Something that has been bothering me

[judi]

For me, it came down to an insurance compensation issue. My insurances (we have been fortunate that both husband and I carry health insurance) decide who gets paid and for what. So that predicated what providers we used.

We did elect to pay out of pocket for many services including Residential Treatment Center (RTC) for our son.

Unless you are independently wealthy, it will be your insurance who decides who takes care of your children.

 

[mightymouse]

Just had to add my two cents.

I once went to a phychiatrist when I was very suicidal who told me that because I was wearing make-up I really didn't feel that bad (ever thought of trying to hide it from the world?!!!) and that she had just returned to work after her husband died unexpectedly 5 days earlier so if I thought I had it bad I should put myself in her shoes. She said all of this just after her introduction as she was walking into the room, before she even sat down. Let me tell you, there's nothing like a "professional" who you've gone to out of sheer desperation discrediting your feelings. Then I saw a therapist (not sure of his credentials) who asked me about my religion and spirituality. I told him I was a Christian and he immediately told me that he was a Buhdist and tried adamantly to get me to convert.

Did I mention these were both people who worked at the county mental health facility? Go figure.

Also, just as an fyi, in this and other forums I have seen people mention Medicaid advise that you would first need to get a referal from your primary care doctor to go to a specialist to have your child evaluated. I don't know if it is the same in all states, but in mine, this is not the case. For any mental health service you do not need approval from your primary care dr. Medicaid is a federal program administered by the individual states, so rules could vary from state to state. I live in a relatively poor state and the Medicaid program is not good, but thank goodness for my kids, mental health is not one area they try to cut corners.

 

[Marguerite]

I remember when I was just beginning to have big problems with what later turned out to be PTSD, I rang a counselling line to try to find out what was happening to me. I was desperate; it was the middle of the night and I was getting flashbacks and bursting into floods of tears. One counselling line I rang told me they couldn't talk to me; they had someone on the other line who was desperate. She didn't even take my number and offer to call back, but hung up on me before I'd even had a chance to say anything more than "hello".

I've had other doctors tell me I'm clearly not depressed because I'm wearing bright colours and make-up (as you said - we try to mask it) and another doctor (difficult child 1's first pediatrician) who INSISTED that I was suffering from clinical depression when I said I didn't feel depressed; he kept telling me that my continued denial was an indication of just how mentally ill I was. When I told him I'd seen a psychiatrist who said I wasn't currently suffering form depression, he said (among other derogatory things about that psychiatrist) that I was clearly very sick because I must have gone to a lot of trouble to fool the psychiatrist. He then said my failure to get angry with him or show any emotion, was another indication.
And there I had been, desperately biting my tongue so as not to seem like an unstable harpie. I should have let my feelings out and screamed at him instead... but then he would probably have called for the men in white coats.

There are some very sick people in this world, and some of them become doctors. As I keep saying, that's why they call it "practising" medicine. And if they keep up practising, who knows? They may eventually get the hang of it!

But as I said earlier, there are good ones and bad ones, no matter which specialty you talk about.

Marg

 

[TerryJ2]

I can't resist adding my 2 cents worth...

I had a watercolor show many yrs ago at a local gallery. It hung for a month. A local psychiatrist saw the show, and commented to my husband later (at the gym or something), "She's a typical ACOA; she uses lots of bright colors."

I couldn't believe the gall. First, no one asked him for a diagnosis. 2nd, I had just purchased a new line of Dr. Martin Dyes and they were all very bright and I couldn't wait to use them... so I did.

I never did meet him in person to give him a piece of my mind... or a lesson in art criticism. Not to mention that I wanted to slap his hand for hit-and-run diagnosis in absentia. It's actually pretty funny now that I look back on it.

To add insult to injury, he didn't buy anthing. Hmphf.

