me a lot. It took some trial and error to find the right medication and dose, but for me it has been beneficial and has made life a little easier. But it is different for everyone, your psychiatrist will help find a dose and medication right for you.

I am no professional, this is all from my personal experience, but I hope it is helpful and I wish you all the best!

 

[lqpbxeuh]

Usually at least here in the UK, you see a psychiatrist before seeing a therapist. Psychiatrists don't just prescribe meds, they identify and diagnose mental illnesses and decide whether you need medication or would benefit from a certain type of therapy. Even if you do not want to go on meds, I would recommend seeing a psychiatrist anyways, as they may be able to diagnose something, if you think a diagnosis would be beneficial, but also maybe a written letter from you psychiatrist stating you need therapy can maybe help you find coverage under your insurance? (granted I have no clue how insurance works over there so forgive me if that sounds foolish).

Meds can help depending on what it is you're dealing with. Personally I am on sertraline (50mg a day, an SSRI) for clinical depression, and it has helped me a lot. It took some trial and error to find the right medication and dose, but for me it has been beneficial and has made life a little easier. But it is different for everyone, your psychiatrist will help find a dose and medication right for you.

I am no professional, this is all from my personal experience, but I hope it is helpful and I wish you all the best!

I was told by family that it is best to see a therapist first. I dunno, there seems to be this idea that psychiatrists meet with you for 5 minutes and shoo you out with a prescription. Hyperbole, but I don't know what extent that is true. I find that psychiatry might be better because I've done talk therapy before and I find no value in talking about struggles with someone. Well asides from here.

Thank you for sharing your experience, I wish you the best too!

 

[LaughingGoat]

I've never seen a therapist/psychologist, but have had a psychiatrist for years who fills my scripts. Personally, that's worked for me since I have a background in behavioral health but it isn't recommended. Usual process is the psychiatrist will sit down with you for your first session (at least) to develop a profile and diagnose you if you haven't been already, but most of your interactions long-term will be discussing your general mood and the positive & negative effects you get from medications your on to try to find the right ones and correct dosage in managing your affect. That is unless they offer other forms of therapy as well, some psychiatrists will do so.

 

[k75]

I don't know where you're located, so this might or might not be helpful. I'm in the US and have been in therapy for years as well as been on meds. This is just my experience...

Therapists and psychiatrists basically do two different things. Ideally, you would see both and get a well-rounded kind of treatment. But if you are able to see just a psychiatrist, do it. They handle the medication side of things, which I know you know. But they do more than just talk to you for a couple minutes and then prescribe you random drugs. They will do a thorough evaluation and ask you all of your symptoms and your history and basically whatever it takes to figure out what's going on and what might be the best approach.

If you are also seeing a therapist, they will form a diagnosis based on your visits and what you talk about and they also ask for all of your symptoms and everything but they mainly just work on talking and coping skills and helping you manage. But they have very little to do with the medication side of things. They can report to the psychiatrist what they've observed and recommend things, but it should not affect the quality of care you would get from the psychiatrist if they are good at their job.

There've been times when I have seen only a therapist, which unfortunately is what's happening now because I lost my psychiatrist for insurance reasons, and there's been times when I kept up with my medication but didn't have a therapist.

So basically that was just a lot of words to say there's no reason to hold off on the psychiatrist if you can see one without a therapist. And maybe they can help you find a therapist.

Another route you could take is talking to your primary care provider and seeing if they are affiliated with a psychiatric nurse. I have done that before and it was a good experience. Just because they're a nurse does not mean that it's crap treatment. And they had a little more time to spend with their patients and it was kind of like therapy light along with medication and they have access to a lot of resources and could also get you in with a therapist if that's what you're wanting to do. Or you can just talk to your doctor and they can also prescribe you something. It'll probably be a bit more of a generic Band-Aid kind of treatment but it's better than nothing.

