Hello,
I have posted here before about my 16 year old son who is struggling with adhd,anxiety and depression. At least that is what we believe is going on but its ever changing and so hard to pin point. However, to make a very long story somewhat short he has a therapist that he trusts and confides in very much. That is a huge positive in an otherwise very frustrating lonely cycle of therapists and doctors. She advised me that my son really seems to need to get back on medication for attention and focus. She felt very encouraged that he wanted to do this. She is a Phd not able to prescribe medications so I took him back to his psychiatric nurse. I should have taken him to a dr but it takes months and she is quick to get in with. He outlined for her that he wanted to try again the medications for adhd and she was very quick to argue with him and say that she though that was a terrible idea and that she felt strongly that he needs to take the medications for mood first and then deal with focus later. He was calm and explained that he hated the way those medications make him feel and that he wasn't willing to. She was extremely condescending to him and unprofessional. She asked us where we have been getting adderall since our last visit 3 months ago. I told her that he had not had any. She was very accusatory and then even asked us why we went to see another dr. She is nurse so over the holidays during a particularly bad spell, we took him to a clinic that specializes in anxiety. We had given the dr her name so they could discuss treatment. This dr apparently called her but she never returned the call. She told us in this session she was very busy and thats not her responsibility. Her attitude was completely hostile and accusatory throughout the session. I tried to jump in and advocate for him saying he has a right to speak for himself about what he feels. I could see him trying to disconnect even started playing a game on his phone. Suddenly my son had enough and let her have it. He was very disrespectful to her and completely let her have it. It was awful and intense and she told him to leave that she wasn't about to work with him ever again etc. Thankfully he got up and walked out. I should have left at that moment too but I was furious. I calmly told her that his disrespect was way out of line and that I did not condone it. But that surely she has something more in her arsenal in working with angry teens other than what I had just witnessed from her. I was not rude in any way, but I let her know that she was unprofessional and condescending and unhelpful. That he needs help not accusations. That was she just witnessed from him is exactly why we are there. Lack of control and anger. She looked at her chart and said, oh yeah he needs help alright. He has an eating disorder(news to me), anxiety disorder, ODD, and on and one she went. I questioned how she could so coldly outline a whole list of disorders without offering a drop of help. I also let her know that not returning the phone call from the dr was not very helpful either. Somehow that really angered her and she told me to leave her office. I immediately got up and walked out of her office. The next thing I know she is yelling to her staff to call the police and that I am never to step foot there again. That they needed to call 911. It was the most bizarre thing I think I have ever experienced. I never once raised my voice or called her names or acted hostile. She kept telling me I was rude. I did ask for a refund and made sure that I stayed right there while her husband and son (who are her office staff) scrambled to get me one. Her husband actually told her to be quiet and stop it and turned to me and said I am sorry. I calmly said, thank you for the apology because I definitely deserve one and that was it. I was awake in and out of the night filled with anger and sadness over this. How in the world can this be someone in the helping profession? This experience has probably cemented that my son will not EVER go back to a psychiatrist. We had a good long talk afterwards and he told me she made him feel worthless. How in the world does one find a Psychiatrist that actually will listen to him?
I have posted here before about my 16 year old son who is struggling with adhd,anxiety and depression. At least that is what we believe is going on but its ever changing and so hard to pin point. However, to make a very long story somewhat short he has a therapist that he trusts and confides in very much. That is a huge positive in an otherwise very frustrating lonely cycle of therapists and doctors. She advised me that my son really seems to need to get back on medication for attention and focus. She felt very encouraged that he wanted to do this. She is a Phd not able to prescribe medications so I took him back to his psychiatric nurse. I should have taken him to a dr but it takes months and she is quick to get in with. He outlined for her that he wanted to try again the medications for adhd and she was very quick to argue with him and say that she though that was a terrible idea and that she felt strongly that he needs to take the medications for mood first and then deal with focus later. He was calm and explained that he hated the way those medications make him feel and that he wasn't willing to. She was extremely condescending to him and unprofessional. She asked us where we have been getting adderall since our last visit 3 months ago. I told her that he had not had any. She was very accusatory and then even asked us why we went to see another dr. She is nurse so over the holidays during a particularly bad spell, we took him to a clinic that specializes in anxiety. We had given the dr her name so they could discuss treatment. This dr apparently called her but she never returned the call. She told us in this session she was very busy and thats not her responsibility. Her attitude was completely hostile and accusatory throughout the session. I tried to jump in and advocate for him saying he has a right to speak for himself about what he feels. I could see him trying to disconnect even started playing a game on his phone. Suddenly my son had enough and let her have it. He was very disrespectful to her and completely let her have it. It was awful and intense and she told him to leave that she wasn't about to work with him ever again etc. Thankfully he got up and walked out. I should have left at that moment too but I was furious. I calmly told her that his disrespect was way out of line and that I did not condone it. But that surely she has something more in her arsenal in working with angry teens other than what I had just witnessed from her. I was not rude in any way, but I let her know that she was unprofessional and condescending and unhelpful. That he needs help not accusations. That was she just witnessed from him is exactly why we are there. Lack of control and anger. She looked at her chart and said, oh yeah he needs help alright. He has an eating disorder(news to me), anxiety disorder, ODD, and on and one she went. I questioned how she could so coldly outline a whole list of disorders without offering a drop of help. I also let her know that not returning the phone call from the dr was not very helpful either. Somehow that really angered her and she told me to leave her office. I immediately got up and walked out of her office. The next thing I know she is yelling to her staff to call the police and that I am never to step foot there again. That they needed to call 911. It was the most bizarre thing I think I have ever experienced. I never once raised my voice or called her names or acted hostile. She kept telling me I was rude. I did ask for a refund and made sure that I stayed right there while her husband and son (who are her office staff) scrambled to get me one. Her husband actually told her to be quiet and stop it and turned to me and said I am sorry. I calmly said, thank you for the apology because I definitely deserve one and that was it. I was awake in and out of the night filled with anger and sadness over this. How in the world can this be someone in the helping profession? This experience has probably cemented that my son will not EVER go back to a psychiatrist. We had a good long talk afterwards and he told me she made him feel worthless. How in the world does one find a Psychiatrist that actually will listen to him?