Qualities of a Good Psychiatrist

Hi,

Here's my list:
prescribes the minimum medication
doesn't panic and manipulate the medication when having a minor relapse
isn't hypersexual (recommending pre-marital sex)
doesn't overcharge
makes 15 minute appointments (otherwise the doctor can become your best friend)

Any thoughts?

Thanks / dhammapal.

I would say that any psychiatrist who is willing to spend more than the minimum 15 minutes with you is a good one. You want someone who understands your illness so that they can prescribe you the correct medication.

dhammapal wrote:Hi,

Here's my list:
prescribes the minimum medication
doesn't panic and manipulate the medication when having a minor relapse
isn't hypersexual (recommending pre-marital sex)
doesn't overcharge
makes 15 minute appointments (otherwise the doctor can become your best friend)

Any thoughts?

Thanks / dhammapal.

A superb MD will make the time to ENSURE that a diagnosis is correct. I realize that MDs love to prescribe those meds, whereas PhD are all about diagnosis, but MD should ensure that his patient has a correct diagnoses before freely writing that Rx down with a pen that he got from a pharmaceutical company. Let's not piss poorly diagnose our patients and give them incorrect meds, shall we?

Oh-- and don't be a judgmental prick! Patients are coming to with problems, so please don't get all self-righteous! Much appreciated.

I realize this is old but I like this thinking game.

A psychiatrist worth my money (or since I'm in Finland and we actually have a reliable health care system, worth the People's money..)

-is active and sharp; sounds stupid, but many of them really aren't. I can't help you help me if you keep missing the fudging train. We're leaving now and meeting every side topic on the way! Chop chop!
-is empathetic. This should be obvious. But evidently isn't. Oh man this one psych. I could have reported her behavior but I just wanted to get out of there, and fast.
-prescribed medication when needed and is able to have a conversation about other treatment options; personally i have nothing against medication but I am not seeking it either. with my current psych we can actually have an intelligent conversation about the pros and cons.
-doesnt treat you like you're uninformed, if you're not, and doesn't treat you like you're stupid, even if you are. just doesn't work. i have no claims about lack of stupidity but by god i am not uninformed about psychology, psychiatry, or psychotherapy. a good psych can respect that.