And I know you didn't ask, but whoever you see, you might want to ask about lithium. It's a scary sounding drug but it truly is not as bad as everything makes it seem. But it's actually the only medication that is proven to help with suicidal ideation. I was on it for years and it really is worth a try. But medication doesn't work for everyone, and not every medication will work for everyone, so no matter who you see there's probably going to be a lot of failure and a lot of experimentation but hopefully you'll find something that helps.

And also talk therapy is pretty crap unless you just need someone to vent to. But there's other forms of therapy that are actually helpful, so I wouldn't really write that off completely. Since you mentioned suicidal thoughts and everything you might want to avoid therapists who only do CBT. Look into DBT, which is a lot more suited for that. There's also EMDR, which I've gotten to try a little bit of and that seemed promising. Anyway there's other therapy options besides just talking.

 

[LittleJem]

I'd say yes definitely go for the meds...you can always add therapy later. The research says therapy works best with a working medication. I have found that without a working medication therapy is a waste of time/money.

 

[AmericanMary]

I'm losing hope. I've been reaching out to dozens of therapists the past two weeks and they either don't accept my insurance or offer ridiculous prices. I went to the doctor and I semi hinted that I have suicidal ideations for years and they gave me a recommendation to a psychiatrists. At this point just give me drugs, I'm so tired of feeling this way. All therapies seem like a bunch of bullshit. And now people think free therapy is something to consider, I can't take it seriously. I'm sick of looking for therapists and sick of the idea that I'll have to "shop" for one, I want to fucking give up.

Should I just go to the psychiatrist when I have no therapist? It's been a slog trying to find one and I'd really love some kind of drug to make me stop feeling so suicidal and hopeless 24/7.

I saw a psych for years before I saw a therapist. Honestly, the meds do not make everything better. But they help. The minimize symptoms.

If you've never been to a psych & are not bipolar or have a mood disorder& in america, there are some online psychs that are a great place to start. This is what I looked into when I first gave meds a shot. Eventually I needed a better regiment then what they could offer & was diagnosed as bipolar and started seeing an in person psych.

 

[real human being]

Just know that psychiatric medications have downsides, Emotional numbing, feeling like a zombie / not like yourself, numerous physical side effects, sexual dysfunction, increased thoughts of suicide + withdrawing from them can also be extremely difficult / unpleasant. Personally, I don't have much faith in psychiatry but just listening isn't going to hurt. That's my two cents.

 

[k75]

That is a good warning about the medications, but I don't think it's a universal rule that everyone will be affected that way. I used to have a really good therapist and I was talking about this with them, and they said something in a way that I hadn't really thought about before. That the heavy sedating medications are supposed to do that to give your brain a break, because sometimes what you're feeling is so intense and constant, it overwhelms everything and you can't possibly function or feel better in that state. But you're not really supposed to be on those forever... it's a very short-term thing to get out of a crisis basically. But then people don't like the empty feelings, so they don't give it a chance and write it off entirely. Personally, I'd rather be numb and sedated for awhile than feel the full weight of crushing depression and anxiety.

I'm a bit treatment resistant as far as medications go and so I've taken quite a lot. I've noticed that the ones that have worked for me really just make me feel normal again. Not even really medicated, just stable. And like I can think better. Or they at least take the edge off so I can function better even if I'm still having the symptoms I was taking them for.

The only time I remember having had a medication seriously impair me to the point of feeling like a zombie was when I was prescribed freaking Seroquel. That drug is evil. I remember being in this outpatient program a few years ago, and they were really fond of giving that to people. Half the room was asleep at any given time. It was horrible.

 

[2messdup]

Usually at least here in the UK, you see a psychiatrist before seeing a therapist. Psychiatrists don't just prescribe meds, they identify and diagnose mental illnesses and decide whether you need medication or would benefit from a certain type of therapy. Even if you do not want to go on meds, I would recommend seeing a psychiatrist anyways, as they may be able to diagnose something, if you think a diagnosis would be beneficial, but also maybe a written letter from you psychiatrist stating you need therapy can maybe help you find coverage under your insurance? (granted I have no clue how insurance works over there so forgive me if that sounds foolish).

