a word from a pro

I also emailed a guest poster on Peanut Gallery Speaks and bugged her about how to find a professional. She was nice enough to write back and also said I could quote her here:

"If you want therapy -- someone to talk out problems with -- you probably don't want a psychiatrist (a medical doctor with speciality in psychiatric issues) because they are really, really expensive. Many don't even do therapy. However, if you just need medication, a psychiatrist is what you need. A couple ways to find someone is to go to your regular doctor, your GP, and ask who he or she would recommend. You can also call your insurance and ask who they will cover. This will give you some leads. If you already have medication and you're happy with it, you can ask your GP to contiue prescribing it. However, if you want to tweak things a bit (try something new, change dosage) I would not recommend the GP as they have less experience with those specific mediations.

As for therapy, again I'd call your insurance and ask who they cover. They'll have a few names to recommend. You can also ask friends who they think is really good. If you can afford it, I'd sign up for therapy with three therapists -- even in one week. Explain to them that you are just getting a consultation and want to discuss your issues and how they might be helpful. Then choose the one you click with best. I've done the private practice thing and I'm not offended at all if I know I'm being interviewed in a way and I'm not offended if someone doesn' come back. The important thing is that you get the help you need. Therapy is the best gift you can give yourself. And studies show that the best results come from a combination of medication and therapy combined.

If money's an issue, universities with therapy programs (marriage and family therapy, social work, clinical psychology) will have good values (sliding scales -- payment based on how much money you have, anywhere from $1-$20 a session) )if you are willing to go to a student. This is a totally great options, because they students are well supervised and your case will have actually lots of folsk working on it.

If you are a student, most school offer therapy for free. Psychiatrists won't be free however and there is not way I know of to get a good deal on that, except to find a psychiatrist who will consider medication cost when prescribing. For example, abilify and geodon are both mood stabilizers, and would probably work well, but geodon is usually not covered as well by insurance and so is more expensive. But the psychiatrist will know more about that. "

-HRH