 

[panda]

i just read through what everone has posted. my son was seen by a child psychologist, a neuropsychologist, and a child pyschiatrist. the three of them came together to diagnos my son. which was mood disorder with the onset of bipolar, ADHD, ODD, anxiety, seperation anxiety (especially regarding seperating from me),and we have also found through all of his psychologist sessions that he is suffering from a traumatic event that happened when he was a toddler. resulting from him being 12 and scared to do his business with the toilet. i am very comfortable with what the doctors have done, and i am happy that not just one person or i should say doctor, diagnosed him. they all work as a team to treat my son for which i am thankful. good luck to anyone that is struggling with doctors and diagnosis---amanda

 

[neednewtechnique]

I am not sure about where our state draws the line of who can "officially" diagnosis and who cant, but our state is very clear that ONLY a LICENCED Psychiatrist with an MD title can prescribe medications, and if you go through the diagnosis process and your child needs medications, then you will end up with a Psychiatrist anyway, so, in our state at least, it is better to go straight to the source and get it all done in one place (besides our difficult children regular counseling with the therapist, of course).

 

[dreamer]

when we first began this journey here, usually you could not see the psychiatrist until you had had several evaluation appts with the Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) and various others in the agency. It took several months of these visits and evaluations with thse people before you even had half a chance of getting in the door for the psychiatrist, partly becuz there was only 1 child psychiatrist and many many many patients. Our psychiatrists ran ,ed appts only, and very simply you showed up at a 10 min tile slot that had also been given to 9 other patients- walked in door to a smaller room with those 9 others, and then the psychiatric nurse came and got you ne at a time and walked with you into docs office where you did not even sit down or speak- the doctor handed you your rx and out the door you went. Until your next appointment - 3 months later if you were LUCKY and if the doctor was even still working there anymore. Otherwise the director of the agency signed Rxs for everyone and kept everyone at whatever medication level they had been at until a new doctor joined the agency.
The lcsws saw all the patients, then discussed weekly all the patients of the week in a weekly meeting with the psychiatrists nurse, and the patients who had any difficulties were referred from Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) to psychiatric nurse and from psychiatric nurse to doctor.
IF the Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) decided you needed psychiatric testing or neuropsychologist testing then they told psychiatric nurse who told psychiatric doctor who wrote an order and gave it to psychiatric nurse who gave it to Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) who gave it to you.
If you called with ANY difficulties, you were told to GO to ER. At ER you then got a DIFFERENT doctor.......IF you were admitted, altho usually you did NOT get admitted becuz there usually were no beds available. Usually you got a shot of haldol and sent home with instructions to call doctor in morning....and then usually you still did not see the doctor, you still saw the Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW).

I can say we have used lcsws, psychiatrists, psychologists, neuropsychologists etc. Our pediatrician to this day still was maintaining it was all hype last I saw her (she is no longer our pediatrician) We have had some pretty lousey of each----gotten pretty useless "help" from some of each, and we have had a couple of each who did seem to help some.
For us our personal experience both in private sector and at military VA hospitals is for us the neuropsychs were least helpful, ran tests, interpreted them, and then often discounted their testing by saying oh forget it, your kid was on medications, or forget it your husband was not on medications--------seems every neuropsychologist we saw discredited all the testing.........and offered up in the end- absolutely nothing.

Ironically our pediatrician told us nothing was wrong with our son for years...except our overactive imaginations, and psychologists all said nothing was wrong with my son except he was "the baby" and we were crummy parents. The psychologists all said my son needed to buckle down, and the psychiatrist said my son was bipolar. It turned out to be my sons GENETICIST who FINALLY ordered an MRI and found my sons difficulties. It was the GENTICIST who found his cerebal palsy, seizures, heterotopia. It was the geneticist who bothered to look for a CAUSE and use an objective test. It was Occupational Therapist (OT) and PT that finally helped us accomplish anything with our son.

There are crummy professionals in every field. There are also great professionals who are after all still simply human. (and thus sometimes make mistakes)
For me, I like having something concrete and tangible - an objective confirmation of what is going on. Something that can be confirmed by bloodwork, xrays whatever.......where there is less room for interpretation.
I also like someone who is willing to consider maybe whatever might be wrong with someone might NOT be in their own field of professional expertise. I like someone who WILL call in consults with others and look at other reasons for behaviors etc. Someone who is willing to admit they do not know everything and might need help.