Meds can help depending on what it is you're dealing with. Personally I am on sertraline (50mg a day, an SSRI) for clinical depression, and it has helped me a lot. It took some trial and error to find the right medication and dose, but for me it has been beneficial and has made life a little easier. But it is different for everyone, your psychiatrist will help find a dose and medication right for you.

I am no professional, this is all from my personal experience, but I hope it is helpful and I wish you all the best!

How did you manage to get to see a psychiatrist in the UK. I'm also in the UK and on the waiting list to see one. I want to see one, my mental health practitioner and the crisis team want me to see one, but there's no chance until August

 

[halleyscomet]

How did you manage to get to see a psychiatrist in the UK. I'm also in the UK and on the waiting list to see one. I want to see one, my mental health practitioner and the crisis team want me to see one, but there's no chance until August

I was so suicidal and unwell they pretty much instantly made me see them, also because I got kicked out of group depression therapy for being "too depressing" lol.

 

[2messdup]

I was so suicidal and unwell they pretty much instantly made me see them, also because I got kicked out of group depression therapy for being "too depressing" lol.

I saw one with the crisis team when I was very suicidal but the crisis teams psychiatrist doesn't diagnose. I think what I and the mental health workers need to know is if I have c-ptsd and/or BPD. it's difficult because I'm autistic so a lot of the signs overlap. Maybe that's a reason for me not to ctb at the moment cos if they know what's wrong there's a chance I could be happy for the first time in my life.

 

[halleyscomet]

I saw one with the crisis team when I was very suicidal but the crisis teams psychiatrist doesn't diagnose. I think what I and the mental health workers need to know is if I have c-ptsd and/or BPD. it's difficult because I'm autistic so a lot of the signs overlap. Maybe that's a reason for me not to ctb at the moment cos if they know what's wrong there's a chance I could be happy for the first time in my life.

It sucks how hard it is to get a diagnosis of anything on the NHS. I got my autism diagnosis at 18, and my depression diagnosis at 17 - even though I've been struggling with these issues all my life and have been in mental health services since I was 11 or 12. I hope things go well for you.

 

[easy]

Psychiatrist can still help to change chemistry and may offer light therapy too.

 

[lqpbxeuh]

Tysm everyone I've learned here more than the hours i've been on google or talking to someone irl...

 

[DeathWish3301]

I'm losing hope. I've been reaching out to dozens of therapists the past two weeks and they either don't accept my insurance or offer ridiculous prices. I went to the doctor and I semi hinted that I have suicidal ideations for years and they gave me a recommendation to a psychiatrists. At this point just give me drugs, I'm so tired of feeling this way. All therapies seem like a bunch of bullshit. And now people think free therapy is something to consider, I can't take it seriously. I'm sick of looking for therapists and sick of the idea that I'll have to "shop" for one, I want to fucking give up.

Should I just go to the psychiatrist when I have no therapist? It's been a slog trying to find one and I'd really love some kind of drug to make me stop feeling so suicidal and hopeless 24/7.

Most people working in the psychiatry and psychology fields will recommend that you do medications and therapy concurrently.

If you do have a "chemical imbalance" or whatever you'd like to refer to it as, or issues such as insomnia, therapy alone isn't going to help with that.

There isn't anything wrong with seeing only a psychiatrist and doing medications just on it's own. It depends on the person and could work for you. You might be able to figure things out on your own once you're medicated without the assistance of a therapist.

I mention this because of you mentioning your insurance: If you're going to a public or government practice, they may require you to see both to be a patient there. A private practice will let you do just one.

Something else to keep in mind, just as a reminder. It takes time for the medications to work, and you might have to go through a few different meds before finding what combination and dosages work for you. This can take several months.

Do not go off of opinions of medications on the internet, everyone is different.

I.e: Paxil works good for some people, but induced severe anxiety attacks for me almost immediately after taking it.

I've been recommended "Spravado" (Ketamine treatments) by several different doctors, which is used for "treatment resistant depression". You'd need a referral from a psychiatrist but it's worth inquiring about.