(July 7, 2014 at 6:14 pm)Insanity Wrote:
Nice post.
Here's the deal. When all you have is a hammer, every problem starts to look like a nail.
In the US at least, the model that seems to be in vogue is for psychiatrists to prescribe meds, and psychologists / therapists to do non-medicinal therapies. Makes sense, in a way - let each work to their strengths, right?
My non-advice is this - talk to a therapist before you talk to a psychiatrist. You may not need medication, but if you see the psychiatrist first - well, he's a hammer, you're a nail, and you're going on meds, and you may be able to work through what is troubling you without them. Or maybe not - but any decent therapist will know when it's appropriate to get a psychiatrist involved.
It's also important to realize that there are good therapists and there are bad ones. Education level is not an absolute indicator, but I can say that the best ones I've known were Ph.D or Psy.D level, and the worst were all BS / MS. You rarely get more than you pay for, though you frequently get less.