 

[Wishing]

I find this thread interesting. I think after awhile one develops a thicker skin dealing with professionals in the mental health field.The first one to diagnose my son with adhd and encourage me to try medications was reasonable and I liked her respectful approach. She also had a daughter with a mental health disorder.
She was a phd in educational pschology.She had cancer. We had to get medications from a general psychiatrist and to me he was strange and wanted my difficult child off medications because his 5 year old was hyper and didn't need them.
I was referred to an adolescent psychiatrist who from 10 to 14 was on the right track with medications and since then we have struggled as psychiatrist does not listen to me only when grades got really bad did he change medications. The thing is he asks my son how are things going and discounts me.Finding a new dr is not easy and iwth us our insurance does not cover dr.visits and the first visit is very expensive.

 

[TerryJ2]

I once went to a phychiatrist when I was very suicidal who told me that because I was wearing make-up I really didn't feel that bad (ever thought of trying to hide it from the world?!!!) and that she had just returned to work after her husband died unexpectedly 5 days earlier so if I thought I had it bad I should put myself in her shoes. She said all of this just after her introduction as she was walking into the room, before she even sat down. Let me tell you, there's nothing like a "professional" who you've gone to out of sheer desperation discrediting your feelings. Then I saw a therapist (not sure of his credentials) who asked me about my religion and spirituality. I told him I was a Christian and he immediately told me that he was a Buhdist and tried adamantly to get me to convert.

OMG!!!! That's unbelievable!!! Did you file any complaints?

 

[CrazyinVA]

I never really thought about who "diagnosed" either of my kids. I always figured it was a group effort, though.

 

[BusynMember]

I don't trust anyone with the county, state, or who works with a sliding scale, which is unfortunate because we're not rich. I ask around to see which professionals have helped kids and try to glom information about who the doctors bring their own kids to see for psychiatric/neuropsychologist issues. If you happen to know a doctor, or someone with a doctor in the family, this can really be useful. I am as careful about who I take my child to, for a diagnosis, as I am when I have surgery. Although not every neuropsychologist or Psychitrist is A-#1, they have the most education and, if they also have experience of years and a good rep with parents, I feel that this is the best I can do for my child. I was once in a psychiatric hospital for ten weeks, when insurance still covered it for that long. My favorite healthcare professional was a Social Worker. I sort of depended on her and loved her dearly. She even had a passing knowledge of bipolar. However, she didn't diagnose me, and I wouldn't have trusted her to do that. She was more of a support person. If you go for a diagnosis, in my humble opinion, go for the top notch professional and you give yourself better odds. I find psycologists my most disappointing professionals. In spite of PHD's, they seem to have more training in behavioral therapy and the ones I've seen (many) were not good diagnosticians, either for me or my son. I try to see the top, and, in general, have gotten much better results when I went that route. Just MHO

 

[BusynMember]

I don't trust anyone with the county, state, or who works with a sliding scale, which is unfortunate because we're not rich. I ask around to see which professionals have helped kids and try to glom information about who the doctors bring their own kids to see for psychiatric/neuropsychologist issues. If you happen to know a doctor, or someone with a doctor in the family, this can really be useful. I am as careful about who I take my child to, for a diagnosis, as I am when I have surgery. Although not every neuropsychologist or Psychitrist is A-#1, they have the most education and, if they also have experience of years and a good rep with parents, I feel that this is the best I can do for my child. I was once in a psychiatric hospital for ten weeks, when insurance still covered it for that long. My favorite healthcare professional was a Social Worker. I sort of depended on her and loved her dearly. She even had a passing knowledge of bipolar. However, she didn't diagnose me, and I wouldn't have trusted her to do that. She was more of a support person. If you go for a diagnosis, in my humble opinion, go for the top notch professional and you give yourself better odds. I find psycologists my most disappointing professionals. In spite of PHD's, they seem to have more training in behavioral therapy and the ones I've seen (many) were not good diagnosticians, either for me or my son. I try to see the top, and, in general, have gotten much better results when I went that route. Just MHO

 

[CCRidr2]

My son was diagnosis'd by a pediatric neurologist who's specialty is conduct disorders, so those statements aren't for all of us. Thanks for bringing that up!